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Literary notes about phantasmagoric (AI summary)

In literature, "phantasmagoric" is often used to evoke an atmosphere of surreal, dreamlike imagery and mysterious, shifting realities. Authors apply the term to both tangible scenes and nebulous visions, transforming ordinary settings into unfathomable realms that blur the line between fantasy and nightmare. For instance, a reference to a shadowy gallery reminiscent of Victor Hugo’s works [1] or the comparison to the northern lights’ elusive play on nature [2] both illustrate its capacity to imbue scenes with an eerie, otherworldly charm. It can also describe a cascade of fragmented images and transient sensations, as when recollections unfold like a ghostly show [3], or when chaotic events generate an overwhelming sense of unreality [4]. In each instance, "phantasmagoric" serves as a literary tool to capture the instability and mesmerizing allure of moments that defy conventional explanation.
  1. If a shadowy figure may be added, it is from the same phantasmagoric gallery of Victor Hugo.
    — from The Dungeons of Old Paris Being the Story and Romance of the Most Celebrated Prisons of the Monarchy and the Revolution by Tighe Hopkins
  2. It was like nothing so much as the phantasmagoric play of the northern lights.
    — from The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
  3. One's recollections come to resemble those of the spectator of a phantasmagoric show.
    — from What I Remember, Volume 2 by Thomas Adolphus Trollope
  4. All is gray shadow—a weak and irregular remembrance—an indistinct regathering of feeble pleasures and phantasmagoric pains.
    — from The Works of Edgar Allan Poe — Volume 2 by Edgar Allan Poe

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