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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
Imagery
Explanation and Analysis—Nikolai’s Vision:
In the midst of Ivan’s long monologue about his brother Nikolai’s longing for wealth, Ivan uses imagery, as seen in the following passage:
“My brother Nikolai, sitting in his office, dreamed of how he would eat his own shchi, the savory smell of which would fill the whole yard, eat on the green grass, sleep in the sun, spend whole hours sitting outside the gate on a bench, gazing at the fields and woods […] [I]n his head he pictured garden paths, flowers, fruit, birdhouses, carp in the pond—you know, all that stuff.”
The imagery here helps readers viscerally experience the sort of life that Nikolai (who was born and raised working-class) longed for. Readers can smell the “savory smell” of shchi (a traditional Russian soup), feel the sun on them as they sleep outside in the green grass of this hypothetical estate, and visualize the “garden paths, flowers, fruit, birdhouses, carp in the pond.”
All of this imagery combines to help readers understand why Nikolai toiled tirelessly for two decades at a menial job in the city and even went as far as marrying (and starving to death) a wealthy older woman to inherit her money. He wasn’t interested in wealth for wealth’s sake but wanted to feel closer to nature, the way he did as a child when he lived in the country (but this time having full control of the land on which he lived). While Ivan may judge his brother for his obsession with wealth, these descriptions help readers understand that Nikolai’s desire for land comes from a very understandable and human place.
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Explanation and Analysis—Dry and Warm:
After Ivan, Alekhin, and Burkin swim and bathe at Alekhin’s estate (after a long day outdoors), they go inside and get comfortable. Chekhov captures this scene using imagery, as seen in the following passage:
They went back to the house. And only when the lamp was lit in the big drawing room upstairs, and Burkin and Ivan Ivanych, in silk dressing gowns and warm slippers, were sitting in armchairs, and Alekhin himself, washed, combed, in a new frock coat, was pacing about the drawing room, obviously enjoying the feeling of warmth, cleanness, dry clothes, light shoes.
In this passage, Chekhov engages readers’ sense of touch and sight to bring them more fully into the scene. He helps readers feel the “silk dressing gowns and warm slippers,” as well as “the feeling of warmth, cleanness, dry clothes, light shoes.” The descriptions of the lit lamps in the drawing room—as well as the specifics of the men’s attire—helps readers visualize the scene.
The imagery here communicates that the three men are enjoying the comforts that come with Alekhin’s wealth, such as silk dressing gowns, armchairs, and a large drawing room (not to mention his beautiful maid Pelageya who waits on them). While Ivan later lambastes his brother Nikolai’s obsession with wealth in a long monologue, it is clear here that he enjoys the benefits of wealth himself.
Related Themes:
