Uses

Imagery is used in literature to refer to descriptive language that evokes sensory experience. Such images can be created by using figures of speech such as similes, metaphors, personification, or assonance. Imagery can also involve the use of relatable action words or onomatopoeias that trigger images in the reader's mind.

Other uses

The term imagery is also used in psychology and everyday discourse to refer to mental images, i.e., the making (or re-creation) of any experience in the mind — auditory, visual, tactile, olfactory, gustatory, kinesthetic. This is a cognitive process employed by most, if not all, humans.

Imagery can refer to any of the five senses: smell (olfactory), touch (tactile), taste (gustatory), hearing (auditory), and, most commonly, sight (visual).

Forms of imagery

Imagery can be in many forms such as metaphors, similes and puns.

A Simile is a literary device where the writer employs the words "like" or "as" to compare to different ideas.

• He flew like a dove.
• I am as bold as a lion.

A Metaphor is similar to a simile, however this literary device makes a comparison without the use of "like" or "as".

• He has a hyena's laugh
• Her face is a garden

Guided imagery is a psychotherapeutic technique in which a facilitator uses descriptive language intended not to psychologically benefit mental imagery, often involving several or all sense modes, in the mind of the listener.

References

• http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/mental-imagery/
• http://www.readprint.com/article-5
• http://volweb.utk.edu/school/bedford/harrisms/imagery