Imagery and symbolism

Imagery is language that creates pictures in the reader's mind, through the senses and through comparisons. A symbol is an object, colour or character that stands for a bigger idea. When you analyse them, explain what they suggest and why the writer chose them.

Key facts

• Sensory imagery appeals to the five senses: sight, sound, smell, touch and taste: ⟦The bread smelt warm and sweet.⟧
• Figurative imagery compares: a simile uses ⟦like⟧ or ⟦as⟧ (⟦as still as glass⟧), a metaphor says one thing is another (⟦The classroom was a zoo.⟧) and personification makes things act like people (⟦The fog crept.⟧).
• Symbols stand for ideas: a dove for peace, a storm for trouble, a candle for hope, winter for old age or death, a crossroads for a difficult choice.
• A motif is an image or symbol that comes back again and again in a text, such as a ticking clock or a closed door, building up its meaning each time.
• Connotations are the feelings a word brings: ⟦golden⟧ suggests something warm and precious; ⟦rotting⟧ suggests decay. To analyse, name the image, quote it, say what it suggests and explain its effect on the reader.

Worked examples