August 20, 2025
Introduction
I'm going to discuss the use of imagery in the Breasts of the Sea by Syl Cheney Coker.
Breasts of the Sea by Syl Cheney Coker is a poem written by a Sierra Leonean poet and fictional writer.
The 3 stanza poem, well polished with lots of imageries_ is based on the negative effects of pollution and exploitation.
What is Imagery
Imagery is a literary device used to create vivid mental images or sensory experiences in the reader's mind. It involves using descriptive language to appeal to one or more of the senses, such as:
- Sight (visual imagery)
- Sound (auditory imagery)
- Smell (olfactory imagery)
- Taste (gustatory imagery)
- Touch (tactile imagery)
- Movement and action (kinesthetic imagery)
- Emotions and feelings (emotional imagery)
Imageries in the Poem
1. "our bloody century" as it appeared in line 1 of the poem, is an example of auditory imagery for evoking the sound of suffering or violence and also a tactile or emotional imagery for conveying the sense of pain and bloodshed.
2. "somewhere between breasts and anus" is found in line 2. The anatomical description evoked a visual imagery for the reader's of the poem.
3. In line 6 of the poem the Breasts of the Sea by Syl Cheney Coker, the poet wrote "Noah's monologue, the Middle Passage's cargoes". Such allusive imagery is a historical reference to the biblical story of Noah and the historical trauma of the Middle Passage.
4. "Darwin's examination of the turtle's shit" [line 7] conveyed an olfactory image of disgust or frivolity.
5. "a fractured chela" is a visual imagery painting the image of something broken which could be a fractured claw or pincer; [Found in line 10].
6. "clean of our century's blight" in line 12 has an emotional imagery pointing at a sense of relief or purification.
7. "Throbbing, the sea's breasts will console some exiles" in the line 13 of the poem can be considered rich in sensory imagery including:Tactile (throbbing), Visual (the sea's breasts) and Emotional (consoling exiles).
8. Another emotional imagery in the poem titled the Breasts of the Sea by Syl Cheney Coker is in line 14 "drifters on a tired moon". The phrase offered the ability to sense and see mentally the tiredness and melancholy of some characters in the poem.
9. "a raped woman's cry" is an auditory image portraying the sound of cry and the emotional image for the sense of distress and trauma.
10. "the shredded garment"; this phrase in the poem evoked visual and tactile imagery (the image of torn fabric).
11. "horror of red corals" in the poem is another instance of both visual and emotional imagery in the poem titled the Breasts of the Sea by Syl Cheney Coker.
Conclusively, I have examined the use of imageries in the poem to the best of my knowledge at this moment. Any addition or subtraction can be pointed out in the comment box below.
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