Imagery, Simile, and Metaphor

Song lyrics are often very poetical. In fact, a poem that is of average length is often called a lyrical poem. There is a strong relationship between poetry and song lyrics.

One important literary device that is often used in poetry (and song lyrics) is called imagery. Whenever the words of the poem/song help you to imagine something, it is probably "imagery" that is creating those images in your mind.

If you can imagine seeing something described in the poem, it is called visual imagery. If you can imagine hearing something, it is called auditory imagery. If you can imagine smelling something it is called olfactory imagery. If you can imagine tasting it, it is called gustatory imagery. Finally, if you can imagine feeling it (touching it), it is known as tactile imagery. As you may have noticed, these are the five senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch.

The lyrics of “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” have many images. Read through the lyrics and try and identify all the images in this song.

“Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” also has a large number of metaphors. Follow the linkt to read a short definition of “Simile & Metaphor”, and then try and identify all the metaphors in “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.” Also try and figure out what the meaning of these metaphors are. For instance, the first metaphor is in the second line of the first verse: “marmalade skies.” In other words, the sky is described as being like marmalade. Marmalade is usually yellow, or orange in color. The sky is therefore described as yellow or orange. When are skies usually yellow or orange? Yes, at dusk. Therefore, “marmalade skies” could be interpreted to mean the orange sky when the sun is setting. Find the other metaphors and try to work out what they mean.