The 5 different types of imagery correspond with the five senses: visual, olfactory (smell), gustatory (taste), tactile (touch), and auditory (sound). Visual imagery is the most obvious and typical form of imagery. When you’re writing a scene, whether you’re describing a person, place, or thing, it’s best to show instead of tell.
Full Answer
What are five of imagery?
- An oak tree
- A rose
- A sailing boat
- A button
- A computer
- Auditory
- To evoke auditory imagery, imagine the following:
- The wind blowing through the trees
- The ring on your telephone
- The sound of your computer keyboard
What is the best example of imagery?
What is the best example of imagery? Common Examples of Imagery Taste: The familiar tang of his grandmother’s cranberry sauce reminded him of his youth. Sound: The concert was so loud that her ears rang for days afterward. Sight: The sunset was the most gorgeous they’d ever seen; the clouds were edged with pink and …
What are the five types of imagery in literature?
What are the 5 types of imagery? There are five main types of imagery, each related to one of the human senses: Visual imagery (sight) Auditory imagery (hearing) Olfactory imagery (smell) Gustatory imagery (taste) Tactile imagery (touch) What is an imagery in literature? Imagery is language used by poets, novelists and other writers to create ...
How to identify imagery?
Imagery
- Definition of Imagery. Imagery is a literary device that refers to the use of figurative language to evoke a sensory experience or create a picture with words for a reader.
- Common Examples of Imagery in Everyday Speech. ...
- Types of Poetic Imagery. ...
- Famous Examples of Imagery in Shakespearean Works. ...
- Writing Imagery. ...
- Examples of Imagery in Literature. ...
What are 5 examples of imagery?
Here are some common examples of imagery in everyday speech:The autumn leaves are a blanket on the ground.Her lips tasted as sweet as sugar.His words felt like a dagger in my heart.My head is pounding like a drum.The kitten's fur is milky.The siren turned into a whisper as it ended.More items...
What is imagery and its examples?
Imagery is descriptive language used to appeal to a reader's senses: touch, taste, smell, sound, and sight. By adding these details, it makes our writing more interesting. Here is an example of how adding imagery enhances your writing. Original sentence: She drank water on a hot day.
What are the 5 parts of imagery?
5 Types of ImageryVisual Imagery Definition. Visual imagery is description that stimulates the eyes. ... Auditory Imagery Definition. Auditory imagery is description that stimulates the ears. ... Tactile Imagery Definition. ... Olfactory Imagery Definition. ... Gustatory Imagery Definition.
What are the 6 kinds of imagery?
Kinesthesia or Kinesthetic imagery. Kinesthesia refers to imagery depicting natural movement, motion or action. ... Auditory imagery. Auditory imagery is imagery which appeals to the sense of hearing. ... Visual imagery. ... Tactile imagery. ... Olfactory imagery. ... Gustatory imagery.
What are the 7 types of imagery?
There are seven distinct types of imagery:Visual.Auditory.Olfactory.Gustatory.Tactile.Kinesthetic.Organic.
What is imagery in poetry with examples?
Often, imagery is built on other literary devices, such as simile or metaphor, as the author uses comparisons to appeal to our senses. Examples of Imagery: 1. I could hear the popping and crackling as mom dropped the bacon into the frying pan, and soon the salty, greasy smell wafted toward me.
What is the best definition of imagery?
Definition of imagery 1a : pictures produced by an imaging system. b : the product of image makers : images also : the art of making images. 2 : figurative language. 3 : mental images especially : the products of imagination. Example Sentences Phrases Containing imagery Learn More About imagery.
What is an example of organic imagery?
Examples of organic imagery: Her eyes lit up the moment she saw him, and she ran into his arms. He lowered his head and covered his face with his hands. He couldn't bear for her to see what her words had done to him.
What is the definition of imagery in literature?
Imagery, in any sort of writing, encompasses the use of literal or figurative language to add symbolism and enable the reader to imagine the world of the piece of literature. In other words, it engages the senses to deepen the reader's comprehension of what is happening and how to feel about it.
What are the 5 senses?
