Literary notes about pulse (AI summary)
In literature, “pulse” operates on multiple levels, functioning both as a literal indicator of the physical heartbeat and as a metaphor for life’s dynamic rhythm. In some works, authors focus on the measurable, clinical aspect of pulse—its steadiness or irregularity revealing a character’s health or the severity of an illness ([1], [2], [3]). In contrast, other writers invoke “pulse” to evoke a broader sense of vitality and emotional intensity, suggesting that the very beat of one’s heart reflects the underlying force of life or even the momentum of events ([4], [5], [6]). This dual usage underscores the term’s versatility in symbolizing both the biological essence and the metaphorical energy that drives human experience ([7], [8]).
- “And his pulse is steady,” said the widow, laying her hand on his breast.
— from Father Goriot by Honoré de Balzac - Dr. Craven sat down by him and felt his pulse and looked at him curiously.
— from The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett - I now clapped my hands in sudden joy—my pulse bounded, my veins thrilled.
— from Jane Eyre: An Autobiography by Charlotte Brontë - Have I commandment on the pulse of life?
— from The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare - Of Life immense in passion, pulse, and power, Cheerful, for freest action form'd under the laws divine, The Modern Man I sing.
— from Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman - He kept his hand upon the pulse of events.
— from Pushing to the Front by Orison Swett Marden - Even a really disconnected world could only be known to be such by having its parts temporarily united in the Object of some pulse of consciousness.
— from The Principles of Psychology, Volume 1 (of 2) by William James - Imagine the ship herself, with every pulse and artery of her huge body swollen and bursting under this maltreatment, sworn to go on or die.
— from American Notes by Charles Dickens
