Twilight has three common definitions. The first is as ‘The soft glowing light from the sky when the sun is below the horizon, caused by the refraction and scattering of the sun’s rays from the atmosphere’. The second definition is: ‘The period of evening during which this period of soft glowing light takes place, between daylight and darkness’. However, Twilight can also be defined as a state of being that the dictionary calls ‘A period or state of obscurity, ambiguity, or gradual decline’. ‘Twilight’ is also the name of a series of extremely popular books by Stephanie Meyer and the first book in the series is also called ‘Twilight’.
The first two dictionary definitions, which are the literal meanings of the word ‘twilight’, refer to a time of day, between light and darkness or day and night, and are similar in meaning to the work ‘dusk’.
However, the word ‘twilight’ has taken on a metaphorical significance, as can be seen with the third dictionary definition, in which the ‘day’ or the ‘light’ refers to a period of exuberance, purpose and achievement and the ‘night’ or the ‘dark’ refers to an absence of all these qualities and a sense of loss of potency or meaning. ‘Twilight’ is used to describe the time between these two figurative states and to highlight the transition from the period of promise and vibrancy to that of worthlessness and inertia.
The ‘Twilight Saga’ is a series of fantasy books, aimed predominantly at teenage girls but proving popular with many other demographics, that has become a worldwide publishing phenomenon and has since been turned into a movie series, making stars of its cast. The series follows the life of a teenage girl Bella, as she becomes engulfed in a fantasy world of vampires and werewolves but the underlying theme of the book is Bella’s angst-filled romantic deliberations and hence the magical backdrop is actually secondary to the plot.
The first two dictionary definitions, which are the literal meanings of the word ‘twilight’, refer to a time of day, between light and darkness or day and night, and are similar in meaning to the work ‘dusk’.
However, the word ‘twilight’ has taken on a metaphorical significance, as can be seen with the third dictionary definition, in which the ‘day’ or the ‘light’ refers to a period of exuberance, purpose and achievement and the ‘night’ or the ‘dark’ refers to an absence of all these qualities and a sense of loss of potency or meaning. ‘Twilight’ is used to describe the time between these two figurative states and to highlight the transition from the period of promise and vibrancy to that of worthlessness and inertia.
The ‘Twilight Saga’ is a series of fantasy books, aimed predominantly at teenage girls but proving popular with many other demographics, that has become a worldwide publishing phenomenon and has since been turned into a movie series, making stars of its cast. The series follows the life of a teenage girl Bella, as she becomes engulfed in a fantasy world of vampires and werewolves but the underlying theme of the book is Bella’s angst-filled romantic deliberations and hence the magical backdrop is actually secondary to the plot.
