Literary notes about musing (AI summary)
The word “musing” is used to evoke a state of reflective, often solitary, contemplation that deepens the reader’s insight into a character’s inner life. It frequently appears as a description of a character pausing in thought, whether admiring nature or internally debating the complexities of life, as when a traveler absorbs the lingering beauty of flowers [1] or a passing observation is marked by an absent-minded, pensive glance [2]. At other times, “musing” characterizes a sustained internal dialogue—a quiet, sometimes melancholic, introspection that enriches the narrative’s emotional texture [3][4]. Such usage not only paints the character as reflective and emotionally nuanced but also lends the surrounding environment an air of poetic mystery, as seen when the tone shifts to a dreamy or philosophical mood [5][6].
- The traveller stood long in the window gazing and musing, breathing in the fragrance of the flowers.
— from Pan Tadeusz; or, The last foray in Lithuania by Adam Mickiewicz - ‘That’s strange,’ said the dwarf, musing.
— from The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens - But he did not pursue the speculation, and without replying, he fell to musing on a quite different and personal matter.
— from Anna Karenina by graf Leo Tolstoy - When I go musing all alone Thinking of divers things fore-known.
— from The Anatomy of Melancholy by Robert Burton - Toad walked slowly round it, inspecting, criticising, musing deeply.
— from The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame - And musing on the marvel of thy fame I watched the day, till marked with wounds of flame The turquoise sky to burnished gold was turned.
— from Poems, with The Ballad of Reading Gaol by Oscar Wilde
