Imagery & Figurative Language An “image” is “a word or sequence of words that refers to any sensory experience”

Imagery What are your five senses? Sight, Hearing, Touch, Taste, and Smell  An image conveys a sense perception, i.e., a visual picture, a sound, a feeling of touch, a taste, or an odor

Figures of Speech Figurative language uses figures of speech to convey unique images and create some sort of special effect or impression. A “figure of speech” is an intentional difference from the ordinary usage of language.

Poetry works by comparison  Poets often create images or enhance meaning by comparing one thing to another for special effect.

Simile  A simile is a type of metaphor, a figure in which an clear comparison is made using the comparative words like, as, resembles, than. Similes are easy to spot. (X is like Y: X is compared to Y in order to illustrate X more fancifully, poetically, or effectively. But Y is not a literal representation of X, not actual.)  The team’s center looked like a skyscraper.  My love is like a red, red rose.  We were as quiet as frightened mice.

More similes  Dumb as a door knob  As good as gold  Like a bat out of hell  Tough as nails  Working like a dog  Larger than life

Metaphor  A metaphor also compares, but a metaphor is a bit more sophisticated than a simile.  For one thing, in a metaphor, the words like or as are missing. So readers have to recognize the comparison on their own without those easy words which help us to spot a simile so quickly.

Metaphor (continued) In a metaphor, a poet writes that X is Y. Readers understand that we are not to take the comparison literally, but that the metaphor helps us to see X in a new way. My brother is a prince. Paul Brown Stadium was a slaughterhouse.

More metaphors  Jimmy was a lion in the fight.  Her eyes are dark emeralds.  Her teeth are pearls.  There are plenty of fish in the sea

Personification Another kind of comparison is called personification. Here, animals, elements of nature, and objects are given human qualities. -The full moon smiled down at me – An angry wind slashed its way across the island.

More on Figurative Language  The three main uses of figurative language needed to read poetry are the previous: –Simile –Metaphor –Personification –But there are many other poetic devices used. The more you recognize, the richer your reading experience can be.

Hyperbole  Hyperbole is intentional exaggeration or overstating, often for dramatic or humorous effect: Your predicament saddens me so much that I feel a actual flood of tears coming on:

Symbol  A symbol is a person, place, an object, or an action that stands for something beyond itself.  A dove is a symbol for peace.  In slave code songs, a drinking gourd is a symbol for the big dipper.

The End………