Previous
Genre
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—Nature and the Sky:
Miss Brill uses lyrical imagery to describe the park she visits every week:
"Although it was so brilliantly fine – the blue sky powdered with gold and great spots of light like white wine splashed over the Jardins Publiques – Miss Brill was glad that she had decided on her fur."
The language in this passage, which occurs at the beginning of the story, is eloquent and flowery. Allusions to expensive items, like "gold" and "wine," give the public park a sense of outsized luxury, underscoring the fact that a weekly outing here is one of the few indulgences within Miss Brill's reach. This passage also connects the weather to her fur collar, a treasured object through which she asserts her dignity.
However, Miss Brill's enthusiastic descriptions of the park contrast with her unglamorous situation and the social isolation that becomes more apparent as the story progresses. By focusing on beautiful descriptions of external things, Miss Brill can convince herself that she's having a good time, while deflecting attention — her own and the reader's — away from her actual emotional state.
As the story progresses, the emotional concerns Miss Brill refuses to acknowledge begin to inflect the imagery she uses. After describing the people around her as "odd, silent, nearly all old," Miss Brill looks past the bandstand and sees:
"[...] the slender trees with yellow leaves down drooping, and through them just a line of sea [...]"
It's significant that Miss Brill notices the yellow leaves, soon to drop off the tree and die, right after describing her elderly neighbors. Miss Brill won't explicitly address her own fears about aging or the fact that she has much in common with the people she disparages. However, those concerns make their way into the imagery that conveys her ostensibly positive feelings about the park outing.
When Miss Brill retreats home after being insulted, the story abandons this kind of imagery, instead describing the protagonist's journey in spare, austere prose. Once the rude young couple makes Miss Brill's marginal social position and lack of community evident, beautiful language can no longer obscure her painful reality.
Related Themes:
