The Use Of Imagery In Robert Frost's 'Blueberries'

The sun shimmered off the tiny ice crystal layers that covered the yellow tattered leaf as it slowly drifted to the frost protected ground (Berry). Imagery is a powerful element in any writing and can increase the quality tremendously if used correctly. But what is imagery? Imagery is the use of words to create a vivid image in the readers mind; it is not the feeling or mood of the story, but can be the difference between a good story and a great story. When an author uses imagery, they can appeal to the five senses, such as: sight, sound, smell, taste and touch. Although some of these may be harder to demonstrate, using descriptive words that pay attention to close detail help the imagination of the reader become more clear.

Using figurative language to represent objects, actions, and ideas in such a way that it appeals to our physical senses is the textbook definition of imagery (Imagery). In Robert Frost’s poem, Blueberries, he uses a lot of imagery to appeal to the reader, “Blueberries as big as the end of your thumb, Real sky-blue, and heavy, and ready to drum in the cavernous pail of the first one to come! And all ripe together, not some of them green and some of them ripe! You ought to have seen!” (Frost, Blueberries). The author describes the berries with a significant amount of detail, allowing the reader to imagine in their head exactly how they look as the narrator is picking them. By using figures of speech, such as the metaphor “Blueberries as big as the end of your thumb”, Frost is embedding an image into the reader’s imagination that allows them to relate to what he is saying. Imagery really does appeal to our physical senses; sometimes we can imagine an aroma or a taste of certain thing and really connect to a stor...

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... in any writing and can increase the quality tremendously if used correctly. Imagery is the use of words to create a vivid image in the readers mind; it is not the feeling or mood of the story, however, it can be the difference between a good story and a great story. Author Robert Frost is a fantastic example of a writer that uses a lot of imagery in his poems to paint a clear imagines in the readers mind to keep them following along. Frost has written hundreds of poems that would be extremely boring and hard to read if there was not imagery to help tells the stories. Many other authors use imagery to help depict great detail in objects and to help readers feel like they are right in the story with the narrator. Imagery is a fantastic literary device that can help any writer improve their writing, and help them become a better, more descriptive, and favored author.