Literary notes about scrawl (AI summary)
The word scrawl in literature conveys a sense of hurried, untidy writing that is as much about emotion and urgency as it is about the physical act of putting pen to paper. It often suggests a deliberate forsaking of formal neatness to capture fleeting thoughts or secretive impulses. For instance, Whitman’s depiction of a sign “scrawl'd” near a grave ([1]) hints at both the immediacy and gravity of the moment, while Chekhov’s reference to an “illegible scrawl” points to a habitual, almost resigned carelessness in writing ([2]). In other narratives, scrawls serve to conceal intentions or emotions—a boy hiding his words on a slate ([3]) or a bold, spontaneous note meant only for a particular recipient ([4]). Even when the scrawl seems chaotic or dismissive, as in the remark about a signature that no one could decipher ([5]), it invariably enriches the narrative by underscoring the imperfect human impulse to record thoughts.
- no time to lose—yet this sign left, On a tablet scrawl'd and nail'd on the tree by the grave, Bold, cautious, true, and my loving comrade.
— from Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman - All her life she wrote an illegible scrawl, and had read nothing but historical novels.
— from Project Gutenberg Compilation of Short Stories by Chekhov by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov - Now Tom began to scrawl something on the slate, hiding the words from the girl.
— from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Complete by Mark Twain - “It will be more convenient to meet you at Cheltham Bay than any other place,” she had written in a bold scrawl.
— from The Deserted YachtMadge Sterling Series, #2 by Mildred A. (Mildred Augustine) Wirt - He had got somebody to scrawl it up for him, however, who had squeezed Death in with most inappropriate difficulty.
— from A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
