Imagery
According to Christine Abrize , most figures of speech cast up a picture in your mind. These picture created or suggested by the poet are called ‘images’. To participate fully in the word of poem, we must understand how the poet uses image to convey more than what is actually said or literally meant.
We speak of the picture evoked in a poem as “imagery”. Imagery refers to the “picture” which we perceive with our mind’s eyes, ears, nose, tongue, skin and through which we experience the “duplicate world” created by poetic language. Imagery evokes the meaning and truth of human experiences not in abstract terms, as in philosophy, but in more perceptible and tangible forms. This is a device by which the poet makes his meaning strong, clear and sure. The poet uses sound words and words of color and touch in addition to figures of speech. As well, concrete details that appeal to the reader’s senses are use to build up images.
Although most of the image-making words in any language appeal to sight (visual images), there are also image of touch (tactile), sound (auditory), taste (gustatory), smell (olfactory).
The followings are the examples of five images;
1. visual images “gray sea,” “yellow half-moon,” “Bare, ruined choirs”
2. tactile images “the slushy sand” “warm beach” “Come to window, sweet is the night air”
3. auditory images “a tap at the pane” “two hearts beating each to each”
4. gustatory images “fresh and crisp” “sweet white wine” “they were delicious/ so sweet and so cold”
5. olfactory images “sea-scented beach” “cedarwood” “smoke stack”