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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
Chapter 2
Explanation and Analysis—The Rough Texture of Work:
When Humphrey first boards the Ghost in Chapter 2, London uses imagery—in this case, imagery relating to the sense of touch—to demonstrate the contrast between Humphrey’s previously comfortable lifestyle and the daily physical discomfort experienced by the Ghost’s crew:
The terrific gong was a frying-pan, hanging on the wall, that rattled and clattered with each leap of the ship [...] Clutching the woodwork of the galley for support,—and I confess the grease with which it was scummed put my teeth on edge,—I reached across the hot cooking range to the offending utensil, unhooked it, and wedged it securely into the coal-box.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Cosmic Rebirth:
At the beginning of Chapter 2, Humphrey uses heightened imagery to describe what he sees during his near-death experience. He nearly drowns after the sinking of the Martinez, but the crew of the Ghost brings him aboard and revives him:
Unlock with LitCharts A+I seemed swinging in a mighty rhythm through orbit vastness. Sparkling points of light spluttered and shot past me. They were stars, I knew, and flaring comets, that peopled my flight among the suns. As I reached the limit of my swing and prepared to rush back on the counter swing, a great gong struck and thundered. For an immeasurable period, lapped in the rippling of placid centuries, I enjoyed and pondered my tremendous flight.
But a change grew over the face of the dream, for a dream I told myself it must be […] I gasped, caught my breath painfully, and opened my eyes.
Related Themes:
Chapter 3
Explanation and Analysis—Wolf Larsen as the Sea:
In Chapter 3, the story draws a parallel between Wolf Larsen and the sea by using vivid imagery to describe his eyes:
Unlock with LitCharts A+[Wolf Larsen's] eyes […] were of that baffling protean gray which is never twice the same; which runs through many shades and colorings like intershot silk in sunshine; which is gray, dark and light, and greenish gray, sometimes of the clear azure of the deep sea. They were eyes that masked the soul with a thousand guises, and that sometimes opened, at rare moments, and allowed it to rush up as though it were about to fare forth nakedly into the world on some wonderful adventure,—eyes that could brood with the hopeless sombreness of leaden skies; that could snap and crackle points of fire like those which sparkle from a whirling sword.
Related Themes:
Chapter 6
Explanation and Analysis—The Rough Texture of Work:
When Humphrey first boards the Ghost in Chapter 2, London uses imagery—in this case, imagery relating to the sense of touch—to demonstrate the contrast between Humphrey’s previously comfortable lifestyle and the daily physical discomfort experienced by the Ghost’s crew:
Unlock with LitCharts A+The terrific gong was a frying-pan, hanging on the wall, that rattled and clattered with each leap of the ship [...] Clutching the woodwork of the galley for support,—and I confess the grease with which it was scummed put my teeth on edge,—I reached across the hot cooking range to the offending utensil, unhooked it, and wedged it securely into the coal-box.
Related Themes:
