Owen: Imagery
IMAGERY IN OWEN
ABSTRACT:
This paper throws light on the magnitude of the inner conflict in Owen through an analysis of the imagery in his poems. Citing examples from his poetry the paper argues that Owen used imagery in his poems not as a literary ornament but as a means to express his innermost feeling that he was more at war with himself than with the enemy.
INTRODUCTION:
Images are believed to be formed by Imagination- the mental laboratory used for the creation of images and new ideas- ‘A warehouse of facts, with poet and liar in joint ownership.’ (Ambrose Bierce, 60). ‘Imagination is not, as its etymology would suggest, the faculty of forming images of reality; it is rather the faculty of forming images which go beyond reality, which sing reality.’ (Bachelard, )
The category of which all images, as varied and lively as they are, fall into can be termed as imagery. Imagery is best defined as the total sensory suggestion of poetry ( Ciardi, )
An image is not just a stand in for something else; it is a putting-into-word of the emotional, intellectual and concrete stuff that the writer experiences in any given moment. It is also important to note that an image in poetry, contrary to popular belief, is not simply visual. It can engage any of the senses. And, in fact, for it to be an image, it must engage at least one of the senses by using sensory detail. For example one can refer to the following image-
The sunlight in a lemon…makes me wince.
The words don’t simply stand in for an absent object. There is suddenly a full experience in the words. It feels more human. There is something intellectual (one must convert the sunlight into vitamin C in order to know how the sunlight is involved), there is something sensual (taste, sour), and a bit of emotion (probably based on whether the reader, unlike the speaker in the poem, likes lemons). The instant of time is that of the...
Please login to view the full essay...