I Know What Imagery Is!
Imagery is one of the earliest taught elements of fiction. We actually use imagery in our everyday lives – in diary entries, conversing with friends, playing party games, even during meditation! In literature, imagery is an author’s use of words and/or phrases that appeal to any of our five senses. Therefore, there are five types of imagery: visual, aural, gustatory, olfactory, and tactile – which will be further explored below. The use of imagery engages a reader’s imagination and allows them to experience the writer’s words as if they were a part of their story. Toni Morrison, for example, uses imagery in her novel A Mercy to include her readers on her characters’ journeys.
For another explanation of imagery and how it is used in writing, please watch Miss C’s video on the subject here.
Types of Imagery:
Visual
o Visual imagery is an appeal to our sense of sight. This the most common type of imagery, occurring when the author uses illustrative language and/or analogies that allows the reader to visualize what is being described.
o “Her eyes are midnight black and shiny…Her talons are sharpened on rock; her beak is like the scythe of a war god” (Morrison 62). In this quote, the narrator describes the appearance of an eagle in a way that the reader can picture in their minds.
Aural
o Aural imagery is an appeal to our sense of hearing. This occurs when the author describes a noise, or sometimes the absence of noise, in enough detail that the reader can recall a similar sound and imagine it in the story.
o “Along with the sound of blowing wind there is the thump of my heart. It is louder than the wind… The wind dies down. My heartbeat joins the sound of mice feet” (Morrison 138). In this quote the narrator describes the pounding of her heartbeat – an intense sound the reader can recall and relate to.
o “I do hear the shoulder crack but the sound is small, no more than the crack of roast grouse makes when you tear it, warm and tender, from its breast” (Morrison 140). In this quote, the narrator compares the breaking of a shoulder – a sound that the reader may not be familiar with, to the ripping of meat off a bone – a sound most people know well.
Gustatory
o Gustatory imagery is an appeal to our sense of taste. When an author uses descriptive language that allows the reader to call to mind the flavor, or a similar one, it is gustatory imagery.
o “I put the dark strip on my tongue and I am correct. It is leather. Yet salty and spicy giving much comfort to your girl” (Morrison 103). In this quote, the narrator describes the taste of an unknown food. Can you guess what it is? That’s right! The narrator is tasting some type of meat jerky for the first time.
Olfactory
o Olfactory imagery is the use of language that appeals to our sense of smell.
o “Rain starts…it has a burn smell, like pin feathers singed before boiling a fowl” (Morrison 106). In this quote, the rain – which is known to have a varying smell – is compared to the scent of something burning, in this case feathers.
Tactile
o Tactile imagery occurs when an appeal to our sense of touch is made. When an author uses of language such as adjectives and analogies that describes a texture or feeling so well that the reader knows exactly how it feels, they are using tactile imagery.
o “I touch your anvil. It is cool and scraped smooth but it sings the heat it lives for” (Morrison 139). In this quote, the narrator recalls the feeling of an anvil – a tool the average reader probably is not familiar with but can now imagine from her description of its surface.
o “New grass is underfoot, deep, thick, tender as lamb’s wool” (Morrison 102). In this quote, the comparison of the grass and wool allows the reader to envision just how thick the newly grown grass is.