The four components of the image

A poetic image is not a pretty photograph placed in a line. In the class on the four components it is built like this:

1. Empirical ground. A concrete scene, from ordinary life. Climbing a mountain and noticing there is little light. Something that can be seen or heard.
2. Affective image. Showing is not enough. It has to move: tension, suspense, a potential of emotion.
3. Founding paradox. At least one norm is cut: logical, natural, or social. That is where estrangement appears.
4. Deep coherence. Under the paradox there is a bond. The outside and the inside recognize each other.

If the ground is missing, the line floats. If the paradox is missing, it informs. If the coherence is missing, it only disorients.

Source: the class "How to build a poetic image."