Literary notes about impression (AI summary)
In literature, "impression" is used both to convey an internal, subjective experience and to construct an external image that influences readers and characters alike. Writers invoke the term to illustrate a personal reaction—a lingering sensory or emotional mark, as when a character asserts, "My impression is..." [1]—or to suggest a crafted public perception, as when political rhetoric is designed to create the appearance of favorable reception [2]. It may denote the transient yet powerful sensory residue that shapes ideas and memories, highlighted by philosophical inquiries into our perceptions [3, 4, 5], and even serve as a mechanism to develop atmosphere in narrative, whether depicting the indelible allure of a landscape or the persuasive impact of a character’s presence [6, 7, 8].
- My impression is, after many years of consideration, that there never can have been anybody in the world who played worse.
— from David Copperfield by Charles Dickens - Political organizations subsidize applause to create the impression that their speakers' ideas are warmly received and approved by the audience.
— from The Art of Public Speaking by Dale Carnegie and J. Berg Esenwein - Is it an impression of sensation or of reflection?
— from A Treatise of Human Nature by David Hume - This impression of my senses immediately conveys my thought to the person, together with all the surrounding objects.
— from An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding by David Hume - It must, therefore, be derived from some internal impression, or impression of reflection.
— from A Treatise of Human Nature by David Hume - But Shakespeare makes the impression of detachment from his works.
— from Best Russian Short Stories - Prince S—— made the acquaintance of the general’s family, and Adelaida, the second girl, made a great impression upon him.
— from The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoyevsky - I have a faint impression that Mr. Spenlow remonstrated with me for riding in it; but I knew of none.
— from David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
