Using Denotation and Connotation to Compose Meaningful Poetry
By: Anna Hallett, Director, The Writing Party (Using Denotation and Connotation to Compose Meaningful Poetry)
Denotation and Connotation Defined
Poets use words to make a strong emotional impact. Words are used sparingly and chosen with great care. Because of this, the denotation and connotation of words take on great importance. Denotation is the dictionary definition of a word and Connotation is a word’s emotional, psychological, social, and historical association.
Denotation and Connotation to Reveal the Author’s Descriptive Intentions
Connotation allows poets, and writers in general, to choose words for their suggested or implied overtones. The words chosen reveal to the reader the author’s descriptive intentions. While technically interchangeable, a childish person and a childlike person bring to mind very different characters. Writers also use connotation to set mood or tone. Does the writer describe an aroma or a stench, a house or a home? A poem is enriched by the positive or negative impressions invoked by the chosen words.
Denotation and Connotation in Poetry
Choosing just the right word enriches the meaning of the text. The layered definitions and understanding of words can give a poem a deeper, more profound significance. The connotative sense of words can produce/stimulate/provoke/prompt specific feelings in the reader. By taking advantage of the denotative and connotative definitions of words, a poet is able to say, mean, and signify more with fewer words.
Therefore, choose your words carefully.
Poetry Prompt
Compose a poem which utilizes the Denotation and Connotation of words.
Examples:
- Aroma / Stench
- Childish / Childlike
- Confident/ Proud / Conceited
- Home / House
- Opponent / Enemy
- Relaxed / Lazy
- Save / Hoard
- Smile / Smirk
- Strategy / Scheme
- Steadfast / Stubborn
- Thrifty / Miserly
- Unique / Peculiar
Give it a try. We would love to read your poem. Please share in the comments.
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