Imagery
Higher English
Close Reading skills.
Common mistakes…
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Imagery does not mean ‘descriptive writing’ of the kind
which uses lots of adjectives to describe scenes and
settings in a series of ‘pictures.’ For example, although
this passage creates pictures of a scene by choosing
accurate descriptive words, it is not imagery as is meant in
the context of the Close Reading paper.
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Down on the level, its pink walls, and straggling roses, and green-painted
rain barrel hidden by a thick dusty painting of spruce and larch, was Fin-meoot Cottage, where house martins flocked to nest in summer, and small birds
found plenteous food on the bird tables when the winter came with frost and
snow. There, way-wise deer went in the windy autumn dawns to bite at
fallen apples in the little orchard.
Quick quiz
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 6)
 7)
What is a simile?
What is a metaphor
What is personification?
What is symbolism?
What is metonymy?
What is synecdoche?
What is transferred epithet?
You probably didn’t know what
metonymy was…
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It is the use of a word for a concept with which the
original concept behind this word is associated.
E.g. When we talk about ‘the crown’, we actually mean…?
We substitute the word King or Queen for the word
‘crown’, which is associated with the concept of royalty.
Metonymy may be confused with metaphor. Both figures
involve the substitution of one term for another. While in
metaphor, this substitution is based on similarity, in
metonymy the substitution is based on association.
Metaphor - The ship plowed through the sea.
Metonymy - The sails crossed the ocean.
Does this help?
word
original use
metonymic use
tongue
Oral muscle
Language spoken
dish
item of crockery
a course (in dining)
the press
Printing press
the news media
What about this?
 The
White House
 Hollywood
 Wall Street
 Holyrood
 Fleet Street
 Downing Street
So, what’s synecdoche?
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Synecdoche, where a specific part of something is taken
to refer to the whole, is usually understood as a specific
kind of metonymy.
Sometimes, however, people make an absolute distinction
between a metonymy and a synecdoche, treating metonymy
as different from rather than inclusive of synecdoche.
When the distinction is made, it is the following: when A is
used to refer to B, it is a synecdoche if A is a part of B. It
a metonymy if A is commonly associated with B but not a
part of it.
Thus, "The White House said" would be a metonymy for
the president and his staff, because the White House (A)
is not part of the president or his staff (B) but is closely
associated with them. On the other hand, asking for "All
hands on deck" is a synecdoche because hands (A) are
actually a part of the people (B) to whom they refer.
Examples where a part of something is
used to refer to the whole
 "The
hired hands are not doing their jobs."
 "His parents bought him a new set of wheels."
 "Can I get your digits?"
 “They don’t even have roofs over their heads.”
 Similarly, "mouths to feed" for hungry people.
Transferred Epithet
Where we transfer an adjective which is usually associated
with a human being to another object or idea. George
Orwell talks about prisoners awaiting execution being in
condemned cells, for example.
 It isn’t the cell but the prisoner who is condemned.
 Wilfred Owen describes soldiers caught in a gas attack:
“fitting the clumsy helmet just in time.” It’s the men who
are clumsy, not the helmet.
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What is imagery?
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Imagery is a feature of written and spoken language and
occurs whenever someone has chosen to use language in a
non-literal way.
In other words, imagery is a way of describing something
symbolically using words to create a visual picture in the
reader's imagination. In the Close Reading paper you need
to be able to recognise imagery and to consider how
successful the imagery is in making you share what the
writer is trying to express.
Imagery, then, frequently conveys more than just meaning.
It is used to heighten the effect of language and is often
an extension of word-choice. Normally an image will
extend to a phrase or a few words but sometimes it will be
longer.
Example one
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'He ran as fast as a leopard.'
This does not literally mean that he ran as fast as the
animal, but that he ran quickly and probably gracefully as
well. It says more than:
'He ran fast.'
In this way an image carries an extra dimension of meaning
in subtle ways. As a reader, your task is to get as much
from reading materials as you can, by recognising images
when you see them and by taking from them the extra
layers of meaning that they contain.
Example two
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Here is a very simple image from John Steinbeck's ‘Of
Mice and Men:’
'swinging his hands like a bear'
In the book this works as an extended image - where a
descriptive idea is consistently used and developed
throughout the story. This image gives the reader the
picture of a man moving like a slow, lumbering animal. It
also implies the idea of a dangerous beast and, as the
story progresses, this idea of danger increases. The
effect of the image is emphasised by the added layer of
menace or danger.
