Kinesthetic Imagery in Literature: 50+ Literary Examples

‘Show, don’t tell’ isn’t just a phrase to embellish your writing. It’s a way for readers to connect with your characters and the story. It’s a way for the readers to be around them and in the midst of the story. It’s a way for the readers to live the story your characters are living and you lived as the author of it.

Now, we often find ourselves in the dilemma of how to show more and tell less, or at least maintain a balance between the two. Each writer writes to improve and weave the stories for the world to get lost into and come out as if it lived them.

Sensory Imagery in Literature

Well, this is done through ‘Sensory Imagery’. Sensory imagery works by engaging a reader’s five senses (sight, smell, sound, taste, and feeling) with concrete details that allows them to create vivid imagery of what is happening. 

Through a combination of sensory imageries, authors arm the readers with information that gives them the pleasure of arriving at their own judgements through perceptual clues. 

If you’re one of them, bookmark this article that has over 300+ Show Don’t Tell Examples. These sentences are completely at your disposal. You can use them in your writing as they are. (Just put us in attributions, it’ll make us happy).

Before I begin, understand that there are 7 different types of imagery in literature:

Types of Imagery in Literature

1. Visual
2. Auditory
3. Olfactory
4. Gustatory
5. Tactile
6. Kinesthetic
7. Organic 

Kinesthetic Imagery in Literature

Kinesthesia is used as a poetic device that gives a feeling of natural, or physical bodily movement or action (like breathing, heartbeat, and a pulse).

Kinesthetic imagery is the representation of the actions and movements of an object or a character. William Shakespeare used anesthesia in his works:

“This sensible warm motion to become
A kneaded clod; and the delighted spirit
To bathe in fiery floods, or to reside
In thrilling region of thick-ribbed ice…”

Measure for Measure, by William Shakespeare

(Measure for Measure, by William Shakespeare)

Above, Shakespeare presents the phrases “warm motion,” and “clod” as kinesthetic imagery.

Kinesthetic Imagery Literary Examples

It is mostly used as a poetic literary device. And the writers incorporate Kinesthetic imagery to show movement, motion or action in their writing.

1. Beating of heart
2. Breathing
3. Being on cloud nine
4. Walking on the lone path
5. Slithering in the alley
6. Loitering and wandering
7. Swaying to the tunes of the song
8. Flipping the pages
9. flickering and twinkling lights
10. Blinking away the sleep
11. Batting her eyelashes
12. Dragging oneself ahead
13. Flapping the wings
14. Rummaging through the drawers
15. Toppling over the heap of clothes
16. Hurling abuses at him
17. Slinging the rope on his shoulder
18. Riding the horse
19. Tossing away the pillow
20. Throwing the ball/ stone in the river
21. Water gurgling on the shore
22. Water lapping in the sea
23. Drizzling
24. Dribbling
25. Jerking her head in his direction
26. Running his hand through his hair
27. Trailing her fingers on the sodden pages of the book
28. Galloping horses
29. Startling events
30. Fear creeping up
31. Raising a brow
32. Creasing forehead/ sheets
33. Pursed lips
34. Nibbling/ Chewing/ Nipping/ Nicking
35. Clenched/ Tightened Jaw
36. Wrinkled/ Crinkled nose
37. Faking a smile
38. Twisted truth/ lips/ mouth
39. Spirits lifted
40. Glittering sky
41. Eyes sparkling/ gleaming/ glistening
42. Fidgeting fingers
43. Fiddling with the bracelet
44. Rubbing palms together
45. Clenching fists
46. Raking hands through the hair
47. Stroking the chin
48. Scratching the beard
49. Shrugging
50. Throwing hands in the air
51. Jutting out the lip
52. Ducking beneath the table
53. Spurted clouds of steam
54. Water gushing down the river
55. Unquenched thirst
56. Twinkling stars
57. Retreating steps
58. Nearing home
59. Wounding heart with a smile

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I understand there is also a thing called ‘too much showing’. And to maintain a balance between too much showing and too much telling, we, the writers, need to know the scenes where showing is required and how much we should show. The above-given examples are completely at your disposal. Do make their use and your writing impressive!

Now that you have a thorough understanding of literary elements to use in your own writing, it’s time to put your skills to use! The only way to do this is to practice and actually sit down to write.

Before you leave, check out these 15+ examples on Visual imagery to empower your ‘Show don’t tell game.’