Literary notes about really (AI summary)
The word “really” serves as a flexible intensifier in literature, operating both to underline sincerity and to modify tone across varying contexts. For example, in Turgenev’s work ([1]) it is employed to impart an almost ritualistic earnestness, while in Dostoyevsky’s and Dickens’s dialogues ([2], [3]) it often punctuates moments of genuine confusion or incredulity. Authors such as Oscar Wilde ([4]) and Henry David Thoreau ([5]) also use “really” as a tool to question appearances and invite readers to look beyond the superficial. Moreover, in more modern narratives like those of L. M. Montgomery ([6], [7], [8]), “really” can capture a nuanced shift in mood or attitude, lending both authenticity and emphasis to character interactions. Overall, this small adverb plays multiple roles—from bolstering a statement to softening or intensifying a sentiment—demonstrating its enduring importance as a stylistic device in literature.
- "Really and truly, Thenichka?" (never before had he addressed her thus).
— from Fathers and Sons by Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev - “I don’t know really what to say.
— from Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky - ‘Do you really mean that?’ said I. He was so composed, that I fancied he must have some other meaning.
— from David Copperfield by Charles Dickens - For the Greek gods, in spite of the white and red of their fair fleet limbs, were not really what they appeared to be.
— from De Profundis by Oscar Wilde - That time which we really improve, or which is improvable, is neither past, present, nor future.
— from Walden, and On The Duty Of Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau - I just love him—though I don't really care much for children.
— from Rilla of Ingleside by L. M. Montgomery - Then they found me and carted me off and before long I discovered that there wasn't really anything wrong with me.
— from Rilla of Ingleside by L. M. Montgomery - But really, Marilla, one can’t stay sad very long in such an interesting world, can one?” CHAPTER XVIII.
— from Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery