Literary term: imagery
Imagery -- the author's use of vivid and descriptive words to add depth to his/her work. It appeals to the senses to enhances the understanding of the writer's work by creating a tone or mood. Imagery allows the reader to visualize the author’s writings. Metaphors, allusions, descriptive words and similes are used to awaken the readers’ senses.
EXAMPLE from "The Sniper"
"The long June twilight faded into night. Dublin lay enveloped in darkness but for the dim light of the moon that shone through fleecy clouds, casting a pale light as of approaching dawn over the streets and the dark waters of the Liffey. Around the beleaguered Four Courts the heavy guns roared. Here and there through the city, machine guns and rifles broke the silence of the night, spasmodically, like dogs barking on lone farms. Republicans and Free Staters were waging civil war."
-- The imagery in first two sentence create a night along the Liffey, a river that flows through the center of Dublin. O'Flaherty uses a metaphor to compare the moon's light in the cloud to "the pale light" of "approaching dawn." The mood created by the imagery is of calm and peacefulness.
-- The author uses the next two sentences to contrast the first two with the sounds interrupting the peacefulness: "Heavy guns roar" and "machine guns and rifles broke the silence of the night." He use a simile to compare the guns to "dogs barking on lone farms."
-- The last line pits the Free-stater against the Republicans like lions (roaring) and dogs barking -- like animals fighting (cats and dogs).
-- The author uses the next two sentences to contrast the first two with the sounds interrupting the peacefulness: "Heavy guns roar" and "machine guns and rifles broke the silence of the night." He use a simile to compare the guns to "dogs barking on lone farms."
-- The last line pits the Free-stater against the Republicans like lions (roaring) and dogs barking -- like animals fighting (cats and dogs).
APPEALING TO THE SENSES
- Twilight faded into night. – The words “twilight” and “night” are visual images.
- ...like dogs barking on lone farms. - “barking" appeals to our sense of hearing or auditory sense.
- The sniper took another whiff and put out the cigarette. – “whiff” evokes our sense of smell or olfactory sense.
- He ground his teeth to overcome the pain. – The idea of “grinding” in this example appeals to our sense of touch or tactile sense.
- let the bitter fluid drip into the wound – “ bitter” has an effect on our sense of taste or gustatory sense.
