Imagery Questions

1. Imagery Questions Analysis

2. What to look for… • Simile (comparison using like or as) • Metaphor (comparison – one thing is another. He was a bear of a man.) • Personification (giving human qualities to inanimate things)

3. How to deal with questions… Imagery questions often are phrased a little like this: Comment on the image in line … and consider its effect.

4. In order to answer effectively… • Identify the image (metaphor/simile/personification) – say what sort of image it is and quote it if necessary • Say what two things are being compared • Give the literal meaning of the image • Explain the connection between the two

5. So… This is overly simplistic but it will help you to establish how to go about answering questions of this type. At the sight of blood, the girl’s face went as white as a sheet. Comment on the effectiveness of this image.

6. The process Steps 1 and 2 The simile compares the colour of the girl’s face to the colour of a sheet. Step 3 Sheets are traditionally very white. Step 4 This comparison helps us to understand that the girl was so shocked that her face was drained of colour, as white as a bed sheet might be.

7. Using the process you have been taught please attempt the following: Comment on the effect of the imagery in the following sentences: • The student couldn’t afford an expensive car so she drove a tank. • The boys tiptoed down the Headmaster’s corridor. They were as quiet as mice. • The school was a prison of hearts and minds. • The river wandered through the mountain, pausing at intervals and chuckling as it passed over rocks and stones.