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Literary notes about sound (AI summary)

In literature, "sound" functions as a multifaceted tool that conveys both physical sensations and abstract qualities. It often depicts tangible noises—ranging from the blaring of emergency sirens that unsettle a scene [1] to the delicate sound of a heartbeat barely perceptible in silence [2]—while simultaneously suggesting movement or anticipation, as with the call to action of a bugler or bell [3, 4]. At the same time, the term embodies metaphorical dimensions, representing ideas of reliability and well-being, such as when it describes judgment, health, or philosophical solidity [5, 6, 7]. Additionally, sound is employed for its aesthetic qualities, underpinning moods with the resonant notes of a flute or the subtle lull of a peaceful sleep [8, 9], and it even enters technical arenas in discussions of phonetics and articulation [10].
  1. The air raid sirens were still blaring, and the sound of emergency vehicles' sirens as they tore down Market Street was even louder.
    — from Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
  2. He now seemed to be perfectly quiet, and we could not even distinguish the sound of his breathing upon applying our ears closely to the box.
    — from The Works of Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven Edition by Edgar Allan Poe
  3. The bugler is gone off to the Hindostan , and he is giving the sound for the other boys to turn out.
    — from Little Folks (September 1884) by Various
  4. Van Helsing had placed at hand a bell which either of them was to sound in case of any emergency.
    — from Dracula by Bram Stoker
  5. It does not seem to me to be based upon sound philosophy.
    — from The Life and Work of Susan B. Anthony (Volume 1 of 2) by Ida Husted Harper
  6. Here the sound judgment of Totski stood him in good stead.
    — from The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
  7. I alone in the beginning asked for the ballot, [17] and equality before the law for all adult citizens of sound minds, without regard to sex or color.
    — from History of Woman Suffrage, Volume I
  8. But there was one year when the sound of a flute penetrated thither.
    — from Les Misérables by Victor Hugo
  9. She lay down at once, and with Toto beside her soon fell into a sound sleep.
    — from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
  10. [Science of voice] phonology &c. (sound) 402.
    — from Roget's Thesaurus by Peter Mark Roget

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