Imagery

Also called Sensory imagery, Semantic field

Language that makes a reader see, hear, feel, taste or smell something.

What it is

Imagery is descriptive language that appeals to the senses. Visual imagery is the most common; there is also auditory, tactile, olfactory and gustatory imagery, and kinaesthetic imagery for movement.

A semantic field is a group of words from the same area of meaning running through a passage — a semantic field of illness, of warfare, of decay.

Where it applies

Both English papers, and a useful lens on almost any literary text.

How it works

Imagery works by giving the reader something concrete to reconstruct. "He was sad" tells; "his coat still smelled of her cigarettes" shows, because the reader assembles the feeling themselves.

A semantic field works cumulatively — no single word does much, and six of them build an atmosphere the reader absorbs without noticing.

How to use it in your work

Naming a semantic field is a strong move because it lets you quote three or four short words instead of one long quotation, and it shows you are reading the passage as a whole.

"The writer builds a semantic field of decay — 'rotting', 'mould', 'stale', 'crumbling' — so the house feels like something dying rather than something old." That sentence does more than a paragraph on one metaphor.

Where to get help

Your teacher and your board's specification.