Using metaphor and simile
Imagery is a figurative comparison between two
things which have no literal connection. By
comparing things that are not alike, writers use
imagery to create a poetic or descriptive impact.
 Effective imagery works by allowing readers to
compare something they are familiar with to
something less familiar. There are two very easily
recognised forms of imagery: similes and
metaphors.
 Similes are simple comparisons and usually contain
the word 'like' or 'as'
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Simile and Metaphor
' As cool as a cucumber' describes someone who is
calm and composed.
 'Like a fox in a henhouse' describes dangerous
carnage.
 Metaphors involve comparison like similes but
they do so more subtly than similes. Where a
simile tends to describe a comparison by making a
simple association like the examples above, a
metaphor suggests the comparison without
stating it explicitly.
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Metaphor is more complex
'A trickle of aid to sub-Saharan countries came
from the West last year instead of the necessary
flood.'
 This imagery illustrates that a natural force like
water can be used to describe the way that thirdworld countries are provided with aid. The image
relies on the 'trickle' being a slow flow of water
inadequate for the purpose of useful aid to the
sub-Saharan countries, contrasted with 'flood';
the large volume of support actually needed.
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Symbolism
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The use of specific objects or images to
represent abstract ideas. A symbol must
be something tangible or visible, while
the idea it symbolises must be something
abstract or universal.
(In other words, a symbol must be
something you can hold in your hand or
draw a picture of, while the idea it
symbolises must be something you can’t
hold in your hand or draw a picture of.)
Golding uses symbols to represent the
various aspects of human nature and
civilisation as they are revealed in the
novel. The conch symbolises order and
authority, while its gradual deterioration
and ultimate destruction metaphorically
represent the boys’ collective downfall.
Interpreting Imagery
Images and imagery have a purpose. Writers want
you to share their thinking as fully as possible. To
interpret images and explain how things work, and
how well, we have to be methodical.
 It can help to consider three things:
 What is the image?
 Does it work?
 Why is it effective?
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Example one
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'His wife sat in her fur coat in the car like a drugged
bear.'
The simile compares the woman in the car with a 'drugged
bear'.
It works by making a physical comparison; bears have
coats like the woman's. And like a bear she is large and
ponderous. The simile extends by introducing the word
'drugged'; this suggests that, like a tranquillised animal,
the woman might also be dangerous if roused.
The image is successful and effective because it goes
beyond the physical description of a bear and a woman and
introduces ideas of behaviour and character. It's also
quite a funny idea.
Example two
'We have to get to the heart of the matter.'
 The metaphor suggests the need to get to the
core, or most important part, of something.
 It works by comparing something of central
importance to the most essential organ in the
body. Both are vital.
 The image is effective because the heart is
literally the centre of our existence and the
comparison emphasises the importance of the
essential centre of what is being discussed.
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Example three
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'The generals of World War I were beached, high and
dry, above the tide mark of history.'
The metaphor suggests the uselessness of the debris that
is washed up on a beach.
It works by comparing the generals' role in World War I
with flotsam and jetsam washed high up on the beach away
from the ebb and flow of the tide.
The image is effective when we understand the historical
context of the generals in World War I. The image of
debris above the tide mark stresses the unimportance of
the generals and the fact that they are unnoticed, inactive
and forgotten by history.
Anthropomorphism
 …attributing
human characteristics, feelings,
attitudes and qualities to animals. For example,
The sea-lion is clapping its hands!
 Sea-lions don’t have hands and they would not
understand the concept of clapping , but the
anthropomorphism makes the sea-lion out to be
endearing and cute.
Example one: which is the best
answer?
1 'He was
squashed like a
frog under the
wheels of a bus.'
What form of
image is this and
why is it
effective?
It is a simile as it uses the word 'like'.
It is a simile that compares someone with a frog
that has been crushed by a heavy vehicle.
It's a simile that compares the fate of someone to
the violence of a small creature being crushed by
an enormous and heavy object.
Example two: which is the best
answer?
2 'That girl is
like her
mother.'
Which
answer best
describes the
phrase?
This image is a simile because it
uses the word 'like'.
