Imagery

 

Figurative Language 

Figurative language refers to various forms of imagery that are based around comparisons. This includes various techniques which are commonly used in poetry, including similes, metaphor and personification.

To say “I am literally dying” means that you are in the process of dying. However, we often use the word “dying” in a figurative (non-literal) sense: for example, when someone says “I’m dying of boredom”, they usually mean that they are very, very bored (otherwise it would mean that the boredom is causing them to die).

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Simile

A simile is an indirect comparison between two things which uses the words ‘as’ or ‘like’.

Here is a particularly eloquent example from the poem ‘Upon Westminster Bridge’ by William Wordsworth:

“This City now does, like a garment, wear

The beauty of the morning: silent, bare…”

The phrase “like a garment” tell us that this is a simile, because the word “like” is used to make the comparison. These lines equate the beauty of the scene to a piece of clothing that the city ‘wears’.

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Metaphor

A metaphor is a direct comparison between two things. A metaphor does not use the words ‘as’ or ‘like’, but will instead describe something a ‘being’ the thing to which it is compared.

Here is another example from the poem ‘Upon Westminster Bridge’ by William Wordsworth:

“Dear God! The very house seems asleep;

And all that mighty heart is lying still.”

The ‘heart’ is a reference to the city which is being described in the poem. Of course, a city is not a literal ‘heart’ (i.e. an organ that pumps blood around an animal’s body). However, speaking metaphorically, a city like London can be seen as the ‘heart’ of a county, as it is the capital city and the centre of government.

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Personification

Personification is when an inanimate object (such as a table, house, city, tree, river or the wind) or an abstract idea (such as betrayal, cruelty, courage, friendship or justice) is given human qualities or actions. The author is trying to make the thing seem more like a person by giving it human traits.

Here is a third example from the poem ‘Upon Westminster Bridge’ by William Wordsworth:

“The river glided at his own sweet will.”

The river is made to sound like a person: it is referred to as “he” and has his own “will” (i.e. motivation or determination).

 

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Aural Imagery

Aural (i.e. sound) imagery is where the language within a piece of writing is deliberately manipulated to create certain sounds. If one of these techniques is used in a piece of writing, then it will usually have been done for a very specific and deliberate reason, with a intended effect on the person reading or reading (or hearing) the text.

While it is useful to be able to pick out the different sound imagery that a writer uses, it is more important to comment upon the impact this technique has on the person reading or hearing this piece of writing.

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Alliteration

Alliteration is the repetition of a consonant sound, usually at the beginning of a word, repeated over several words together.

The following examples of alliteration come from Philip Larkin’s poem ‘Naturally the Foundation Will Pay Your Expenses’:

“I pondered pages…”

“Crowds, colourless and careworn…”

“Still act their solmen-sinister…”

 

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Assonance

Assonance is very similar to alliteration, except that it involves the repetition of a vowel sound. This vowel sound can come from either the beginning of or within a word.

Here is an example from the poem ‘Frog Autumn’ by Sylvia Plath:

“Summer grows old, cold-booded mother…”

The repetition of long, dawn-out “o” sounds creates a sense of slowness, tiredness and lack of energy – the summer is coming to an end, and the winter is coming in like a the drowsiness of sleep.

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Onomatopoeia

Onomatopoeia is where the sound of a word reflects its meaning. For example, words like “bang”, “thud”, “crash” or “click” sound like the noises they describe.

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Worksheets

 

Useful Documents

 

External Resources