Definition of Imagery
Emerson uses imagery to convey that he experiences joy in nature, even when nature is chilly and monotonous. This juxtaposition between a dismal external state and an elated internal one demonstrates that all nature, even nature typically associated with unpleasant moods, can be good for the soul:
Crossing a bare common, in snow puddles, at twilight, under a clouded sky, without having in my thoughts any occurrence of special good fortune, I have enjoyed a perfect exhilaration.
Emerson uses rich imagery to communicate the beauty of dawn that he witnesses every morning from his house:
Unlock with LitCharts A+I see the spectacle of morning from the hill-top over against my house, from day-break to sun-rise, with emotions which an angel might share. The long slender bars of cloud float like fishes in the sea of crimson light. From the earth, as a shore, I look out into that silent sea.
I seem to partake its rapid transformations: the active enchantment reaches my dust, and I dilate and conspire with the morning wind.