This is an image where the qualities
of two people are being compared.
This phrase is noting a
resemblance.
Example three: which is the best
answer?
3 'He has allowed
himself to become
insulated from
reality and have his
feathers preened
by those around
him.'
What sort of image
is this and why is it
effective?
This is an image. The prime minister is
being kept away from real things in the
way that insulation keeps the cold out.
This is a metaphor. The image of 'preening' suggests
that the prime minister is easily flattered and removed
from reality. The 'feathers' also suggests the image of
a caged bird or pet; reinforcing the idea of
powerlessness.
It is a metaphor which describes the
people around the prime minister
flattering him.
Example Four: which is the best
answer?
4 'I fear we have
wakened a
sleeping giant,
and his reaction
will be terrible.'
(Admiral
Yamamoto about
the Japanese
attack on Pearl
Harbour).
How effective is
this image in its
context?
The image is effective because it compares
the angry reaction of waking a sleeping giant
to what the Admiral fears will be America's
response to the bombing.
The image is about angering a country (USA)
by comparing the attack on their fleet with
wakening a giant.
The image is of waking a huge person. He will
be angry so it is effective.
Example five: which is the best
answer?
5 'Now, on the lamplit avenue, he
stopped and saw his
callousness as evil,
able to take all
beauty from life; the
brightness from the
moon, the fragrance
from roses...'
In this image the man's evil is described
as something concrete, not abstract.
The image suggests that the man's
presence is so evil that it can actually take
away all the good things in the world
around him, such as flowers, moonlight and
beauty.
The image of the man's evil is effective as
Why is this image
effective in evoking
it is able to suck out the good qualities of
the man's character? flowers, beauty and light.
Example Six: which is the best answer?
6 'Time to confess. I'm a big fan
of Taggart. I have been for
years, which I guess makes me
old. By now this famed cop series
has been transformed into a
comfy, raddled old armchair, one
which I slump into. The DNA boys
have checked out its stains. CID
have reached down the back in
search of blood-encrusted
weapons. In a sense that chair is
also, metaphorically, Glasgow.
Last night I sighed and sank into
its old, familiar deeps. I was ohso deeply disappointed. The show
has, over the years been
reupholstered more than once.'
What is the image? How
effective is it and why?
The TV police series is compared to an old armchair
and his experience of watching it is like settling into a
comfortable chair. It is effective because it relates a
piece of comfortable furniture that we associate with
watching TV to the familiar programme he is setting
out to watch. The two things seem well matched.
The metaphor compares his familiarity with Taggart over the
years with the comfortable armchair in which he is also
accustomed to watching the TV series. The series is about
police work in Glasgow and the image suggests he is so much
part of the show that it he has become part of it. The
forensic (DNA) and CID boys have even looked over his chair
he has been watching the show for so long. The metaphor is
reinforced as an extended image by the use of the word
'reupholstered'.
The image is effective because Taggart is about
murders and solving crimes and the imagery connects
the two in terms familiar to viewers. By describing
the DNA and CID men as actually coming into his
room to look at the chair it makes the reader think of
the TV programme.
Example Seven: which is the best
answer?
7 'No basket
ever carried
more eggs than
young Alec did
hopes that
Friday.‘
What is the
image? How
effective is it
and why?
This is a simple metaphor where hopes and eggs are
related to each other. Alec is carrying people's
expectations, just as he would carry a basket of eggs. It
is effective because it relates to a small town or village
where eggs would be carried in a basket.
The image is of a basket. Alec is like that basket and carries
hopes rather than eggs. He is important and has been entrusted
with something risky; just as eggs can break, he could let folk
down, so it is effective in showing his nervousness. The word
'no' at the beginning of the sentence reinforces the importance
of Alec's hopes.
The eggs and hopes are similar: fragile and easily lost or
damaged. Alec is the keeper of the hopes and like us all wants
to protect them. The imagery is simple but effective as we can
all relate to how easily a large basket could be dropped and how
easily hopes can be denied or disappointed.
Now what?
 Go
to page 36 in “Higher English Close Reading”
and do all the exercises on Imagery.
 Go to page 45 in “How to Pass Higher English.”
 To revise personification, go to page 53.
 To revise Metonymy, go to page 55.
 To revise Symbolism, go to page 56.