UNDERSTANDING
POETRY (IMAGERY)
Presented by:
ESTELLA B. BARBOSA
DINNER IN PENANG
Jose Y. Dalisay, Jr.
Jose Y. Dalisay Jr. (born
January 15, 1954) is a Filipino
writer. He has won numerous
awards and prizes for fiction,
poetry, drama, non-fiction and
screenwriting, including
16 Palanca Awards
KINDS OF IMAGES/IMAGERY IN LITERATURE
What is an imagery in literature?
- language that makes a picture in your mind.
-In poetry, it is a vivid and vibrant form of
description that appeals to readers’ imagination
and senses (sight, hearing, touch, taste, and
smell).
a. Visual d. Gustatory g.
Kinesthetic
b. Olfactory e. Tactile
c. Auditory f. Organic
Visual Imagery
the poet appeals to the reader’s sense of sight by
describing something the speaker or narrator of
the poem sees.
“Mama, the gown I wore that night is fading
In the closet, unwashed black velvet exuding
Beauty irretrievably gone. It’s a backless
Sleeveless tube with big slits on the side,
Silver sequins on the padded bosoms, and white
Gloves for the spectacular beauty that I am.”—Ronald
Baytan, “Queen”
Olfactory Imagery
the poet appeals to the reader’s sense of smell
by describing something the speaker of the
poem inhales.
“Because behind the scent of women
That put leis ’round your neck,
The stinking smell of estuaries
Suffocate the people of Tondo.”—Romulo P.
Baquiran, Jr., “My Country Is No Paradise, Mr.
Jacobson”
Auditory Imagery
• appeals to the reader’s sense of hearing or sound. It
may include music and other pleasant sounds, harsh
noises, or silence. In addition to describing a sound,
the poet might also use a sound device like
onomatopoeia, or words that imitate sounds
“Her coos and cry
Are now all echoes
Being reviewed in my skull…”—Mae Monteclaro
Roca, “Amira”
Gustatory Imagery
• the poet appeals to the reader’s sense of taste
by describing something the speaker or
narrator of the poem tastes.
“Kay tamis ng oras sa sariling bayan,
Kaibigan lahat ang abot ng araw…”—Jose Rizal,
“Ang Awit ni Maria Clara”
Tactile Imagery
• the poet appeals to the reader’s sense of touch by
describing something the speaker of the poem feels
on their body. It may include the feel of
temperatures, textures, and other physical
sensations.
“Candles melt
the hard darkness
inside the church.”—Danton Remoto, “Candles”
Organic Imagery
• the poet communicates internal sensations such as
fatigue, hunger, and thirst as well as internal
emotions such as fear, love, and despair.
“Perhaps she was just bored.
Bored with the man
Of the missing rib
Who was beginning to repeat
Himself, having run out of names
For the rest of the world.”—Fatima Lim, “The
Forbidden Tree”
Kinesthetic Imagery
the poet appeals to the reader’s sense of motion. It may include
the sensation of speeding along in a vehicle, a slow sauntering,
or a sudden jolt when stopping, and it may apply to the
movement of the poem’s speaker/narrator or objects around
them.
“Palay siyang matino (He’s a behaved palay)
Nang humangi’y yumuko, (Who bowed when the wind blew)
Ngunit muling tumayo, (But stood up again)
Nagkabunga ng ginto.” (And bore gold)—Ildefonso Santos,
“Palay”
DINNER IN PENANG
For the second time in as many days
I come to her, and have the same
Two-ringgit dish of hawker’s prawn
Steamed in fragrant broth, and its
succulence
Completes in joyfulness with the garlic
sauce.
The next morning, Elangovan says to me:
“Those prawns were fatted on the city’s slime—
Look here, it’s in the papers,
Waterborne diseases on the rise!”
And while my reason grapples
With the sordid possibilities,
My stomach’s heart has no regrets,
Having loved, without the need of asking,
Having departed more complete, in trusting.
Determine the type of imagery
created by the following words or
ACTIVITY ALERT! ideas . Then tell the possible
meanings of these imagery/images.
Word Type of Possible
Imagery Meaning/Connotation
1. two-ringgit dish visual cheap, affordable food
fragrant broth
succulence
joyfulness with the
garlic sauce.
For the second time in as many days
I come to her, and have the same
Two-ringgit dish of hawker’s prawn
Steamed in fragrant broth, and its succulence
Completes in joyfulness with the garlic sauce.
READING CHECK!
• Who is the speaker in the poem?
• How did the speaker find the “dish” based on
the positive images/imagery created by the
words “fragrant”, “succulence”, and
“joyfulness” ?
1ST STANZA
The speaker describes how he patronizes a ‘resto’
or a food stall(For the second time in as many
days/I come to her and have the same…dish) and
enjoys an affordable (two-ringgit dish) yet delicious
(.. hawker’s prawn streamed in fragrant broth, and
its succulence competes in joyfulness with the garlic
sauce) dish. The use of positive lexicons such as
fragrant, succulence, joyfulness, indicates how the
speaker finds the food tasteful and satisfying.
city’s slime
waterborne
diseases
reason grapples
sordid possibilities
stomach’s heart
The next morning, Elangovan says to me:
“Those prawns were fatted on the city’s slime—
Look here, it’s in the papers,
Waterborne diseases on the rise!”
And while my reason grapples
With the sordid possibilities,
My stomach’s heart has no regrets,
Having loved, without the need of asking,
Having departed more complete, in trusting.
READING CHECK!
• How would you describe the “dish” based on
the negative imagery created by the
words/lines fatted on the city’s slime,
waterborne diseases, and sordid possibilities?
• What do you think was the initial reaction of
the speaker when he found out in the news
that the “prawns” served to him were “fatted
on the city’s slime”?
• What was he thinking when he said “…my
reason grapples with the sordid possibilities”?
• Did the speaker have regrets despite knowing
the truth? How did he accept the news/truth?
2ND STANZA
The speaker is startled by the news that his favorite prawn
dish is dirty and unsafe for the ‘…prawns were fatted on the
city’s slime/waterborne diseases on the rise!’ Upon knowing
the news, he thinks of the ‘sordid possibilities’ of acquiring
illness. However, ‘his stomach’s heart has no regrets’
despite knowing the truth. He then proceeds to juxtapose
his experience with the act of falling in love that is
pleasurable and that does not require asking (like he did not
ask the cook/waiter how she prepared the dish) which may
result to his ‘having departed more complete, in trusting’
(as he fears that he may acquire serious illness from the
dish he ate (for several times)).
As we look into its deeper meaning, what social
issue or reality is shown in the poem?
What values are emphasized/deemphasized in
the poem?
Wrong becomes right
when pleasurable.
People of today live in an
immune distasteful society
which is a product of a
capitalist orientation.
CONCLUSION
Poetry indeed reflects the
society of the poet who expresses
what he has experienced and
observed in his immediate
environment.
CLASSIFY THE UNDERLINED WORDS INTO VISUAL, AUDITORY, OLFACTORY, GUSTATORY, &TACTILE
IMAGERY
TO A PINAY CONTRACT WORKER IN ROME
Isidro M. Cruz
Between you and me In the air
Always is a postman A 5whiff of your sweet smell
Who 1fling your letter Hovers as I 6trace your hand-
Like paper plane dizzily dropping. Writing and 7caress its curves and
Loops that remind me of your lips.
It is your 2voice in the envelope
That 3warms my palms But it is your absence
That sustains me.
While I rip its edge,
It’s just a sense of 8touch we trace
Tearing it as if to unwrap
For a feeling of fullness.
A birthday 4present.
THANK YOU!
