Literary notes about previously (AI summary)
The adverb "previously" is often employed in literature to signal that an event, thought, or condition occurred at an earlier time, thereby connecting past occurrences with current narratives or arguments. For example, in historical and biographical texts, it bridges details by indicating earlier decisions or events—as seen when a pension "previously voted" to someone is maintained for their widow [1] or when a subject is "previously mentioned" to remind the reader of earlier discussion [2]. In narrative fiction, its use can enhance dramatic tension or continuity by recalling earlier states or actions, such as noting that an illness had struck "three weeks previously" [3] or by emphasizing parts of conversations that had "previously taken place" [4]. Across genres—from instructional manuals to novels—"previously" thus provides temporal context, ensuring that readers remain oriented within the unfolding sequence of events or arguments.
- A pension of three hundred dollars, previously voted to him by the Nation, was continued to his widow—the only literary pension in the United States.
— from Myths of the Cherokee by James Mooney - 1955 Or subjects of Cottius, previously mentioned.
— from The Natural History of Pliny, Volume 1 (of 6) by the Elder Pliny - Three weeks previously one of the hands had fallen ill and died of Asiatic cholera; then several others were stricken down.
— from The possessed : by Fyodor Dostoyevsky - Of the conversation which had previously taken place between them he could have heard nothing.
— from The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
