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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
Chapter 18
Explanation and Analysis—El Dorado:
Voltaire employs rich imagery in his depiction of the fabled city of El Dorado in South America:
While waiting they were shown the city, and saw the public edifices raised as high as the clouds, the market places ornamented with a thousand columns, the fountains of spring water, those of rose water, those of liqueurs drawn from sugar-cane, incessantly flowing into the great squares, which were paved with a kind of precious stone, which gave off a delicious fragrancy like that of cloves and cinnamon.
In this chapter, Voltaire draws an extensive allusion to El Dorado, Spanish for “The Golden,” a fabled city of immense wealth and splendor which was sought in South America by many travelers, colonists, and conquistadors in the 16th and 17th centuries. Voltaire describes the city in lush detail, noting its buildings which rise “as high as the clouds,” its market with “a thousand columns,” and its “great squares, which were paved with a kind of precious stone.”
He also draws from other senses, noting the “delicious fragrance like that of cloves and cinnamon” which characterizes the city squares, and the various fountains of water, rose water, and even sugary liqueur which run throughout the city. By Voltaire’s time, belief that there really was a city of El Dorado had faded. However, he uses this city to imagine a utopia, or perfect society, which stands in stark contrast to the other cities and nations Candide visits throughout the novella.
Related Themes:
