Chapter 11-Imagery in Poetry

Poetry is known for creating images in the mind.  Poetry appeals to the senses by design and because the language is so distilled down, a poet needs to give plenty of meaning in few words; there’s no time for exposition as in a novel or a short story. Poems have only a few words, meanings have to be understood quickly, so poets use imagery as their shortcut to readers’ understanding. They often go directly to the senses, and they create visual images along with appeals to other senses such as hearing or smelling.

This poem was written by William Carlos Williams. Williams won a Pulitzer Prize as well as being appointed as Poet Laureate of the United States, though he never served in that role.  He also won the first National Book Award for poetry.  He was a Modernist, and also part of a group of poets that were called imagists.  They rejected the poetic diction of earlier times. They wanted clear, sharp language, precision of imagery. This poem has a clear picture.

As the cat

climbed over

the top of

the jamcloset

first the right

forefoot

carefully

then the hind

stepped down

into the pit of

the empty

flowerpot

The reader can imagine this cat stepping over things as he’s going through here and notice the lack of a period at the end. (As the cat) presents a much clearer, more precise picture of what Williams wanted to say than some earlier styles of poetry.

The next poem, by Walt Whitman, appeals to a number of senses and also sets a mood. Whitman is talking about the cavalry crossing a ford during the Civil War in which he functioned as a nurse.

Cavalry Crossing a Ford

A line in long array where they wind betwixt green islands,

They take a serpentine course, their arms flash in the sun—hark to the musical clank,

Behold the silvery river, in it the splashing horses loitering stop to drink,

Behold the brown-faced men, each group, each person a picture, the negligent rest on the saddles,

Some emerge on the opposite bank, others are just entering the ford—while,

Scarlet and blue and snowy white,

The guidon flags flutter gayly in the wind.

A reader can see here a line in long array where they wind betwixt two green islands. Whitman provides sound imagery of their weapons clanking as they ride. He is talking about long lines of men crossing a ford and notice the long lines of poetry seem to echo that picture.  Whitman is known for long lines in most of his poetry, but here he uses them here to help reinforce that picture of those long lines of men. The reader sees these brown faced men, kind of negligent on their saddles because they’re tired. They’ve been in battle. They’re evidently sitting quietly because the reader can hear the sounds of the horses.  Their guns or something flashing in that are flashing the Sun their arms and then how are clanking against things, but I can really get this setting of just kind of this long line of failure. The reader sees tired men with these sounds as they cross this river, so this once again creates quite the picture.

Here is the second stanza of a fun poem, “Poetry Should Ride the Bus” by Ruth Foreman.

poetry should wear bright red lipstick

n practice kisses in the mirror

for all the fine young men with fades

shootin craps around the corner

The poem gives a strong visual image of an abstract concept because the poem talks about what poetry should do. Poetry should ride the bus. Poetry should wear bright red lipstick and practice kisses in the mirror for all the fine young men with fades shooting craps around the corner. The reader can’t help but picture wearing bright red lipstick and practicing kisses in the mirror and these fine young men with fades shooting craps around the corner, but the poem describes an abstract concept: the construct of poetry. This is what poetry should do for readers, so it’s interesting how they can use these  literal images to talk about an abstract concept.

Stephen Crane’s (I have the poet’s name wrong in the accompanying video) “The Wayfarer” discusses a wayfarer who finds the path to truth.

The wayfarer,
Perceiving the pathway to truth,
Was struck with astonishment.
It was thickly grown with weeds.
“Ha,” he said,
“I see that none has passed here
In a long time.”
Later he saw that each weed
Was a singular knife.
“Well,” he mumbled at last,
“Doubtless there are other roads.”

An easy to imagine picture, and yet the poet is making a  philosophical statement. The reader sees this pathway to truth thickly grown with weeds.  The poet then comments on how few people are really willing to go down the pathway to truth, really willing to seek out the truth, and then later he’s making the comment that since he sees each weed is a knife, he’s going to take a different road. The road to truth looks far too difficult for the wayfarer, but what a visual picture!   The poet is making a  philosophical statement, and the reader can see how poetry is so distilled down that by using a few words to create  images, the poet can make a point a philosopher would write a whole book about.  That’s the power of poetry.