Literary notes about sensibility (AI summary)
Literary authors employ the term “sensibility” to convey a multifaceted capacity for perception and emotion. It frequently embodies an acute responsiveness to both the external environment and internal feelings, as when a character’s wild imagination is delicately tempered by the moral sensitivity of his heart [1] or when an individual’s refined taste is depicted through an almost tactile sensitivity to beauty and nature [2], [3]. At times the term carries the weight of moral and emotional discernment, highlighting an inner vulnerability or refined sentimentality, as seen in the portrayal of characters whose gentle responsiveness marks their character [4]. Thus, “sensibility” serves both to describe physical receptivity and to evoke deep, often conflicting, emotional states that drive narrative and character development.
- His wild and enthusiastic imagination was chastened by the sensibility of his heart.
— from Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley - His tactile sensibility was permanently diminished on the right side.
— from The Principles of Psychology, Volume 1 (of 2) by William James - These are the conceptions of space and time as forms of sensibility, and the categories as pure conceptions of the understanding.
— from The Critique of Pure Reason by Immanuel Kant - He was recalled from wit to wisdom, not by any reproof of hers, but by his own sensibility.
— from Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
