In primary school, English literature teachers often ask us to find literary techniques in a poem or story. An example of a literary technique is imagery, which is any description that appeals to our five senses (e.g. a rattling drum = hearing, a slippery, sharp icicle = touch).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In secondary school, English literature teachers usually want us to do more than find the techniques. We need to answer harder questions. These can be vague ones like \u2018Analyse the use of imagery in William Blake\u2019s The Tiger<\/em>.\u2019 This can be hard to do well. Look at The Tiger <\/em>below and follow the instructions that follow it. This will show you how to answer a question about imagery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Tiger<\/p>\n\n\n\n by William Blake<\/p>\n\n\n\n TIGER, tiger, burning bright<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the forests of the night,<\/p>\n\n\n\n What immortal\u00b9 hand or eye<\/p>\n\n\n\n Could frame\u00b2 thy* fearful\u00b3 symmetry?<\/p>\n\n\n\n In what distant deeps or skies<\/p>\n\n\n\n Burnt the fire of thine* eyes?<\/p>\n\n\n\n On what wings dare he aspire\u2074?<\/p>\n\n\n\n What the hand dare seize\u2075 the fire?<\/p>\n\n\n\n And what shoulder and what art\u2076<\/p>\n\n\n\n Could twist the sinews\u2077 of thy heart?<\/p>\n\n\n\n And when thy heart began to beat,<\/p>\n\n\n\n What dread\u2078 hand and what dread feet?<\/p>\n\n\n\n What the hammer? what the chain?<\/p>\n\n\n\n In what furnace\u2079 was thy brain?<\/p>\n\n\n\n What the anvil\u00b9\u2070? What dread grasp<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dare its deadly terrors clasp?<\/p>\n\n\n\n When the stars threw down their spears,<\/p>\n\n\n\n And water\u2019d heaven with their tears,<\/p>\n\n\n\n Did He smile His work to see?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Did He who made the lamb make thee?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tiger, tiger, burning bright<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the forests of the night,<\/p>\n\n\n\n What immortal hand or eye<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1 immortal <\/strong> living forever, something that cannot die<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2 frame <\/strong> make, create, contain<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3 fearful <\/strong> likely to cause fear, also meaning extreme, great<\/p>\n\n\n\n 4 aspire <\/strong> hope, dream, literal meaning go higher<\/p>\n\n\n\n 5 seize <\/strong> take, grab<\/p>\n\n\n\n 6 art <\/strong> here refers to skill, technique<\/p>\n\n\n\n 7 sinews <\/strong> parts of muscle tissue<\/p>\n\n\n\n 8 dread <\/strong> great fear, also meaning something great to fear, sublime<\/p>\n\n\n\n 9 furnace <\/strong> hot oven used to smelt steel and iron to make metal, also meaning fire<\/p>\n\n\n\n 10 anvil <\/strong> heavy metal block used for shaping metal (usually with a hammer)<\/p>\n\n\n\n *Thy, thine and thee are all Old Middle English words for \u2018your\u2019 and \u2018you\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n When writing about the use of imagery in a poem, it is important to remember that the point is to explain what the poet is trying to say, rather than simply list the literary techniques they have used.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A good analysis of imagery will include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Below is an example of what a short commentary on imagery could look like and how we can divide it into several parts:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Using a metaphor <\/em>in stanza 4, Blake describes the creator of the tiger as a blacksmith<\/strong> wielding heavy metal tools by a hot and burning furnace, forging the powerful tiger as if it were made of steel<\/strong>. A blacksmith can be associated with the making of weapons; the use of this description and the imagery surrounding it adds to the reader\u2019s understanding of the tiger as a dangerous, fearful creature. It also tells the reader something important about the creator of the tiger who is able to wield these tools with a \u201cdread grasp\u201d to create and \u201cclasp\u201d the \u201cdeadly terrors\u201d of the tiger. The creator must to some extent be fearful and powerful too. The strong imagery supports the significant metaphor to create a powerful depiction of the tiger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n what technique <\/em>is used<\/p>\n\n\n\n +<\/p>\n\n\n\n what is the effect<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n +<\/p>\n\n\n\n what does it add to the meaning of the poem<\/p>\n\n\n\n