Literary notes about sketch (AI summary)
In literature, "sketch" conveys both a literal and metaphorical brevity—a succinct rendering of an impression or outline. It may denote a preliminary drawing or portrayal, as in descriptions of pen sketches that capture a fleeting likeness or scene [1, 2, 3], yet it also functions as a concise narrative or biographical account, outlining essential features without the full detail of a complete treatise [4, 5, 6]. Moreover, the term can evoke a fleeting character study or mood, capturing the spirit of a person or event with economical language reminiscent of a rough artwork [7, 8, 9]. This dual use enriches the text by linking visual imagery with narrative brevity, allowing authors to both show and tell in a single, evocative stroke.
- Pen sketch of the most elementary works of attack.
— from The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America by Thomas Jefferson - Before I permit him to speak, I must give my readers a pen-and-ink sketch of his person.
— from Aesop's Fables by Aesop - Laurie sat turning the little ring on his finger, and Amy put the last touches to the hasty sketch she had been working at while she talked.
— from Little Women by Louisa May Alcott - The Discourse on Political Economy is important as giving the first sketch of the theory of the "General Will."
— from The Social Contract & Discourses by Jean-Jacques Rousseau - At the close of this volume will be found a sketch of the French revolution of 1789, as connected with persecution.
— from Fox's Book of Martyrs by John Foxe - —Book II opens with a biographical sketch of Gregory the Great, the founder of the Mission.
— from Bede's Ecclesiastical History of England by Saint the Venerable Bede - God's likeness the ground-plan Neither modell'd, glazed, or framed: Buss me thou rough sketch of man, Far too naked to be shamed!
— from The Early Poems of Alfred Lord Tennyson by Baron Alfred Tennyson Tennyson - You said—I dare say you don't remember it as I do—that the relation of my sketch to nature was quite hidden from you.
— from Middlemarch by George Eliot - " "You are severe," said Holgrave, compelled to recognize a degree of truth in the piquant sketch of his own mood.
— from The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne
