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Literary notes about gloomy (AI summary)

In literature, "gloomy" serves as a multifaceted descriptor that enhances both atmosphere and character emotions. It is often used to evoke an environment imbued with a sense of foreboding or desolation, as seen in the late-night silence of a magical land [1] or the dark recesses of ancient tunnels [2]. Authors also employ the term to reflect internal states, where a character’s mood mirrors the oppressive surroundings—a stern or despondent expression that hints at hidden sorrow [3, 4]. Moreover, "gloomy" frequently appears to intensify the narrative tone, whether describing the bleak austerity of a house following loss [5] or the solemn, forbidding landscape that seems almost to choke life itself [6]. This versatility makes the word an essential element in constructing narratives that resonate with a brooding emotional depth and a palpable sense of melancholy [7, 8, 9].
  1. Again there was a period of silence a silence so long and gloomy that when Mombi finally lifted the kettle from the fire it was close to midnight.
    — from The Marvelous Land of Oz by L. Frank Baum
  2. And a bright light at once illumined that dark and gloomy tunnel!
    — from A Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne
  3. 'You must never ask me that,' he said, in a gloomy voice.
    — from The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux
  4. He stared back on her with gloomy fierceness.
    — from North and South by Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell
  5. When the head of the family died, the house was gloomy and dark.
    — from Filipino Popular Tales
  6. Even when within a very short distance of the manor-house, you could see nothing of it, so thick and dark grew the timber of the gloomy wood about it.
    — from Jane Eyre: An Autobiography by Charlotte Brontë
  7. Gloomy, indeed, must have been the short day, and dull the long, long twilight, preceding such a night of intellect as his.
    — from Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens
  8. Edmond then cast his eyes scrutinizingly at the agitated and embarrassed Mercédès, and then again on the gloomy and menacing Fernand.
    — from The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas and Auguste Maquet
  9. The hall was vast and gloomy, which latter fact made it appear still more spacious.
    — from Notre-Dame de Paris by Victor Hugo

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