When we think of human senses we think of eyesight, hearing, taste, touch and smell. Yet we have always known that we are capable of sensing much more than this.
What is an example of olfactory imagery?
Olfactory Imagery - This form of imagery calls to our sense of smell. For example, “She walked into the abandoned home and caught the scent of mothballs. The pungent odor immediately transported her back to her grandmother's attic, riddled with tattered leather jackets and walls of cardboard boxes.”
What is imagery in writing?
Imagery is a literary device that uses descriptive language to create a mental snapshot for the reader. This can be used to give context to the events of your story, to immerse your reader in an unfamiliar setting, to communicate mood and tone for a particular scene, or to create an emotional response in your reader.
How is imagery different from symbolism?
Imagery and symbolism are two literary devices that sound kind of similar because they both use images to communicate with the reader. But they’re not quite the same. The biggest difference between imagery and symbolism is that imagery engages the reader on a sensory, emotional level, and symbolism engages the reader on a more intellectual level.
Literal vs. figurative imagery
When we talk about imagery, we’re really talking about two distinct devices: literal imagery and figurative imagery. Let’s look a little closer at each one.
Types of imagery to use in your story
Effective imagery uses all of the senses to create a detailed world for your story. Most of us rely mainly on our eyes to take in information, but as a writer, you have a whole range of senses to explore. Every one of them can be used to bring your reader deeper and deeper into your story world.
How increasing your sensory awareness will make you a better writer
Here’s a fun, easy exercise to help you develop your writer’s muscles and create stronger imagery for your story.
Imagery gives life and color to your writing
Imagery is around us all the time in the things we see, hear, smell, taste, and feel. Using imagery in your writing is a great way to communicate new information with the reader, create a shift in tone from one moment to another, enhance the mood of a particular scene, and bring new life to your story.
Visual Imagery
Visual imagery is the most common form of imagery in literature. At its core, every story has five elements: introduction, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. Tied into each of those elements are vivid images of the characters and the scenery, making visual imagery not only common but paramount.
Olfactory Imagery
Science has proven our sense of smell is our strongest link to the past. A single whiff of our mother’s favorite flower can take us back in time. To no surprise, authors want to tap into some of that.
Gustatory Imagery
Gustatory imagery has to do with our taste buds. After you stop sniffing those scones, you’re going to want to sink your teeth into one. It's all about your sense of taste.
Tactile Imagery
Tactile imagery reaches out to our sense of touch. Perhaps a shop clerk in Ireland will envelop his customer in a handmade cashmere wrap while the silky wool breezes against her arm in a whisper of softness.
Auditory Imagery
Finally, auditory imagery appeals to our sense of hearing. Perhaps a happy couple will scoop their newborn puppy up in the middle of the night because his yipping was tearing at their eardrums - and their hearts.
Live in Literature
Who needs a blockbuster movie to take us on a sensory ride? All you have to do is crack open a book to dive in worlds untapped. Before you know it, all five of your senses will take a lightning rod ride down the imagination highway. And don’t let the journey end at the end of a chapter.
Imagery Definition: What is Imagery?
Imagery refers to language that stimulates the reader’s senses. By evoking those senses through touch, taste, sound, smell, and sight, the writer imparts a deeper understanding of the human experience, connecting with the reader through a shared sensory experience.
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In a song inspired class, write several essays about the music that has moved you through life: the emotions, the relationships, the events, the outcomes.
5 Types of Imagery
Corresponding with the 5 senses, there are 5 types of imagery at a writer’s disposal. (Actually, there’s 7—but we’ll handle those last two separately.)
Kinesthetic Imagery and Organic Imagery
Writers have another 2 types of imagery at their disposal: kinesthetic imagery and organic imagery. We include these as separate types of imagery because they describe senses that are more abstract than the other 5.
Imagery Writing Exercises
The importance of descriptive, concrete imagery to creative writing cannot be understated. To master this literary device, try your hand at the following 5 writing exercises.
Transport Your Readers at Writers.com
Why do authors use imagery? To transport their readers to new and believable worlds. To learn more about imagery and practice it in your writing, take a look at the upcoming courses at Writers.com.
What is imagery in writing?
