Both Uses of
poignant
in
Ethan Frome
- Such tastes and acquirements in a man of his condition made the contrast more poignant between his outer situation and his inner needs
Chpt Open *poignant = sharp or intense
- When she said to him once: "It looks just as if it was painted!" it seemed to Ethan that the art of definition could go no farther, and that words had at last been found to utter his secret soul.... As he stood in the darkness outside the church these memories came back with the poignancy of vanished things.†
Chpt 1poignancy = deep emotional impact
Definition:
sharp or intense -- typically arousing deep emotion such as sadness, but possibly having or creating a sharp smell, taste, or insight