Imagery Definition

What is imagery? Here’s a quick and simple 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
Apple-Picking" contain imagery that engages the senses
of touch, movement, and hearing: "I feel the ladder sway
as the boughs bend. / And I keep hearing from the cellar
bin / The rumbling sound / Of load on load of apples
coming in."

Types of Imagery
There are five main types of imagery, each related to one
of the human senses:

Visual imagery (sight)

Auditory imagery (hearing)
Olfactory imagery (smell)
Gustatory imagery (taste)
Tactile imagery (touch)
Some people may also argue that imagery can be
kinesthetic (related to movement) or organic (related to
sensations within the body). Writers may focus
descriptions in a particular passage on primarily one type
of imagery, or multiple types of imagery.

A DAY IN THE COUNTRY

Characters
1. Terenty: The cobbler
2. Fyokla: a little girl and sister of Danilka
3. Danilka: Brother of Fyokla
4. Silanty Silitch: The sacristan

Introduction
‘A Day in the Country’ is written by Chekhov. It pays
homage to an unsung hero, a homeless cobbler whose
name is Terenty. At the beginning of the story a beggar
girl named Fyokla, who is 6 years old comes running
through a village. The village is preparing for an
approaching storm.
She addresses everyone as “uncle”. She is searching for a
particular person. She finally finds Terenty in the kitchen
garden. He is a “tall old man with a thin, pock-marked
face, very long legs, and bare feet, dressed in a woman’s
tattered jacket”. He does not look like a hero.

Summary
The storm was coming
This story is set in a Russian village, where the people
live in huts. They work in the kitchen gardens, vegetable
plots, and till the fields. There is a community barn, where
they store corn. The two children Fyokla and Danilka are
orphans and beggars. They live in a community barn.
Danilka is an eight-year-old boy, with red hair and a pale
sickly face whereas Terenty is a tall old man, with a thin
pock-marked face, very long legs, and bare feet, dressed
in a women’s jacket.
There was going to be a storm in the village. Big clouds
cover the Sun, lightning flashes. As we all know, lightning
occurs during a storm. It is usually followed by thunder.
The wind blows heavily, bends the trees, and stirs up the
dust. It was going to rain.

Danilka’s hand gets stuck

On the same day, the children, Fyokla and Danilka go to a
nearby forest. They see Cuckoo’s eggs in the hole of a
tree. When Fyokla asks for the eggs. Danilka puts his
hand into the hole, to get the egg out of the hole for his
sister. Unfortunately, his hand gets stuck in the hole and
he can’t get it out.
Seeing that, Fyokla gets scared. She goes running into the
village in search of Terenty, who could help the oy get his
hand out of the tree. She asks everyone she meets about
Terenty but no one seemed to be willing to answer They
take no notice of her, as they are busy taking shelter from
the approaching storm. At last, she meets Silanty Silitch,
the sacristan, who is a friend of Terenty. He says that
Terenty is in the kitchen- gardens.
Fyokla runs towards the kitchen gardens. She finds him
standing near the vegetable plots. He looked drowsy and
swayed in the wind like a songbird with a straight beak.
The little girl grabs his coat and asks him to come along
with her to help her brother out. When Terenty asks about
what happened to her brother, she tells him how Danilka
stuck his hand into a hole in a lime tree.
Terenty rushes to help Danilka
Terenty gets upset and rushes out to help the boy. He
walks very fast. Fyokla can hardly keep up with him. The
forest was about a mile and a half away. It was growing
dark because of the big clouds in the sky.
They take the dusty road that leads off into the forest.
When it starts raining the little girl gets scared. Terenty
assures her, that it doesn’t harm a little kid like her. He
tells her that trees are fed by the rain. The little girl was
being taught to not be worried even if they get soaked in
the rain. Because, soon after the clouds disappear, they
shall be dry again just like the grass and earth.

While walking through the forest during a rainstorm,

there is a big flash of lightning which is followed by
thunder. It seems to Fyokla as if the lightning splitting the
sky. This time, Fyokla is even more scared. Then Terenty
Tries to pacify her by saying that it won’t hurt a little
thing like her.
Terenty hurries down the road with long strides. His feet
are covered with lumps of heavy, wet clay. It is slippery
and difficult to walk. He stumbles over stumps which
makes his pace slow. At last, they go into the count’s
corpse. Fyokla points to Danilka, who stands leaning
against a tree looking sideways at the sky.

