Literary notes about voice (AI summary)
The word “voice” in literature functions on multiple levels, serving both as a literal sound and as a vehicle for emotional or symbolic expression. Authors use voice to reveal a character’s feelings or to evoke an atmosphere—for instance, Margaret’s “constrained voice” in [1] suggests emotional limitation, while Nietzsche’s depiction of a voiceless utterance in [2] hints at otherworldly command. At times, voice helps differentiate characters, as when Stevenson’s Utterson distinguishes Jekyll from Hyde by noticing the change in tone [3], and sometimes it carries a metaphorical weight, such as its role in silencing groups or representing authority in political contexts [4]. Across diverse genres, voice becomes not merely a sound but a nuanced marker of identity, mood, and style.
- Was it law business connected with the property?' asked Margaret, in a constrained voice.
— from North and South by Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell - Then was there spoken unto me without voice: “THOU KNOWEST IT, ZARATHUSTRA?”—
— from Thus Spake Zarathustra: A Book for All and None by Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche - “Ah, that’s not Jekyll’s voice—it’s Hyde’s!” cried Utterson.
— from The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson - Women are not represented in our legislative halls; they have no voice in selecting those who make laws
— from History of Woman Suffrage, Volume I
