Literary notes about sensational (AI summary)
In literature, the term "sensational" is employed to convey notions of extravagance, intensity, and an almost hyperbolic departure from the mundane. It can refer to objects or events that are strikingly overdone, as when a retablo is described as "gaudy and sensational" to criticize its ostentation [1]. At times, it characterizes dramatic narratives or investigations that capture public attention—think of the case of a trial whose very unfolding is deemed a "sensational affair" [2] or Holmes’s "sensational investigations" that signify the peak of mystery and intrigue [3]. In other instances, the adjective is used to underscore the irresistible pull of theatrics in journalism and popular culture, as seen when headlines boast a need "to be sensational" in order to garner readership [4]. Ultimately, "sensational" in literary contexts oscillates between celebrating a work's energetic impact and critiquing its excess or superficiality.
- The huge "retablo" is nothing but a meaningless, gaudy and sensational series of carved and decorated niches.
— from Cathedrals of Spain by John A. (John Allyne) Gade - He was in for a big affair—a sensational case!...
— from A Nest of Spies by Pierre Souvestre - Holmes himself had said that no more complex case had come to him in all the long series of his sensational investigations.
— from The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle - You've got to be sensational to get attention.”
— from This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald
