Literary notes about thump (AI summary)
In literature, "thump" serves as a vivid onomatopoeic device that conveys both physical impact and emotional intensity. Authors employ it to depict sudden, often startling sounds—such as a knock at the door that fills a scene with suspense ([1], [2]) or a heavy object striking a surface to underline the gravity of a moment ([3], [4]). At the same time, the word often symbolizes the rapid beating of a heart, mirroring feelings of fear, excitement, or inner turmoil ([5], [6], [7], [8]). Whether it signifies a comic misstep or an ominous signal, "thump" punctuates narrative action with a sensory immediacy that draws readers directly into the heartbeat of the story ([9], [10], [11]).
- Has any one disturbed you?" "Yes—just now—Sir Percival——" "Did he come in?" "No, he frightened me by a thump on the door outside.
— from The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins - Before I could move, before I could draw my breath after that discovery, I was horror-struck by a heavy thump against the door from the inside.
— from The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins - A huge coil of dark rope went flying through the air and fell “thump” on the wharf.
— from The Garden Party, and Other Stories by Katherine Mansfield - Suddenly there was a dull thump on the ground: a couple had fallen, and lay in a mixed heap.
— from Tess of the d'Urbervilles: A Pure Woman by Thomas Hardy - I set perfectly still then, listening to my heart thump, and I reckon I didn’t draw a breath while it thumped a hundred.
— from Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain - He did not hear a lot, but he heard enough, and his eyes widened, and his heart began to thump against his ribs in wild excitement.
— from Dave Dawson at Dunkirk by Robert Sidney Bowen - When she reached the attic door and opened it, her heart gave a dreary little thump.
— from A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett - Mary’s heart began to thump and her hands to shake a little in her delight and excitement.
— from The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett - — N. thud, thump, dead sound; nonresonance[obs3]; muffled drums, cracked bell; damper; silencer.
— from Roget's Thesaurus by Peter Mark Roget - he added jocosely, giving Winterbourne a thump on the knee.
— from Daisy Miller: A Study by Henry James - With a great thump on the table, Poirot demolished his carefully built up edifice.
— from The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie
