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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
Part 5
Explanation and Analysis—The Garden After Matthäus:
After Phyllis chooses to stay in England (and Matthäus leaves for Germany), she becomes increasingly morose. The only reason that she chose to stay was to honor her engagement to Humphrey, and, as she learns, Humphrey has already married someone else. The narrator captures Phyllis’s deep longing for Matthäus as she walks through the garden where they spent their time, using a hyperbole and imagery in the process:
The spot at the bottom of the garden where she had been accustomed to climb the wall to meet Matthäus, was the only inch of English ground in which she took any interest; and in spite of the disagreeable haze prevailing she walked out there till she reached the well-known corner. Every blade of grass was weighted with little liquid globes, and slugs and snails had crept out upon the plots. She could hear the usual faint noises from the camp, and in the other direction the trot of farmers on the road to the town, for it was market-day.
The hyperbole here—in which the narrator states that the garden contains “the only inch of English ground in which she took any interest”—uses exaggerated language to communicate just how much Phyllis misses Matthäus. It's unlikely that this is the only inch of the whole country that interests Phyllis, but it feels this way because it's the only place she ever spent time with the German soldier.
The imagery here includes sensory descriptions like “Every blade of grass was weighted with little liquid globes” and “She could hear the usual faint noises from the camp.” Readers can also visualize the “disagreeable haze” and hear “the trot of farmers on the road” indicating it was market-day. This moment in which Phyllis is able to see and hear the world around her demonstrates how she comes alive in the place where she fell in love with Matthäus. At the same time, the “disagreeable” nature of the haze and the way that the grass is “weighed” down suggests that Phyllis is still holding a lot of frustration and grief about the loss of her love.
Related Themes:
