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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 The Phantom of the Opera
Chapter 1
Explanation and Analysis—Erik's Face:
At the beginning of The Phantom of the Opera, Leroux uses visual imagery of Erik's face to create a sense of intrigue and horror. In Chapter 1, Joseph Buquet describes the "ghost," or the Phantom, as follows:
He is extraordinarily thin and his black coat hangs loosely off his skeletal frame. His eyes are so deep-set that you cannot make out his pupils: all you can see are two big black holes, as in a skull. His skin is stretched over his bone structure like a drumhead, and is not white but an ugly yellow. His nose is almost non-existent when seen sideways; and this absence is a horrible thing to behold. As for his hair, it consists of no more than three or four long dark strands on his forehead and behind his ears.
Related Themes:
Chapter 10
Explanation and Analysis—Music:
The most prominent example of imagery in The Phantom of the Opera is, of course, auditory. In Chapter 10 the narrator describes the Phantom's voice in great detail:
Unlock with LitCharts A+The disembodied voice resumed singing. Never in his life had Raoul heard a voice combining in one breath such extremes, a voice at once immensely, heroically sweet and triumphantly insidious, subtly powerful and powerfully subtle, in short a voice of irresistible potency. There was, in that singing, something definitive and masterful that must, in itself, inspire every mortal who appreciates, loves and makes music. It was a tranquil and pure fountain of harmony from which the faithful could safely and piously assuage their thirst, secure in the knowledge that they were partaking of musical grace.
Related Themes:
Chapter 12
Explanation and Analysis—The Opera House:
Although Leroux rarely provides a sweeping panorama of the opera house, he does permit insight into its specific qualities through anecdotes about Erik, Raoul, and Christine. For example, in Chapter 12, Raoul and Christine explore its labyrinthine passageways:
Unlock with LitCharts A+And she would lead him up above the clouds, to the splendid chaos of the upper flies, where she loved to make him giddy by scampering ahead of him along the flying bridges among a thousand ropes fastened to pulleys, windlasses and drums, amidst a veritable aerial forest of masts and spars.
Related Themes:
