Images are a way to transfer complex thoughts in a concise manner.
The process of communicating more effectively by concentrating on the images within the text. It focuses on brining the images to the listener's ears.
It focuses on the operative words (think nouns and verbs) and releases those that are unnecessary (pronouns and coordinating conjunctions).
Imaging is something that we do in our normal everyday lives!
Shakespeare was writing for the people, the uneducated. The base of this work is being human.
"the emphasized or stressed word that gives the sentence meaning"
Primary Images = nouns and verbs
Secondary images = adjectives and adverbs
these describe or make the primary images more specific)
Examples:
celestial grace
guiltless blood
(often the unstressed words in the scansion)
Pronouns --> I, me, she, him, we, etc.
Possessives --> my, ours, hers, etc.
Conjunctions --> and, but, so, etc.
Prepositions --> by, to, for, etc.
Negatives --> no, not, never
Articles --> the, a
If a word is assumed it can be released
If you land it the first time, it can be let go
With repetition, the idea is given either additional emphasis/value OR is released
this is the idea of building and moving through a thought; you are falling forward through the text
"Climb the ladder" in a list
Another way to think about imaging is the idea of swinging (or "Spider-manning") from thought to thought. The images carry you and help you build momentum and velocity.
Just like with all the other "rules" we have looked at, these can be broken, and Shakespeare does. One of the most famous Shakespeare lines, "no be or not to be" puts emphasis on a negative word. Understand the rules and then find where you can break them (there is joy in that discovery)!