Literary notes about sonorous (AI summary)
The term "sonorous" is used in literature to evoke a deep, rich, and resonant quality in sound. Authors often apply it to describe voices that command attention—whether it’s Mrs. Wilfer’s commanding tone [1], the deep baritone of a character’s speech [2] and [3], or even the powerful exclamations of a king [4]. At the same time, "sonorous" transcends human voices; it is employed to characterize the majestic quality of languages [5] and the harmonic rhythms of natural and mechanical sounds, such as the reverberation of a ship’s hull or the echo of bells in a grand old church [6], [7]. This versatile adjective enriches the narrative by transforming ordinary sounds into vivid, almost musical experiences that enhance the atmosphere and depth of the text.
- The cherub faintly muttered something to the abortive effect of 'Oh, indeed, my dear!' 'Not here,' repeated Mrs Wilfer, in a stern sonorous voice.
— from Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens - He spoke in a deep, rich, sonorous voice, that resounded from his broad chest as from a barrel.
— from Project Gutenberg Compilation of Short Stories by Chekhov by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov - " One of Lydgate's gifts was a voice habitually deep and sonorous, yet capable of becoming very low and gentle at the right moment.
— from Middlemarch by George Eliot - A moment’s silence ensued and then, in a full, sonorous voice, the king exclaimed: “Remember!”
— from Twenty years after by Alexandre Dumas and Auguste Maquet - The Finnish nation has one of the most sonorous and flexible of languages.
— from Kalevala : the Epic Poem of Finland — Complete - It was a sonorous, harmonious, and flexible dialect, the vowels seeming to admit of very varied accentuation.
— from Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea by Jules Verne - The old church, all vibrating and sonorous, was in a perpetual joy of bells.
— from Notre-Dame de Paris by Victor Hugo
