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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
Key Examples in The Postmaster
Imagery
Explanation and Analysis—Soft Hands and Bangles:
When the torrential rain leads the Postmaster to fall ill, the narrator captures the Postmaster’s longing for his family using imagery:
He felt in need of comfort, ill and miserable as he was, in this isolated place, the rain pouring down. He remembered the touch on his forehead of soft hands, conch-shell bangles. He wished his mother or sister were sitting here next to him, soothing his illness and loneliness with feminine tenderness. And his longings did not stay unfulfilled. The young girl Ratan was a young girl no longer.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—The Rain:
As the Postmaster is settling into his life in Ulapur, the narrator captures the changing weather using imagery:
Unlock with LitCharts A+During the month of Srābaṇ, the rain was continuous. Ditches, pits and channels filled to overflowing with water. The croaking of frogs and the patter of rain went on day and night. It was virtually impossible to get about on foot – one had to go to market by boat. One day it rained torrentially from dawn.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Evening in Ulapur:
Near the beginning of the story, the narrator uses imagery to set the scene, describing what evenings in the village of Ulapur are like:
Unlock with LitCharts A+In the evenings, when smoke curled up from the village cowsheds, crickets grated in the bushes, a band of intoxicated Baul singers in a far village sang raucously to drums and cymbals, and even a poet if seated alone on a dark verandah might have shuddered a little at the trembling leaves, the postmaster would go inside, light a dim lamp in a corner of the room and call for Ratan.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Earth's Breath:
As the Postmaster is settling into his life in rural Ulapur, the narrator describes the climate of the town using imagery and personification:
Unlock with LitCharts A+It was a fine afternoon in the rainy season. The breeze was softly warm; there was a smell of sunshine on wet grass and leaves. Earth’s breath—hot with fatigue—seemed to brush against the skin.
Related Themes:
