Imagery

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Imagery, in literature, refers to the descriptive language and figures of speech of a story or poem that allow the reader to imagine its details.

Definitions

Imagery, n.

1. The work of one who makes images or visible representation of objects; imitation work; images in general, or in mass. "Painted imagery." Shakespeare. "In those oratories might you see. / Rich carvings, portraitures, and imagery." Dryden.
2. (Figurative): Unreal show; imitation; appearance. "What can thy imagery of sorrow mean?" Prior.
3. The work of the imagination or fancy; false ideas; imaginary phantasms. "The imagery of a melancholic fancy." Atterbury.
4. Rhetorical decoration in writing or speaking; vivid descriptions presenting or suggesting images of sensible objects; figures in discourse. "I wish there may be in this poem any instance of good imagery." Dryden.

Imagery and imagination

To imagine, say, a rattlesnake, or a skunk, is to have a representation (what is called a mental image, or sometimes a mental picture) of the thing in one's mind – the same type of mental image one would have when perceiving a rattlesnake or skunk – but unaccompanied by any perception.

Unlike a physical picture, though, the details of a mental image can be more than visual. For instance, my imaginary rattlesnake includes the sound of its rattle, while my imaginary skunk includes a skunk's scent. What all the details of any imaginary thing have in common, though, is that they are sensory: they appeal to 1 of the senses. Just as we can experience something only through our brains via our 5 senses, we can imagine something only by stimulation of the same sensory equipment.

The imagery or images of a poem or a story, then, are the words in it that create mental images through language that describes or conveys sensory details. Imagery is useful as it allows a reader to imagine the details of the story or poem while reading it, and thereby gets him or her involved in it.

Forms of imagery (with examples)

Visual imagery

As the above 'picture' analogy implies, mental images are mainly visual, just as visual perception is the most used. Many if not most concrete nouns are visual images - ball, book, box, all call up mental images with definite looks. So are color words. So are shape words. So are many verbs - since they correspond to actions one sees. The bulk of imagery in a poem or story will normally be visual, just as the bulk of one's own real-life perceptions and imaginations will be visual.

• The crimson liquid spilled from the neck of the white dove, staining and matting its pure, white feathers.

Here the color words 'crimson' and 'white', the concrete nouns 'dove' and 'feathers', and the verbs 'spilled', 'staining', and 'matting,' all appeal to the visual sense.

Kinetic imagery represents movement, as in Wordsworth's poem Daffodils: "tossing their heads in sprightly dance". However, that is also an appeal to the visual sense.

Other forms

Auditory imagery appeals to the sense of sound.

• The bells chimed 2 o'clock and Daniel got ready for school.
• Onomatopoeia: a word that makes a sound.

Olfactory imagery represents a smell.

• Gio's socks, still soaked with sweat from Tuesday's P.E. class, filled the classroom with an aroma akin to that of salty, week-old, rotting fish.

Gustatory imagery represents a taste.

• The sweet marinara sauce makes up for the bland sea-shell pasta that Jeffrey served.
• Tumbling through the ocean water after being overtaken by the monstrous wave, Mark unintentionally took a gulp of the briny, bitter liquid, causing him to cough and gag.

Tactile imagery represents touch.

• Yalimar dug her feet into the wet sand, burying her toes inside the beach as cold waves lapped at her ankles.
• The clay oozed between Jeremy's fingers as he let out a squeal of pure glee.

Abstractions

Abstract things and ideas are not sensed, but thought. Sensory perception, and imagistic language, has to do with concrete things.

In some cases, one can use an abstraction to convey an image: describing a sea- or skyscape as a "grey monotony" (Defeat" by Constance Woodrow), for example, or calling a piece of music a "cacophony." In general, though, for the sake of involving the reader, it is best to use abstractions sparingly and rely on concrete language.

Neither are emotions sensed. Telling a reader that the subject of a poem is sad does not let the reader imagine the sadness; For that it is better to show details (such as the sight and sound of the character weeping or sighing).

Metaphors and similes

Main article: Metaphor

Metaphors and similes are uses of imagery, in that they use concrete and tangible things, to represent less tangible ideas or moods.

A simile is a literary device where the writer employs the words "like" or "as" to describe one thing by comparing it to another:

• My heart is heavy as a millstone.
• Yesenia and her boyfriend soared high like 2 doves in love.
• I am as tricky as a fox.
• Angel's heart, like a candy store, has a hundred variations of sweetness.
• Tailaya's eyes sparkle like a crystal ball.
• Selena's hair is like a stormy sea.
• Dorian is acting like a clown.
• I am as red as a tomato when my kids fail their quiz and don't study!

A metaphor is similar to a simile, however this literary device makes a comparison without the use of "like" or "as". That can be even more dramatic:

• This millstone of my heart.
• Mister S's classes are intricate ice sculptures in summer.
• Big Daddy's face is a garden.
• Paola's eyes were endless pools of beauty.
• Dasean's voice was an explosion of sound.
• "tossing their heads in sprightly dance" – Wordsworth's poem "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud:" .

External links

Template:Fiction writing

• "Imagery" at The Poetry Archive
• Definition and examples of different types of imagery
• Mental Imagery in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
• Imagery and Imagination at the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
• Imagery - The Volweb Project, University of Tennessee