Literary notes about juncture (AI summary)
In literature, the term juncture functions as a marker signaling pivotal transition points—whether shifting the narrative’s direction, marking a crucial change in dialogue, or emphasizing a moment of heightened tension. In memoir-like narratives, its use often introduces significant actions or decisions as when a request or command alters the course of events [1], [2]. The word is also skillfully employed to indicate the arrival of key characters or interruptions in conversations, heightening the dramatic interplay between personalities [3], [4]. In more reflective or poetic passages, juncture underscores moments where temporal and emotional forces converge, offering both the reader and characters a pause that is pregnant with implication [5], [6]. Across diverse genres and periods—from the realistic portraits of social interactions to the grand narratives of epic journeys—juncture remains a versatile literary device used to delineate turning points that are crucial to the unfolding story [7], [8].
- At this juncture the editor of the Century Magazine asked me to write a few articles for him.
— from Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant, Complete by Ulysses S. Grant - At this juncture he dispatched to me what had taken place, and that he was dropping back slowly on Dinwiddie Court House.
— from Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant, Complete by Ulysses S. Grant - Here the conversation ended, for at this juncture my uncle’s voice was heard from his chamber, loudly calling upon my aunt to come to bed.
— from The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë - At this juncture some soft-headed gentleman asks: “What is this man who writes this book driving at?
— from The American Occupation of the Philippines 1898-1912 by James H. Blount - At this juncture Sun changed his form, and in spite of the net in the sky managed to find a way out.
— from Myths and Legends of China by E. T. C. Werner - At this critical juncture the Kingfisher opens her beak [ 132 ] to laugh, and the fish slips back into his native element and escapes!
— from Malay Magic by Walter William Skeat - Just at this juncture the boy felt a slow, fateful grip closing on his ear, and a steady lifting impulse.
— from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Complete by Mark Twain - But at this juncture, I have a hunch that we're still left with one real difficulty."
— from Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas: An Underwater Tour of the World by Jules Verne