Kinesthesia is a type of imagery used as a poetic device. It is a poetic device that gives a feeling of natural or physical movement or action (such as heartbeat, pulse, and breathing). It also refers to conflict and movement. As the word kinetic means movement or movement, a kinesthetic image is a representation of the actions and movements of an object or character.
Kinesthetic imagery is further divided into various categories:
- Touch: Like using your fingers on an android screen, or running fingers on soft cloth.
- Physical movement: The feelings to involve in an activity, like playing snooker, running in field, swimming.
- Temperature: For example, it might involve sunlight falling over the body
- Feelings: Like being hungry, to speak, to travel, delighted, sad, quite, angry
It is mostly used as a poetic literary device, which a writer believes to incorporate and show movement, motion or action in their writing.
Examples of Kinesthetic Imagery
| Water gurgling on the shore | Beating of heart | Dragging oneself ahead |
| Water lapping in the sea | Breathing | Flapping the wings |
| Drizzling | Being on cloud nine | Rummaging through the drawers |
| Dribbling | Walking on the lone path | oppling over the heap of clothes |
| Jerking her head in his direction | Slithering in the alley | Hurling abuses at him |
| Running his hand through his hair | Loitering and wandering | Slinging the rope on his shoulder |
| Trailing her fingers on the sodden pages of the book | Swaying to the tunes of the song | Riding the horse |
| Galloping horses | Flipping the pages | Tossing away the pillow |
| Startling events | flickering and twinkling lights | Throwing the ball/ stone in the river |
| Fear creeping up | Blinking away the sleep | Batting her eyelashes |
I understand that there is also something called ‘over-showing’. And to maintain a balance between showing more and telling more, writers, need to know the scenes where the show is needed and how much we should show.