Poetry Hacks

Imagery

What is it? The visual and other sense-impressions made by the text, especially those created by the use of metaphor and simile. What effect does it usually have? Imagery enables the reader to experience ideas or emotions for themselves, to ‘see’ them in the imagination, and very often to hear or feel them too, bringing us closer to the speaker. What else should I look out for? As well as communicating thought and feeling, patterns of imagery can help to establish tone, or may present the speaker in a particular way. Poets often choose images that contribute towards the setting of the poem, even when mainly concerned with describing other subjects.

An example of how it works … ‘Sonnet 2’ by William Shakespeare:

When forty winters shall besiege thy brow And dig deep trenches in thy beauty’s field

Here the imagery of war ('besiege', 'trenches', 'field') is used to describe the impact time will have upon the face ('brow') of the beloved. The disturbing violence of the metaphor makes an arresting opening for this poem, contrasting with the far gentler flower imagery of the preceding poem in the set.

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