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Auditory imagery

Imagery
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Sensory details that evoke sound, ranging from noise to music to silence

Detailed Definition
Auditory imagery comprises poetic descriptions that evoke sounds—real or imagined—through onomatopoeia, phonetic mimicry, or vivid sonic detail, engaging the reader’s sense of hearing to create atmosphere, emotion, or symbolic resonance; whether depicting the clang of industry, the whisper of leaves, or the silence between notes, auditory imagery transforms the poem into an acoustic space where sound becomes a primary carrier of meaning, as in the clattering rhythms of T.S. Eliot’s “The Waste Land” or the delicate hush of Bashō’s haiku.
Example
Example in poetry:
Auditory imagery: In Dylan Thomas’ “Fern Hill,” “the tunes from the chimneys” and “the nightjars flying with their riddles” use auditory imagery to evoke a soundscape of childhood memory.
Additional Notes
Descriptive language appealing to hearing: sounds, noises, music, silence. Complements visual imagery. Use onomatopoeia, rhythm, and sound-words effectively. See also sonic effects, soundscape, and synaesthesia.
Also Known As
Auditory description sound imagery aural imagery sonic description sonic portrayal Auditory
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