A Word Means In Two Basic Ways
- Denotation: the dictionary meaning a word holds; its surface meaning.
- Connotation: extra meaning a word carries, or “suggests”; the meaning may be cultural, thematically related to rest of poem’s content. Also, a word or phrase may depend on a reader understanding alternate meanings in dictionary, sound-relations to other words (insure/ensure), context of usage, & other credible connections of the words to the rest of the text.
- TONE
- Writers use figures of speech to create connotations
- Metaphors
- Similes
- Allusions
- Hyperbole
- Idioms and regionalisms
- & many more
A Writer Must Understand the Difference Between Precision and Accuracy
- Accuracy: the word choice has correct denotative meaning
- Precision: the word choice has connotations that meet the action/situation, including tone.
- Examples of precision: The scalpel slices. The ax hacks.
- Examples of imprecision: The scalpel hacks!
- If a word/phrase doesn’t seem to fit the situation in a published piece, reflect upon why the author may have used an imprecise word/phrase.
In
short, creative writers (including essayists) seek out the best
synonyms. They select the right verb or noun or clause based on its
precision, not just its accuracy. Therefore, a writer at his or her desk
will often ask themselves such things as: Why this word--this phrase?
What does it change?
- What verb do I want to use? Said, screamed, whispered, mumbled?
- What noun do I want to use? Bird or parrot? Blue bunting, red bunting, or Eastern bluebird?
- What adjectives; what adverbs?
- What may my new figure of speech do that a more literal phrase or older figure of speech will not? What tone does my image create?
- For example: the imagistic phrase "a cow is lodged in the throat" is tonally different than the cliche, "He is choking on his own words." There is some weight, some sense of immensity added to the newer, first phrase.
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