Poets use connotation to create mood and tone in their limited word count. Words can have positive or negative connotations, even if they have the same literal meaning. Poets carefully choose words to evoke emotions and associations in the reader.
While all words have a literal meaning or denotation, most words also have a connotation. A connotation is the emotion or association a word has beyond its literal meaning. Poets use connotation in poetry to help set mood and tone, as well as control how a reader will think about a person, place, thing, or concept. Some words have negative connotations, while other words have positive connotations. In some cases, two words can have the same literal meaning, but startlingly different connotations. Both “home” and “home” refer to places where people live, but the word “home” may make a reader think of a place of warmth and family, while many see the word “home” as colder and more impersonal .
Unlike novelists or essayists, who have more room to say what they want to say, a poet has a limited amount of words in which he can express his point of view. Using connotation in poetry, a poet can create a specific mood, tone or feeling simply by using the correct word or phrase. Most poets consider word choice extremely important because, while two words may have the same literal meaning, their connotations can be very different. For example, the words “strong” and “mighty” have similar literal meanings. But while the word “strong” may make a person think of fortitude and strength of character, the word “powerful” may make a reader think of a person of wealth and social influence.
Sometimes, the connotation in poetry is positive. The poet chooses particular words because they have happy associations for most people and the writer wants to create a positive feeling in the reader. A poem might describe the creation of a work of art as “a birth,” to make the reader think of something that can be difficult and painful, but ultimately joyful. To describe a new partnership, the poet might describe it as a marriage, to indicate that it is a “joyful union.” If the poet wants the reader to see something so happy or exhilarating, he might liken it to a roller coaster or describe it as skiing down a mountain at breakneck speed.
The connotation found in the poem can also be negative. Indeed, many poets connote in poetry to set a particular mood or tone, or to make the reader think something negatively, by using a word with a negative connotation. Describing a character as ambitious can certainly make the reader think of someone who wants certain things and maybe will work to get them. The use of the word “greedy,” however, causes the reader to see the character as someone who is selfish, greedy, and probably willing to use dishonest means to get what he wants.
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