The Open Window

by Saki

The Open Window: Imagery 1 key example

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—Haunting Images:

As the narrator tells the reader in the final sentence of "The Open Window," Vera's speciality is "romance at short notice." As soon as she understands that Mr. Nuttel does not know anything about her family, she jumps on the opportunity to make up a story that will stir up his already frail nerves. While Vera tells the story, it appears to be a tragedy. As the plot unfolds, however, her words turn into a ghost story. One of the elements that makes Vera's story so evocative is her clever employment of imagery to draw Mr Nuttel in.

"Out through that window, three years ago to a day, her husband and her two young brothers went off for their day's shooting. They never came back. In crossing the moor to their favourite snipe-shooting ground they were all three engulfed in a treacherous piece of bog."