Literary notes about twilight (AI summary)
Twilight is often employed as a literary device that marks a threshold between light and darkness, symbolizing transitions, uncertainty, and the ephemeral nature of existence. In some works, it captures the natural decay of daylight into a softer, more introspective scene—as when shadows merge with a mellow glow [1] or when the atmosphere weaves a sense of quiet melancholy over a landscape [2][3]. In other texts, twilight becomes a metaphor for the fading of old truths or the approach of fate, evoking philosophical depths and mystical allure [4][5]. Whether used to create a mood of gentle introspection or to heighten the tension of impending change, the term consistently enriches narratives with layers of ambiguity and beauty [6][7].
- The shadows grew long, and finally merged into the grayness of the mellow twilight.
— from The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle - Silence and twilight fell over the garden.
— from Anne's House of Dreams by L. M. Montgomery - In the spring twilight the train stopped at the Rhinebeck station, and they walked along the platform to the waiting carriage.
— from The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton - And how much more am I in search of one with whom I could be cheerful —The Twilight of the Idols: ah!
— from The Twilight of the Idols; or, How to Philosophize with the Hammer. The Antichrist by Nietzsche - — Verily, said he unto his disciples, a little while, and there cometh the long twilight.
— from Thus Spake Zarathustra: A Book for All and None by Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche - Twilight phantoms are they, yet moulded in prophetic grace of structure, slim shapely haunches, a supple tendonous neck, the meek apprehensive skull.
— from Ulysses by James Joyce - Without delay the fiend should die, For, see, the twilight hour is nigh.
— from The Rámáyan of Válmíki, translated into English verse by Valmiki