The long way back home teaches a lot to the kids

Hearing footsteps and seeing the cobbler, Danilka gives a
sickly smile. Terenty helps the boy by snapping off the
broken piece of wood from the edge of the hole and
pulling out his hand. Rubbing his red crushed hand,
Danilka asks Terenty about what makes it thunder.
Terenty also doesn’t mind answering his question. He
says it happens when one cloud runs against the other.
They came out of the corpse.
On their way back, they see a lot of things. Danilka tells
him about the ducks, which flew by there the other day.
He says, they must be nesting in the Gniliya Zaimishtcha
marshes. Danilka asks Fyokla if she wants him to show
her the nightingale’s nest. But, Terenty prevents them
from touching the nest in order not to disturb the bird,
who has had a voice given in his throat, to praise God and
gladden the heart of man.
Gradually, the clouds disappear. They see a bright patch
of blue in the sky. That means, now they can see the
beauty in nature. They walk through the fields towards the
river. Danilka points to the swarm of bees on a branch of
a young Oaktree. Terenty tells them that a swarm of bees
could be settled by water.
He teaches them that Bees hideout in the beehive when it
rains hard. Because, if the raindrops are really big, they
can break a bee’s wing. He tells them that when the bees
are settled, they can even collect the whole swarm of bees
by bending and shaking branches into a sack. Danilka
looked at his sister’s neck and notices a big swelling on it.
Terenty laughs, looking at Fyokla rubbing her neck
vigorously. He tells her that a sting of a Spanish fly can
cause swelling.

Now, there are no threatening clouds. The sun is shining

brightly. They are walking through the fields. Terenty
shows them the plants and flowers that spread the
fragrance. He tells them of the herb, which is used to cure
nose bleeding.
Terenty was a knowledgeable man
The children watch a train passing by their village. They
ask Terenty, how could a train run without the help of
horses. He says, that trains produce their pulling power
through a steam engine. He explains, that trains are
fuelled by burning materials like coal, and wood to
produce steam. They cross the railway line and walk
through the fields aimlessly. The children never stop
asking doubts. Terenty loves the children, so he clarifies
all the doubts of the children very patiently.
Terenty is a knowledgeable man. He knows the herbs cure
diseases, looking at the sunset, at the moon, or the birds,
he can tell what sort of weather it would be the next day.
Terenty knows the names of all the wildflowers, animals,
and stones. He knows everything and he is so wise. Not
only Terenty, but all the villagers are also wise as Terenty
is. Although they are not literate, they have learned all
these things from their experiences with nature. Nature is
their teacher.

It is the spring season. Being washed by the rain, the trees

and fields are looking fresher and greener. The fields are
so pleasant, full of fragrance. We all know, that being in
nature reduces anxiety and stress and increases our
attention. Enjoying the beauty of nature, the boy becomes
more curious to learn many things from Terenty.
Terenty loves and cares about the children
The two of them, the cobbler and the boy walkabout
fields talking unceasingly and tirelessly. They are
engrossed in their talk of the beauty of the earth. They do
not notice the weak little girl tripping after them. She was
so tired that she couldn’t catch up with them. Towards
midday, they take a walk along the river. They sit on the
riverbank and eat the bread, Terenty says a prayer and
falls asleep on the riverbank. But the boy does not sleep.
He thinks about everything he has seen. The storms, the
bees, the ants, the train, fishes in the river. He thinks
about their appearance, size, how they move, what they
eat, etc.
They wander in the fields all day, till it gets dark, Fyokla
and Danilka enjoy spending time with nature and learning
many things from Terenty. Thus, they spend “A Day in the
Country”. They return to the village by late evening.
Terenty leaving the barn goes back to the tavern. The
children lie down on the straw. Fyokla falls asleep quickly
because she gets so tired. The boy does not sleep as he
can’t help but think about what he had seen in the day.
Danilka was excited and exhausted after long hours of
thinking.
He didn’t know why he was thinking so deeply. Fyokla
was too young to explain what was happening to him so
he asks Terenty. Terenty comes back after the children fall
asleep, He puts the bread under their heads and prays for
them. It shows how much love he has for the children.
Though they are not his children, he is so fond of them.
He always does the best for children. His love for the
children was unconditional, just like the nature of
mankind.

Conclusion
This lesson is about two children and a cobbler named
Terenty who teaches them valuable lessons about nature.
No matter, how much ever we know about nature, still
there is so much scope for us to learn about nature.
Because nature is more than just a place we can visit
during our holidays or weekends. Nature is the art of God.