Lesson 4: Connotation
Connotation is the third step in poetry analysis and this is the point where a working knowledge of the poetry terminology is vital.
Each poem has a literal meaning which you should be able to determine through your paraphrasing. Often, however, a poem has an interpretive meaning as well – this is the connotative meaning. Read the attached poem, Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening, and try to paraphrase it. Then look at the devices the author uses to create connotative meaning. Now look at a paraphrased example.
So, obviously this poem is about a guy on a horse who stops to look at a forest during a snowstorm – pretty straight forward, right?
Interestingly, this poem has created some controversy as literary critics claim that it is not a poem about a guy on horse at all. It is much darker than that. So, how do critics arrive at this decision? They look at the many connotative clues in the poem.
Each poem has a literal meaning which you should be able to determine through your paraphrasing. Often, however, a poem has an interpretive meaning as well – this is the connotative meaning. Read the attached poem, Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening, and try to paraphrase it. Then look at the devices the author uses to create connotative meaning. Now look at a paraphrased example.
So, obviously this poem is about a guy on a horse who stops to look at a forest during a snowstorm – pretty straight forward, right?
Interestingly, this poem has created some controversy as literary critics claim that it is not a poem about a guy on horse at all. It is much darker than that. So, how do critics arrive at this decision? They look at the many connotative clues in the poem.
So, what does the author emphasize?
· A winter, nighttime setting
· A peaceful, lovely tempting place to rest
· A hypnotic structure that compels the reader to rest or sleep
· A traveler who wants to, but cannot yet, quietly slip off to sleep
This poem uses the metaphor of comparing winter or night to death, a very common strategy. Also, the traveler can be viewed as one who is on a journey through life.
If you were asked to write a paragraph explaining how Robert Frost uses extended metaphor in his poem “Stopping by Woods” to create his theme, you would first have to look at the poem connotatively, and then find the evidence necessary for your paragraph. To remind yourself, take a look at the literary paragraph again.
Click here to view the rubric I will be using to mark your next three assignments.
· A winter, nighttime setting
· A peaceful, lovely tempting place to rest
· A hypnotic structure that compels the reader to rest or sleep
· A traveler who wants to, but cannot yet, quietly slip off to sleep
This poem uses the metaphor of comparing winter or night to death, a very common strategy. Also, the traveler can be viewed as one who is on a journey through life.
If you were asked to write a paragraph explaining how Robert Frost uses extended metaphor in his poem “Stopping by Woods” to create his theme, you would first have to look at the poem connotatively, and then find the evidence necessary for your paragraph. To remind yourself, take a look at the literary paragraph again.
Click here to view the rubric I will be using to mark your next three assignments.
Assignment 13F: (email to your teacher when finished)
For the following poem, identify a similar (but not identical) theme. Try first paraphrasing and then determining the connotative meaning of the poem. When done, draft a correctly structured analytical paragraph discussing how the author uses metaphor and simile in his poem to create his theme. This paragraph is what you will be marked on.
DO NOT GO GENTLE INTO THAT GOOD NIGHT
By Dylan Thomas
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rage at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
By Dylan Thomas
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rage at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.