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Definition of Imagery
Imagery, in any sort of writing, refers to descriptive language that engages the human senses. For instance, the following lines from Robert Frost's poem "After Apple-Picking" contain imagery that engages... read full definition
Imagery, in any sort of writing, refers to descriptive language that engages the human senses. For instance, the following lines from Robert Frost's poem "After... read full definition
Imagery, in any sort of writing, refers to descriptive language that engages the human senses. For instance, the following lines... read full definition
Section 1
Explanation and Analysis—Miss Emily's Appearance:
In the story, Miss Emily's situation is often reflected through the detailed imagery of her appearance. The narrator recalls, “When we saw her again her hair was cut short, making her look like a girl, with vague resemblance to those angels in colored church windows—sort of tragic and serene.” The comparison of Miss Emily to a girl appeals to her youth, innocence, and purity. Her father's refusal to let any man court Emily has left her as inexperienced as a girl.
Further, as hair is also symbolic of a woman's sexuality, Miss Emily cutting her hair is symbolic of her sexual deprivation. She is also compared to an angel, representing innocence and purity—similar to Miss Emily. So while there is a sense of youthfulness and girlhood to Miss Emily's appearance, there is also a counterbalance of somberness, as her sexual deprivation makes her situation tragic.
In her old age, Miss Emily's appearance is drastically changed:
They rose when she entered—a small, fat woman in black.... Her skeleton was small and spare; perhaps that was why what would have been merely plumpness in another was obesity in her. She looked bloated, like a body long submerged in motionless water, and of that pallid hue. Her eyes, lost in the fatty ridges of her face, looked like two small pieces of coal pressed into a lump of dough as they moved from one face to another while the visitors stated their errand.
The sinister and grotesque imagery used to describe Miss Emily's appearance evokes a sort of bleakness in her character. Wearing black and her body looking as if it had drowned long ago, Miss Emily is the embodiment of death. Without a marriage or any immediate family, Miss Emily is alone. Not to mention, she lies with the physical corpse of her ex-lover Homer Barron; being surrounded by death, she essentially becomes it.
Related Themes:
