Imagery

When language evoke our senses it is called imagery; everytime a poem makes us imagine something – something we can see (visual imagery), touch (tactile imagery), smell (olfactory imagery), taste (gustatory imagery), or hear (auditory imagery). When we can imagine movement it is known as kinesthetic imagery. Also, when the poetry makes us imagine internal sensations such as thirst, hunger, fatique, even nausea, it is known as organic imagery. Sound & Sense describes imagery as “the representation through language of sense experience” (p. 56).

Try to answer the following questions from the “Reviewing Chapter Four” section in Sound & Sense (p. 59):

1. State the definition of poetic imagery.
5. Draw the distinction between abstract statements and concrete, image-bearing statements, providing examples.
6. Demonstrate that ambiguity and multiplicity of meanings contribute to the richness of poetic language.