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Poetry Forum Index -> Poetic Form and Technique

Beneath the canopy (#38 Imagery and expression)

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Eiregirl



Joined: 21 Jul 2005
Posts: 10230
Location: Chasing a pink bunny
Beneath the canopy (#38 Imagery and expression)

Some people have asked me why I do this because it looks like a lot of work.
Well first I want to thank everyone who has expressed their appreciation for this section of the board.
Thank you very much…It is a joy for me to do this. I do it because I enjoy it and because I love poetry and writing in general. I will admit that I do not know everything but I try…so if you have comments or questions… Smile

Beneath the canopy

Walking beneath the lush green canopy
In the air the fresh smell of a spring rain
A cool breeze softly brushes your cheek
As you walk the narrow trail under the trees

All the thoughts running in my mind
I smile and listen to the wind of spring
I hear the birds fly above as they sing
Looking back along the trial I see you

I see you there, walking toward me
Here I wait in the shade on a bench
A bench we made with our own hands
With you here with me, no happier I could be

Imagery in poetry

What does a poet do? A poet uses words…words to create an image in a persons mind. As the common saying goes…a poet uses words as a painter uses paint and a canvas. A poet uses descriptive words, words of colour, words of sound, words of taste and so on to paint a picture in the readers or perhaps listeners mind.

Sir Philip Sidney said: "Imaging is itself the very height and life of poetry."

What exactly is meant by “imagery” in a poem?
It is basically painting with words. It sets the mood, creates the setting and aids in the expression of the poem. It is a tool to be used to express what we see, what we hear, what we feel (touch) and to express our emotions. It is not something used to simply dress up a poem it is used to add reality to the words. When I say imagery I am not only talking about creating a simple visual image in our minds as we read the poem because other experiences can be expressed through imagery…such as sound, touch and smell. Understanding these imagery perceptions in a poem is essential to the overall appreciation and comprehension of a poems meaning to the reader. So we need to know how to create this imagery and express ourselves to the reader no matter how grand or simple the poem is and no matter the subject of the poem.

What could be more wonderful than to have our readers see with our eyes or hear with our ears? That is one of (and probably the greatest) desires we have as writers…to have those who read what we write experience a part of us. Imagery in a poem is very essential to the poem but we do not want to much imagery nor do we want to little. To much imagery will bog the poem down and to little imagery will leave the reader wondering what you were trying to express.

How do we create this imagery?
Here is an easy example.
When the word green is used in a poem…you see the colour green in your mind (at least I do…some may see purple Smile
That is creating imagery in your mind…now lets add to it. Lets take a walk…

Walking beneath the lush green canopy
In the air the fresh smell of a spring rain
A cool breeze softly brushes your cheek

What have we done with these three lines?
We took one word “green” and expanded upon it with a “walk”.

Walking beneath the lush green canopy…this creates the image of a peaceful walk in the woods or forest among trees filled with green leaves. We add more to the image with the next line.

In the air the fresh smell of a spring rain…this adds to the image we started creating in the first line. We add to the experience by creating a sense of smell “a spring rain” and add to the visual image “spring”. With the next line we will add another bit of imagery.

A cool breeze softly brushes your cheek…the image of the sense of touch has been added.

With those three lines we have created more than just imagery…we created a quiet comfortable setting for our poem.

Walking beneath the lush green canopy
In the air the fresh smell of a spring rain
A cool breeze softly brushes your cheek
As you walk the narrow trail under the trees

The same things we did in the first three lines to create the feeling of a cool spring breeze touching your face on a walk in the woods beneath lush green trees with the fresh smell of a spring rain still lingering in the air (whew that was long winded) can be done with anything and anywhere in a poem…it is all a matter of how we want to express ourselves within the poem. We do not have to have every sensory experience within a single poem but we can if we want. We just have to know what our poem is about and what we want our readers to experience as they read our poems.

