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Within this teaching wiki page for imagery in poetry and other forms, we'll talk about what imagery is, why we use it, and when children will begin to use it in their own writing. With a selection of imagery teaching resources.
Imagery is a way of using figurative language in order to represent ideas, actions, or objects. While it's largely about painting a picture in the reader's mind, using imagery actually means that the writing appeals to all five of the reader's physical senses - not just sight. In other words, imagery assists a reader in imagining the smell, taste, touch, sight, and sound of the scene that the author is describing.
Usually, imagery is written through other literary devices such as metaphors, similes, personification, and onomatopoeia.
While it is used a lot to create an image or description in the reader's head, it is also used a lot to make the reader feel a certain way, or as a way of symbolism.
For more information on what imagery is, as well as some great examples, take a look at this video:
Imagery is very important for writers. It helps their language to appeal to readers and is a great way for them to portray their meaning and story. Without imagery, the person reading may not be able to imagine the world in a specific way the writer intended or had in mind.
Imagery aids the imagination to envision characters and scenes in the literary piece.
In addition to all of this, imagery using tools like metaphor, simile, personification, and onomatopoeia also beautify a piece of literature.
Here is a great example of how imageryenhancesa piece of writing:
Original sentence: She drank water on a hot day.
Added imagery: The cool, refreshing water quenched her thirst as the scorching sun radiated on her.
We have mentioned above that imagery is used to appeal to a reader's five senses, each of these has their own name or 'type.'
Includes colours, shapes, sizes and patterns of things. Words like burnt orange, circular, tall, miniature, faded blue,striped and conical.
For example:
"The wall towered above us, slate grey and polished flat"
"The candle flame danced in the dark"
Includes anything you hear - whether that's people's voices, the sounds of nature or even complete silence. Words like birdsong, beautiful voice, gusts of wind and onomatopoeias.
For example:
"Walking through the woods, there was a calm and eerie silence"
"The booming thunderstorm scared the little girl"
Olfactory imagery describes that the reader should smell - good or bad. This could be describing fragrances such as perfumes, food and drink, flowers,rotten vegetables or a stinky wet dog.
For example:
"The freshly brewed coffee left a rich aroma in the room"
Includes everything we can taste - sweetness, sourness, saltiness and spiciness. Words likebitter, tart, mouth-watering, hotandsicklyare great to use.
For example:
"The cookies were delicious - warm, sickly and sweet"
"Jim bit into a lemon and it was incredibly sour"
Includes everything that we can feel or touch - this can be temperature, a person's movements and textures. Writers use words likerough, soft, smooth, sharpandhumid.
For example:
"The little boy touched the prickly cactus"
Imagery is very popular among fiction writers, poets and playwrights. Here is one of our favourite examples of imagery from Charles Dickens' Great Expectations:
“It was a rimy morning, and very damp. I had seen the damp lying on the outside of my little window… Now, I saw the damp lying on the bare hedges and spare grass, … On every rail and gate, wet lay clammy; and the marsh-mist was so thick, that the wooden finger on the post directing people to our village—a direction which they never accepted, for they never came there—was invisible to me until I was quite close under it.”
Can you see how Dickens appeals to lots of different senses to paint a picture in your mind? He uses words like 'damp,' 'wet,' and 'clammy' to appeal to the reader's sense of touch and writes 'invisible to me until I was quite close under it' that causes the reader to imagine what they would see if they were there watching.
Imagery, while important in most forms of writing, is vitally important to poetry above all others. Imagery in poetry allows writers to cram as much meaning and significance as they possibly can into the small amount of words allowed by the form.
In terms of the typically used types of imagery in poetry, they function in the same way as their literary counterparts, and are often used for the same effects. However, as mentioned, poems are often much shorter, and therefore more compressed than longer form fiction and other forms of writing.
Because of this, imagery in poetry will regularly be used for a collective effect. Writers may choose to repeatedly use the same kinds of images or motifs in their poems in order to evoke an overall effect. Discerning this will frequently reveal to us what the theme or message behind a poem is, if there indeed is one.
Take, for example, a repeated image of birds and flight. On a surface level, this may be simply what it appears to be: birds. But what connotations does this bring to the reader's mind? We associate birds with flight, which in turn as readers we associate with freedom. So, by using a motif of birds throughout a particular poem, a poet may be trying to allude to a desire for freedom, or escape.
Similarly, imagery in poetry can be used when a poet wishes to discuss an issue, but fears repercussions from doing so. One example of this is the poet Seamus Heaney, who wrote poetry during the height of unrest in his native Ireland. By using a theme of ancient history, Heaney was able to often write quite scathingly about both sides in the conflict, without attracting reprisal from either side.
Such is the power of imagery in poetry, making it an ideal mechanism by which a poet or writer can explore a theme.
The different literary devices that convey the five types of imagery will be taught to pupils once they begin KS2 English lessons.
In Year 5 & 6, as part of the National Curriculum for Literacy, teachers are expected to go through, discuss and evaluate how authors use language, including figurative language and, how it impacts the reader.
Teachers will encourage UKS2 pupils to begin using figurative language and imagery in their own writing.
If you’re looking for more teaching resources on imagery, you’re in the right place! We have lots of informative resources for you to use both in class and at home to help your children get to grips with imagery. Check out some of our top resources related to imagery below:
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