imagery or figurative language

Many poets use powerful and vivid imagery and figurative language to display a deeper meaning than just the printed word. Images like rose-buds from To his Virgins and hoisted on their shoulders from To an Athlete Dying young. The authors don't literally mean rose-buds or an athlete on shoulders. They are expressing the images and feelings associated with these metaphors. Figurative language can range in meaning like these two do from virginity and youth to power and immortality. Poetic authors will use figurative language and imagery to portray a meaning far deeper than what is simply presented on paper.