English Literature A1 poetry glossary: IMAGERY

key terms+ definitions

allegory

a kind of extended metaphor which objects,persons and actions stand for another meaning

allusion

happens when a speaker or character makes a brief and casual reference to a famous historical or literary figure or event

apostrophe

when an idea, person or object, or absent being is addressed as if it or they were present and alive

extended metaphor

a central metaphor that acts as an “umbrella” to connect other metaphors or comparisons within it, it can span across several lines or an entire poem

hyperbole

a figure of speech in which deliberate exaggeration is used for emphasis, e.g. “tons of money” , the opposite of litotes.

imagery

intense, descriptive language in a poem that helps to trigger our senses and our memories when we read it , visual , aural, tactile, olfactory and gustorial imagery

irony

involves saying one thing while really meaning another, contradictory thing

paradox

statement that contradicts itself and nonetheless seems true

personification

figure of speech in which things or abstract ideas are given human attributes

symbol

generally speaking, a symbol is a sign representing something other than itself, in poetry symbols signify something specific , but also something beyond itself , difference between a symbol and an image is that an image is associated with what is stated in the poem whereas a symbol , we have to infer the meanings and associations

Synecdoche

figures of speech in which a part is used to designate the whole or the whole is used to designate a part e.g. “all hands on deck” means “everyone on deck” not just their hands

trope

a figure of speech, such as a metaphor or metonymy , words are not used in their literal or actual sense but in a figurative or imaginative sense