Imagery of Robert Gray

Robert Gray is a weaver of images, at the loom of the mind. He creates sensual images that elicit and evoke responses from the responder. His poems 'Meatworks' and 'Flames and Dangling Wire', both social commentaries, exemplify techniques he calls upon in order to reproduce the personas feelings, emotions and thoughts through powerful images.
Assonance and alliteration are employed by Gray to increase the memorability of an image, leaving it lingering in the responders mind. He uses these techniques to ensure lengthened visualisation of specific images, portraying the grotesque and repulsive nature of his subjects. Extracts from 'Meatworks' and 'Flames and dangling wire' such as 'snail sheened flesh', 'lug gutted pigs' and 'great cuds of cloth' illustrate the powerful effect these techniques have on revealing detail. By frequently using assonance and alliteration, Gray is creating a series of powerful images that engage the responder into the persona's story.
Similes allow the powerful images Gray creates to become both personal and accessible. By comparing one object to another, the composer allows the responder to see what the persona sees. "Cars like skulls", "the city driven like stakes into the earth" and "dripping solidified like candle-wax" exemplify the composer’s ability to compare his often detailed and unusual subject to a common, accessible image. This technique ensures the responder’s ability to visualise the image created, thus evoking a response from the responder.
Synaesthetic images engage multiple senses simultaneously. The composer, Robert Gray, invests in his images a Synaesthetic quality, which has come about due to his lexical choice. Gray's "a sour smoke" description of the tip in 'Flames and Dangling Wire' allows the responder to be seeing, smelling and tasting what the persona is. "Bellowing sloppy yards" and "sticky stench of blood" are other examples of the powerful Synaesthetic images created by Gray's lexical choice that stimulate