Sensory Description/Imagery
Guide to Vivid Words
A “description inventory” is a list of words and phrases of sense impressions of the object, person or event being inventoried. Words should be specific as necessary and as many senses as possible should be involved.
Color
Use basic colors (red, green, yellow, black, white) sparingly if the description is to be accurate and vivid. These words give only a general indication of the color of an object.
Words to make a color more specific include: bright, bold, pale, faded, brilliant, light, dark, shiny, fluorescent, dull pastel, neon, intense, flame like, clouded, muddied, streaked, washed out, bleached, shaded opaque, solid.
Examples of how one color (yellow) can be made more specific and vivid: pale yellow, canary, gold, mustard, dandelion, lemon, honey, blond, amber, straw, chartreuse, highway sign yellow, taxi-cab yellow, sand or tawny.
Size
Use words such as big, large, small, and little sparingly. Use measurements only when precision of scientific accuracy is desired. Comparing the size of an unknown object to that of an object the reader knows can be helpful.
Examples of words that could be used instead of “big” immense, huge, gigantic, massive, gargantuan, enormous, giant, vast, gross, swollen, mammoth, colossal, towering, mighty, expansive, monstrous, considerable, extensive, abundant, cumbersome, whopping, bloated, liberal, ample.
Texture/Feel
Words such as rough, soft, hard or smooth give one general impression.
Examples of words that could be used to b\describe the texture or feel of objects: rubbery, slick, silky, velvet, prickly, fragile, gritty, grainy, sandy, feathery, glassy, oily, lukewarm, cool, tepid, icy, damp, steamy, clammy, sticky, limp, fluffy, doughy, spongy, mushy, sopping, plastic, coarse, flexible, stiff, gnarled, bristly, wrinkled.
Taste and Smell
Our vocabulary of words to describe the infinite combination of tastes and orders is extremely limited. Even the most sophisticated “tasters” have a difficult time describing a specific taste. The most accurate method is to compare the taste or odor to some other well known taste or smell.
The words “good” and “bad” do not describe a taste; they indicate a judgment on the
part of the taster. The same is true of judgment words such as delicious, horrible, excellent, or the ever-popular “icky”.
The primary tastes are sweet, sour, bitter and salt. There are about twenty basic smells; tastes are almost always a combination of smell and taste.
Sound
The words “loud” and “quiet” are to sound description what “big” and “little” are two size descriptions- they provide only a general impression and perhaps a comparison. Sounds can be described as to intensity (degree of volume) and to quality (the kind of sound). We often use metaphors borrowed from the other sense to describe sounds- shimmering, bright, dark, light, heavy, mellow, smooth, and edgy.
Some words that describe intensity of sound include: piercing, thunderous, barely audible, earsplitting, faint whisper, scream, shout, hushed, muffled, clamor, peep, bellow, and blare.
Some words that describe the quality of sound include tinkle, hum, rumble, buzz, trumpet-like, crash, clink, gurgle, purr, raucous, harmonious, discordant, bark, swish, grow.
Summary
A description inventory should also include observations of the inter-relatedness of objects, their shapes, location and other noticeable impressions.
Below is a description inventory taken while observing a phonograph record on a turntable.
Shiny black, almost oily surface. Reflecting light from lamp. Spinning hypnotically, constant speed, record label a pale yellow turning just fast enough to make reading the title impossible. Label round, a hole (slightly off center) makes the label spin more like an egg than in a circle. Slight hum of motor noticeable only when no other noise blocking it out. Record has a warp so that when viewed on end has a wave like motion.
Description of the record written without taking an inventory: “The record spun around on the turn table.”
Description written after taking inventory: “The warped record turned in oily waves on the turntable, a reflection from the desk lamp floated on the black sea.”
Imagery and Sensory description
“The Winter Evening Settles Down”
T.S. Elliot
The Winter evening settles down
With smell of steaks and passageways.
Six o’ clock
The burnt-out ends of smoky days.
And now a gusty shower wraps
The grimy scraps
Of withered leaves about your feet
And newspapers from vacant lots;
The showers beat
On broken blinds and chimney-pots,
And at the corner of the street
A lonely cab-horse steams and stamps.
And then the lightening of the lamps.
“Waiting for the Storm”
Timothy Steele
Breeze sent a wrinkling darkness
Across the bay. I knelt
Beneath an upturned boat,
And, moment by moment, felt
The sand at my feet grew colder,
The damp air chill and spread.
Then the first raindrops sounded
On the hull above my head.
Directions:
Describe an event using the five senses: sight, taste, touch, sound, and smell. Type it up in paragraph form.
Some suggestions (or use your own)
A sunset A summer day
Winning the game The first day of school
Graduation Falling in love