How do you pinpoint the central image of a poem?

Writers create
text that is vivid and alive through the use of . Without imagery, readers might have a less
interesting, if not altogether boring, experience of reading literature. Imagery can be found in
many types of literature including poetry,and nonfiction. A central image in a work is closely
tied to other aspects of the work such as plot or theme. It recurs often through the work or is
an image around which the work is constructed and, as such, indicates an important aspect of the
work relative to its major themes. Fortunately, the central image of a poem can be fairly
transparent, as typically the text of poetry is less dense in word-for-word content than prose.
As such, pinpointing the central image of a poem is a two-step process that integrates the theme
and major emotional impact of the poem with a concrete image that manifests that theme or
impact. After those steps, the central image should be able to be described by at least one
sentence.

First, analyze the poem to get an idea of the major plot or theme.
This analysis should go beyond surface aspects of the text and attempt to encapsulate the deeper
meanings and significance of the poem. For example, Edgar Allen Poes The Raven examines the
tenuous relationships and associations between life and death relative to grief. This idea is
illustrated in the imagery of the lines Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into
smiling,/
By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore. . . The imagery of
the ebony bird personified as grave and stern amid the grief of the narrator over a dead
love foreshadows the subsequent  events of the poem. Further, the bird is a prominent figure in
the poem, thus indicating the centrality of the bird relative to the meaning of the
poem.

Next, identify imagery that is repetitive or very strong and, as such,
carries emotional resonance. In The Raven, the black bird keeps repeating the word
nevermore.  For example, the line Quoth the raven, `Nevermore. . .'  is repeated several
times in the poem, as well as the word nevermore.  Once again, the repetitiveness of the
imagery of the black bird repeating nevermore underscores the value of this action to the
meaning of the poem.

Finally, especially for the purposes of composing an
essay or research paper around ideas regarding the central image of a poem, write a sentence
that merges the major plot or theme with the emotional resonance of that theme relative to the
central image that has been identified. If that sentence fits the context of the poem as a
reasonable interpretation, it most likely describes and interprets the central image of the
poem. For example, a sentence about the central image of The Raven might read: In the poem
The Raven, Poe utilizes the central image of a black bird repeating the word nevermore to
convey the tenuous associations between life and death relative to grief.

It
is important to note that not every work utilizes a central image to convey the plot or the
theme. Yet, here are a few examples of poems in which a central image can be identified that
work effectively with the process described above:

"Tinturn Abbey"
(William Wordsworth)
"The Road Not Taken" (Robert Frost)
"I Too
Sing America" (Langston Hughes)

Good luck!