Key Stage 4 Poetry
Analysing Imagery
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Analysing Imagery
UNIT CONTENTS
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Introduction
Simile
Metaphor
Alliteration
Assonance
Personification
Onomatopoeia
Slides 3 - 10
Slides 11 - 26
Slides 27 - 43
Slides 44 - 57
Slides 58 - 67
Slides 68 - 74
Slides 75 - 79
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Analysing Imagery - Introduction
CONTENTS
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Unit Introduction
What is Imagery?
Using Imagery
Analysing Imagery
‘Basic’ Images
‘Advanced’ Images
Slide 4
Slide 5
Slides 6 - 7
Slide 8
Slide 9
Slide 10
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Analysing Imagery - Introduction
Unit Introduction
In this unit we will be learning how to analyse images in
poetry. This unit provides an addition to the unit about
analysing poetry, and looks specifically at how poets paint
pictures with their language.
We will explore some of the different types of poetic imagery,
including the basic images, such as simile and metaphor,
and the more advanced ideas behind assonance and the
extended metaphor. We will also look at poems and poetry
extracts to show you how these images work in practice.
Before we start looking in detail at the different types of
imagery, let’s look briefly at what imagery is.
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Analysing Imagery - Introduction
What is Imagery?
Imagery is the painting of pictures in the reader’s mind
through the use of language. Because poetry is such a
condensed form of language, poets tend to make greater
use of imagery than novelists. Images take a variety of
forms. They can:
• Use a comparison between one thing and another, to
develop the picture that is created. This type of image
includes similes and metaphors.
• Create sound pictures, by using words that make a
sound like the thing that is being described, or that add
rhythm to the poem. Examples of this type of imagery
include alliteration and onomatopoeia.
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Analysing Imagery - Introduction
Using Imagery
When you use imagery in your own poetry, you must take
great care to create suitable images. It can be very
tempting to use clichéd images that you will have
encountered before, such as “as white as snow” or “as big
as a house”. The best images, however, are original and
thought provoking.
One of the best ways to learn how to use imagery is by
reading widely. Look at as many poems as you can, from
many different poets, and from all different times in history.
On the next slide you will find two examples of ‘original’
images from two poets working three hundred years apart.
Try to work out what type of images they use, and discuss
the effects created.
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Analysing Imagery - Introduction
Using Imagery
“Like as the waves make towards the pebbled shore,
So do our minutes hasten to their end”
William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)
“I caught this morning morning’s minion, kingdom of daylight’s dauphin, dapple-dawn-drawn Falcon, in
his riding”
Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844 - 1889)
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Analysing Imagery - Introduction
Analysing Imagery
When you are analysing imagery, for instance in a poetry
essay or in a literature exam, it is very important to avoid
simply ‘listing’ the images that the poet uses. For each
image you discuss, you should consider:
• What type of image is being used.
• Why this particular image is being used.
• What the effect of this image is on the reader.
• How the image contributes to the poem as a whole.
When you analyse imagery, you should suggest a possible
interpretation, rather than stating your ideas as definite.
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Analysing Imagery - Introduction
‘Basic’ Images
Although the images below are described as ‘basic’, they
are by no means easy to use or to analyse. They are,
however, the most simple forms of imagery that you will
come across.
Simile: A comparison between two things, using the words
“like” or “as … as a …”.
Metaphor: A comparison between two things, where one is
said to be the other.
Alliteration: The use of repeated consonant sounds to
create a ‘sound picture’.
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Analysing Imagery - Introduction
‘Advanced’ Images
The images below are less common, but many poets make
use of them. They are explained in greater detail further
on in this unit.
Extended Metaphor: A metaphor is extended to run
throughout a poem or piece of prose.
Onomatopoeia: A word that sounds like the thing it
describes, for example “ow!” or “crash!”
Assonance: The use of repeated vowel sounds to create a
‘sound picture’.
Personification: Giving human attributes to an inanimate
thing.
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Analysing Imagery - Simile
CONTENTS
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What is a Simile?
Analysing Similes
Example Poems:
“Samela”
“Diaphenia”
“A Red, Red Rose”
Slides 12 - 13
Slides 14 - 20
Slide 21
Slides 22 - 23
Slides 24 - 25
Slide 26
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Analysing Imagery - Simile
What is a Simile?
A simile is a type of imagery that makes a comparison
between one thing and another, to strengthen the ‘word
picture’ in the reader’s mind. There are two types of simile:
1. Where one thing is said to be like another, for
instance:
“The sun looked like a golden coin in the sky.”
In this example, the sun is being compared to something
that looks similar, i.e. the golden coin.
=
£1
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Analysing Imagery - Simile
What is a Simile?
2. Where one thing is said to be as … as a …, for
instance:
“The moon shone as brightly as the stars.”
This type of simile gives a slightly more definite feeling.
Here, the light of the moon is being compared to that of
the stars.
=
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Analysing Imagery - Simile
Analysing Similes
When you are discussing a simile, and the effects it
creates in a poem, you should describe the ‘word
picture’ that you see in your mind, and how the links you
associate with that picture add to the poem. You may
find that you can discuss more than one aspect of the
simile. Here is an example:
“The sun looked like a golden coin in the sky.”
In this simile, the comparison of the sun with the
golden coin creates a strong impression of brightness.
The poet could also be suggesting wealth, as we
normally associate golden coins with riches.
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Analysing Imagery - Simile
Analysing Similes
Here are some more examples for you to practise with.
Because these similes are taken out of context, you will
need to create your own inferences about the effects
that they might create within a poem:
“The moon shone as brightly as the stars.”
“The cat was as black as the night.”
“The man cried like a baby.”
“The house was as silent as the grave.”
“The tree was gnarled and bent, like an
old man.”
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Analysing Imagery - Simile
Analysing Similes
Here are some possible ways of analysing these similes,
although remember, there is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ answer:
“The moon shone as brightly as the stars.”
This simile compares the moon with the stars, its
brightness equalling that of its companions in the sky.
The poet could be using the image of brightness as a
metaphor for happiness. Perhaps this night will bring
joy and ‘brightness’ to the characters in the poem.
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Analysing Imagery - Simile
Analysing Similes
“The cat was as black as the night.”
In this simile, the poet creates a picture of a black
cat, perhaps slinking through the night, the same
colour as its surroundings. This simile plays on
the traditional associations between black cats
and the supernatural, using the image of night to
strengthen the link. It is at night time that witches
do their evil work, and it is also in the dark that
cats hunt their prey.
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Analysing Imagery - Simile
Analysing Similes
“The man cried like a baby.”
This simile creates a striking image, that of a
grown man sobbing and crying like a tiny baby.
The image is particularly effective because it is so
unexpected. In our society, it is not ‘normal’ for
men to cry, let alone to do so “like a baby”. The
picture created is one of deep sorrow - a situation
so horrific or terrible that the man lets go of his
inhibitions and breaks down in tears.
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Analysing Imagery - Simile
Analysing Similes
“The house was as silent as the grave.”
With this simile, the poet gives the reader a sense
of apprehension and fear. The house is described
as ‘silent’ - there is a total absence of noise, just
as there would be in the grave. The associations
that the reader makes are creepy - we imagine
dead people in a grave and ask ourselves, is there
someone dead in the house as well? Or is
someone or something lying in wait?
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Analysing Imagery - Simile
Analysing Similes
“The tree was gnarled and bent, like an
old man.”
This image is a curious one, and it uses
personification as well as a simile to create a
strong image of the tree. The reader can imagine
the ancient wood, that has grown bent and
gnarled over the years, just as an old man might
do. The comparison gives a real sense of life to
the tree. It seems old and wise.
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Analysing Imagery - Simile
Example Poems
The poems and poetry extracts on the following slides
give you a chance to look at different uses of similes, and
to practise your analytical skills.
As you will see, poets throughout the ages have used
similes to enhance their poetry. Why not try to write your
own poem using similes?
When you are analysing these poems, remember to
discuss:
• The type of image being used.
• Why this particular image is being used.
• What the effect of this image is on the reader.
• How the image contributes to the poem as a whole.
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Analysing Imagery - Simile
Samela
Like to Diana in her summer weed,
Girt with a crimson robe of brightest dye,
Goes fair Samela.
Whiter than be the flocks that straggling feed,
When washed by Arethusa’s fount they lie,
Is fair Samela.
As fair Aurora in her morning gray,
Decked with the ruddy glister of her love,
Is fair Samela.
Like lovely Thetis on a calmèd day,
When as her brightness Neptune’s fancy move,
Shines fair Samela.
Her tresses gold, her eyes like glassy streams,
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Analysing Imagery - Simile
Samela (continued)
Her teeth are pearl, the breasts are ivory
Of fair Samela.
Her cheeks like rose and lily yield forth gleams,
Her brows bright arches framed of ebony:
Thus fair Samela.
Passeth fair Venus in her bravest hue,
And Juno in the show of majesty,
For she’s Samela.
Pallas in wit, all three, if you will view,
For beauty, wit, and matchless dignity,
Yield to Samela.
Robert Greene (1558 - 1592)
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Analysing Imagery - Simile
Diaphenia
Diaphenia, like the daffodowndilly,
White as the sun, fair as the lily,
Heigh ho, how I do love thee!
I do love thee as my lambs
Are beloved of their dams;
How blest were I if thou wouldst prove me!
Diaphenia, like the spreading roses,
That in thy sweets all sweets encloses,
Fair sweet, how I do love thee!
I do love thee as each flower
Loves the sun’s life-giving power,
For, dead, thy breath to life might move me.
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Analysing Imagery - Simile
Diaphenia (continued)
Diaphenia, like to all things blessèd,
When all thy praises are expressèd,
Dear joy, how I do love thee!
As the birds do love the spring,
Or the bees their careful king:
Then in requite, sweet virgin, love me!
Henry Chettle (c.1560 - 1607)
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Analysing Imagery - Simile
A Red, Red Rose
(extract)
My love is like a red, red rose
That’s newly sprung in June:
My love is like the melody
That’s sweetly play’d in tune.
As fair art thou, my bonnie lass,
So deep in love am I:
And I will love thee still, my dear,
Till a’ the seas gang dry.
Robert Burns (c.1759 - 1796)
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Analysing Imagery - Metaphor
CONTENTS
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What is a Metaphor?
Analysing Metaphors
The Extended Metaphor
Example Poems:
“My Mind to Me a Kingdom Is”
“What Thing is Love?”
“Spring and Fall”
Slides 28 - 30
Slides 31 - 35
Slides 36 - 37
Slide 38
Slide 39
Slides 40 - 41
Slides 42 - 43
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Analysing Imagery - Metaphor
What is a Metaphor?
Like a simile, a metaphor makes a comparison between
one thing and another. However, rather than saying that
something is like another, a metaphor says it actually is
that thing. Some metaphors are easy to identify, whilst
others are so subtle that you will need to analyse the text
carefully to find them.
Metaphors can create a far more powerful effect than
similes, because they are so definite in their comparison.
As we try to picture the image in our minds, a good
metaphor makes a connection that illuminates meaning, or
allows us to see something in a new way.
On the next slides you will see examples of metaphors that
demonstrate how they work.
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Analysing Imagery - Metaphor
What is a Metaphor?
“Her face was a book, he could read her every
thought and emotion.”
In this example, the writer tells us that the girl’s face is a
book, when clearly it is not. He develops the metaphor
slightly, by using the word “read”. As you would read a
book, so the man reads the girl’s face.
=
War
and
Peace
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Analysing Imagery - Metaphor
What is a Metaphor?
“My love is the sunshine in my life, brightening
up my day.”
Here, the writer says that her love is the sunshine. Just
like the sun, he makes her day brighter.
=
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Analysing Imagery - Metaphor
Analysing Metaphors
When you are discussing metaphors, and the effects
they create in poetry, you should follow the same
guidelines given for similes. Describe the ‘word picture’
you see in your mind, and how the links you associate
with that picture add to the poem. Here is an example:
“Her face was a book, he could read her every
thought and emotion.”
In this metaphor, the girl’s face is described as a book,
suggesting that her emotions are visible, just as print is
in a book. By saying that he can ‘read’ the girl’s face,
the poet strengthens the image.
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Analysing Imagery - Metaphor
Analysing Metaphors
Here are some more examples for you to practise with.
Because these metaphors are taken out of context, you
will need to decide on the effects that they might create
within a poem:
“My love is the sunshine in my life, brightening up
my day.”
“The cat slunk his way through the dustbins, a
black panther deadly in his intentions.”
“Life is a blank page, waiting for us to write on it.”
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Analysing Imagery - Metaphor
Analysing Metaphors
Here are some possible ways of analysing these metaphors.
Always remember that there is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ answer
when you are studying poetry:
“My love is the sunshine in my life, brightening
up my day.”
In this metaphor the poet describes her love as
sunshine. Just as the sun brightens the day, so her
lover brings light into her life. The warmth of the sun
might also be linked to the warmth that we feel when
we love someone, and know that they love us too.
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Analysing Imagery - Metaphor
Analysing Metaphors
“The cat slunk his way through the dustbins, a
black panther deadly in his intentions.”
In this metaphor, the poet creates a picture of a
black cat, slinking his way through the dustbins.
The cat is described as a panther, a deadly
creature that hunts down its prey ruthlessly. By
using this image, the poet suggests the instinctive
nature of the cat, born to catch the mice and rats
that lurk around the bins.
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Analysing Imagery - Metaphor
Analysing Metaphors
“Life is a blank page, waiting for us to write on it.”
This metaphor offers a clever description of life. It
is a blank page, the poet says, that we can write
on as we wish. By using this image, the poet
suggests that we have power over the way that
we ‘write’ our lives. It is up to us how the story
turns out.
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Analysing Imagery - Metaphor
The Extended Metaphor
The extended metaphor is one that is, simply, extended.
Some poems consist of one metaphor, that runs
throughout the whole poem. Here is an example of how
the metaphor we have seen of the girl’s face being a book
might be extended:
Her face was a book
He could read her every thought and emotion
As he turned the pages with love and devotion.
Her face was a novel
Her story yet to be told
He waited to hear her tale unfold.
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Analysing Imagery - Metaphor
The Extended Metaphor
When you are identifying extended metaphors, you may
find that you believe a particular image to be a metaphor,
but are not completely sure. However, if you believe the
poem to be an extended metaphor, and you can justify
your ideas, then it is perfectly acceptable to say this.
For instance, in the poem “Digging” by Ted Hughes, the
poet describes his father digging in the garden, whilst he,
the poet, ‘digs’ for words. This metaphor is not
immediately apparent. The poet does not say “I am
digging for words”. However, it is clear from the context
that the literal digging his father does is being related to
the digging he does for inspiration and for a way to best
express himself.
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Analysing Imagery - Metaphor
Example Poems
The poems and extracts that follow give you a chance to
look at different ways that poets might use metaphors,
and to practise your analytical skills.
As you will see, poets throughout the ages have used
metaphors to create vivid images and pictures in their
poetry. When analysing these poems, remember to
consider:
• The type of image being used. Is it an extended
metaphor? Remember, this may be hard to identify.
• Why this particular image is being used.
• What the effect of this metaphor is on the reader.
• How the image contributes to the poem as a whole.
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Analysing Imagery - Metaphor
My Mind to Me a Kingdom Is (extract)
My mind to me a kingdom is
Such perfect joy therein I find,
That it excels all other bliss
That world affords or grows by kind.
Though much I want which most would have,
Yet still my mind forbids to crave.
My wealth is health and perfect ease,
My conscience clear my chief defence;
I neither seek by bribes to please,
Nor by desert to breed offence.
Thus do I live, thus will I die;
Would all did so, as well as I.
Sir Edward Dyer (1543 - 1607)
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Analysing Imagery - Metaphor
What Thing is Love?
What thing is love? for sure love is a thing.
It is a prick, it is a sting,
It is a pretty, pretty thing;
It is a fire, it is a coal,
Whose flame creeps in at every hole;
And as my wit doth best devise,
Love’s dwelling is in ladies’ eyes;
From whence do glance love’s piercing darts,
That make such holes into our hearts;
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Analysing Imagery - Metaphor
What Thing is Love? (continued)
And all the world herein accord,
Love is a great and mighty lord;
And when he list to mount so high,
With Venus he in heaven doth lie,
And evermore hath been a god,
Since Mars and she played even and odd.
George Peele (c.1558 - 1596)
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Analysing Imagery - Metaphor
Spring and Fall
to a young child
Margaret, are you grieving
Over Goldengrove unleaving?
Leaves, like the things of man, you
With your fresh thoughts care for, can you?
Ah! as the heart grows older
It will come to such sights colder
By and by, nor spare a sigh
Though worlds of wanwood leafmeal lie,
And yet you will weep and know why.
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Analysing Imagery - Metaphor
Spring and Fall (continued)
to a young child
Now no matter, child, the name:
Sorrow’s springs are the same.
Nor mouth had, no nor mind, expressed
What heart heard of, ghost guessed:
It is the blight man was born for,
It is Margaret you mourn for.
Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844 - 1889)
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Analysing Imagery - Alliteration
CONTENTS
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What is Alliteration?
Analysing Alliteration
Example Poems:
“Echo”
“Blow, Bugle, Blow”
Slides 45 - 47
Slides 48 - 52
Slide 53
Slides 54 - 55
Slides 56 - 57
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Analysing Imagery - Alliteration
What is Alliteration?
Alliteration is the use of repeated consonant sounds to
create a sound picture. The sounds may be repeated
at the start or end of each word, or within the words
themselves. Consonants are all the letters of the
alphabet except vowels.
Remember, it is the sound that is important, rather
than the letter, because some letters or letter
combinations may be different, but sound similar. For
instance ‘s’ and ‘ce’ (‘miss’ and ‘nice’) might sound
almost the same, although they are different letters.
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Analysing Imagery - Alliteration
What is Alliteration?
Alliteration creates its effect by adding to the rhythm of
the poem. Many poets will use alliteration of several
different letters within a poem. If you are analysing a
poem that does this, you will need to look very
carefully at the way the rhythm of the poem is affected.
Alliteration can suggest the object or action that it is
describing through the sounds it creates. Alliteration
can also affect the speed that we read a poem, or the
tone that we use. Remember, poems are designed to
be read aloud (or at least ‘out loud’ in your head), and
alliteration can add greatly to their effect.
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Analysing Imagery - Alliteration
What is Alliteration?
“The sharp stone struck the side of the girl’s head.”
In this example, the sound of the stone striking the girl is
created by the alliteration of the letter ‘s’. Read the
sentence out loud to see the effect.
“The s harp stone struck the side of the girl’s head.”
Ow!!!
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Analysing Imagery - Alliteration
Analysing Alliteration
When you are discussing the effects that alliteration
creates within a poem, you should describe how the
sounds you hear add to the ‘word picture’ you see in
your mind.
“The sharp stone struck the side of the girl’s head.”
The use of alliteration here adds greatly to the effect of
the line. We see the stone being thrown, and striking
the girl, but we also hear the sound that the stone
might make, through the repetition of the letter ‘s’. The
sharpness of this sound echoes the sharpness both of
the stone, and of the cry the girl probably makes when
she feels the stone hitting her.
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Analysing Imagery - Alliteration
Analysing Alliteration
Here are some examples of alliteration for you to analyse.
Remember, alliteration can be found within the words, as
well as at the start of each word. Remember too, it is the
sound and not the letter that counts.
“The snake slithered slowly across the soft
sand, hissing once as it went.”
“Jane just jumped joyfully into the air.”
“The bullet almost hit the terrified boy, but it
just missed.
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Analysing Imagery - Alliteration
Analysing Alliteration
Here are some possible ways of analysing the use of
alliteration in the examples. Again, remember that there is
no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ answer when you are studying poetry:
“The s nake s lithered s lowly acro ss the soft
sand, hi ss ing on ce a s it went.”
The use of alliteration here gives a strong image of the
snake slithering. The repeated ‘s’ sounds echo both
the shape of the snake itself, and the sound that the
snake makes as it hisses.
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Analysing Imagery - Alliteration
Analysing Alliteration
“J ane j ust j umped j oyfully into the air.”
Here, the use of alliteration emphasises the joy
that Jane feels, and the action of jumping for joy.
As we read the line out loud, the ‘j’ sound makes
us almost ‘jump’ with each word. The repetition of
the sound is almost like repeatedly jumping.
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Analysing Imagery - Alliteration
Analysing Alliteration
“The bulle t almos t hi t the t errified boy, bu t
it jus t missed.
Here, alliteration echoes the way that the bullet
might have sounded, had it hit the boy. The ‘t’
sound is a hard, sharp one, just as the bullet
would feel sharp and painful if it had hit the boy.
Because the ‘t’ sound is both at the start and end
of the words, our reading of the line is slowed
down. To me, this seems to echo the movies,
when a bullet is fired and the action moves into
slow motion.
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Analysing Imagery - Alliteration
Example Poems
The poems and extracts that follow give you a chance to
look at different ways of using alliteration. In the previous
examples, the alliteration was very clear, whilst you will
find that these poets use it more subtly.
Think carefully about why alliteration is being used. Ask
yourself:
• Does the sound link somehow to the image being
created?
• How would the poem sound if I read it out loud?
• How does the use of alliteration affect the rhythm and
flow of the poem?
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Analysing Imagery - Alliteration
Echo
Come to me in the silence of the night;
Come in the speaking silence of a dream;
Come with soft rounded cheeks and eyes as bright
As sunlight on a stream;
Come back in tears,
O memory, hope, love of finished years.
O dream how sweet, too sweet, too bitter sweet,
Whose wakening should have been in Paradise,
Where souls brimfull of love abide and meet;
Where thirsting longing eyes
Watch the slow door
That opening, letting in, lets out no more.
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Analysing Imagery - Alliteration
Echo (continued)
Yet come to me in dreams that I may live
My very life again though cold in death:
Come back to me in dreams, that I may give
Pulse for pulse, breath for breath:
Speak low, lean low,
As long ago, my love, how long ago.
Christina Georgina Rossetti (1830 - 1894)
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Analysing Imagery - Alliteration
Blow, Bugle, Blow
The splendour falls on castle walls
And snowy summits old in story:
The long light shakes across the lanks,
And the wild cataract leaps in glory.
Blow, bugle, blow, set the wild echoes flying,
Blow, bugle; answer, echoes, dying, dying, dying.
O hark, O hear! how thin and clear,
And thinner, clearer, farther going!
O sweet and far from cliff and scar
The horns of Elfland faintly blowing!
Blow, let us hear the purple glens replying:
Blow, bugle; answer, echoes, dying, dying, dying.
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Analysing Imagery - Alliteration
Blow, Bugle, Blow (continued)
O love, they die in yon rich sky,
They faint on hill or field or river:
Our echoes roll from soul to soul,
And grow for ever and for ever.
Blow, bugle, blow set the wild echoes flying,
And answer, echoes, answer, dying, dying, dying.
Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809 - 1892)
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Analysing Imagery - Assonance
CONTENTS
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What is Assonance?
Analysing Assonance
Example Poems:
“A Dirge”
“In the Valley of Cauteretz”
Slides 59 - 60
Slides 61 - 64
Slide 65
Slide 66
Slide 67
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Analysing Imagery - Assonance
What is Assonance?
Assonance is the use of repeated vowel sounds to create a
sound picture. The sounds may be repeated at the start or
(rarely) the end of each word, or within the words
themselves. Remember, as with alliteration it is the sound
that is important, rather than the letter.
