Poetry in practice
Imagery in poetry gains power from being specific, says Doris Corti
Images can be used to define certain important areas in a poem. This can apply whether your poem is about nature, a person, a memory or any other subject. Many years ago the Chinese philosopher Wei T’ai said ‘poetry presents the ‘thing’ in order to convey the feeling. It should be precise about the ‘thing’ and reticent about the feeling, for as soon as the mind regrounds and connects with the ‘thing’ the feeling shows in the words, this is how poetry enters deeply within us.’ This ‘thing’ he refers to is an image.