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Touch 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

Descriptive language that appeals specifically to the sense of touch

Detailed Definition
Touch imagery evokes the sense of physical contact—texture, pressure, temperature, pain—through descriptive language that appeals to tactile memory; it grounds abstract emotion in bodily experience, as in “the rough bark of grief” or “a velvet silence,” making feeling palpable and immediate through sensory embodiment.
Example
Example in poetry:
“Velvet petals brushed my palm like whispered secrets” — tactile softness; “Rough bark scraped my skin as I climbed” — texture evoking effort; “Ice stung my cheeks with sharp, bright teeth” — cold as touch sensation; “Silk sheets pooled like liquid moonlight” — smoothness through touch metaphor
Additional Notes
Touch imagery|The use of descriptive language appealing to the sense of touch (tactile sense); it often involves texture, temperature, weight, or physical sensation (e.g., "smooth stone," "biting cold," "velvet skin") to immerse the reader in the sensory world.
Also Known As
Tactile imagery Touch sensation Texture imagery Haptic imagery
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