CONNOTATION

Definition of Connotation
The connotation of a word refers to the emotional or cultural
association with that word rather than its dictionary definition. The
connotation definition is therefore not the explicit meaning of the
word, but rather the meaning that the word implies.

Connotation comes from the Latin word “connotare,” which means,

“to mark in addition.”

In some cases, connotation can also be similar to symbolism as it

hinges on culturally-accepted meanings. For example, the
connotation of a red rose is love and passion, and if an author were
to refer to a red rose while talking about a relationship, the reader
would understand that this connotation and symbolism was at play.
However, there are many cases of connotation that don’t use
symbolism, as shown below in the “Examples of Connotation in
Common Speech” section.

Difference Between Connotation and

Denotation
Connotation and denotation are opposite concepts. The denotation of
a word is its literal meaning, whereas the connotation is an implicit
meaning. As a mnemonic to remember the difference, it can be
helpful to note that “denotation” and “dictionary definition” all start
with the same letter.

Examples of Connotation in Common

Speech
There are many words that can be understood as synonyms with the
same definition, yet their connotations are notable different. For
example:
  “House” versus “Home”: Both words refer to the structure in
which a person lives, yet “home” connotes more warmth and
comfort, whereas “house” sounds colder and more distant.
 “Cheap” versus “Affordable”: While both words mean that
something does not cost a lot, “cheap” can also connote
something that it not well-made or of low value, while
“affordable” can refer to a quality item or service that happens to
be well-priced.
 “Riots” versus “Protests”: The difference between these two
words is that “riots” connotes a violent gathering of people who
are not necessarily in the right, while “protests” can have a more
peaceful connotation and is often used when there is sympathy
with the protesters.

The connotations of words can also change drastically from one

culture to the next. For example, to call someone “fat” in some
cultures is a huge insult, whereas in others, it connotes that the
person is healthy and well-fed.

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Significance of Connotation in Literature

Connotation plays a role in almost every type of communication, as it
adds nuance and more subtle meaning. Authors use connotation to
allow the readers to infer more meaning than there is explicitly
written on the page, making the readers more active parts of the
interpretive process.

Examples of Connotation in Literature

Example #1
My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her lips’ red;
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
(“Sonnet 130” by William Shakespeare)

In this famous sonnet, Shakespeare compares his lover unfavorably

to many wonderful things. Shakespeare uses the sun, the coral, and
the snow to connote beauty, love, and purity. By saying that his lover
is not like any of these things, she carries none of their connotations.
Therefore, she is not beautiful and certainly not pure or innocent.

Example #2
Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.

(“Fire and Ice” by Robert Frost)

This short poem by Robert Frost imagines the two possible

apocalyptic scenarios, and which one he would prefer. There are
clear connotations of passion and aggression Frost’s usage of
fire imagery, while ice has the connotation of hard hatred. The world,
in his imagination, will either burn up or freeze, and he doesn’t just
mean in geological terms. Instead he places human emotion into the
two concepts of fire and ice.
Example #3
How can I move thee? Will no entreaties cause thee to turn a
favourable eye upon thy creature, who implores thy goodness and
compassion? Believe me, Frankenstein: I was benevolent; my soul
glowed with love and humanity: but am I not alone, miserably alone?
You, my creator, abhor me; what hope can I gather from your
fellow-creatures, who owe me nothing? they spurn and hate me.
(Frankenstein by Mary Shelley)
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein plays with the concept of what can count
as human and what is less than human. The word “creature” is used
throughout the novel to refer to Frankenstein’s monster, something
less than human. Yet in this excerpt, the monster uses the word
“creature” as he addresses Frankenstein, the human scientist, and
the rest of humanity. The connotation of creature is that this being
deserves less empathy and less love than a “normal” human being.
By calling Frankenstein and other humans “creatures,” Frankenstein’s
monster levels the playing field and shows that he is as deserving as
love as any other.
Example #4
I am an invisible man. No, I am not a spook like those who haunted
Edgar Allen Poe; nor am I one of your Hollywood-movie extoplasms.
I am a man of substance, of flesh and bone, fiber and liquids—and I
might even be said to possess a mind. I am invisible, understand,
simply because people refuse to see me. Like the bodiless heads you
see sometimes in circus sideshows, it is as though I have been
surrounded by mirrors of hard, distorting glass. When they approach
me they see only my surroundings, themselves, or figments of their
imagination—indeed, everything and anything except me.
(Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison)
In Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man, the concepts of invisibility, sight, and
blindness take on great meaning. These are not just abstract
concepts or basic physical descriptions, but instead indicative of
society as a whole. Invisibility and blindness therefore take on very
negative connotations, as they refer to the society’s inability and
even unwillingness to see the narrator, a black man, as a real human
being. This connotation example thus creates connotations where the
reader might not have had them before; invisibility is not necessarily
a negative concept in other contexts, yet Ellison elevates its negative
connotation to be a central theme in the book.
Example #5
War is peace.
Freedom is slavery.
Ignorance is strength.
(1984 by George Orwell)
This example of connotation is interesting in that Orwell uses
seeming contrasts to change the cultural connotations of each idea in
the realm of his book. Each pair seems like opposites, and yet in the
dystopic society of 1984, people are supposed to understand war as
the only way of keeping peace, and ignorance as the only way to be
strong. All of the things that would otherwise have positive
connotations—peace, freedom, and strength—are reversed. War and
ignorance take on positive connotations in this society, while freedom
takes on a negative connotation. Note that, as a reader, you
understand that these connotations are not actually true, but instead
are a demonstration of the perversion of this society.