Juliette Duncan
Imagery & Symbolism Questions – The Woman in Black
1. Give an example of a metaphor, a simile and personification. Explain why they are
effective. (5 marks)
Hill uses the metaphor in the fifth chapter, Across the Causeway, as he is completely taken in by the
pure beauty of the landscape he looks upon. Kipps says that ‘the water gleamed like metal’,
emphasising its splendour that he seems so captivated by. At this point in the story, Kipps has not
yet endured the horror of Eel Marsh House and the marshes of the Nine Lives Causeway, so Hill sets
a false sense of security, but we soon find out that such a beautiful spectacle does not seem to
match with the job Arthur Kipps has in hand. Hill also uses personification when describing the
marshes, as ‘they lay silent, still and shining under the November sky’. This is effective because the
marshes have now become a character, giving us readers Kipps’ senses in what he can see and hear
out on the causeway. Hill makes use of similes too as Kipps arrives at Eel Marsh House as he sees
beyond the house to what ‘looked like the fragmentary ruins of some old church or chapel’. This is
effective in the description of the location as it uses the original qualities and features used in the
gothic genre, setting out a melancholy atmosphere and foreshadowing the encounters with the
woman in black that are yet to happen.
2. What is the difference between imagery and symbolism? Give two examples of symbolism
being used effectively. (5 marks)
The difference between imagery and symbolism all lies in the way the author is using language to
describe and represent a specific theme, object or character. Imagery makes use of descriptive
language by the author to create such images to help the reader visualise what is being described in
the text. Symbolism, on the other hand, makes the readers delve deeper into the true meanings
behind what certain symbols may represent from their own qualities and features. For example, Hill
uses symbolism when she writes about the pony and trap. She uses this to represent the death of
who we think to be a mother and her child, as Kipps hears a ‘curious, draining, sucking, churning
sound…together with the shrill neighing and whinnying of a horse in panic’ and then he heard
‘another cry, a shout, a terrified sobbing…with horror (he) realised that it came from a child’. We do
not know yet who these people are, but Hill has obviously incorporated this symbol of death to
imply a relation with Alice Drablow.
Another use of symbolism also co-insides with pathetic fallacy, as Hill uses the weather to symbolise
such events that have taken place at Eel Marsh House, and foreshadows the events yet to come on
Arthur Kipps’ visit. For example, before Arthur leaves London, ‘it was, in all, miserable weather and
lowering to the spirits in the dreariest month of the year’. Hill uses the weather to mirror Kipps’
frantic, terrified and bewildered state of mind, symbolising the horrific effects of the events he has
encountered.
Imagery & Symbolism Questions – The Woman in Black
1. Give an example of a metaphor, a simile and personification. Explain why they are
effective. (5 marks)
Hill uses the metaphor in the fifth chapter, Across the Causeway, as he is completely taken in by the
pure beauty of the landscape he looks upon. Kipps says that ‘the water gleamed like metal’,
emphasising its splendour that he seems so captivated by. At this point in the story, Kipps has not
yet endured the horror of Eel Marsh House and the marshes of the Nine Lives Causeway, so Hill sets
a false sense of security, but we soon find out that such a beautiful spectacle does not seem to
match with the job Arthur Kipps has in hand. Hill also uses personification when describing the
marshes, as ‘they lay silent, still and shining under the November sky’. This is effective because the
marshes have now become a character, giving us readers Kipps’ senses in what he can see and hear
out on the causeway. Hill makes use of similes too as Kipps arrives at Eel Marsh House as he sees
beyond the house to what ‘looked like the fragmentary ruins of some old church or chapel’. This is
effective in the description of the location as it uses the original qualities and features used in the
gothic genre, setting out a melancholy atmosphere and foreshadowing the encounters with the
woman in black that are yet to happen.
2. What is the difference between imagery and symbolism? Give two examples of symbolism
being used effectively. (5 marks)
The difference between imagery and symbolism all lies in the way the author is using language to
describe and represent a specific theme, object or character. Imagery makes use of descriptive
language by the author to create such images to help the reader visualise what is being described in
the text. Symbolism, on the other hand, makes the readers delve deeper into the true meanings
behind what certain symbols may represent from their own qualities and features. For example, Hill
uses symbolism when she writes about the pony and trap. She uses this to represent the death of
who we think to be a mother and her child, as Kipps hears a ‘curious, draining, sucking, churning
sound…together with the shrill neighing and whinnying of a horse in panic’ and then he heard
‘another cry, a shout, a terrified sobbing…with horror (he) realised that it came from a child’. We do
not know yet who these people are, but Hill has obviously incorporated this symbol of death to
imply a relation with Alice Drablow.
Another use of symbolism also co-insides with pathetic fallacy, as Hill uses the weather to symbolise
such events that have taken place at Eel Marsh House, and foreshadows the events yet to come on
Arthur Kipps’ visit. For example, before Arthur leaves London, ‘it was, in all, miserable weather and
lowering to the spirits in the dreariest month of the year’. Hill uses the weather to mirror Kipps’
frantic, terrified and bewildered state of mind, symbolising the horrific effects of the events he has
encountered.
