Literary notes about minutes (AI summary)
In literature, "minutes" is often used both as a precise measure of time and as a tool to heighten narrative rhythm and tension. Authors employ exact time references—such as "five minutes past nine" [1] or "twenty minutes to two" [2]—to anchor events within a specific temporal framework, while also using vague durations like "a few minutes" [3] or "some minutes" [4] to suggest the elusiveness and fleeting nature of an experience. In some instances, a short span is imbued with dramatic weight, as when a seemingly insignificant period feels interminable ("The fifteen minutes seemed an hour..." [5]), underscoring shifts in mood or circumstance. Furthermore, the term serves both factual and figurative roles, from marking official records in meeting "minutes" [6] to punctuating the rapid progress of narrative action, illustrating its versatility across genres and eras.
- It was five minutes past nine when Sir Michael came down-stairs, followed by his valet, grave and gray-haired like himself.
— from Lady Audley's Secret by M. E. Braddon - It was twenty minutes to two.
— from The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde - In a few minutes, before a word was uttered, the women of the tribe threw up their arms three times.
— from Following the Equator: A Journey Around the World by Mark Twain - This lasted some minutes.
— from The Romance of Lust: A classic Victorian erotic novel by Anonymous - The fifteen minutes seemed an hour; but they came to an end at last, and the word "Recess!" had never seemed so welcome to her before.
— from Little Women; Or, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy by Louisa May Alcott - The motion to expunge them from the minutes was lost.
— from The Life and Work of Susan B. Anthony (Volume 1 of 2) by Ida Husted Harper
