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Hyperbole
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—The Charm of Weatherend:
Visual imagery enriches the narrator's description of Weatherend in Chapter 1:
The charm, happily, was in other things too—partly in there being scarce a spot at Weatherend without something to stay behind for. It was in the way the autumn day looked into the high windows as it waned; the way the red light, breaking at the close from under a low sombre sky, reached out in a long shaft and played over old wainscots, old tapestry, old gold, old colour.
The charm of the old estate lies in how it looks, how its windows frame an autumn day, and how the red light of a sunset appear from the house. In this passage, the repetition of the word "old" conditions the shape and color of the objects in the passage: "old wainscots, old tapestry, old gold, old colour." These images make the scene feel very romantic and luxurious. Marcher revels in the grand building and enjoys the fact that there is always "something to stay behind for" that makes the viewer pause and admire its old charm.
The Beast in the Jungle does not contain a lot of visual imagery, as it tends to focus on psychological descriptions and dialogue between May and Marcher, but the moments that do contain imagery help ground the story in reality and here give the reader a sense of Weatherend's grandeur. This initial chapter contains a profusion of visual imagery that enlivens the narrator's descriptions of the Weatherend estate while subtly suggesting the story's time period and demonstrating that Marcher has the capacity to appreciate some kinds of beauty.
Related Themes:
Imagery
Explanation and Analysis—May in April:
The most striking example of visual imagery in the novella appears in Chapter 4. Just before the story's climax, the narrator describes an elderly May sitting next to an empty hearth:
He had gone in late to see her, but evening hadn’t settled and she was presented to him in that long fresh light of waning April days which affects us often with a sadness sharper than the greyest hours of autumn. The week had been warm, the spring was supposed to have begun early, and May Bartram sat, for the first time in the year, without a fire[...] Her own aspect—he could scarce have said why—intensified this note. Almost as white as wax, with the marks and signs in her face as numerous and as fine as if they had been etched by a needle, with soft white draperies relieved by a faded green scarf on the delicate tone of which the years had further refined[...]
Color and light imagery abound in this passage. Phrases like "long fresh light of waning April days," "greyest hours of autumn," "white as wax," and "faded green scarf" all illuminate the scene and make it easier to visualize. Shape and texture also become apparent in phrases such as "marks and signs in her face," and "etched by a needle." The tactile imagery of "soft white draperies" completes the picture in the reader's mind. In this moment, the overall impression is one of softness, delicateness, and fragility, which are all good descriptors for May's waning life force. They also serve to romanticize the passage and make it more dramatic.
Most importantly, though, this emphatic use of imagery focuses the reader's attention on May right before she delivers her final words to Marcher. Visual and tactile imagery combine to cultivate an intense focus upon the scene ahead. Whereas the previous chapters begin with circuitous free indirect speech, this one abruptly begins "one afternoon" and refers to very specific characteristics of the space that May inhabits. This is a subtle way for the author to emphasize an important moment in a beautiful way.
Related Themes:
