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Creative Non-Fiction
Module 2
Using Sensory Images in
Creative Non Fiction
The world today is ever-changing. Never before has
life been so chaotic and challenging for all. Life
before literature was practical and predictable, but in
present day literature, has expanded into countless
libraries and into the minds of many as the gateway
for comprehension and curiosity of the human mind
and the world around them.
At the end of this module, you are expected
to:
1. Analyze sample texts for sensory images,
concrete and evocative details, and significant
human experience.
Imagery shows the reader instead of telling them. The
next time when you look at a picture, think about its
details-the colors, textures, background, weather,
positioning of people and their expressions-and use these
images to portray an image using words.
Sensory Images
and Evocative
Details in
Creative Non-
Fiction
● According to Laurence Perrine (1977,4), poetry maybe
defined as a kind of language that says more and says it
more intensely than does ordinary language.
● In other words, poetry uses a “heightened language”.
● As a literary device, imagery consists of descriptive
language that can function as a way for the reader to
better imagine the world of the piece of literature and
also add symbolism to the work. Imagery draws on the
five senses, namely the details of taste, touch, sight,
smell, and sound. (Moratilla et al.) 2016
SAMPLE POEM

02 03

Bauang Work
Barrio Nagrebcan, "How My Brother
Bauang, La Union, Leon Brought Home
where he was born in a Wife."
1911.
Guide Questions
1. What did the persona nearly step on? How big was it?
2. What shall it brag about in the persona’s next visit?
Sample travelogue
excerpt from
First Time Being on a Train in India
During the moments of silence in our conversation, I took a
glance around the train: hanging metal fans when it got too hot
and iron supports for when the train jostled a bit too hard;
ripped up gray paint; and the locals, almost all men with short,
black hair, checkered shirts, and light khaki pants—the mark
of a common businessman in India. Some people were
hanging out of the train with only one arm clinging onto iron
bars near the open entryway. Every time we stopped, either the
smell of pee or chewing tobacco reeked.
https://academichelp.net/samples/creative-writing-samples/travelogue-samples/india-train.html
Imagery is about description where the
sensory details are used in any great story,
literary and other forms of writing.
• Visual
• Tactile
• Auditory
• Gustatory
• Olfactory
Just Give Me the Light
Smooth is my bulb
Tastes like hot electricity
Smells like smokey possibility
Ruler of light
Gives my home sight
Sound like a buzz
Literal Imagery
● With literal imagery, a writer is literally describing things to the reader.
● Writers often use literal imagery to describe the setting, characters, and
situation for a reader.
● Literal imagery helps the reader picture where characters are, understand
what characters are doing, and even foreshadow what might happen next.

They were closer to the waterfall now, the roar

much louder. The rocks became slippery, the path
muddy. There was a constant hanging mist. It was
like moving through a cloud. The path seemed to
lead right into the rushing water, but as they came
closer, they saw that it actually went behind the
waterfall
Figurative Imagery
● Unlike literal imagery, figurative imagery uses on the non-literal--or
metaphorical--meaning of words to paint a picture for the reader.
● Almost all words have two meanings: their denotation and connotation.
The denotation of a word is its literal, dictionary definition.
● Figurative imagery, on the other hand, relies on the connotation—or
implied meaning—of words and phrases to help shape a text’s themes and
ideas.
The stars in the sky were not like her smiles.
How to use imagery in
writing Creative Non-
fiction
Show. Don't tell.
Provide vivid descriptions that will
appeal to the readers' imagination.
Engage the senses

Use descriptions that

will activate the senses
upon reading.
Example: Imagine
eating a crunchy slice
of green mango with
spicy shrimp paste.
Giving details is the key.
One cannot imagine things well
and have good images without
concrete and complete details.
Engage the imagination.

After writing, read your work, and ask

yourself: What did I imagine after reading this?
Imagery
Point Out the Most Important
Things about This Lesson

https://academichelp.net/samples/creative-writing-samples/travelogue-samples/india-
train.html

https://blog.prepscholar.com/what-is-imagery-definition-examples