Literary notes about unspeakable (AI summary)
The term “unspeakable” has long served as a literary device to evoke sensations and states that transcend ordinary description. In some texts, it conjures images of horrifying, ineffable terror—as seen in H. G. Wells’s portrayal of indescribable monstrosities [1] and the grim degradation of humanity [2]—while in others it celebrates transcendent positive experiences, such as the ecstatic joy of battle [3] or the ineffable bliss in moments of farewell [4, 5]. Authors like Thomas Carlyle [6, 7] and Edgar Allan Poe [8, 9] harness the word to articulate extreme emotions that defy easy encapsulation, whether those are passions of rapture or depths of despair. Overall, “unspeakable” is deployed with a remarkable flexibility, highlighting both sublime wonder and abject horror, and lending a sense of boundlessness to experiences that cannot be confined by mere words.
- He stared before him at unspeakable things.
— from The Country of the Blind, and Other Stories by H. G. Wells - All our interest, however, is centered on the Yahoos, a frightful race, having the form and appearance of men, but living in unspeakable degradation.
— from English Literature by William J. Long - And thus the first battle ended to the unspeakable joy of all the spectators.
— from Gargantua and Pantagruel by François Rabelais - But an hour later he saw something which filled his heart with bliss unspeakable.
— from The Luck of Roaring Camp and Other Tales by Bret Harte - The two lovers gazed at each other's faces in unspeakable bliss.
— from The Luck of Roaring Camp and Other Tales by Bret Harte - Nature seemed to this man also divine; unspeakable, deep as Tophet, high as Heaven; "We are such stuff as Dreams are made of!"
— from On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in History by Thomas Carlyle - As in flame and lightning, it stands written there; awful, unspeakable, ever present to him.
— from On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in History by Thomas Carlyle - And think of me!—think of my trusting love And confidence—his vows—my ruin—think—think Of my unspeakable misery!—begone!
— from The Works of Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven Edition by Edgar Allan Poe - But why shall I minutely detail the unspeakable horrors of that night?
— from The Works of Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven Edition by Edgar Allan Poe