Visual imagery in poetry examples

Imagery is used in poetry to help the writing appeal to the senses. Imagery is one of the seven categories of figurative language.

Imagery intensifies the impact of the poet's language as he shows us with his words rather than just telling us what he feels. Song lyrics are also full of imagery.

This is an excerpt from "Preludes," an imagery poem by T. S. Eliot. This is an excellent example of visual imagery and auditory imagery. You can almost see and hear the horse steaming and stamping and smell the steaks:

The winter evening settles down

With smell of steaks in passageways.

Six o'clock.

The burnt-out ends of smoky days.

And now a gusty shower wraps

The grimy scraps

Of withered leaves about your feet

And newspapers from vacant lots;

The showers beat

On broken blinds and chimney-pots,

And at the corner of the street

A lonely cab-horse steams and stamps.

And then the lighting of the lamps.