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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
Key Examples in Carmilla
Chapter 1
Explanation and Analysis—The Estate:
In Chapter 1, Laura uses detailed visual imagery to describe the estate on which she grows up:
The road, very old and narrow, passes in front of its drawbridge, never raised in my time, and its moat, stocked with perch, and sailed over by many swans, and floating on its surface white fleets of water lilies. Over all this the schloss shows its many-windowed front; its towers, and its Gothic chapel. The forest opens in an irregular and very picturesque glade before its gate, and at the right a steep Gothic bridge carries the road over a stream that winds in deep shadow through the wood.
Related Themes:
Chapter 2
Explanation and Analysis—The Moon:
The moon is a recurring element, or motif, in Carmilla. In literature, the moon is traditionally associated with mystery, transformation, and illumination. The moon often appears in this novella during scenes that occur at night, casting an eerie and mysterious light over the story's landscapes. The moon also enhances the setting's Gothic atmosphere, all in all contributing to the sense of foreboding and uncanniness that occurs all throughout the narrative.
Related Themes:
Chapter 4
Explanation and Analysis—The Hunchback:
The novella uses vivid visual imagery in Chapter 4 when Laura first describes the Hunchback:
Unlock with LitCharts A+He wore a pointed black beard, and he was smiling from ear to ear, showing his white fangs. He was dressed in buff, black, and scarlet, and crossed with more straps and belts than I could count, from which hung all manner of things. Behind, he carried a magic lantern, and two boxes [...] They were compounded of parts of monkeys, parrots, squirrels, fish, and hedgehogs, dried and stitched together with great neatness and startling effect. He had a fiddle, a box of conjuring apparatus, a pair of foils and masks attached to his belt, several other mysterious cases dangling about him, and a black staff with copper ferrules in his hand.
Related Themes:
