ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Imagism

Hello there! Today, we're going to learn about imagism!

Imagism is a way of writing poetry that became popular about a hundred years ago in the early 1900s. It's kind of like taking a picture with words instead of a camera. The poets who wrote in this style tried to create very clear, strong images in the reader's mind by using short and simple language.

So imagine you're looking at a flower. You might say, "The flower is pretty." But an imagist poet would try to create a more powerful image in your mind by being very specific. They might say something like, "The red petals of the flower open like a smiling mouth to drink the sun."

Did you see that? They used words to create a really strong and vivid image in your mind. That's what imagism is all about - showing instead of telling.

Another thing about imagism is that it's very focused on the present moment. The poets often described something they were seeing or feeling right at that moment and didn't get too bogged down in the past or future. They wanted to capture the essence of the thing they were experiencing as it happened.

Lastly, imagism was all about being concise. The poems were usually very short, just a few lines or a few stanzas. The poets didn't use a lot of fancy words or complex sentences. They wanted to get right to the point and create an image that would stay with the reader long after they had finished reading.

So that's it, kiddo! Imagism is a way of writing poetry that focuses on creating strong images in the reader's mind, being very present in the moment, and using simple language. It's like taking a picture with words!