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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
Day One: Evening
Explanation and Analysis—Field Upon Field:
In Day One: Evening, Stevens finally decides to walk up the footpath suggested by the stranger. He describes what he sees at the top with imagery:
What I saw was principally field upon field rolling off into the far distance. The land rose and fell gently, and the fields were bordered by hedges and trees. There were dots in some of the distant fields which I assumed to be sheep. To my right, almost on the horizon, I thought I could see the square tower of a church.
Day Two: Morning
Explanation and Analysis—Waiting on Two:
In Day Two: Morning, Stevens describes one of his memories of serving dinner to Lord Darlington and another guest. The flashback is described with mildly ominous visual and sonic imagery:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Much of the room was in darkness, and the two gentlemen were sitting side by side midway down the table – it being much too broad to allow them to sit facing one another – within the pool of light cast by the candles on the table and the crackling hearth opposite. I decided to minimize my presence by standing in the shadows much further away […] Of course, this strategy had a distinct disadvantage in that each time I moved towards the light to serve the gentlemen, my advancing footsteps would echo long and loud before I reached the table […]
Explanation and Analysis—A Quiet Morning:
When Stevens wakes early on the second day of his journey, he describes the quiet dawn with sonic and visual imagery:
Unlock with LitCharts A+When I parted [the curtains] just a moment ago, the light outside was still very pale and something of a mist was affecting my view of the baker’s shop and chemist’s opposite. Indeed, following the street further along to where it runs over the little round-backed bridge, I could see the mist rising from the river, obscuring almost entirely one of the bridge-posts. There was not a soul to be seen, and apart from a hammering noise echoing from somewhere distant, and an occasional coughing in a room to the back of the house, there is still no sound to be heard.
Explanation and Analysis—The Hen:
In Day Two: Morning, Stevens drives slowly to Salisbury. He stops nearby because a chicken is crossing the road and won't make way for his car. He describes this incident with charming imagery and a touch of personification.
Unlock with LitCharts A+The land had become very open and flat at that point, enabling one to see a considerable distance in all directions, and the spire of Salisbury Cathedral had become visible on the skyline up ahead. […] I saw only just in time a hen crossing my path in the most leisurely manner. I brought the Ford to a halt only a foot or two from the fowl, which in turn ceased its journey […] When after a moment it had not moved, I resorted to the car horn, but this had no effect other than to make the creature commence pecking at something on the ground.
Explanation and Analysis—Sunlight and Shadows:
In Day Two: Morning, as a result of Miss Kenton's letter, Stevens reflects on the memory of his father's illness and demotion. He brings the reader vividly into the flashback with visual imagery that especially focuses on sunlight and shadows.
Unlock with LitCharts A+I can recall distinctly climbing to the second landing and seeing before me a series of orange shafts from the sunset breaking the gloom of the corridor where each bedroom door stood ajar. And as I made my way past those bedrooms, I had seen through a doorway Miss Kenton’s figure, silhouetted against a window, turn and call softly: ‘Mr Stevens, if you have a moment.’ As I entered, Miss Kenton had turned back to the window. Down below, the shadows of the poplars were falling across the lawn.
Related Themes:
Day Two: Afternoon
Explanation and Analysis—The Pond:
In Day Two: Afternoon, Stevens uses imagery to describe the pond that the former "batman" (a servant assigned to a military official) suggested he visit.
Unlock with LitCharts A+The pond is not a large one – a quarter of a mile around its perimeter perhaps – so that by stepping out to any promontory, one can command a view of its entirety. An atmosphere of great calm pervades here. Trees have been planted all around the water just closely enough to give a pleasant shade to the banks, while here and there clusters of tall reeds and bulrushes break the water’s surface and its still reflection of the sky.
Day Three: Evening
Explanation and Analysis—Village Evening:
In Day Three: Evening, Stevens's car runs out of fuel (petrol, as he calls it in his British dialect), and he explores the area on foot. He describes the beautiful but desolate English landscape around him with visual imagery:
Unlock with LitCharts A+On the other side of the gate a field sloped down very steeply so that it fell out of vision only twenty yards or so in front of me. Beyond the crest of the field, some way off in the distance – perhaps a good mile or so as the crow would fly – was a small village. I could make out through the mist a church steeple, and around about it, clusters of dark-slated roofs; here and there, wisps of white smoke were rising from chimneys.
