Imagery

Definition:  Imagery means to use figurative language to represent objects, actions and ideas in such a way that it appeals to our physical senses.  Imagery is more than just creating a visual picture in our mind. It makes use of all 5 of our basic senses to make us mentally experience something.

The 5 Senses.  It was dark and dim in the forest. – The words “dark” and “dim” are visual images.  The children were screaming and shouting in the fields. – “Screaming” and “shouting” appeal to our sense of hearing or auditory sense.  He whiffed the aroma of brewed coffee. – “whiff” and “aroma” evoke our sense of smell or olfactory sense.  The girl ran her hands on a soft satin fabric. – The idea of “soft” in this example appeals to our sense of touch or tactile sense.  The fresh and juicy orange is very cold and sweet. – “ juicy” and “sweet” when associated with oranges have an effect on our sense of taste or gustatory sense.  Imagery benefits from the aid of figures of speech like simile, metaphor, personification, onomatopoeia etc. in order to appeal to the bodily senses.

Close your eyes.

Eating a Lemon Visualization Exercise: Imagine you are in a kitchen somewhere. On a bench is a basket of lemons. You reach out and select a ripe yellow lemon. You feel the weight of the lemon in your hand..., you slide your fingers over the smooth waxy skin... feel the dimpled texture... You lift the lemon to your face and breathe in that lemony smell... and then you slice the lemon open. As the bright yellow flesh is exposed you see the juice run out... a lovely lemony citrus aroma fills the room. You cut a slice and put it in your mouth. You bite down on it.... the juice runs over your tongue... your mouth fills with the taste of lemon juice...

Close your eyes again

Scene visualisation exercise. Relax and close your eyes. Take a deep breath and let it go noisily. Do it again Take another breath and just let it go gently, but as you do shrug your shoulders and let your arms relax. Take another breath and let it go gently, and as you do allow you arms and legs to get heavy. Allow your breathing to settle and focus on each out breath. Just become aware of the breath coming out. Focus on your breath, as it comes in gently and goes out gently. Focus your awareness on the passage of the air as it passes inside your head and throat.

Scene visualisation exercise. Imagine you are sitting on a beach. It might be a beach that you know well, or a beach that you have never been to. Think about what you see…What do you smell?…what do you hear? How do you feel? Are you warm? Cold? Is it windy or is it calm? Is there sand? Are you touching the sand with your bare toes, or do you have shoes on? What is the weather like? Is it sunny or stormy or just dull? Now imagine that a door appears in front of you. What colour is it? How big is it? What is it made out of? You get up slowly and walk to the door. You reach out and open it. How heavy is it? Does it make a sound?

Scene visualisation exercise. You step through the door into a completely different place. Where are you? Is it a place that you know well, or is it somewhere you have never been before? What does it smell like? What do you hear? What do you feel? Is it cold? Hot? Room temperature? As you stand in this new setting you notice that you are not alone. Somebody is sitting quietly with their back to you a few meters away. You call out to them, and they turn their head. What do they look like? Is it a female or a male? Do you recognise them, or are they a stranger? How would their hair feel to touch? What are they wearing? The person slowly gets up and walks towards you. They get within a couple feet of you and stop. They nod as if they were expecting you. They are close enough for you to smell them. What do you smell? They have been eating lunch. They reach out and offer you some.

What are they eating? How does it smell? You take it, and take a bite. Flavour fills your mouth. What does it take like? Is it a good taste, or a bad taste? You swallow. You feel the food going down your throat to your stomach. The person leans forwards and whispers something to you. What do they sound like. What did they say? How does it make you feel? The person then turns and walks away, and with every step their images fades into the landscape. Before they have gone ten paces they have completely disappeared. You turn around and face the door that you walked through. Again you open it and step through back onto the beach that you were on. Slowly you walk back to the place you were and sit down. You close your eyes. As you take a deep breath your consciousness drifts away. You may now open your eyes

Discuss with a partner what you experienced.  What was the beach like?  Where did the door take you?  Who did you meet?  What did they give you to eat?  What did they say to you?

Assignment:  Using imagery related to all five senses (Sight, sound, touch, smell, taste) write an imaginary scene that includes at least one character, and a description of the setting that the character is in. The description should be at least one paragraph long, and must include imagery that alludes to all 5 of the senses.