Final answer:
The paragraph indicates the impressionistic, film-like descriptive style William Elliot Griffis uses in 'The Fisherman and the Moon-maiden,' moving from a broad scene to specific characters, creating an effect similar to a gradually dissolving film scene.
Step-by-step explanation:
The paragraph describes the effect that William Elliot Griffis creates in the text 'The Fisherman and the Moon-maiden'. The descriptive language provides an impressionistic scene-setting, with details that suggest a sense of vagueness and randomness. The author's narrative technique is compared to a camera panning across a scene, indicating a 'filmic quality' to the description. This passage is described as moving from a general overview to a focus on specific characters, creating an expectation in the reader for these figures to be significant to the story. The description creates a vivid visual image but also employs an impressionistic style that provides an effect of a gradually dissolving image, like a film losing focus, which may suggest themes related to the main narrative.