“Stop this nonsensical horsing around and use your senses!”

Imagery “Stop this nonsensical horsing around and use your senses!” “Hey, do you know a good plastic surgeon? My nostrils are, like, on my cheeks!”

What Is Imagery? Imagery is language that appeals to any of the six senses and helps create a visual or sensation in our minds. Sight! Sound! Touch! Smell! Taste! Emotions Imagery is used to add impact to all types of writing, but it is most important in poetry.

Examples of Imagery Sight! I get mesmerized by campfires. The orange and red flames seem to sing and dance for me. I love putting my head inside the church bell; its clings and clangs are soothing to my soul.” I also love soft, smooth butter on my face. It’s way better than any other type of aftershave. In the garden, the scent of roses kisses the air and squelches the acrid aroma of my neighbor’s musty, funky, and gassy body odor. Too thirsty to drink just tap water, we slammed glasses of bitter, sour, and moldy grapefruit juice. Fortunately, Jim’s dad had a stomach pump. Sound! Touch! Smell! Taste!

Imagery and Description *Imagery can draw readers into a piece of writing and bring its elements to life. Writers use imagery to create vivid descriptions of… • settings • characters • actions Hey Doc, is it normal to want to sniff other dogs’ bottoms? Sitting barefoot on the coarse granite floor, the little boy gripped the Sharpies in his rather large fist. The pens scraped and smudged against the wall, a swirl of teal and fuchsia, indigo and cranberry. Moments later, the boy stood, breathed in the chemical scent of the pen, got slightly buzzed, and then yelled, “Potato salad!” his voice bouncing around his cement room.

Imagery and Emotion “My head is bulbous and twice the size of my body,hence the tears.” *Imagery not only describes, it also communicates unspoken thoughts and feelings. *Imagery can create a mood or atmosphere. “Hey, where’s the handle for this toilet?” Bobby sat in the corner of his bedroom, tears dotting his Kelly Clarkson concert T-shirt. His heart beat slowly and heavily as he went over in his head the last conversation he had with Bobina: his now ex-girlfriend. The now darkened room matched his mood until his little four-year-old sister Trixie bolted through the door asking Bobby if he had any idea how to remove Gorilla Glue. Seeing that his sister’s hands were glued together, Bobbie exploded with laughter and deviously instructed her to immerse her hands in honey and maple syrup.

Too Much of a Good Thing? As with any kind of description, too much imagery can make a piece of writing confusing or boring. A writer should just use imagery to bring important things to life, not random or unimportant things. Is all the imagery below necessary? Nigel opened his scuffed and ripped up, old textbook to page 487. He noticed the page was a light yellow and wrinkly in places, probably indicating that the book was ancient and someone had once spilled water on it. He then began reading the twelve-point Garamond font and wondered who came up with the name “font” for style of lettering. As he finished the first two pages, his index finger rubbed across the smooth and slippery page in an effort to turn to the next page. He heard the whisk from the page turn and instantly remembered that eggs scrambled with a whisk make way better scrambled eggs than fork scrambled eggs. This, then, made him think of pepper. “Eggs without pepper is scandalous,” he thought.

S3T2E The End

“Stop this nonsensical horsing around and use your senses!”