Vertical Slabs (Visual Imagery)
The narrator describes the large slabs at Hanging Rock: “On the steep southern façade the play of golden light and deep violet shade revealed the intricate construction of long vertical slabs; some smooth as giant tombstones, others grooved and fluted by prehistoric architecture of wind and water, ice and fire.” This dramatic visual imagery serves to convey the ancient forces that have shaped the area while also describing its powerful presence. The comparison to tombstones also communicates a mood of eeriness.
Silence (Auditory Imagery)
An unsettling hush falls over the forest as the students head to their destination: “No traveller passed by, no bird song splintered the sunflecked silence, the grey pointed leaves of the saplings hung lifeless in the noonday heat.” This unsettling auditory imagery depicts the eerie silence at Hanging Rock while signaling that something strange might be afoot there.
Slippery Plain (Haptic Imagery)
Albert rides around in Hanging Rock in search of Mike, and feels that his footing is insecure: “As soon as he had finally slithered on to the plain and felt the level ground under his four feet he was off again like the wind.” This haptic imagery captures the somewhat dangerous passage Albert makes across the plain as he looks for his friend, depicting the risks of the terrain.
Miss Lumley's Peppermint Odor (Olfactory Imagery)
The narrator notes that Irma dislikes Miss Lumley's smell: “Fastidious Irma, who deplored all female odours and protested that she could smell Miss Lumley’s peppermint-laden presence in the classroom six feet away, was inexplicably hemmed in by angry faces enlarged in hateful proximity to her own.” This olfactory imagery demonstrates Irma's dislike of the smell of other people while taking particular note of her displeasure at Miss Lumley's overwhelming pepperminty odor.
