DENOTATION

CONNOTATION
Connotation and Denotation are two principal methods of
describing the meanings of words. Connotation refers to
the wide array of positive and negative associations that
most words naturally carry with them, whereas
denotation is the precise, literal definition of a word that
might be found in a dictionary.
 Denotation
The strict dictionary meaning
of a word.
Explicit or referential meaning.
Represents the various social
You mean what you say,
literally.
Connotation
Emotional and imaginative
association surrounding a
word.
overtones, cultural
implications, or emotional
meanings.
You mean something else,
something that might be
initially hidden
Non-native speakers of a
 Denotation Connotation

Examples Examples

Gray Gray
Color of any shade between the Negative, Gloom, Sadness, Old
colors of black and white Age
 Denotation Connotation

Examples Examples

Hollywood Hollywood

an area of Los Angeles, glitz, glamour, tinsel,

worldwide known as the center celebrity, and dreams of
of the American movie industry stardom
 Denotation Connotation
Examples Examples

Snake Snake
any of numerous scaly, legless,
sometimes venomous reptiles evil or danger
having a long, tapering,
cylindrical body and found in
most tropical and temperate
regions
 andConnotation
Denotation

House VS Home
Photographers VS Paparazzis
Media VS Journalists
Girl VS Woman
FIGURES
SPEECH
 A figure of speech expresses an idea, thought, or image
with words which carry meanings beyond their literal
ones. Figures of speech give extra dimension to language
by stimulating the imagination and evoking visual,
sensual imagery; such language paints a mental picture
in words .
 Simile
*a direct comparison of two things, usually employing the words
like or as

“He watches from his mountain walls, /And like a thunderbolt he falls.” (Tennyson)

“My heart is like an apple tree whose boughs are bent with thickest fruit.” (Christina
Rosseti)

Other examples: clouds like fluffy balls of cotton; snowflakes like soft
white feathers; a motor purring like a kitten; a lawn like a green carpet;
thin as a bookmark; as contented as a cow.
 Metaphor
*an implied comparison in which one thing is spoken of in terms of
something else
*extremely valuable in making an abstract idea clearer by associating
the idea with something concrete that relates to one or more of the
senses

“And merry larks are ploughman’s clocks.” (Shakespeare)

“Entangled in the cobweb of the schools.” (Cowper)

Other examples: she is a jewel; the sun is a wizard, and the moon is a
witch; the sun was a golden dollar; the Lord is my shepherd; the web of
our life is mingled yarn, good and ill together
 Hyperbole
*the use of exaggeration or overstatement to make a point. It
may be used for emphasis, for humor, or for poetic intensity.

“Here once the embattled farmers stood,

And fired the shot heard around the world.” (
Emerson)

Other examples: as big as a house; starved to death; everyone in town came; on top of
the world
 Personification
*treats objects or things as if they were capable of the actions and
feelings of people
*there is an implied comparison which gives the attributes of a human
being to an animal, object, or idea

“... Sea that bears her bosom to the moon” (Wordsworth)

“The dirty nurse, Experience.” (Tennyson)

Other examples: the path moving up the mountain, skipping over

puddles; trees clinging to the steep sides; winter was fast asleep; the wind
was howling; the thunder growled
 Irony
* an expression in which the author’s meaning is quite different (often
the opposite) from what is literally said
* as a matter of tone, occurs most frequently in prose as a technique
for humor, satire, or contrast

“When I reflect upon the number of disagreeable people who I know have gone to a better world, I am
moved to live a different life.” (Mark Twain)

“The English are mentioned in the Bible : Blessed are the meek, for they inherit the earth.” (Mark Twain)

“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of
a wife.”
(Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice)
 Oxymoron
* Puts two contradictory words next to each other

The silence was deafening in the waiting room.

The chaos was organized by the leftists.

Letting God do what you prayed for is a brave surrender.

 Allusion
* a reference to some historical or literary event or person
that has striking resemblance to the subject under discussion

“We live under the nuclear sword of Damocles.”

“He is a Romeo to every girl he meets.”

“When he met her, he met his Waterloo.”

 Imagery
* the use of vivid detailed descriptions that evoke sensory
images.
Imagery is employed to give the reader the sense that he or she
can see, hear, feel, smell, or otherwise experience what is being
described

“I heard a Fly buzz – when I died

The Stillness in the Room
Was like the Stillness in the Air –
Between the Heaves of Storm.”
(Emily Dickinson, I heard a Fly buzz)

* The sound imagery of the solitary buzzing in otherwise

complete stillness contributes to the poem’s theme of
death.
 Assignment:
In your journal, write at least 2 examples
of each of the figures of speech
discussed.