Imagery, in any sort of writing, refers to descriptive language that engages the human senses. For instance, the following lines from Robert Frost's poem "After Apple-Picking" contain imagery that engages the senses of touch, movement, and hearing: "I feel the ladder sway as the boughs bend.
What is the meaning of imagery?
Though imagery contains the word "image," it does not only refer to descriptive language that appeals to the sense of sight. Imagery includes language that appeals to all of the human senses, including sight, hearing, taste, touch, and smell.
What is the difference between writing without imagery and writing with imagery?
It's interesting: Writing without imagery would be dry and dull, while writing with imagery can be vibrant and gripping. It can set the scene and communicate character: The description of how a person or place looks, moves, sounds, smells, does as much to tell you about that person or place as any explanation can.
What is the imagery in "Birches"?
The language he uses in the description involves imagery of sight, movement, and sound. When I see birches bend to left and right.
How does Toni Morrison use visual imagery?
In this passage from Song of Solomon, Toni Morrison uses visual imagery to capture the color and motion of the table cloth as it settles over the table. She also uses figurative language ("like a lighthouse keeper...") to describe the way that Ruth in the passage looks at the water stain on the table. The figurative language doesn't just describe the color or sound or smell of the scene, it captures the obsessive way that Ruth glances at the water stain, and the way that seeing it gives her a sense of ease. Here the figurative language deepens the imagery of the scene.
What is figurative language?
A Quick Definition of Figurative Language. Figurative language is language that creates a meaning that is different from the literal interpretation of the words. For instance, the phrase "you are my sunshine" is figurative language (a metaphor, to be precise).
What is the importance of imagery in a text?
It can be symbolic: Imagery can both describe the world and establish symbolic meanings that deepen the impact of the text.
What is an Imagery in Literature?
This literary device uses an effective creative writing method that evokes the sense of smell, sight, taste, touch, and even internal feeling and emotions. It is not only an external feeling but is also an internal feeling which is involved with imagery. Imagery is the use of language and symbolism in writing which make our five senses active.
What are Literary Imagery and Figurative Imagery Types?
Literary imagery is the one in which no symbolic language is used. The things are expressed by the author as they are.
What are the examples of Imagery in Literature?
Shakespearean writers used a huge amount of imagery in their writings. Some of the examples of the use of imagery used by him are:
Concluding Remarks
Imagery stimulates the sense and emotions of the readers. They get more attached to writing when they feel it. The imagery just does this particular job in a great way. It can be said that it is a necessary and relevant device that can make creative writing more appealing and aesthetic.
How many types of imagery are there?
There are seven different types of imagery that writer’s use. All are in one way or another dependent on the reader’s senses. Let’s take a look at the types of imagery that are most commonly used in literature.
What type of imagery is used to describe how something feels?
To create the sensory experience of touch through text, writers utilize tactile imagery. This type of imagery can be used to describe how something feels such as texture, temperature, wetness, dryness, etc.
What is gustatory imagery?
Gustatory imagery is a type of imagery that aims at a reader’s sense of taste. This would most commonly be used to describe food as a character eats it. A great example of this can be found in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis.
What is imagery in literature?
What is Imagery — Definition & Examples in Literature & Poetry. D escribing sensory experiences through the medium of writing and text can be difficult . By enlisting the use of imagery, writers are able to vividly describe experiences, actions, characters, and places through written language. What is imagery exactly.
What is kinesthetic imagery?
Kinesthetic imagery is used to describe the sensory experience of motion. Speed, slowness, falling, or even fighting can be written with kinesthetic imagery. In the world of screenwriting, kinesthetic imagery is perhaps most important in the genre of action films.
What is visual imagery?
Visual Imagery. Visual imagery is most likely what people think of when they hear the term imagery. It uses qualities of how something looks visually to best create an image in the reader’s head. These visual qualities can be shapes, color, light, shadow, or even patterns. It is one of the most common types of imagery as it allows readers ...
How does imagery help in writing?
Through language, imagery does not only paint a picture, but aims to portray the sensational and emotional experience within text. Imagery can improve a reader’s experience of the text by immersing them more deeply by appealing to their senses.