Writers build patterns of imagery that develop meaning. Dickens repeatedly links Scrooge to cold: frost, ice and “low temperature”. The pattern prepares readers for his later “thaw”.
Symbols carry ideas: Ozymandias's shattered statue symbolises the fall of tyrants; ivy growing over an abandoned phone box symbolises time and decay.
To analyse imagery or symbolism, trace it through the text, explain what it represents and consider more than one interpretation. Strong essays explore how meaning develops.
Worked example
What might the ivy climbing an empty phone box symbolise?
- Ivy grows over things that are no longer used.
- It suggests nature reclaiming the object as time passes.
Answer:Neglect and the passing of time, as the old ways of communicating fade.
Key words
- pattern of imagery
- related images repeated through a text
- symbol
- an object representing an idea
- interpretation
- an explanation of meaning
Practise this
New questions every time.
Common Core-referenced: L.9-10.5a