The term "nocturne" in literature often carries a dual life: it denotes a musical composition imbued with qualities of introspection and nighttime melancholy, while also serving as a metaphor for artistic moods and evocative scenes. It is frequently used to refer to specific pieces—such as those by Chopin—in which the musical line, soft and languorous, mimics the quiet of the night ([1], [2], [3]). At the same time, the word appears in discussions of art and narrative, capturing a sensuous interplay of color and tone or a fleeting, reflective moment, whether describing an image rich in subdued shades or evoking a gentle, wistful atmosphere ([4], [5], [6]). In dialogue and narrative passages, asking for a nocturne often becomes a shorthand for summoning that very mood of delicate introspection and timeless beauty ([7], [8]).
- Or, if you haven't got that perfect, you might give us Chopin's 'Nocturne in E flat.'
— from The Weird Adventures of Professor Delapine of the Sorbonne by G. Lindsay (George Lindsay) Johnson
- The Nocturne in D-flat, opus 27, No. 2, is very often played.
— from The Masters and Their Music
A series of illustrative programs with biographical,
esthetical, and critical annotations by W. S. B. (William Smythe Babcock) Mathews
- From the interior of the house floated the soulful strains of a Chopin nocturne.
— from The Easiest Way: A Story of Metropolitan Life by Eugene Walter
- The nocturne in black and gold has not the merit of the other two pictures, and it would be impossible to call it a serious work of art.
— from The Gentle Art of Making Enemies by James McNeill Whistler
- 67 Nocturne in Gray and Gold: Chelsea, Snow 72 Nocturne in Blue and Silver 75 Lady in Gray Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum, New York.
— from The Whistler Book
A Monograph of the Life and Position in Art of James McNeill Whistler, Together with a Careful Study of His More Important Works by Sadakichi Hartmann
- This nocturne of silver and gray and blue at once soothed and intoxicated his imagination.
— from The Call of the Cumberlands by Charles Neville Buck
- Go back and give me the nocturne over again.
— from The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
- Play me a nocturne, Dorian, and, as you play, tell me, in a low voice, how you have kept your youth.
— from The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde