Shirley Imagery

Shirley Imagery

A morning to charm

Nature descriptions take the main place in the story; vivid images are given by the author to depict beauty of England's natural features: “The sun even rose—at least a white disc, clear, tintless, and almost chill-looking as ice, peeped over the dark crest of a hill, changed to silver the livid edge of the cloud above it, and looked solemnly down the whole length of the den, or narrow dale” With the image, even though it is cold and chilly, the beauty of nature can be imagined by the reader.

Hortense’s look

Along with the nature images the author portrays the characters of the novel with precise details, as in Hortense Moore’s description: “She seemed a little older than Mr. Moore—perhaps she was thirty-five, tall, and proportionately stout; she had very black hair, for the present twisted up in curl-papers, a high colour in her cheeks, a small nose, a pair of little black eyes. The lower part of her face was large in proportion to the upper; her forehead was small and rather corrugated; she had a fretful though not an ill-natured expression of countenance”. The author gives visual descriptions of the other characters as well, but their inner world is to be understood by their deeds.

In the house of wealthy people

Mr. Helstone and his niece went to visit Miss Keeldar when she returned home, Entering the vestibule, this was what they saw: “Very sombre it was—long, vast, and dark; one latticed window lit it but dimly. The wide old chimney contained now no fire, for the present warm weather needed it not; it was filled instead with willow-boughs. The gallery on high, opposite the entrance, was seen but in outline, so shadowy became this hall towards its ceiling. Carved stags' heads, with real antlers, looked down grotesquely from the walls.” The image gives an impression of what a house of rich was at that time.

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