Smell of Blocked Drains (Olfactory Imagery)
When describing the Thing the girls see in the forest, Byatt uses extensive comparisons to capture the creature's peculiar scent. She writes: "It was a liquid smell of putrefaction, the smell of maggoty things at the bottom of untended dustbins, the smell of blocked drains, and unwashed trousers, mixed with the smell of bad eggs, and of rotten carpets and ancient polluted bedding." In this example of olfactory imagery, Byatt conveys the deeply unpleasant scent of an imaginary being by relating it to revolting smells familiar to the reader.
Great White Goose Flapping Its Wings (Visual Imagery)
After they meet while traveling in the same train car, Penny and Primrose sit together and watch the landscape change beyond the window. Byatt writes, "They shared another square of chocolate, and licked their fingers, and looked out at a great white goose flapping its wings beside an inky pond." In this example of visual imagery, Byatt introduces an ambient sense of ominousness by emphasizing the ghostly contrast of a white goose and an ink-black pond.
Alarm of Invisible Birds (Auditory Imagery)
As urban dwellers, Penny and Primrose have never been in a forest. When they enter the woods near the mansion house, they encounter unfamiliar sounds: "the chatter and repeated lilt and alarm of invisible birds; rustling in dry leaves; slitherings, dry coughs, sharp cracks." In this example of auditory imagery, Byatt immerses the reader in the girls' experience as they take in the exciting but paranoia-inducing ambient sounds of nature.
