Make an image carry a feeling
See this course’s project requirements
Three original short poems exploring image, sound and line breaks, plus an annotated before/after revision and a plain-language commentary.
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What to include
- Write three complete original short poems with distinct image/sound/line emphases.
- Annotate actual words or breaks that implement each choice.
- Retain an unchanged draft and before/after revision.
- Provide selectable text and 100–150-word craft commentary.
Review and revise
Use these criteria to check your work and choose what to improve.
- Imagery: concrete details anchor the work.
- Sound/line: choices have specific supported purposes.
- Revision: form and content changes are distinguished.
- Presentation: original text and meaningful breaks are readable.
Want more background?
The idea in everyday life
A literal detail can carry an emotional association through its position and context. A metaphor connects unlike things without “like”; a simile makes the comparison explicit. Neither device is automatically better. Test whether the comparison adds a particular relationship rather than simply sounding unusual.
An image can imply a feeling without naming it.
Make an image carry a feeling — worked practice
An image can imply a feeling without naming it.
Original lines: “One mitten waits / on the empty bench.” A mitten cannot literally wait, but the verb gives the abandoned object a human action. A different draft reads “The timetable is a ladder / with no rung marked now.” The ladder comparison suggests an ordered route that does not solve the immediate waiting. It is not a statement that the timetable is made of wood.
1. 2.1 Make
Choose one shelter object and a feeling you want to explore. Write a literal two-line description before adding a comparison.
You should see: The first version establishes an actual object.
2. 2.2 Make
Make one simile and one metaphor from that object. State the shared quality, such as looseness, repetition or absence.
You should see: Both comparisons have a named shared quality.
3. 2.3 Make
Remove any part of the comparison that imports an unrelated story. Replace “sad as everything” with a concrete shared relationship.
You should see: The comparison stays coherent with the chosen scene.
4. 2.4 Make
Write a four-to-eight-line poem around the image. Change the intended feeling from loneliness to anticipation and revise two details, leaving room for different reader interpretations.
You should see: Changed details support anticipation rather than only a label change.
What to finish
A short image poem and two annotated comparison alternatives.
Watch for this
Demanding that an image have one universal meaning.
How can I tell I understand it?
You can explain the relationship a comparison adds without treating your intention as the only reading.
Quick knowledge check
Answer all 3 questions. Get at least 2 right and the lesson completes automatically.
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Answer all 3 questions above and get at least 2 right. You can review the explanations and try again.
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Sources and further reading
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Source & access notes · checked 2026-10-01
Read explanatory discussion of end-stopping, enjambment, emphasis and prose poems; no published poem is reused.
Access: Public page text or PDF was opened and read through the web reader on 2026-10-01; no signup required for reading.
Reuse: Linked for further study. All LifeStarter scenarios, samples, assets and assessments are original; no source exercises or artwork are copied.
Source & access notes · checked 2026-10-01
Read sensory imagery, precise nouns/verbs and purposeful description; original LifeStarter samples and exercises replace source activities.
Access: Public page text or PDF was opened and read through the web reader on 2026-10-01; no signup required for reading.
Reuse: Linked for further study. All LifeStarter scenarios, samples, assets and assessments are original; no source exercises or artwork are copied.
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