Imagery and Figurative Language Descriptive Language

What Is Imagery? Imagery is language that appeals to the senses: sight, hearing, taste, touch, and smell. Imagery is used to evoke sensory impressions. Images are most often visual.

Examples of Imagery TactileThe softness of the rose petals contrasted intensely with the sharp stab of the thorns. GustatoryThe whole-grain waffle had a sweet, nutty taste. AuditoryThe owls hooting, the frogs croaking, and the sounds of nocturnal creatures rummaging in the woods made me want to abandon the campsite for the familiar sounds of the city. OlfactoryThe sweet, earthy aroma of fresh herbs and baking bread beckoned me into the kitchen. VisualThe sapling with delicate green leaves grew on a small ledge on the white limestone cliff.

MORE! Kinetic Imagery involving motion Organic Imagery that refers to sensations such as nausea, dizziness, happiness, etc

Synthesia Is a device which describes one sense in terms of another

Why Employ Imagery? Using imagery serves several valuable functions for the writer and reader. Imagery is extremely economical; one image can communicate pages worth of factual material brings subject matter to life and sparks the imagination creates a mood and elicits emotional responses presents ideas that would be difficult to convey in any other way

What Is Figurative Language? Figurative language is language that intentionally departs from the normal construction or meaning of words in order to create a certain effect or to make an analogy between two seemingly dissimilar things. Figurative language includes all figures of speech— words or phrases that describe one thing in terms of another and are not meant to be understood on a literal level.

Types of Figures of Speech There are about 250 different types of figures of speech identified. Six common figures of speech include metaphor simile personification oxymoron metonymy synecdoche

Types of Figures of Speech Metaphor—a figure of speech that makes a comparison between two seemingly unlike things without using a connective word such as like, as, than, or resembles My soul is an enchanted boat... from Prometheus Unbound by Percy Bysshe Shelley Simile—a figure of speech that makes a comparison between two seemingly unlike things by using a connective word such as like, as, than, or resembles She walks in beauty like the night Of cloudless climes and starry skies... from “She Walks in Beauty” by George Gordon, Lord Byron

Types of Figures of Speech Anthropomorphism—a kind of metaphor in which a nonhuman thing or quality is talked about as if it were human Personification-a kind of metaphor in which a nonhuman thing or quality is given human physicality This City now doth, like a garment, wear The beauty of the morning... from “Composed upon Westminster Bridge” by William Wordsworth

MORE Oxymoron—a figure of speech that combines apparently contradictory or incongruous ideas No light, but rather darkness visible... from Paradise Lost by John Milton

Types of Figures of Speech Metonymy—a figure of speech in which something closely related to a thing or suggested by it is substituted for the thing itself When I have fears that I may cease to be Before my pen has gleaned my teeming brain... from “When I Have Fears” by John Keats

Synecdoche figure of speech in which a part of something closely related to a thing or suggested by it is substituted for the thing itself

What Have You Learned? Match each term to its definition. ____________— a figure of speech in which something closely related to a thing or suggested by it is substituted for the thing itself ____________— a broad category that includes all figures of speech ____________— a figure of speech that combines apparently contradictory or incongruous ideas ____________— language that appeals to the senses: sight, hearing, taste, touch, and smell Figurative languageImagery MetonymyOxymoron Figurative language Metonymy Imagery Oxymoron

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