Imagery is language that appeals to the senses. Tone is the attitude or feeling a poem expresses: grateful, bitter, playful, solemn.
In a poem where a mother's hands are “maps of work”, with knuckles like hills and veins like rivers, the extended image suggests a life of effort. The tone shifts from a child's dislike of rough hands to an adult's gratitude.
Look for a turn: a point where the tone or perspective changes, often marked by words like but, now or yet. The turn often reveals the poem's central idea.
Worked example
What does the simile “her hands folded like birds come home” suggest?
- Birds coming home suggests safety and rest.
- The mother is resting after hard work.
Answer:A peaceful, tender tone: the mother is finally at rest.
Key words
- imagery
- language that creates sensory pictures
- tone
- the attitude a text expresses
- turn
- a shift in tone or idea in a poem
Practise this
New questions every time.
Common Core-referenced: RL.7.4