Guide to Literary Terms | Imagery

Imagery - the forming of mental images, figures, or likenesses of things. It is also the use of language to represent actions, persons, objects, and ideas descriptively. This means encompassing the senses also, rather than just forming a mental picture.

The word is from the Latin imago, meaning “to image,” and imitari, meaning “to imitate.”

Examples of imagery may be found under the listings below.

see: archetype, connotation, metaphor, simile