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Idioms
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
Chapter 7: Idyll on a Terrace
Explanation and Analysis—Among the Flowers:
In Chapter 7, in which María Clara and Ibarra have an "idyllic" conversation on the porch of Tiago's house, María Clara enters into a memory of their childhood together. The description of this memory includes physical imagery that helps characterize both María Clara and Ibarra when they were young:
We were still children; your mother would take us to swim in that creek in the shade of the sugarcane. So many flowers and plants grew on the banks, and you would recite their names to me in Latin and Castilian [...]. I was more interested in chasing the butterflies and dragonflies that hold in their bodies as fine as thread all the colors of the rainbow and the prisms of mother-of-pearl, which would swarm and pursue one another among the flowers.
Chapter 16: Sisa
Explanation and Analysis—Less from Coquetry:
Sisa is one of the most sympathetic characters in the novel, as a poor young mother who longs to keep her family together. In Chapter 16, which is named for Sisa, the narrator describes her as she waits morosely for her sons, Crispin and Basilio, to return from work at the church. The description includes visual imagery that helps to describe the woman and her life's history:
Unlock with LitCharts A+She was young then and must have been beautiful and charming. Her eyes, which her soul bestowed on her sons, were handsome and deep, with long lashes. Her nose was straight, her pale lips like a beautiful drawing, as the Tagologs say, kayumanging-kaligátan, which means brown, but a clean, pure shade. Despite her youth, her cheeks were drawn, from hardship and hunger, perhaps. Her abundant hair in other times enhanced her elegance and beauty. Now if it stays combed it is less from coquetry than habit: a simple bun, without pins or combs.
Chapter 40: Right and Might
Explanation and Analysis—Eyes Like These:
There is a large theatrical performance in San Diego in Chapter 40, attended by many in the town. While everyone else watches the show, Salví stares at María Clara. The narrator describes how Salví morosely stares at his love, and the appearance of his face is described using imagery:
Unlock with LitCharts A+They were all eyes and ears, except Father Salví. He seemed to have come only to look at María Clara, whose melancholy gave her beauty such an ideal and interesting tone that one had to view it with enchantment. But the Franciscan's eyes, sunk deep in their sockets, did not say enchantment. In the somber expression one read something desperately sad. With eyes like these, from so far away, Cain would contemplate Paradise, while his mother described its delights.
Related Themes:
