ATLAS OF LANGUAGE

AT-NAV-G03-026 · ATLAS 259

Imagination

Imagination forms scenes that are not immediately present; enargia uses verbal detail to make a scene experientially vivid.

Part of the subject path Rhetoric and Style

Why is this entry in the Atlas?

G · Foundational concept R2 · Necessary foundation

Imagination grounds our understanding of possibilities, fictional situations and other perspectives. It remains distinct from any particular linguistic technique used to invite imagining.

Colours and admission grounds

The rectangular label identifies the entry function: F – linguistic figure or procedure; A – analytical concept; G – foundational concept; E – selected concrete case. The rounded badge indicates the admission ground: R1 – distinctive contribution; R2 – necessary foundation; R3 – justified illustrative case. This editorial rationale explains the current selection rather than claiming an undocumented original selection history.

Explanation

Imagination enables engagement with situations that are not immediately perceived. It need not always produce a clear inner picture: possibilities, actions and perspectives can be developed in other ways. In the link from enargia, the concern is how language invites such engagement. Selected details, movements and spatial relations can make a scene vivid. Vividness, however, establishes neither truth nor an identical response in every reader. The entry separates the text's representational invitation from the imagining that actually occurs.

Movement of thought

1. Collect the linguistic cues. 2. Reconstruct the proposed situation. 3. Separate perception from imagining. 4. Allow alternative modes of engagement. 5. Avoid treating vividness as evidence of truth.

Scientific use case

Reception research can examine reports and task performance without assuming identical mental imagery across participants.

Example

“A drop of rain still hangs from the door handle” offers a concrete fragment. Readers may develop different rooms and preceding events from it.

Counterexample

A vividly imagined scene has not thereby happened or been accurately remembered.

Distinction

Distinguish imagination from perception, memory, belief and assertion alone.

Effect on thought and perception

Imagination opens access to what is absent or possible.

Resonance

A few words can open a space that no two readers enter in exactly the same way.

Provenance

Parallel corpus 98f0950771ae4662f291d2f15f5c51b6797f3c20ba458a68615cdb177002ea18; case-bounded source review accepted; human specialist review not claimed.

Cite this entry

Reich, Michael (Hrsg./ed.): „Imagination“. Atlas der Sprache, AT-NAV-G03-026. ATLAS 259, data model 1.6.0. https://atlasoflanguage.com/concept/AT-NAV-G03-026

https://atlasoflanguage.com/concept/AT-NAV-G03-026

The address remains stable; editorial content may evolve. Editorial reading state: 2026-10-15. Include your access date for precise references.