Read the poem and answer the questions given below it.
Notifications at Midnight
At midnight, when the house is dark and still,
and Amma’s door is shut across the hall,
my phone begins to buzz on the window sill
and throws a square of blue light on the wall.
“You up?” from Rohan. Someone shares a reel.
The class group argues over Monday’s sum.
A streak of thirty days I must not break,
a sale that ends at two. And on they come.
The phone lies warm and heavy in my hand,
my thumb is sore from sliding up the glass,
the sheet is hot and crumpled at my back,
and still I let another hour pass.
At one I turn the screen face down. And then
the old, plain dark comes back, so soft and deep.
I turn my weary pillow to its cool side,
and hear the fan, and slowly fall asleep.
Which kind of imagery is used in the following lines?
“The phone lies warm and heavy in my hand,
my thumb is sore from sliding up the glass,
the sheet is hot and crumpled at my back”
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Tactile imagery (touch)
Tactile imagery uses words that help us feel something on the skin.
- The phone feels “warm and heavy” in the hand.
- The thumb is “sore”, and the sheet is “hot and crumpled” at the back. Each line gives a feeling of the body, not a sight or a sound. Example: The sand was hot under my bare feet.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 2: Visual imagery (sight) — Incorrect. Visual imagery helps us see colours, shapes and light. Example: Red and yellow kites filled the blue sky.
Option 3: Auditory imagery (sound) — Incorrect. Auditory imagery helps us hear something. Example: We heard the tick of the clock in the silent room.
Option 4: Olfactory imagery (smell) — Incorrect. Olfactory imagery helps us smell something. Example: The smell of wet earth came in with the first rain.