Literary notes about mourning (AI summary)
In literature, mourning is portrayed as both a tangible ritual and an abstract state of deep sorrow. Authors use the term to denote the act of wearing specific garments or adopting particular customs in the wake of loss, as seen when characters are dressed in formal attire of grief ([1], [2]). At the same time, mourning frequently emerges as a metaphor for the emotional withdrawal and communal desolation that follow calamity or personal tragedy; it becomes a vehicle for exploring broader social and psychological themes ([3], [4], [5]). Whether set against the backdrop of personal loss, public mourning ceremonies, or even as a symbol of resistance and transformation in the face of despair ([6], [7], [8]), the multifaceted use of the word enriches the narrative, allowing authors to evoke both the physical manifestations and the internal landscapes of grief ([9], [10]).
- His cousin brought here, 'midst our woolen coifs, The worldly mourning of her widow's veil, Like a blackbird's wing among the convent doves!
— from Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand - She was dressed in the mourning clothes of a widow.
— from The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy - Upon all the housetops of Moab, and in the streets thereof general mourning: because I have broken Moab as an useless vessel, saith the Lord.
— from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete - There is no more fearful sight than this, nor any day when the city is plunged into deeper mourning.
— from Plutarch's Lives, Volume 1 (of 4) by Plutarch - And (87) ever after, he observed the anniversary of this calamity, as a day of sorrow and mourning. XXIV.
— from The Lives of the Twelve Caesars, Complete by Suetonius - " Thus did he speak and his words set them all weeping and mourning about the poor dumb dead, till rosy-fingered morn appeared.
— from The Iliad by Homer - For I sent you forth with mourning and weeping: but the Lord will bring you back to me with joy and gladness for ever.
— from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete - But after this mourning there follows loud festival gaiety accompanied by the unchaining of every impulse and the permission of every gratification.
— from Totem and Taboo by Sigmund Freud - At Whitehall I met with Mr. Pierce and his wife (she newly come forth after childbirth) both in mourning for the Duke of Gloucester.
— from The Diary of Samuel Pepys — Complete by Samuel Pepys - He was in deep mourning, she could see that, and the story of a haunting sorrow was written on his face.
— from Ulysses by James Joyce
