Imagery

Imagery is language that appeals to the senses and helps readers picture, hear, smell, taste, or feel what a poem describes. Poets use imagery to make a scene or emotion more immediate and concrete, often through precise details and vivid comparisons. It is broader than metaphor or simile: those devices can create imagery, but imagery can also come from plain, sensory description.

Example

The rain tapped tin roofs,
sharp as coins on a counter;
wet earth breathed up its dark, cool smell,
and the porch light glowed like honey in the fog.

Related Definitions

[n] the ability to form mental images of things or events; "he could still hear her in his imagination"

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