Literary notes about frankly (AI summary)
The adverb "frankly" is often employed in literature to signal an unvarnished truthfulness or a candid disclosure of opinion. Authors use it to foreground direct admissions, whether in personal confession, critical judgment, or political discourse. It might preface an unhesitating personal revelation, as when a character admits a deep-seated confusion or discontent [1, 2], or serve to frame an outright statement of fact or criticism in social and philosophical contexts [3, 4]. Additionally, its placement in dialogue subtly underscores the speaker’s intent to avoid artifice or deceit, lending a brisk, sincere tone to interpersonal exchanges [5, 6, 7]. Overall, "frankly" enhances prose by efficiently conveying authenticity and emotional clarity.
- I tell you frankly, I don’t know how it was I did not go mad that night.
— from Best Russian Short Stories - But I’ll confess frankly, I am very much bored.
— from Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky - Debates of Senates dreadfully in earnest are seldom given frankly to the world; else perhaps they would surprise it.
— from The French Revolution: A History by Thomas Carlyle - At the same time, it must be frankly admitted that the laws of position seem utterly unnecessary.
— from A Complete Guide to Heraldry by Arthur Charles Fox-Davies - Magin returned the look—frankly, humorously, quizzically.
— from The Best Short Stories of 1917, and the Yearbook of the American Short Story - “If Mr. Touchett had consulted me about leaving you the money,” she frankly asserted, “I’d have said to him ‘Never!”
— from The Portrait of a Lady — Volume 1 by Henry James - “Frankly, now!” she repeated, standing upon the rug and looking keenly down at him as he leaned back in a basket-chair.
— from Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
