Auditory Imagery: Definition and Examples
Imagery is the art of creating a mental image through descriptive words. Elevate your writing by making your scenes come alive, so your readers feel like they are part of your story.
There are seven major types of imagery used in writing. Five of these pertain to the basic senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch.
Understanding Auditory Imagery
Auditory imagery engages our sense of hearing.
Here's an example:
“I heard the rain still beating continuously on the staircase window, and the wind howling in the grove behind the hall; I grew by degrees cold as a stone, and then my courage sank.
Notice how Louis Armstrong’s lyrics embrace poetic imagery to illustrate a compelling scene. But pay attention to how the lyrics make you feel. Do you feel a soothing sense of love and happiness?
Other Types of Imagery
To further illustrate the concept of imagery, here are examples of other types:
- Visual imagery appeals to our sense of sight. Veronica was dressed to impress. Notice that literal descriptive language is mainly used in these examples.
- Olfactory imagery relates to our sense of smell. Notice how the honeysuckle fragrance triggers a memory .
- Gustatory imagery appeals to our sense of taste and food cravings. Are you feeling hungry now? Notice the descriptive words being used to describe flavors and textures.
- Tactile imagery engages our sense of touch. A gust of cold air blew over her, causing her body to shiver. His legs ached after climbing so many flights of stairs, and he could feel the flush in his face.
- Kinesthetic imagery is unrelated to the five basic senses and instead relates to the actions and movements of people or objects. Notice the physical movements of people rummaging, hurling, and raking.
- Organic imagery is also unrelated to the five basic senses and instead appeals to internal sensations, feelings, and emotions. He lowered his head and covered his face with his hands.
Consider this example:
“The far bank was steep and slippery. When they got to the top of it, leading their ponies, they saw that the great mountains had marched down very near to them. Already they seemed only a day’s easy journey from the feet of the nearest. After a rain.
Literal Imagery vs. It does not mean his heart is literally made of stone. Imagery is not automatically the same thing as figurative language.