Imagery, Denotation, Connotation

1. Imagery, Denotation, Connotation The Five People You Meet in Heaven

2. Rapid Write • Brainstorm other words for the color red

3. Paint Colours • http://www.behr.com/consumer/search?s=red • How would readers or listeners react to these color names? • What associations will they make? • What would you expect from a can of paint named after these colors? • Why would a paint company use one of these names for their products? What kind of buyer would they be trying to attract?

4. Connotation and Denotation • Connotation - the associations that people make with a word not the literal meaning • Denotation is the literal (dictionary) meaning of the word • For example, if you look up the word snake in a dictionary, you will discover that one of its denotative meanings is "any of numerous scaly, legless, sometimes venomous reptiles having a long, tapering, cylindrical body and found in most tropical and temperate regions." • Connotation is the deeper meaning of the word • What is the connotative meaning of the word snake?

5. Colours are rich in connotation: • Red? • Green? • Yellow? • Blue? • Black? • White?

6. “Nothing Gold Can Stay” – Robert Frost Nature's first green is gold, Her hardest hue to hold. Her early leaf's a flower; But only so an hour. Then leaf subsides to leaf. So Eden sank to grief, So dawn goes down to day. Nothing gold can stay.

7. “Fern Hill” – Dylan Thomas http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/175908

8. Imagery • Imagery means to use figurative language to represent objects, actions and ideas in such a way that it appeals to our physical senses. • The word imagery is associated with mental pictures, however imagery also appeals to the other four senses

9. Read the following examples of imagery carefully and identify the sense that it conveys: • It was dark and dim in the forest. • The children were screaming and shouting in the fields • He whiffed the aroma of brewed coffee. • The girl ran her hands on a soft satin fabric • The fresh and juicy orange are very cold and sweet.

10. Literature Circles • In your literature circles, reproduce the following table and find FOUR examples of imagery in Mitch Albom’s The Five People You Meet In Heaven (from the first chapter – up to page 55) • Discuss what specific connotation the image carries and its overall effect on the story

12. Ekphrastic Poetry Assignment • Ekphrasis – writing inspired by art • Your task – choose an image (photo, painting, other work of art) • Write a poem inspired by this image, using colour imagery • You choose the form of the poem • Include the picture in your final draft • Due Friday May 2nd

13. Success Criteria – Ekphrastic Poetry

14. Helpful writing hints… • Remember to use colour imagery! • Write about the scene or subject being depicted in the artwork. • Write in the voice of a person or object shown in the work of art. • Write about your experience of looking at the art. • Relate the work of art to something else it reminds you of. • Imagine what was happening while the artist was creating the piece. • Write in the voice of the artist. • Write a dialogue among characters in a work of art. • Speak directly to the artist or the subject(s) of the piece. • Write in the voice of an object or person portrayed in the artwork. • Imagine a story behind what you see depicted in the piece. • Speculate about why the artist created this work.

15. An example: ”Starry Night” – Vincent van Gogh

16. “The Starry Night” – Anne Sexton • http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/171273