Some uses of literature as English teaching material have been discussed to some extent, but imagery which is, in a sense, essence of literature, seldom comes up for discussion. It has been known, however, that there is a close connection between imagery and memory. Then there is also a close connection between memory and learning or acquisition. So it is our aim in this paper to discuss how imagery is effective in learning English, and to study how to make good use of it by examining how it is adapted for high school English textbooks in Japan.