Literary notes about gorge (AI summary)
The term gorge is deployed with striking versatility in literature, serving as both a stark reference to a wild, narrow chasm and a metaphor for overwhelming internal sensation. In many narratives, it vividly depicts deep valleys or canyons carved by relentless natural forces, as seen when wooded parties emerge from narrow passages into sun-scorched valleys [1] or when roaring torrents carve out rugged passages amid brilliant red rocks [2]. At the same time, the word conveys a sense of insatiable consumption or a deep reservoir of emotion, as when it is used to evoke the rising taste of impending death [3] or to describe the act of filling oneself self-indulgently [4]. This dual usage not only strengthens the imagery of the physical landscape but also imbues the narrative with layers of internal human experience.
- The next morning the party, issuing from a narrow gorge, came upon a long valley, sear and burnt with the shadeless heat.
— from The Luck of Roaring Camp and Other Tales by Bret Harte - This gorge is the home of the water ouzel, which is often seen flying back and forth in the spray.
— from Glacier National Park [Montana] by United States. Department of the Interior - They were leisurely enough for him to take in the full meaning of the portent, and to taste the flavour of death rising in his gorge.
— from The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale by Joseph Conrad - As if long famishing for something to copy, he seemed to gorge himself on my documents.
— from Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall-Street by Herman Melville
