Alda’s first meeting with the other slaves
The narrator vividly describes Alda’s first moments at Marcus Lelius’ house as follows, ‘...they danced and laughed in the most immodest manner but when they proceeded to pull the long yellow tresses that floated in bright luxuriant ringlets over her ivory shoulders...’ The description is vivid for it creates a picture in the readers mind of the event. One can visualize the events as the actions are narrated.
Description of Susanna
The narrator describes Susanna as, ‘Susanna was rather below middle height, of a fragile and somewhat bending form, though elegantly proportioned. Her complexion was pale and darkly delicate. Her features of the true eastern cast, and her soft black eyes were full of melancholy sweetness whenever she raised them from the ground...’.The narrator in describing Susanna has employed the use of adjectives to describe her which builds on imagery. These adjectives include; ‘pale’, ‘soft’ and ‘dark’.
Description of Alda
The narrator describes Alda as, ‘...was already of a tall and of a commanding figure, rounded with all the plumpness of youth. Her complexion was fair and brilliant, marked with all that beautiful blending of the rose and lily. Her eyes were blue and sparkling and her rich profusion of sunny hair fell in luxuriant ringlets down to her waist.’ The description has imagery because the narrator has used adjectives to describe Alda such as ‘tall’ and ‘sunny hair’ which build an image of Alda in the mind of the reader.
The description of twilight
The narrator achieves imagery in his description of twilight for he uses adjectives to describe the moon and he vividly describes the stars. The description is as follows,‘The slender crescent of the new moon was already on the verge of the horizon, and the stars were as yet but faintly indicated in the soft azure of the vault of night...’
