Literary notes about reverberation (AI summary)
In literature, the term “reverberation” is used to evoke both a literal echo and a metaphorical resonance that lingers in the reader's mind. Its auditory quality is often highlighted to intensify atmosphere and mood: for instance, a sound rolling and fading away into sullen murmurs is captured in [1], while a deep, resonant shock that foreshadows impending doom is portrayed in [2]. Beyond physical sound, authors also employ “reverberation” to suggest the enduring impact of an idea or emotion, as seen when one subject is depicted as merely the echo of another in [3] or when the divine touch upon the human experience is likened to an everlasting reverberation in [4]. In these varied contexts, the word enriches the narrative by blurring the line between sensory perception and the lingering effects of thought and action.
- The sounds rolled along the wind, and were repeated in faint and fainter reverberation, till they sunk in sullen murmurs.
— from The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Ward Radcliffe - He expected every instant to hear the thunderous reverberation that would carry destruction and death.
— from Law of the North (Originally published as Empery) A Story of Love and Battle in Rupert's Land by Samuel Alexander White - One subject, indeed, is but the reverberation of the other.
— from The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne - What a contemplation for the mind, and what endless food for thought, is the reverberation of God upon the human wall!
— from Les Misérables by Victor Hugo
