Literary notes about murmur (AI summary)
The word murmur in literature is deployed to evoke a sense of subdued sound or quiet discontent, whether it be the soft, personal utterance of a character or the collective ambience of a crowd. At times, it signifies an understated protest against authority or fate—as seen when a multitude voices their disapproval in religious texts ([1], [2])—or when a character’s whispered words betray inner turmoil ([3], [4]). It also captures the natural world’s gentle background noise, lending an almost musical quality to the narrative landscapes ([5], [6]), while occasionally hinting at something more ominous with its low, continuous undertones in moments of suspense or foreboding ([7], [8]).
- How long doth this wicked multitude murmur against me?
— from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete - Exodus Chapter 16 The people murmur for want of meat: God giveth them quails and manna.
— from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete - As I went out at his door I heard him murmur sleepily: "Give you good den, fair sir.”
— from A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain - “'What a loss to me—to us!'—she corrected herself with beautiful generosity; then added in a murmur, 'To the world.'
— from Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad - If I begin chopping the foot of a tree, its branches are unmoved by my act, and its leaves murmur as peacefully as ever in the wind.
— from The Principles of Psychology, Volume 1 (of 2) by William James - The white aspens how they murmur, murmur; Pines and cypresses flank the broad paths.
— from A Hundred and Seventy Chinese Poems - But I had also heard another, and a very ominous, murmur on the deck below.
— from Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad - And as she breathed her last sighs, there came mingled with them a low murmur from her lips.
— from The Works of Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven Edition by Edgar Allan Poe
