Both Uses of
poignant
in
The Age of Innocence
- On the evening in question the little scene acquired an added poignancy by reminding him—he could not have said why—of his leave-taking from Madame Olenska after their confidential talk a week or ten days earlier.†
Chpt 13 *
- The idea that he could ever, in his senses, have dreamed of marrying the Countess Olenska had become almost unthinkable, and she remained in his memory simply as the most plaintive and poignant of a line of ghosts.†
Chpt 21
Definition:
-
(poignant) sharp or intense -- typically arousing deep emotion such as sadness, but possibly having or creating a sharp smell, taste, or insight