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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
Book 1, Chapter 1
Explanation and Analysis—Like Children After Baths:
In Book 1, Chapter 1, the reader is introduced to Rosemary for the first time through metaphor, simile, and imagery:
[...] her daughter, who had magic in her pink palms and her cheeks lit to a lovely flame, like the thrilling flush of children after their cold baths in the evening. Her fine high forehead sloped gently up to where her hair, bordering it like an armorial shield, burst into lovelocks and waves and curlicues of ash blonde and gold. Her eyes were bright, big, clear, wet, and shining, the color of her cheeks was real[...]
The almost excessive glut of figurative language underscores Rosemary's youth and beauty above all else. "Cheeks lit to a lovely flame" is a metaphor, with Fitzgerald describing the red blush of her cheeks as bright and flame-like. Light connotes youth and innocence throughout Tender is the Night, and this connotation begins in the very first description of Rosemary. Indeed, Rosemary's blushing cheeks and palms are described with a simile as akin to "the thrilling flush of children after their cold baths in the evening." Comparing Rosemary to an even younger child in a moment—bath time—that is synonymous with childhood keeps youth and innocence at the forefront of Fitzgerald's description.
The fact that Rosemary's hair borders her forehead "like an armorial shield" makes her physical features protective of her, a coat of arms that advertises who she is to the world while also shielding her from harm. This simile not only highlights Rosemary's beauty but also suggests that her good looks protect her from the world: considering that they attract people like Dick Diver, how protective those looks really are is up for debate.
There is also imagery throughout the description of Rosemary's physical appearance, mostly centered on what she looks like. For example, her hair is full of "lovelocks and waves and curlicues of ash blonde and gold," while her "eyes were bright, big, clear, wet, and shining." Fitzgerald paints a vivid picture of Rosemary's intense beauty which, non-coincidentally, shines bright like a light. Rosemary's nearly irresistible beauty, as well as her youthful appearance, is an important facet of her character that is immediately established through multiple instances of figurative language.
Related Themes:
Book 2, Chapter 7
Explanation and Analysis—A Promising Colt:
Fitzgerald describes Nicole with rich and vivid imagery in Book 2, Chapter 7:
Her face, ivory gold against the blurred sunset that strove through the rain, had a promise Dick had never seen before: the high cheekbones, the faintly wan quality, cool rather than feverish, was reminiscent of the frame of a promising colt—a creature whose life did not promise to be only a projection of youth upon a greyer screen, but instead a true growing; the face would be handsome in middle life; it would be handsome in old age [...].
The entire quotation is one long sentence full of imagery describing Nicole's face as Dick meets up with her at the sanitarium. From the "ivory gold against the blurred sunset," to the "high cheekbones, the faintly wan quality, cool rather than feverish," Fitzgerald describes what Nicole's face looks like in a myriad of ways. Nicole is also compared to a "promising colt," or a young horse, not through metaphor or simile but rather through an analogy.
The imagery and analogy are significant not just because they describe Nicole as strikingly beautiful, but because they describe Nicole antithetically to Rosemary. Rosemary is first described as having "cheeks lit to a lovely flame" and "flushed" and more generally is described as full of light. Nicole, meanwhile, is "cool rather than feverish." While Rosemary is described as the epitome of youth and innocence, Nicole will not "be only a projection of youth upon a greyer screen, but instead a true growing," i.e., she will not be young forever but will be beautiful as she ages. The imagery then evidences the fact that Dick's desire for Rosemary is a desire for youth and innocence in particular; although Nicole will remain beautiful as she ages, she will age nonetheless.
Related Themes:
