Imagery
Learning Intention: I will understand
how to write a comment on a writer’s
use of imagery.
Higher Analysis
What is Imagery?
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Imagery allows an experience to be
transferred from the imagination of the
writer to the imagination of the reader.
The right image can suggest a number of
things using only a few words.
Imagery is a general term for a language
technique which makes comparisons and
covers specific figures of speech such as
simile, metaphor and personification.
Try to convey the following
individuals or situations using
imagery….
JJB Sports during the current closing
down sale.
 Deans Community High School at
midnight.
 A lone tree swaying in the wind.
 A man angry at having missed the bus.
 The moment you step off a plane in a
hot country.
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Simile
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A simile is a comparison in which one thing is said to
be like something else.
‘Like’ or ‘as’ can be used to make the comparison.
‘It was as though the note of the fiddle touched some
sub-conscious nerve that had to be answered- like a
baby’s cry.’
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The sound of the “note of the fiddle” is the real
subject; the “baby’s cry” is not actually heard but
is brought in as a comparison to give the reader the
impression of impact of the noise made.
What is suggested about the “note of the fiddle”?
Metaphor
With metaphors the words ‘like’ or ‘as’ are
missed out in the comparison. The subject is
said to be the same as the comparison.
“Her lovely voice was a megaphone”
 Her ‘voice’ is the real subject and the
‘megaphone’ is only brought in as a
comparison to emphasise the way in which
she speaks.
 What is suggested about they way she
speaks?
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Personification
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This is a special type of metaphor in
which an inanimate object is given
human characteristics, moods, reactions
etc.
‘The tree danced as the breeze moved
through its branches’
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A tree cannot really ‘dance’ therefore
the personification is used to indicate
that the tree moved in rhythmic, happy
way and that the breeze was a pleasant,
welcome wind rather than a gusty and
Formula
1.
2.
3.
Identify what is being compared to
what.
Explain what is shared between the
subject and the image.
Show how the image conveys the
writer’s thoughts/ feelings/ point.
Let’s practise…
An ex-pupil once said that Mr Anderson
was like a bear.
 Show how this image effectively
conveys the pupil’s thoughts about Mr
Anderson.
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Let’s practise…
Mr Anderson is being compared to a
bear using a simile.
 A bear is fierce and predatory and
frightening as is Mr Anderson (at
times!).
 This suggests that the writer is scared
of Mr Anderson.
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Let’s practise…
Romeo says: ‘But, soft! what light
through yonder window breaks?
It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.
’
 Show how the image
effectively conveys
Romeo’s feelings for Juliet.
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Let’s practise…
Juliet is compared to the sun using a
metaphor.
 The sun is warm, beautiful and bright
which are qualities belonging to Juliet.
 The writer feels affection and emotions
of love and passion towards Juliet,
believing her to be kind, happy and
attractive.
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Incidentally, as well as raising the upper limit
to 80mph, he is also increasing the number
of 20mph zones. So you'll be hearing far
more screeching brakes in future. Don't
worry, eventually it'll blend unnoticed into
the background, like gunfire.
2 marks
Q: How does the writer use imagery to convey
his feelings about introducing more 20mph
zones?
Incidentally, as well as raising the upper limit to
80mph, he is also increasing the number of 20mph
zones. So you'll be hearing far more screeching
brakes in future. Don't worry, eventually it'll blend
unnoticed into the background, like gunfire.
Q: How does the writer use imagery to convey his
feelings about introducing more 20mph zones?
A: The writer uses a simile to compare the sound of
the screeching brakes to gunfire. These noises are
loud, sharp and shocking. (1) This creates irony as
they will not ‘blend unnoticed into the background’
and will instead, frighten and alarm people. This
conveys that the increase of 20mph zones will be
problematic and troublesome as it will cause cars to
brake urgently and cause undue distress. (1)
The most powerful example of this trend is found in the
world of video games. And the first and last thing that
should be said about the experience of playing today’s video
games, the thing you almost never hear, is that games are
fiendishly, sometimes maddeningly, hard. The dirty little
secret of gaming is how much time you spend not having fun.
You may be frustrated; you may be confused or
disorientated; you may be stuck. But when you put the game
down and move back into the real world, you may find
yourself mentally working through the problem you have
been wrestling with, as though you were worrying a loose
tooth.
2 marks
2011 Higher
 Show how the writer conveys the difficulty of playing video
games by his use of imagery.
Possible answers:
1 “stuck” to be stuck is to be fixed immovably; it
suggests being trapped in a situation which offers
no escape
2 “wrestling”
wrestling involves close, physical
combat with a single opponent; it suggests a
demanding, exhausting battle with an unforgiving
enemy
3 “worrying a loose tooth” involves the constant
working away at a persistent physical annoyance; it
suggests that the difficulties presented by video
games are nagging frustrations that constantly
prey on one’s mind
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Having invented the modern city, 19th century
Britain promptly reeled back in horror at what it
had done. To the Victorians exploring the choleraridden back alleys of London’s East End, the city
was a hideous tumour sucking the life out of the
countryside and creating in its place a vast polluted
landscape of squalor, disease and crime. In their
eyes, the city was a place to be feared, controlled
and, if possible, eliminated.
Show how the writer’s use of imagery conveys
the Victorians’ disgust at the city they had
created.
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“reeled back”: “to reel” is to stagger, sway or recoil,
from the impact of a blow or in shock or disbelief.
This suggests a deep-seated, almost physical
revulsion, a desire to step back from what they
found, a sense of them losing control and being
shaken to their very foundations
“(hideous) tumour” a tumour is a growth or a mass
of diseased cells which can lead to serious illness or
death. This suggests the Victorians felt that
London was unhealthy, evil, increasingly invasive,
destructive to the country as a whole
“sucking the life out of” the comparison here is
with a bloodsucking creature (or even a vampire).
This suggests the Victorians felt that London was
essentially parasitic, feeding off and likely to
damage or destroy the countryside, while having no
positive value of its own
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This is a city with pull, buzz, excitement, and
a sense of style and its own importance. It
has a potent international reach and
influence. Glasgow’s story continually weaves
in and out of a global urban tapestry:
following the trade threads of Empire, there
are nearly two dozen towns and cities around
the world named after Glasgow—from
Jamaica to Montana to Nova Scotia. And
there is even a Glasgow on the moon.
Show how the writer’s use of imagery
emphasises Glasgow’s importance.
“reach”:
the sphere of Glasgow’s
influence is like a human arm stretching to
affect things far away
 “weaves … threads… tapestry”: extended
image from the making of decorative cloth
suggesting the complex connections between
Glasgow and other parts/aspects of the
Empire
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Glasgow’s constant proclamation of its present
success story is justified on the basis that it
benefits the city: confidence will breed confidence,
tourists will visit, businesses will relocate and
students will enrol. But, despite the gains this
approach has brought for Glasgow and cities like it,
there are signs that the wind is starting to come
out of the sails. What felt radical when Dublin,
Barcelona and Glasgow embarked on the city
makeover path in the late 1980s and early 1990s,
now feels derivative and is delivering diminishing
returns. When every city has commissioned a
celebrity architect and pedestrianised a cultural
quarter, distinctiveness is reduced to a formula.
Show how the writer’s use of imagery suggests
his doubts about the alleged “success story” of
Glasgow.
“wind coming out of the sails”: just as a
sailing vessel’s progress is halted by its
losing the wind which propels it, so Glasgow’s
supposed progress as a new and changed city
is coming to a halt
 “makeover path”: just as the instant changes
wrought on people and houses are often
striking but not lasting or of any real worth,
the attempts to change the city have been
too artificial and possibly too speedy to be
really satisfying/the end of a natural or
organic process
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The politicians and the Establishment talk the
language of “opportunity”, “choice” and “diversity”
for the people of the city, but do not really believe
in or practise them. They impose a set menu, rather
than the choice offered “à la carte”, confident that
they know best. For all the rhetoric about new ways
of working, partnership and collaboration, there can
still be a very old-fashioned top-down approach in
parts of institutional Glasgow that retains a faith
that experts and professionals must hold all the
answers. There is an implicit belief that people are
poor because of low aspirations and Glaswegians are
unhealthy because they won’t accept responsibility,
make the right choices and eat healthily.
Show how the writer’s use of imagery creates a
tone of disapproval.
“set menu … à la carte”
the reference to the choice or lack of
choice offered in a restaurant
illustrates the writer’s disapproval of
the establishment not offering any
choice to the people of Glasgow
despite their statements that there is to
be “choice”
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Tone
Higher English
Analysis Skills
Learning Intention
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I will be able to identify language
features which convey tone and explain
their effects.
What is Tone?
Tone refers to the way an attitude or
feeling is conveyed by the writer.
 Think about the way in which something
is said.
 Imagine you are reading the paper aloud
in order to determine the tone.
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Consider this…
Take a simple question such as
‘Where have you been?’
These words could be spoken in various
situations:
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By someone talking to a friend who has recently
been on holiday.
By someone talking to a friend who has not been
seen in a while.
By a teacher talking to a student entering a
classroom late.
Exactly the same words might be used but
they would be said in quite different ways.
This is what is meant by tone.
Speech Vs. Writing
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In speech the tone of voice used would make
the writer’s feelings clear.
When speaking, we hear the volume, pace and
pitch which help to determine the tone.
