DENOTATION (n.)

1
DENOTATION (n.)

• Explanation
• the meaning of something
• the most basic or direct meaning
• of a word
• Synonym meaning
• Word Family
• denote (v.)
• denotative (adj.)

Example/Image
The denotation of the word hot is having or
giving off heat capable of burning. Each X on
a map denotes 500 people. Source
www.westchesterlibraries.org/.../dictionary1.jpg
2
CONNOTATION (n.)

• Explanation
• a feeling or an idea that a
• word makes you think of,
• in addition to its basic
• meaning
• Synonym implication,
• suggestion
• Word Family
• connote

Example/Image

• The word Christmas denotes a holiday, but it
  connotes Santa Claus, stockings, mistletoe, etc.
• What is the connotation of
• a red rose?
• summer vacation?
• snow day?
• pitbull?
• childhood?
• teenager?

3
TONE (n.)

• Explanation
• the attitude the author
• takes toward the subject
• Synonym attitude
• Word Family
• tonal

Examples/Image Although the poem was called Ode
to Sarah, the poet obviously wrote in a
sarcastic tone. The authors tone can be
humorous, serious, moralistic, nostalgic, etc.
4
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE (n.)

• Explanation
• words or expressions used in a
• different way from their normal
• meanings, to give you a picture
• or idea in your mind
• Types include simile,
• metaphor, personification,
• hyperbole
• Synonym
• figure of speech

• Example / Image
• Getting a better job in her
• company was the first step
• in climbing the corporate
• ladder for Amanda.

Source www.shutterstock.com/ gallery-2376p4.html
5
HYPERBOLE (n.)

• Explanation
• figurative language that describes something
  using exaggeration (saying something is much
  bigger, smaller, worse, etc. than it really is)
• Synonyms
• exaggeration
• Word Family
• hyperbolic
• hyper

Example/Image
Source http//dalegladstone.com/caricature/
Will said, with a touch of hyperbole, that is was
the worst movie he had ever seen.
6
IMAGERY (n.)

• Explanation
• figurative language that appeals to the five
  senses touch, taste, smell, hearing, and sight
  mental images created through the use of words
• Word Family
• image, imagine, imagination

Example/Image
Source http//www.third-plateau.org/community/ne
xusart.shtml
Sylvia Plath uses Holocaust imagery in Daddy to
reveal her negative feelings about her father.
7
JARGON (n.)
Example/Image Starbucks jargon sounds like
this I ordered a tall, skinny, half-calf,
Caramel macchiato.

• Explanation
• technical words and
• examples that are used by
• a group of professionals
• and are hard for others to
• understand
• Synonym lingo

Source http//www.laconchakeywest.com/events_sta
rbucks.htm
8
METAPHOR (n.)

• Explanation
• a comparison of two unlike
• things NOT using any
• comparison words (like or
• as), instead, one thing
• BECOMES another, one
• this IS another it is a type
• of figurative language.
• Word Family
• metaphorical

• Example / Image
• Alicias tears were a
• torrential downpour of
• emotion, cold, fast,
• and unforgiving.

Sourcewww.dailykos.com/tory/2005/11/7/11144/4192
9
MOOD (n.)

• Explanation
• the feeling a text creates
• in a reader-- happiness,
• peacefulness, sadness,
• etc. how a piece of writing
• makes a reader feel

• Example / Image
• Setting the story in a
• small town in North
• Dakota in the winter
• helped to create a
• bleak and lonely mood.

Source www.ndmarketmanager.org/
10
ONOMATOPOEIA (n.)

• Explanation
• the use of a word
• whose sound suggests
• or echoes its meaning
• it is a sound device
• often used in poetry

• Example / Image
• splat

Sources www.physics.leeds.ac.uk/
iop/YorkshireBranchPa...
www.floridakeyswireless.net/
www.kidscape.org.uk/ zap/zapindex.shtml
11
PERSONIFICATION (n.)

• Explanation
• a kind of figurative
• language in which an
• author talks about or
• describes an animal,
• object, or idea as if it were
• a person, giving non-
• human things human
• qualities.
• Word Family
• personify

• Example / Image
• The red pen marks all
• over my test yelled at
• me, Why didnt you
• study?

Sources www.shutterstock.com/ pic-229392.html
www.fotosearch.com/ DGT263/eic0060/
12
RHYTHM (n.)
Example/Image The poems rhythm was easy to
follow when accompanied by the bongo drums.

• Explanation
• a regular repeated pattern
• of sounds in speech,
• writing, music, etc.
• Synonym
• beat, measure, meter
• Word Family
• rhythm, rhyming

Source http//www.rhythmweb.com/images/jamalpoov
alur.jpg
13
SENSORY DETAILS (n.)

• Explanation
• details that are experienced
• through the senses they help
• readers to see, feel, smell,
• taste, and hear what is being
• described they may be literal
• (descriptive language) or
• figurative (imagery).
• Word Family
• senses, sensual,
• sensuous

• Example/Image
• The salty ocean breeze
• whispered through the
• lush palm fronds.

Source www.cdislands.com/.../
photos_beaches_bahamas.htm
14
SIMILE (n.)

• Explanation
• an expression in which
• you compare two
• unlike things using the
• word like or as it is a
• type of figurative
• language.

• Example / Image
• The teenagers afro
• was as tall as a
• skyscraper.

Source beauty.ivillage.com/.../
0,,hx0g-7,00.html
Source nickgeez.blogspot.com/
2005_02_20_nickgeez_arc...
15
SOUND DEVICE (n.)

• Explanation
• words and phrases used
• to create a special effect,
• especially in poetry

Example/Image alliteration, assonance,
onomatopoeia, rhyme, and rhythm found in text
Source http//www.mccullagh.org/image/1ds2-2/ear
-closeup.html
16
STYLE (n.)

• Explanation
• how the author uses words, phrases, and sentences
  to form his or her ideas
• - the qualities that distinguish one writers
  work from the work of others
• Word Family
• stylistic

Example/Image Compare the styles of these two
authors You dont know about me without you
have read a book by the name of The Adventures
of Tom Sawyer, but that aint no matter (Twain
3). In my younger and more vulnerable years My
father gave me some advice that Ive been
turning over in my mind ever since (Fitzgerald
5).
17
STYLISTIC DEVICES (n.)
Examples Stylistic devices include diction (word
choice), sentence structure, and figurative
language.

• Explanation
• techniques used by the
• writer to achieve a specific
• purpose
• Word Family
• style

18
SYMBOLISM (n.)

• Explanation
• the use of and object, color, shape, etc. to
  represent some other concept or idea an object
  holding both figurative and literal meanings
  within a text
• Word Family
• symbol, symbolic, symbolize, symbology

Example/Image
Many religions use symbolism in their rituals to
help connect their congregations to their beliefs
and ideas.
19
THEME (n.)
Example/Image Recurring themes in
adolescent literature include loss of innocence
and rebellion against authority.

• Explanation
• a statement about life that a writer is trying
  to get across in a piece of writing that is
  usually implied rather than directly spelled out
• Synonyms
• idea, concept
• Word Family
• thematic