Denotation and Connotation, English homework help
- Read the chapter called “La Gioconda’s Smile” (66-73) [attached below].
- Explore language, our next literary term, through Guevara’s diction (word choices) and the denotation and connotations of those words. Noticing the language of a text helps you be a more critical reader. The author chose particular words that are unique and distinctive in order to convey a tone and meaning.
- Find the following eight words in this chapter: prosaic, miasmas, indolent, acrid, acrimony, proletariat, macabre and wrested.
- Notice the context of these words in the sentences from the chapter.
- If you do not already know the meaning of these words, can you guess at the meaning from the context?
- Look up the denotations (dictionary definitions) of these words on the Internet and make a vocabulary list of words and definitions. Determine how the definitions help you understand the sentence.
- Locate these words in the chapter:
- “knights,”
- “hitchhikers,”
- “assaulted,”
- “parasites,”
- “clambered,”
- “riff raff”
- List 5 connotations (emotional associations) of each of these words and determine how those connotations change the tone of this chapter or the reaction you have to each of their sentences.
- Post your list of denotations and your list of connotations. Also, post two paragraphs, one on denotation and one on connotation, answering the follwing questions:
- How do the dictionary definitions help you understand the meaning of the story.
- How do the connotations of the other words add to the overall emotional tone of this chapter, and to your understanding of Che’s character?