In writing, however, you must look at the
language to find clues to the feelings or
attitude of the author, e.g. word choice,
sentence structure, imagery, exaggeration,
etc
Answering on Tone
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The first necessity when dealing with tone is
to work out what tone is being used.
But you must go further and identify the
words, sounds or structure that alerted you
to the tone and then explain how they are
linked.
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Identify tone
Identify techniques used to create that tone.
Explain how these techniques created that effect.
What tones are there?
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It would be impossible to list every tone, however they can
be broadly categorised into the following:
Humorous- the author finds the subject funny and hopes
the reader will too.
Flippant- the author shows a disrespectful or critical
attitude to something which should be taken seriously.
Conversational- the author is being chatty and friendly.
Effusive- excessive or unrestrained emotion.
Irony- the author says the opposite of what they really
mean for humour or to emphasise the seriousness of a point.
Tongue-in-cheek – a form of irony in which the writer will
sound serious but there will be a sense of ridicule behind it.
Emotive- the author stirs emotions in the reader
Incredulous- the author is unbelieving of a situation or
event.
Serious- the author is trying to convey information for a
serious purpose
Nostalgic – reflects on the past with fondness
Consider the writer’s feelings and attitudes
towards their what they are writing, e.g. do
they feel………….
happy excited frustrated confused
angry sad surprised anxious
scared unhappy nervous relieved
relaxed reassured passionate embarrassed
irritated disappointed uncertain skeptical
optimistic restless threatened offended
heartbroken mournful bored guilty
How can we identify these tones?
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Let’s look at a passage with an emotive tone…
what techniques create this effect?
There are millions of people walking barefoot
amid the bright green undergrowth, fleeing to
safety. The panicked evacuation of foreign
aid workers. Waves of displaced people
crashing into refugee camps in their droves.
Why aren’t western governments doing more
to help? People reading this and doing nothing
should be ashamed!
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‘millions’ – hyperbole to emphasise that this is happening to a
vast amount of people, therefore something needs to be
done
‘barefoot’ – implies that these people are so unfortunate,
they have no belongings
‘fleeing to safety’ – suggests panic and distress, an urgent
need to be looked after and protected
‘panicked evacuation’ – suggests urgency, chaos, distress
‘Waves of displaced people crashing into refugee camps’ –
imagery comparing the refugees’ arrival to waves crashing,
suggesting that there are vast amounts of refugees and
they are arriving quickly and in a panic, almost as if they get
there before they have had time to digest their situation
Rhetorical question - Why aren’t western governments doing
more to help? Questioning us as a western, inflicting guilt
onto the reader but also turning out thoughts of
disappointment onto the governments and making the reader
feel like we should be doing more
Exclamation - People reading this and doing nothing should
be ashamed! Conveys extreme shame and disgust onto the
reader, making us feel guilty and inspiring us to do more.
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In the following examples, identify the
tone, pick out the words and phrases
which create the tone and explain how
these features convey the tone.
For practise…
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Nowhere else on the planet do
footballers perform in front of vast
crowds so full of bile, hatred and
bigotry. I have yet to find another place
on the planet where a sporting occasion
includes a ritual singing of some song
celebrating a distant battle which took
place 307 years ago.
Example
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The tone created is an incredulous one
conveying feelings of disbelief and disgust
about the behaviour of football fans. The
hyperbole of ‘on the planet’ exaggerates the
disgust felt as it suggests that the behaviour
is so poor you’d have to go a long way to find
worse. The word choice of ‘ritual’ suggests
that it is performed religiously or mindlessly,
perhaps without thought for the
consequences, effectively conveying the
writer’s disdain for these actions.
Example
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And besides: zooming petrolheads already
have it their own way on the roads:
aggressively driving up other peoples'
behinds, bleating away with their horns,
flashing their lights … seriously, what's wrong
with you people? The anger and the obvious
raging inadequacy seems so … raw. Do you
need a cuddle, is that it? Should we designate
special laybys to be used for cuddle-breaks,
just to calm you down? Fair enough. If that's
what it takes to get people to slow down, it's
fine by me.
In the game world, reward is everywhere. The
gaming universe is literally teeming with objects
that deliver very clearly articulated rewards: more
life, access to new levels, new equipment, new
spells. Most of the crucial work in game design
focuses on keeping players notified of potential
rewards available to them, and how much these
rewards are currently needed. Most games offer a
fictional world where rewards are larger, and more
vivid, and more clearly defined than life.
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Show how the writer’s use of language conveys the
excitement generated by rewards in the world of
video games.
