Presentation Transcript
Imagery: Imagery Notes from chapter 4 of Perrine’s 1956 version of Sound and Sense: An Introduction to Poetry
Making Sense of Poetry: Making Sense of Poetry Experience comes to us through the senses, so poets must use sensuous language.
Imagery—the representation through language of sense experiences.
Poetry’s music and rhythm is a direct appeal to our senses; imagery is an indirect appeal.
Visual imagery appears in poetry, but an image may also represent other senses.
(Read and discuss 'Meeting at Night.')
“Meeting at Night”: 'Meeting at Night' This is a poem about love:
Being in love is a sweet and exciting experience
To a lover, the most trivial things are significant
The beloved becomes the most important
The word 'love' is never used / the poem communicates an experience, not information:
Situation: lover goes to meet the beloved
The lover’s journey is described according to sense impressions
(Read and discuss 'Parting at Morning.')
Using Imagery: Using Imagery More is not always better with imagery
'The Eagle' clasps the crag with 'crooked hands'
'Richard Cory' 'glittered when he walked'
In general, poets will favor concrete or image-bearing words in preference to abstract or non-image-bearing words