Seeing the “C” in TP-CASTT Understanding Connotation

What Does It Mean? Denotation is the strict dictionary meaning of a word. Connotation is the emotional and imaginative association surrounding a word.

Thin, slim, lanky, skinny, gaunt, slender Practice: Examine the group of words, and then arrange them in order of positive to negative. Thin, slim, lanky, skinny, gaunt, slender

My ranking (slight variations are acceptable) 1 slender 2 slim 3 thin 4 skinny 5 lanky 6 gaunt

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).

Let’s try another exercise: Practice: Examine the group of words, and then arrange them in order of intensity. Mad, pissed, furious, angry, annoyed, displeased

My ranking (slight variations are acceptable) 1 pissed 2 furious 3 angry 4 mad 5 annoyed 6 displeased

What is this poem about? Poetic Connotation Exercise Read the poem by Seamus Heaney

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.

As each word appears on the Powerpoint slide, write emotions/feelings/ideas/images that you associate with it. Hard Flesh Tongue Lust Scratched Wet Full Pricks Sticky

14. After this word- association, what double meaning seems to reveal itself?

Let’s try the second stanza… Hoarded Rat Fungus Stinking Sour Crying Rot

15. After this word- association, what double meaning seems to reveal itself?

Answer the following questions to help: Thesis time! Use your analysis of connotation to arrive at a brief, interpretative statement about the poem’s meaning. Answer the following questions to help:

Thesis time! A. What is “blackberry-picking” a metaphor for? B. How does the poet’s use of connotative, “loaded” words effectively link blackberry- picking 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.