Literary notes about histrionic (AI summary)
The word histrionic in literature is multifaceted, often used to describe a performance or demeanor that is overtly theatrical and expressive. Writers employ it both to commend an actor’s or character’s remarkable emotional display and to critique excessive, even exaggerated, dramatization. For instance, it can be invoked with admiration when referring to refined stagecraft and dramatic talent ([1], [2], [3]), yet it can also carry a pejorative tone when suggesting affected or overwrought behavior ([4], [5], [6]). Its etymological roots hint at a lively, performative quality—once associated with dance and physical expression ([7])—an association that literary voices continue to exploit to emphasize the distance between genuine artistry and mere showmanship.
- So excellent was his delineation of that celebrated character that "Perry's Pete" was for a long time regarded as the climax of histrionic perfection.
— from The Wit and Humor of America, Volume X (of X) - It was an extremely effective story, especially as told by the local member in the B. C. Provincial Assembly, who had real histrionic talent.
— from Down the Columbia by Lewis R. (Lewis Ransome) Freeman - Berthelini threaded his way through the market stalls and baskets, and accosted the dignitary with a bow which was a triumph of the histrionic art.
— from New Arabian Nights by Robert Louis Stevenson - The swearing was a purely histrionic effort, but she carried it through nobly.
— from Mrs. Thompson: A Novel by W. B. (William Babington) Maxwell - She had very little of that histrionic sense that prompts people to assume a part and play it out in all seriousness.
— from The Rosie World by Parker Fillmore - Only the intensity of her emotion saved the attitude from being histrionic.
— from A Breath of Prairie and other stories by Will Lillibridge - The word histrionic is derived through the Latin from an Etruscan word which means "to leap" and was originally applied to dancers.
— from Our Stage and Its Critics By "E.F.S." of "The Westminster Gazette" by Edward Fordham Spence
