Literary notes about quake (AI summary)
The term "quake" is employed in literature both as a literal depiction of trembling earth and as a vivid metaphor for inner emotional disturbance. It often describes physical shaking—whether the ground itself convulses under nature's fury or a mighty force causes even the loftiest structures to tremble [1, 2, 3]—while equally capturing the inner, visceral response of a character gripped by terror, awe, or passion [4, 5, 6]. In many works, the word bridges nature and human emotion, underscoring moments when both the external world and the internal soul are overwhelmed by a powerful, shuddering force [7, 8].
- The stone we rolled From the giants’ dwelling, So that all the earth Did rock and quake.
— from The Younger Edda; Also called Snorre's Edda, or The Prose Edda by Snorri Sturluson - And whirlwinds and frightful sounds convulsed everything, and the earth herself began to quake.
— from The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 1 - The armaments which thunderstrike the walls Of rock-built cities, bidding nations quake, And monarchs tremble in their capitals.
— from Childe Harold's Pilgrimage by Baron George Gordon Byron Byron - Why sholde than for ferd thyn herte quake?
— from Troilus and Criseyde by Geoffrey Chaucer - [Ex. 19:16, 18] Here, therefore, he sweat and did quake for fear.
— from The Pilgrim's Progress from this world to that which is to come by John Bunyan - Scrooge was very much dismayed to hear the spectre going on at this rate, and began to quake exceedingly.
— from A Christmas Carol in Prose; Being a Ghost Story of Christmas by Charles Dickens - O, I do fear thee, Claudio; and I quake, Lest thou a feverous life shouldst entertain, And six or seven winters more respect Than a perpetual honour.
— from The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare - Now could I drink hot blood, And do such bitter business 106 as the day Would quake to look on.
— from Hamlet, Prince of Denmark by William Shakespeare
