1. Imagery
…Huh?

2. What is it?
Imagery is used in literature to refer to descriptive language that evokes sensory experience.
What does this mean?
Things that appeal to:
Sight
Touch
Hearing
Taste
Smell

3. Real Imagery
A “good” author will not only appeal to your senses, they will create an entire scene so vivid that you can place yourself inside the scene, as if you were actually there! Talk about old school 3D!

4. Example: The boy pulled his sled
As the youthful boy struggled against the howling wind that seemed to batter him from all sides, he used the memory of the steaming hot chocolate and the smell of freshly baked cookies that his mother had promised him if he returned before dusk to drive himself onward. A glance over his shoulder revealed that the golden disk was rapidly disappearing beneath the horizon’s edge, as was his only hope of indulging in the blissful warmth of liquid chocolate. The thought of the warmth and security of home brought a tear to his eye as the wind roared around him like a chorus of a thousand banshees. The tear rolled down his face, leaving a frozen trail upon his beardless cheek, coming to rest at the corner of his parched lips, filling his mouth with the salty taste of defeat. It was just that the sled was so heavy, as if dark angels sent from the bottomless pit of purgatory were piling pound after pound of wet snow upon it. Then hope appeared! A light, a beacon that beckoned to him infinitely more so than the seductive wailing of the devilish succubus that dogged his every step in the form of weariness. The light came from his front porch, as if his mother had known of his trials and tribulations, and gave him a lighthouse chance of success. It was then, however, that he fell…

5. Sight Touch Hearing Taste Smell
As the youthful boy struggled against the howling wind that seemed to batter him from all sides, he used the memory of the steaming hot chocolate and the smell of freshly baked cookies that his mother had promised him if he returned before dusk to drive himself onward. A glance over his shoulder revealed that the golden disk was rapidly disappearing beneath the horizon’s edge, as was his only hope of indulging in the blissful sweatiness of liquid chocolate. The thought of the warmth and security of home brought a tear to his eye as the wind roared around him like a chorus of a thousand banshees. The tear rolled down his face, leaving a frozen trail upon his beardless cheek, coming to rest at the corner of his parched lips, filling his mouth with the salty taste of defeat. It was just that the sled was so heavy, as if dark angels sent from the bottomless pit of purgatory were piling pound after pound of wet snow upon it. Then hope appeared! A light, a beacon that beckoned to him infinitely more so than the seductive wailing of the devilish succubus that dogged his every step in the form of weariness. The light came from his front porch, as if his mother had known of his trials and tribulations, and gave him a lighthouse chance of success. It was then, however, that he fell…

6. Sight
“A glance over his shoulder revealed that the golden disk was rapidly disappearing beneath the horizon’s edge”
“A light, a beacon that beckoned to him”
“The light came from his front porch”

7. Touch “batter him from all sides” “brought a tear to his eye”
“The tear rolled down his face”
“a frozen trail upon his beardless cheek”
“the sled was so heavy”
“that he fell”

8. Hearing “the howling wind” “the wind roared”
“chorus of a thousand banshees”
“seductive wailing of the devilish succubus”

9. Taste “steaming hot chocolate” “freshly baked cookies”
“sweetiness of liquid chocolate”
“filling his mouth with the salty taste of defeat”

10. Smell
Taste and smell go hand in hand, thus typically appealing to one will appeal to the other.
“steaming hot chocolate”
“the smell of freshly baked cookies”

11. YOUR TURN! I am going to give you three simple statements.
Your job is to take those statements and make them as vivid and awesome as possible!
Use Awesome Adjectives!
Use Awesome Verbs!
Use Awesome Words!
…Because you are all AWESOME!

12. First Scenario…
The Woman was Pretty… or
The Man was Handsome

13. Example
There was just something unreal and supernatural about her. Her luminous face had a pale cast to it, as if never kissed by the sun. The eyes were a piercingly sharp shade of gray. Eyebrows were deeply arched before dispersing onto the bridge of her dainty nose. Plump, her lips had a mysterious curl to them as to show the owner secretly knew what the viewer did not. This enchanting face was framed by wavy, ebony-colored curls, each falling entirely to her graceful hips. Her black dress, though not revealing, did not hide the fact that she was a woman. In fact, the airy fabric seemed to accentuated it. The nobility of her presence would cause queens to curtsy and kings to bow. And yet…

14. Fifteenth Scenario…
The monster was scary…

15. 9 ¾ Scenario
The food was tasty

16. Second scenario…
The forest was dark…

17. Tense Subject Past Participle Singular Plural Present The car/cars is
Auxiliary
Past  Participle
Singular
Plural
Present
The car/cars is
are
designed.
Present perfect
has been
have been
Past
was
were
Past perfect
had been
Future
will be
Future perfect
will have been
Present progressive
is being
are being
Past progressive
was being
were being

19. Bringing Imagery to LIFE!
“It…is…ALIVE!”
Trade descriptions with a peer.
Once you have traded, You will have 5 minutes to draw on a separate sheet of paper the mental image that the descriptions evoked!

20. Putting it all together
After the 5 minutes is up and everyone is finished drawing, return the paper to its owner, along with the picture.
Original owner, it is your job to determine if the picture is close enough to what you originally thought of.

21. Smell acidic, acrid, aromatic, camphoric fetid flowery, foul, fragrant
fresh, funky, heady, musky, musty
nasty, noxious, perfumed, piney
pungent, rancid, savory, sharp
smelly, stinky, stuffy, sweet

22. Sound bang, blare, bleat, bray, brogue, caterwaul, chime
chirp, chortle, chuckle, clash, croak, croon, crunch, drone, fizz, grind, groan, gulp, gurgle, hoot, howl, jangle
jingle, knock, ping, plop, prattle, rap, rasp, rattle
roar, rumble, rustle, sizzle, slam, slap, slurp, snarl, strum
tap, thud, thunk, tinkle, trill, twang, warble, whack, whine, whistle, yodel

23. Taste sweet, acidic, biting, bitter brackish, briny, dry, flavorful
fruity, full-bodied, gamy
gross, juicy, peppery
rank, rich, sharp, sour
succulent, sugary, sweet
syrupy, tangy, tart
zesty, zingy

24. Touch
Bristly, burning, cold, cottony, damp, dry, feathery, frosty, furry, fuzzy, gnarled, hairy
Hot, knobbed, knotted, leathery, limp, lumpy
Oily, puffy, ribbed, rough, rubbery, sandy
Sharp, slimy, smooth, sticky, velvety, wet

25. Sight….
Self explanatory.