Literary notes about gigantic (AI summary)
The adjective "gigantic" has been wielded in literature to evoke both literal and metaphorical enormity, enhancing descriptions of natural wonders, architectural marvels, and human character alike. In works ranging from the mysterious deep-sea creatures that "attain a gigantic size" [1] to towering, awe-inspiring structures like a "gigantic staircase" [2] or a "gigantic clock of ebony" [3], authors use the term to conjure images of vastness and power. Moreover, "gigantic" frequently intensifies human traits and abstract concepts, such as a figure of "gigantic strength" [4] or schemes of "gigantic power" that shape entire cities [5, 6]. Whether portraying monstrous natural phenomena or underscoring the monumental nature of ideas—as seen in descriptions of "gigantic death" [7] or "gigantic visions" [8]—this descriptor bridges the tangible and the symbolic, offering a rich palette for creative expression.
- Those in the deep sea sometimes attain a gigantic size.
— from Little Folks (September 1884) by Various - To the right there is a gigantic staircase, to the left, at the back, an old cistern surrounded by a wall of green bronze.
— from Salomé: A Tragedy in One Act by Oscar Wilde - It was in this apartment, also, that there stood against the western wall, a gigantic clock of ebony.
— from The Works of Edgar Allan Poe — Volume 2 by Edgar Allan Poe - He was evidently, though short, of gigantic strength.
— from Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe - “Zenith's a city with gigantic power—gigantic buildings, gigantic machines, gigantic transportation,” meditated Doane.
— from Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis - “Zenith's a city with gigantic power—gigantic buildings, gigantic machines, gigantic transportation,” meditated Doane.
— from Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis - While these fly trembling, others pant for breath, And o'er the slaughter stalks gigantic death.
— from The Iliad by Homer - [39] A thousand impressions beat upon him simultaneously, a gigantic vision.
— from The Jewish State by Theodor Herzl
