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Literature vocabulary · Literary Devices and Figures of Speech

Imagery

Meaning in literature, with examples

/ˈɪmɪdʒəri/nounCore term

In literature, imagery means: Descriptive language that appeals to the senses, such as sight, sound, smell, taste and touch, so that readers can picture or feel what is described.

In Turkish: imgeler, imge kullanımı, betimleyici dil

How it is used

A favorite term in poetry analysis and reviews. Critics describe imagery as vivid, rich, dark or sensory, and name its type: visual, auditory, natural or religious imagery. It is uncountable; a single picture created by words is 'an image'.

Example sentences

  1. The poem's imagery of rain and rust creates a feeling of decay.

  2. Notice how much of the imagery in the first chapter is about light and darkness.

Common collocations

  • vivid imagery
  • visual imagery
  • use of imagery
  • religious imagery
  • nature imagery
  • metaphorA figure of speech that describes one thing as if it were something else, without using 'like' or 'as', to show a hidden similarity.
  • simileA figure of speech that compares two different things directly, usually with the words 'like' or 'as', for example 'as cold as ice'.
  • symbolAn object, person, place or event in a text that stands for a larger idea beyond its literal meaning, such as a journey that represents life.
  • moodThe general feeling or atmosphere that a text creates in the reader, such as tension, sadness, peace or fear.
  • poetryLiterary writing arranged in lines that uses rhythm, sound, imagery and often rhyme to express feelings and ideas in a concentrated way.

More terms: Literary Devices and Figures of Speech

Practise with graded reading

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