W hat is denotation? Denotation is something we apply every second of our lives, but we rarely give conscious attention to it. Today, we’re going to explore what denotation is and how we can recognize it in film, literature and everyday life. We’ll also explore what makes denotation different from connotation. By the end, we’ll know how to recognize the denotation of words and signs like a pro.
For writers, mastering the language is usually a high priority. A painter has colors, a composer has notes, and a writer has words. Finding the perfect words for the perfect line can be a challenge.
But when you understand concepts like connotation vs denotation, your skills as a wordsmith can only benefit. Before we explain these literary techniques with examples, let's first define denotation.
A denotation is a literal framing of a term or sign. Denotations have no subjective, symbolic or otherwise non-literal meaning. Take the term "hot" for example: the denotation of hot is having or giving off heat. Consequently, the connotation of hot could be used to suggest the attractiveness of a person. In short, denotation is using words exactly how they are meant to be understood.
The biggest difference between connotation and denotation is that the former is non-literal and the latter is literal. Let’s take the word "sick" for example:
The denotation of “sick” is literal as in ill. In a sentence, the applied denotation would sound like “the patient is sick.”
One connotation of “sick” is something that’s impressive or exciting. In a sentence, the connotation might sound like “that was a sick kickflip.”
This next video explores these differences in further detail.
It may be helpful to think of connotation and denotation as opposite terms. Whereas one relies on subjective, non-literal implications, the other relies on objective, literal inherent qualities. Now, let's take a look at some more examples in literature and film.
Every word has a denotation. Perhaps it might be helpful to think of denotations as the dictionary definition of terms. Take any word – let’s use “old” for example. The denotation of old is having existed for a long time. But old can sometimes carry a negative connotation – like if somebody says, “Shut up, old man” in a condescending tone.
The goal of an unbiased writer is to mitigate the amount of connotations. Many would argue that in theory, news writing is meant to be objective. As such, there shouldn’t be a lot of connotations. In reality, that’s often not the case. Let’s look at a couple headlines to see how choosing different words can have a major effect on the tone.
Which one of those headlines sounds more objective? Which one sounds more subjective? Well, words like “beat” and “brutal” carry a lot of aggressive connotative meaning, so it’s fair to say that the second headline is more subjective than the first.
Philosophical writers often use words strictly in a denotative fashion – since the subject matter of their writing is so complicated, they don’t want to add any additional grammatical nuance where it’s not needed.
Let’s look at a couple quotes from Immanuel Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason to see how denotation offers clarity while still allowing for the implementation of advanced literary techniques.