Imagery refers to the mental images and figures that writers create in the mind of their readers. By using specific vocabulary and literary techniques, writers can create certain images in readers' minds. Sensory imagery, therefore, refers to the use of specific words that connect the readers' senses (touch, smell, sight, hearing and taste) with the ideas developed in the writers' work in order to create a mood, idea or theme in their minds.
In this poem "To Cecilia" (written by Ben Jonson in 1616) we can appreciate some examples of these sensory imagery:
In this poem, the writer is contemplating and admiring the woman's beauty and, in the first paragraph, we can observe that the use of the word "eyes" in the first line make us think that the writer is looking at her, contemplating her beauty. In this case, he connects the readers' sight with such idea.
As another example of sensory imagery, in "Or leave a kiss but in the cup And I'll not look for wine", the writer is trying to connect his/her feelings to kiss the woman with the taste of wine. The writer is trying to connect his/her desire to taste her kiss and he/she successes in connecting that idea with one of the readers' sense: taste.
The last example that can be identified in the poem is at the end. The writers talks about the rosy wreath that he/she has sent to his/her loved one and how she has sent it back to the writer. But the writer talks about its smell. By doing so, the writer tries to connect that smell of the rosy wreath with the readers' own sense, that is, the sense of smell.
