Literary notes about melodic (AI summary)
In literature the adjective "melodic" is employed to evoke a sense of graceful, flowing beauty, whether referring to the inherent charm of musical lines or the poetic quality of language. Its use ranges from describing the tangible, structured aspects of musical composition—as in discussions of melodic phrases, intervals, or form ([1], [2], [3])—to expressing an almost ineffable emotional impact, as when a passage’s melodic content captures a deep, stirring sentiment ([4], [5], [6]). Authors often harness the term to highlight the interplay between technical precision and expressive warmth, illustrating how melody, in both literal and metaphorical senses, can be central to artistic beauty, fresh expression, and dramatic effect ([7], [8], [9]).
- THE MELODIC FIGURE DEFINING THE FIGURES THE MELODIC MOTIVE, OR PHRASE-MEMBER PRELIMINARY TONES CHAPTER IV.—THE PHRASE.
— from Lessons in Music Form A Manual of Analysis of All the Structural Factors and Designs Employed in Musical Composition by Percy Goetschius - The melodic intervals, also, indicate a more delicate sense of harmony than we find in other parts of Europe at so early a date.
— from A Popular History of the Art of MusicFrom the Earliest Times Until the Present by W. S. B. (William Smythe Babcock) Mathews - Melodic form is more obvious than harmonic, hence they developed it.
— from How Music DevelopedA Critical and Explanatory Account of the Growth of Modern Music by W. J. (William James) Henderson - Loveletters of Mother Assistant (erotic), Who’s Who in Space (astric), Songs that Reached Our Heart (melodic), Pennywise’s Way to Wealth (parsimonic).
— from Ulysses by James Joyce - Vocal music reaches its perfection when the melodic form is allowed to develop freely, and carry our consciousness with it to its own wonderful plane.
— from My Reminiscences by Rabindranath Tagore - These works possess an admirable melodic beauty, and an expression often quite profound.
— from Handel by Romain Rolland - His melodic content is his own as he strides in stately pomp in the fugued Alexandrines of Bach.
— from Unicorns by James Huneker - His first smaller compositions really had always a certain melodic freshness.
— from Asbeïn: From the Life of a Virtuoso by Ossip Schubin - Though both have good qualities, neither approaches the melodic variety and dignity of Homer and Virgil, or even Ovid.
— from The Principles of English Versification by Paull F. (Paull Franklin) Baum