To me personally all poetry is emotional…it just depends on what the emotion is and at what level I want to express that emotion. Do I want my reader to feel happy, sad, angry, lustful or do I want them to feel my pain. What do I want them to know…what do I want them to experience and how deep of an experience do I want them to have. It does not matter what the subject of the poem is or what the poem is about because in the end…it is about me…my experiences…my perceptions…my thoughts…my life. Just as when you write it is all about you. No matter what the subject is…it is about you because that is where the writing comes from…it comes from you.

What tools of writing can we use to help express ourselves and create imagery within a poem…

Here are a few:

Use metaphors…what is a metaphor? A metaphor is a comparison between two things that are different. It is saying something is something that it is not. To use a metaphor is to describe something in a way that it “literally” is not. For example “that b*tch stabbed me in the back” but she did not literally stab me in the back…it is just a metaphor. One book I read a long time ago said that metaphors do not use terms such as “like” and “as” in the comparison.

Simile can also be used. Unlike a metaphor a simile is an explicit comparison between two things that are different using words such as “like” or “as”. For example, “She struts like a cat on the prowl” or “She is silent as a mouse”. An example from Shakespeare…
”all the world is a stage”
“and all the men and women merely players”

Personification is another useful “tool”. Personification is similar to a metaphor but it uses animals, plants, inanimate objects or abstract ideas and they are represented as if they were human beings. It is like writing a poem about how a rose would feel as its petals opened and the sun shined down on it as the dew rolled down the velvety petal. Perhaps the poem is from the perspective of the aphid that lives on the rose bush. Or maybe it is a Tom and Jerry cartoon. Another example would be “Necessity is the mother of invention”.

Synecdoche is the use of a part of something and representing it as a whole. For example “open your eyes and see” would be the same as “fully understand”. Another example would be the old saying “lend me your ears” which is the same as “give me your full attention”.

Use symbols. That is to say…use something that stands for something else. For example a dove traditionally stands for peace. The skull and crossbones symbolizes danger. I think you understand…if not ask.

I hope what I have written above helps some in your writing…just remember…we write for fun and because it is something we enjoy doing for many reasons…to show our emotions, to give ourselves a release and to express our feelings. The reasons we all write may be similar, the same or vastly different and more numerable than there is space to write the reasons but I think there is one thing we all have in common…we want our readers to experience what we write.


Last edited by Eiregirl on Mon Feb 05, 2007 7:32 am; edited 1 time in total

Post Sun Aug 13, 2006 10:47 pm 
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Sunny



Joined: 18 Jun 2006
Posts: 1571
Location: Massachusetts


Eire,
Wow, I can't believe I missed this thread Shocked I loved your narrative explanation of imagery. Ever better was your poem. As I read it I felt layers of images that seem to unfold into a three-dimentional picture of the vision you were conveying to the reader. You are truely an artist, delicately dipping your brush in words and then masterfully painting a picture on my heart and mind's canvas. Thank you Exclamation

Sunny Cool
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All poems posted by Sunny: ©2006 - 2007 Sunny (UN: Sunny at melswebs.com). All rights reserved. Any unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited. In other words, if you want to copy it, you need to get Sunny’s permission first.

Post Wed Aug 23, 2006 7:09 pm 
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Eiregirl



Joined: 21 Jul 2005
Posts: 10230
Location: Chasing a pink bunny


Sunny,

That is a lovely compliment...I thank you very very much.

Hugs,
Eiregirl Arrow

Post Thu Aug 24, 2006 4:19 am 
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Violets-On-The-Sea



Joined: 06 Nov 2005
Posts: 115
Location: England


thanks for this, it is great. Violets

Post Fri Sep 22, 2006 6:31 pm 
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Eiregirl



Joined: 21 Jul 2005
Posts: 10230
Location: Chasing a pink bunny


Violets,

I thank you very very much for reading this and responding to it...it is greatly appreciated.

Hugs,
Eiregirl Arrow
_________________
All poems and stories posted by Eiregirl are Copyright 2005 - 2008 Aoibhegréine These literary works are my property under copyright. If you wish to use my work for any purpose please ASK FIRST.

Post Sat Sep 23, 2006 3:17 am 
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