Word Choice
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“everywhere” suggests rewards are all around,
presenting an infinite set of possible attraction
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“(gaming) universe” a vast, multi-faceted
environment of infinite possibilities
“teeming”
suggests a vibrant superabundance;
brimful of lively attractions
“deliver”
suggests video games are productive,
make good their promises, fulfil expectations
“spells” something magical, enchanting, wondrous
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“vivid”
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colourful, intense, attractive, striking
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use of list (“more life …new spells.”) suggests variety, large
number of rewards
brevity of each example in the list (“more life … new
spells.”) heightens the “teeming” idea: no time for a
detailed description, there are so many aspects they come
tumbling out at a rapid, almost breathless rate
repetition of “new”
stresses the fresh challenges that
abound, never-ending novelties on offer
(repeated) use of comparatives in final sentence stresses
idea that video games are superior to life itself in a
variety of ways
repetitive, rhythmic build-up in final sentence (“and more
… and more”)
heightens the sense of the writer having
an ever-expanding range of positive points to make about
rewards in video games
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You may just want to win the game, of course, or perhaps
you want to see the game’s narrative completed, or in the
initial stages of play, you may just be dazzled by the
game’s graphics. But most of the time, when you’re hooked
on a game, what draws you in is an elemental form of
desire: the desire to see the Next Thing. After all, with
the occasional exception, the actual content of the game is
often childish or gratuitously menacing. Much of the role
play inside the gaming world alternates between drive-by
shooting and princess-rescuing. It is not the subject
matter that attracts; it is the reward system that draws
those players in, and keeps their famously short attention
spans locked on the screen.
Show how the writer’s use of language in these lines
conveys a dismissive attitude towards the content of video
games.
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(repeated) use of “just” in opening sentence (plus the “perhaps”) the
effect of these words is to diminish, downplay, minimise the
importance of what might appear to be absolute fundamentals:
winning the game, completing the story or being wowed by the
graphics
structure of the first sentence
sense of lumping together three
apparently vital elements of the game so they can be somewhat
undermined
“dazzled” suggests one’s vision being impaired, being overimpressed by superficial details, being blinded to the truth
“draws you in”
suggests a rather devious, deceptive process
capitalisation of “Next Thing”
could suggest something rather
childishly overblown about people’s curiosity, mockery of exaggerated
importance
“childish” suggests simple, undemanding, infantile, puerile
“gratuitously”
suggests pointless, unnecessary, unjustifiable
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“drive-by shooting and princess-rescuing” deliberately
polarised, reductive, black and white view of the content
of video games
“drive-by shooting”
particularly cowardly, unpleasant,
unheroic, random form of violence
“princess-rescuing”
very simplistic, fantastical,
childish, fairy tale-esque
(balanced) structure of final sentence
importance of
actual content rejected with brisk, unarguable certainty,
followed by developed endorsement of the reward
system (this contrast heightened by the “It is not…it is”
balance around semi-colon)
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The politicians and the Establishment talk the language of
“opportunity”, “choice” and “diversity” for the people of the city,
but do not really believe in or practise them. They impose a set
menu, rather than the choice offered “à la carte”, confident
that they know best. For all the rhetoric about new ways of
working, partnership and collaboration, there can still be a very
old-fashioned top-down approach in parts of institutional
Glasgow that retains a faith that experts and professionals must
hold all the answers. There is an implicit belief that people are
poor because of low aspirations and Glaswegians are unhealthy
because they won’t accept responsibility, make the right choices
and eat healthily.
Show how the writer’s use of language in this paragraph creates
a tone of disapproval.
Word choice:
 “talk the language”
suggests that there is something artificial or pretended about what
these people say – they are using “jargon” rather than sincere
language
 “(do not) really (believe)”
suggests that in their heart of hearts they do not mean what they
actually say
 “impose”
suggests an opposition to “choice” etc rather than the flexibility which
their “language” suggests
 “set menu”
suggests a lack of choice, contrary to their declared intentions
 “confident (that they know best)” suggests an overweening adult
superiority over those who they have said should be allowed to make
choices
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“rhetoric”
suggests overblown, artificial and exaggerated language
intended to persuade or browbeat
“old-fashioned” suggests they are out of touch with the
ideals of modern democracy
“top-down (approach)”
suggests that they are “on top” in matters of decision
making and such things should not be left to those lower
down in the heap
“institutional”
suggests the rigid, authoritarian, hidebound views which
permeate an organisation despite individual attempts to
change it
“experts and professionals” suggests that ordinary
citizens are too ignorant to know what is best because they
are not professionally qualified
Imagery:
 “set menu … à la carte”
the reference to the choice or lack of choice offered in a
restaurant illustrates the writer’s disapproval of the
establishment not offering any choice to the people of
Glasgow despite their statements that there is to be
“choice”
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Punctuation:
the use of inverted
commas round “opportunity”,
“choice” or “diversity”
shows that the writer does not believe that these concepts
are on offer, or are really meant and that he disapproves
of the people who are misleading the public
Revision
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Imagery: pages 40-41
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Tone: pages 46-48