Imagery

Imagery is descriptive language that appeals to the senses, sight, sound, smell, taste and touch, to make the reader see, hear or feel what the writer describes.

"The fog comes on little cat feet." Carl Sandburg's line gives you the fog without describing the fog. You feel it arrive, soft and silent. That is imagery.

The senses

• Sight. "A red scarf snagged on the fence."
• Sound. "Gravel popped under the tyres."
• Smell. "The kitchen smelled of burnt sugar and wet wool."
• Taste. "A tang of pennies in her mouth."
• Touch. "The rail was sticky and cold."

Most writers lean on sight. Using the other senses makes a scene feel inhabited.

Imagery at work

Imagery is how a writer follows show, don't tell. Instead of saying "the room was shabby", name the stained curtain and the chair with one leg propped on a book. The reader draws the conclusion. Imagery can also carry feeling. A desolate scene described in cold, empty images makes the reader feel desolate without being told.

Why it matters to a writer or editor

Editors look for specific over general: "a dog" becomes "a grey whippet", "a nice smell" becomes "bread". They also look for restraint. A paragraph crammed with images reads as purple prose. Aim for the one or two details that do the most work. Repeated images become motifs, and charged ones can grow into symbols. Comparisons that build an image are covered under metaphor and simile.

Frequently asked questions

What are the kinds of imagery?

Visual (sight), auditory (sound), olfactory (smell), gustatory (taste) and tactile (touch). Two more are sometimes listed: kinesthetic (movement) and organic (inner sensations such as hunger).

Is imagery the same as a metaphor?

No. Imagery is any sensory detail. A metaphor is one way to create it, by describing one thing as another.

How much imagery is too much?

When it slows the story and every noun comes with three adjectives. One precise detail usually beats a string of general ones.