Assonance affects the way that a poem flows. It can suggest
the object or action that it is describing through the sounds it
creates. Assonance can also affect a poem’s tone.
Do be careful when identifying the use of assonance - there
are only five vowels, and their repetition is therefore
inevitable. Only discuss assonance where the sound adds to
the image being created.
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Analysing Imagery - Assonance
What is Assonance?
“The plane swooped low over the open ground.”
In this example, the image of the plane’s low flight is
enhanced by the assonance of the letter ‘o’. Read the
sentence out loud to see the effect more clearly.
“The plane sw ooped l o w o ver the o pen gr ound.”
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Analysing Imagery - Assonance
Analysing Assonance
When you are discussing the effects that assonance
creates within a poem, you should describe how the
sounds you hear add to the ‘word picture’ that you see
in your mind.
“The plane swooped low over the open ground.”
The use of assonance here makes the line ‘swoop’
when read out loud, just as the plane is swooping low
over the ground, because of the rhythm created by the
use of assonance. We can almost see the plane
sweeping down and then up again, just missing the
ground as it does so.
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Analysing Imagery - Assonance
Analysing Assonance
Here are two examples of assonance for you to analyse.
Remember, assonance is often found within the words, as
well as at the start or end.
“The ants attacked Tania’s arm and
afterwards she ached for days.”
“The elephant edged ever closer to
the excited men.
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Analysing Imagery - Assonance
Analysing Assonance
Here are some possible ways of analysing these examples
of assonance.
“The ants attacked Tania’s arm and
afterwards she ached for days.”
The use of assonance here gives a picture of the ants
attacking the girl, and also the itching and aching that
she felt. Although we hear a variety of different ‘a’
sounds here, they all give a strong, hard noise, which
increases the sense of an attack.
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Analysing Imagery - Assonance
Analysing Assonance
“The elephant edged ever closer to
the excited men.
Here, the use of assonance slows down the speed
at which we read the line. As we read the line out
loud, we are forced to slow down our reading,
because of the stress of the ‘e’ sounds. This in
turn echoes the slow speed of the elephant,
moving towards the men.
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Analysing Imagery - Assonance
Example Poems
The poems and extracts that follow give you a chance to
look at the different ways poets might use assonance. In the
examples we have examined, the assonance was very clear,
whilst you will find that these poets use it more subtly.
Notice too some other aspects of assonance:
• More than one vowel may be repeated to strengthen an
image.
• Sometimes poets repeat a paired vowel sound, such as
“ea” or “ai”.
• Assonance is often mixed with alliteration to strengthen
the rhythmic effect.
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Analysing Imagery - Assonance
A Dirge
Rough wind, that moanest loud
Grief too sad for song;
Wild wind, when sullen cloud
Knells all the night long;
Sad storm whose tears are vain,
Bare woods, whose branches strain,
Deep caves and dreary main, Wail, for the world’s wrong!
Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792 - 1822)
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Analysing Imagery - Assonance
In the Valley of Cauteretz
All along the valley, stream that flashest white,
Deepening thy voice with the deepening of the night,
All along the valley, where thy waters flow,
I walked with one I loved two and thirty years ago.
All along the valley, while I walked today,
The two and thirty years were a mist that rolls away;
For all along the valley, down thy rocky bed,
Thy living voice to me was as the voice of the dead,
And all along the valley, by rock and cave and tree,
The voice of the dead was a living voice to me.
Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809 - 1892)
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Analysing Imagery - Personification
CONTENTS
• What is Personification?
• Analysing Personification
Slides 69 - 70
Slides 71 - 74
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Analysing Imagery - Personification
What is Personification?
Personification is the technique of giving human attributes to
something that is not human, e.g. to an object, an animal, a
place, and so on. To remember the term, simply look at how
the word ‘person’ forms a part of it.
Personification strengthens a description, making it more
vivid and memorable. As with simile and metaphor,
personification works by making a connection between two
things.
As with all forms of imagery, you must ensure that you
comment on the effects that the use of personification
creates. What does the image described seem like to you?
