Literary notes about ululation (AI summary)
Ululation is employed in literature to evoke intense emotional states and the raw, almost primeval expression of sound. Its usage spans from the sharp, irritable cry of a character reacting to the clouting in [1] to the eerie, wolf-like baying that links human and animal expressions in [2]. The term is deftly used to capture both communal mourning and a bestial, inhuman crescendo—whether it be the shrilly mournful wail at a funeral in [3] or the prelude to violent conflict in [4] and [5]. This multifaceted portrayal underscores how ululation serves not only as a descriptor of sound but also as a powerful metaphor for raw emotion and nature’s unrestrained cry.
- And the father, annoyed by the shrill ululation consequent upon the clouting: "Nee, nee, I hear too much."
— from The King of Schnorrers: Grotesques and Fantasies by Israel Zangwill - I stood in a patch of moonlight listening to the baying of a hound, or so I thought: that musical ululation which links man's companion wolfwards.
— from Jungle Peace by William Beebe - Thou shalt not be greeted here With pallid cheek and gushing tear— Here no funeral ululation, Sound of woe or lamentation.
— from Canadian Melodies and Poems by George E. (George Earle) Merkley - Then with one frenzied crescendo of inhuman ululation they stiffened and lay still, and Conan knew that they were dead.
— from The People of the Black Circle by Robert E. (Robert Ervin) Howard - Suddenly she threw back her head, pointed her sharp muzzle to the sky, and gave voice to the long-drawn ululation which is the battle-cry of wolves.
— from The PromiseA Tale of the Great Northwest by James B. (James Beardsley) Hendryx
