Imagery Explained
Imagery is visual symbolism, or figurative language that evokes a mental image or other kinds of sense impressions, especially in a literary work, but also in other activities such as psychotherapy. Imagery in literature can also be instrumental in conveying tone. [1]
Forms
There are five major types of sensory imagery, each corresponding to a sense, feeling, action, or reaction:
- Visual imagery pertains to graphics, visual scenes, pictures, or the sense of sight.
- Auditory imagery pertains to sounds, noises, music, or the sense of hearing. (This kind of imagery may come in the form of onomatopoeia).
- Olfactory imagery pertains to odors, aromas, scents, or the sense of smell.
- Gustatory imagery pertains to flavors or the sense of taste.
- Tactile imagery pertains to physical textures or the sense of touch.
Other types of imagery include:
- Kinesthetic imagery pertains to movements.
- Organic imagery / subjective imagery, pertains to personal experiences of a character's body, including emotion and the senses of hunger, thirst, fatigue, and pain.[2]
- Phenomenological, pertains to the mental conception of an item as opposed to the physical version.
- Color imagery is the ability to visualize a color in its absence.
Further reading
- Book: Wells, H. G. (Herbert George). The time machine. 20 July 2021. 978-1-7225-2491-3. 1261367980.
External links
Notes and References
- Web site: Malewitz . Raymond . What is Imagery? . Definitions and Examples . Oregon State Guide to English Literary Terms . 8 November 2019 . Oregon State School of Writing, Literature and Film . 28 April 2023.
- Web site: Poetics of Robert Frost: Examples. Friends of Robert Frost. 12 March 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130504082124/http://www.frostfriends.org/imagery.html . 2013-05-04 . dead.