Imagery A Feast for the Senses

What Is Imagery? Imagery is language that appeals to the senses—sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell. hearing Digital Image copyright © 2003 PhotoDisc, Inc. taste Corbis Images/HRW smell Digital Image copyright © 2003 PhotoDisc, Inc. touch Digital Image copyright © 2003 PhotoDisc, Inc. sight Digital Image copyright © 2003 PhotoDisc, Inc.

Examples of Imagery SightFor a brief second, a spike of lightning illuminated the dark purple clouds. HearingA faint buzz of voices came from behind the closed door. TouchThe wool jacket felt prickly against her fingers. TasteThe sweet yet tart taste of the apple juice flooded his mouth. SmellThe sharp aroma of pine needles filled the air.

Imagery and Description Imagery allows a writer to create vivid descriptions of settings characters gestures and actions The earth appeared to tremble as the stampeding horses’ hooves pounded into the ground. The rumble gradually faded as the horses passed by, a slow moving blur of brown and white.

Imagery and Emotion Writers often use imagery to inspire emotion in a reader. The muted pat-pat of the rain was a gentle background to the murmuring voices in the kitchen. Though the windows were dark, the soft yellow glow of the lamp made the room cheery.

Too Much Imagery Be careful not to overuse imagery in your writing. Too much imagery can be distracting be confusing make a passage unreadable The busy park was filled with the loud shouts and screams of crazily running children dressed in bright colors. Two young girls were dangling their mosquito-bitten legs over the dark blue seesaw, made smooth after years of use. The delicious smell of popcorn wafted through the air.

What Have You Learned? 1.Imagery is language that appeals to the senses. a. true b. false 2.Which of these words would appeal to a person’s sense of taste? a. fuzzyc. bitter b. smoothd. loud 3.“The scarf was warm and scratchy” appeals to the sense of a. smellc. sight b. touchd. hearing

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