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Hyperbole
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 Portrait of a Lady
Chapter 10
Explanation and Analysis—All-American Henrietta:
Near the beginning of the novel, Isabel tries to explain to Ralph why she is so drawn to her friend Henrietta, using imagery and personification in the process:
“I like the great country stretching away beyond the rivers and across the prairies, blooming and smiling, and spreading till it stops at the green Pacific! A strong, sweet, fresh odour seems to rise from it, and Henrietta—pardon my simile—has something of that odour in her garments.”
[...]
“I’m not sure the Pacific’s so green as that,” [Ralph] said; “but you’re a young woman of imagination. Henrietta, however, does smell of the Future—it almost knocks one down!”
Related Themes:
Chapter 12
Explanation and Analysis—Lord Warburton's Love:
When Lord Warburton proposes to Isabel, the narrator captures the intensity of his feelings for the young American woman using imagery and a simile:
Unlock with LitCharts A+“I don’t make mistakes about such things; I’m a very judicious animal. I don’t go off easily, but when I’m touched, it’s for life. It’s for life, Miss Archer, it’s for life,” Lord Warburton repeated in the kindest, tenderest, pleasantest voice Isabel had ever heard, and looking at her with eyes charged with the light of a passion that had sifted itself clear of the baser parts of emotion—the heat, the violence, the unreason—and that burned as steadily as a lamp in a windless place.
Related Themes:
Chapter 33
Explanation and Analysis—Like a Rudderless Vessel:
After Ralph learns that Isabel is going to marry Osmond, the narrator captures Ralph’s despair using a simile and imagery:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Ralph was shocked and humiliated; his calculations had been false and the person in the world in whom he was most interested was lost. He drifted about the house like a rudderless vessel in a rocky stream, or sat in the garden of the palace on a great cane chair, his long legs extended, his head thrown back and his hat pulled over his eyes. He felt cold about the heart; he had never liked anything less.
Related Themes:
Chapter 50
Explanation and Analysis—Dusty Pansy:
Near the end of the novel, Osmond explains to Isabel why he wants to send Pansy back to the Swiss convent where she spent much of her childhood, using imagery in the process:
Unlock with LitCharts A+“One’s daughter should be fresh and fair; she should be innocent and gentle. With the manners of the present time she is liable to become so dusty and crumpled. Pansy’s a little dusty, a little dishevelled; she has knocked about too much. This bustling, pushing rabble that calls itself society—one should take her out of it occasionally. Convents are very quiet, very convenient, very salutary. I like to think of her there, in the old garden, under the arcade, among those tranquil virtuous women.”
Related Themes:
