Literary notes about somnolent (AI summary)
Writers frequently use "somnolent" to evoke not just physical sleepiness but also an overall mood of weariness, lethargy, or languid calm in both character and setting. In some works, it describes a character’s drowsy or indifferent state, as when a face or demeanor is rendered with a subtle weariness ([1],[2]), while in others it characterizes the atmosphere of a place—suggesting a sleepy town or an environment imbued with a muted, almost hypnotic tranquility ([3],[4]). At times, the word further hints at a kind of subdued intensity that borders on dreamlike or foreboding, enriching the narrative tone with layers of emotional and sensory detail ([5],[6]). This multifaceted use of "somnolent" allows authors to paint a scene that is both physically and metaphorically steeped in the quality of sleep.
- Peredonov's usually rosy, unconcerned, somnolent face showed anger.
— from The Little Demon by Fyodor Sologub - By degrees my semi-somnolent faculties reasserted themselves and I remembered where I was.
— from Mr. Marx's Secret by E. Phillips (Edward Phillips) Oppenheim - There was a calm over it, and a somnolent peace.
— from The Bondboy by George W. (George Washington) Ogden - The world was all unchanged about her, the town somnolent.
— from The Bells of San Juan by Jackson Gregory - She was really tired, and the somnolent thrall of midnight was making her drowsy when she was roused by the movements of old Elaine in the next room.
— from The Daring Twins: A Story for Young Folk by L. Frank (Lyman Frank) Baum - Onward to the dead sea they tramp to drink, unslaked and with horrible gulpings, the salt somnolent inexhaustible flood.
— from Ulysses by James Joyce
