Imagery is a literary device that refers to the use of figurative language to evoke a sensory experience or create a picture with words for a reader. By utilizing effective descriptive language and figures of speech, writers appeal to a reader’s senses of sight, taste, smell, touch and sound, as well as, internal emotions and feelings. Therefore, imagery is not limited to visual representations or mental images, but also includes physical sensations and internal emotions.

For example, in his novel The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne utilizes imagery as a literary device to create a sensation for the reader as a means of understanding the love felt by the protagonist, Hester Prynne.

Love, whether newly born or aroused from a deathlike slumber, must always creates sunshine, filling the heart with radiance that it overflows upon the outward world.

Common Examples of Imagery in Everyday Speech

People frequently use imagery as a means of communicating feelings, thoughts and ideas through descriptive language. Here are some common examples of imagery in everyday speech.

• The autumn leaves are a blanket on the ground.
• Her lips tasted as sweet as sugar.
• His words felt like a dagger in my heart.
• My head is pounding like a drum.