Understanding Connotation
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Denotation is the strict dictionary meaning of
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Connotation is the emotional and imaginative
a word.
association surrounding a word.
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Thin, slim, lanky, skinny, gaunt, slender
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1
2
3
4
5
6
slender
slim
thin
skinny
lanky
gaunt
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All six words have a denotation that is
essentially the same, but there is a very big
emotional difference between calling
someone “slender” and calling someone
“gaunt.”
Poets rely heavily on connotation to
emotionally connect with readers in as few
words as possible. Connotation directly
relates to the tone of the poem (the attitude
of the speaker and the mood it conveys).
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Practice: Examine the group of words, and
then arrange them in order of intensity.
 Mad,
pissed, furious, angry,
annoyed, displeased
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1
2
3
4
5
6
pissed
furious
angry
mad
annoyed
displeased
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Poetic Connotation Exercise
Read the poem by Seamus Heaney
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At face value, the meaning is obvious;
however, connotation is everything in
understanding its double meaning.
Read the next few words from the first stanza
one at a time.
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Hard
Flesh
Tongue
Lust
Scratched
Wet
Full
Pricks
Sticky
14. After this wordassociation, what
double meaning
seems to reveal itself?
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Hoarded
Rat
Fungus
Stinking
Sour
Crying
Rot
15. After this wordassociation, what
double meaning
seems to reveal itself?
 Use
your analysis of
connotation to arrive at a
brief, interpretative
statement about the poem’s
meaning.
 Answer
the following
questions to help:
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A. What is “blackberry-picking” a
metaphor for?
B. How does the poet’s use of connotative,
“loaded” words effectively link blackberrypicking to the answer in A?
C. What is the essential change that
happens between the first and second
stanzas?
D. Write a thesis that 1) mentions the
poet’s full name, 2) the poem’s title, 3) the
double meaning, and 4) how the
connotative words create the double
meaning.