LANGUAGE ARTS 10
IMAGERY
Name: ___________________________________________ Date: __________
Poetry (or any good writing, for that matter) couldn’t exist without imagery
(a.k.a. sensory details, sensory images). It is the single most important aspect.
Imagery means using words that appeal to the senses (sight, smell, sound,
touch, and taste).
Imagery can be either literal or figurative. Literal imagery means the writer is
giving an actual description of something—for example: the apple was read and
shiny. Figurative imagery means the writer is using figurative language to
describe something. Figurative language includes simile, metaphor, and
personification, most commonly. All of these are types of comparisons, but
when a writer uses one, she doesn’t mean for the reader to take the comparison
literally. An example of figurative imagery is: The rain danced on the windshield.
In this example, personification is being used to describe rain drops splashing on
a windshield, possibly making a tapping sound. We are not meant to think the
rain drops actually put on little tap shoes and did a routine!
In order to create either literal or figurative imagery, a writer must carefully
choose her words (word choice is also known as diction). Nouns should be
concrete and specific. What does this mean? A concrete noun is something you
can see, hear, smell, touch, or taste. If a noun is not concrete, it is abstract.
Abstract nouns are ideas.
Abstract
Pride
Love
Enthusiasm
Respect
Attitude
Concrete
Table
Thunder
Gasoline
Vanilla
Fur
Concrete nouns can still be non-specific, though, and the more specific the
nouns, the better imagery that is created. Consider this chart:
General Noun
Animal
Person
Apparel
More Specific Noun
Dog
Woman
Shoes
Most Specific Noun
Golden Retriever
Mrs. Martin
Ugg Boots
You Try It!
For each noun below, label it as either concrete or abstract. Then rank the noun’s
specificity. Give general nouns a - and give specific nouns a + .
1. hum
2. orangutan
3. champagne
4. knowledge
5. wrinkle
6. eternity
7. beauty
8. foe
9. smile
10. pimple
11. hero
12. pain
13. drum
14. horror
15. shame
16. dream
17. love
18. bird
19. cobweb
20. tune
While nouns are one important way writers create imagery, it can also be created
by verb and modifier (adjective/adverb) choices. For example, “She walked” is
not really imagery. But “She shuffled” or “She strutted” is more visual. (“Shuffle”
even implies a sound.) Or, “I felt his hand on my arm” doesn’t really create
imagery. But, “I felt his warm, rough hand on my arm” does.
Many people think something is imagery when really it isn’t—for example “a bad
smell.” Many people would say that this is imagery because you can smell a “bad
smell.” But really you can’t. You can think of things that smell bad, but neither the
word “bad” nor the word “smell” evoke a concrete, specific idea; therefore, this is
not imagery!
Sensory Imagery or Not?
Remember that sensory imagery is something you can see, hear, smell, touch, or
taste. Decide if each of the following is sensory imagery or not:
1. A beautiful day
6. A loud buzz
2. New cut grass
7. An annoying voice
3. Shiny paper
8. Salty
4. A brown table
9. Scrumptious
5. A depressed feeling
10. A happy heart