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Analysing Imagery - Personification
What is Personification?
“The house sat proudly on the land, its windows were
eyes watching over its kingdom.”
In this example, the house is personified. Clearly, a
house does not ‘sit’, nor does it feel ‘proud’, whilst a
person does. The image is developed further as the
windows are described as ‘eyes watching’.
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Analysing Imagery - Personification
Analysing Personification
When you are discussing the effect of personification
within a poem, you should describe how the image is
strengthened by being given human attributes.
“The house sat proudly on the land, its windows were
eyes watching over its kingdom.”
In this example, the house is described as sitting
‘proudly’. The image created by the use of
personification is of an important house that has been in
this location for a long time, an impression strengthened
by the word “kingdom”. The house almost seems to be
alive, its windows are described as “eyes watching”.
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Analysing Imagery - Personification
Analysing Personification
Here are two examples of personification for you to
analyse.
“The pen ran quickly over her page, jumping from word
to word as though rushing to finish a race.”
“The sun climbed wearily into the sky, pushing its way
through the black clouds and attempting to smile.”
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Analysing Imagery - Personification
Analysing Personification
Here is one way that you might analyse these examples of
personification.
“The pen ran quickly over her page, jumping from word
to word as though rushing to finish a race.”
The use of personification here makes the pen seem
alive, almost as though it is writing for the girl, and not
the other way around. The speed at which the pen
moves suggests perhaps that the girl is under pressure
of time, or that she feels inspired, and wants to write
as quickly as possible, so as not to lose her track.
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Analysing Imagery - Personification
Analysing Personification
“The sun climbed wearily into the sky, pushing its way
through the black clouds and attempting to smile.”
Here, the sun is personified so that it appears to be
very tired and perhaps unhappy. It climbs “wearily”, as
though it were just getting out of bed, exhausted from
lack of sleep. The “black clouds” make it harder for the
sun to climb into the sky, it has to ‘push’ its way
through them. The final attempt to smile suggests a
weary resignation from the sun: this is its purpose in
life and it must carry on, come what may.
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Analysing Imagery - Onomatopoeia
CONTENTS
• What is Onomatopoeia?
• Analysing Onomatopoeia
Slides 76 - 77
Slides 78 - 79
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Analysing Imagery - Onomatopoeia
What is Onomatopoeia?
Onomatopoeia is the term for those words that sound like the
noise they are describing, for instance “woof”, “miaow” or
“crash!” Many onomatopoeic words are associated with the
sounds that animals make, or with loud noises.
Onomatopoeia can have a strong impact on the sound of a
poem, particularly when it is read aloud, because these are
words that we tend to pronounce in a very specific way. It
can also be used to make descriptions more vivid.
Often, poets will use onomatopoeia in a subtle way, using
alliteration and assonance to make ‘normal’ words seem
onomatopoeic.
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Analysing Imagery - Onomatopoeia
What is Onomatopoeia?
“With a creak and a groan, the tree toppled over,
hitting the ground with a loud crash!”
In this example, notice how the onomatopoeic words
echo the sound of the tree being felled and crashing to
the ground.
CRASH!
Creak!
Groan!
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Analysing Imagery - Onomatopoeia
Analysing Onomatopoeia
When you are discussing the effects of onomatopoeia
within a poem, you should describe how the noises the
words give add to the image being created.
“With a creak and a groan, the tree toppled over,
hitting the ground with a loud crash!”
The use of onomatopoeia here makes the image of the
tree being felled much more vivid. The words “creak”
and “groan” help the reader to imagine and hear the
tree as it topples precariously. The word “crash” gives
a strong impression of the loud noise it makes as it
finally falls to the ground.
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Analysing Imagery - Onomatopoeia
Analysing Onomatopoeia
Activity
Here are some onomatopoeic words. Read the words
out loud, listening carefully to the noises that they make.
Now discuss the type of effects that these sounds could
create within a piece of poetry, and what animals,
characters or events you might associate them with.
WOOF!
OUCH!
HISSsss
THUD!
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