Literary notes about forthwith (AI summary)
Throughout literary history, "forthwith" has served as a powerful adverb to impart immediacy and urgency. Its use is evident when authors call for swift action or note events that occur without hesitation—as when a narrator orders a matter to be dealt with instantly [1] or when a character is compelled to act without delay [2]. The word emerges in diverse contexts, whether marking the rapid onset of conflict [3] or signaling an abrupt narrative transition [4], and even in more formal proclamations urging immediate response in judicial or royal settings [5, 6]. In this way, "forthwith" consistently heightens the dramatic impact of a scene by emphasizing that time is of the essence.
- But lest we should think that those same seven days were to be reckoned from the fourteenth to the twentieth, He forthwith
— from Bede's Ecclesiastical History of England by Saint the Venerable Bede - I will seek out their writings forthwith, and peruse them with deliberate care.
— from The Works of Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven Edition by Edgar Allan Poe - It was, by this time, evening, and they engaged battle forthwith.
— from The Works of the Emperor Julian, Vol. 1 by Emperor of Rome Julian - I felt forthwith a new impatience to see him; it was the beginning of a curiosity that, for all the next hours, was to deepen almost to pain.
— from The Turn of the Screw by Henry James - My father and Lavinia shall forthwith Be closed in our household's monument.
— from The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare - Therefore prepare you, I your commission will forthwith dispatch, And he to England shall along with you.
— from The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare
