Connotation in literature

Connotation is the emotional feeling words carry. Writers use connotation to create tone. Tone is:

• The feeling or attitude in the words

• a comparison using like or as

• exaggeration

• the sound of the words

Tags

CCSS.L.3.3A

CCSS.L.4.3A

CCSS.L.5.3A

CCSS.L.6.3A

CCSS.L.6.3B

Connotations can be:

• Simile, Metaphor, Hyperbole

• Old, Young, Male, Female

• Positive, Negative, Angry, Pleasant, Joyful, Suspenseful

• Fiction or Nonfiction

Tags

CCSS.L.7.5C

CCSS.L.8.5C

CCSS.RI.6.4

CCSS.RI.8.4

CCSS.RL.8.4

Which statement has a positive connotation?

• He stomped down the stairs and out the door.

• He hopped down the steps two at a time and waltzed out the door.

• He rushed down the stairs and stumbled through the door.

• He came down the stairs and through the door.

Tags

CCSS.L.6.5C

CCSS.L.8.5C

CCSS.RI.7.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RL.8.4

Which statement has a negative connotation?

• He stomped down the stairs and out the door.

• He hopped down the steps two at a time and waltzed out the door.

• He rushed down the stairs and stumbled through the door.

• He came down the stairs and through the door.

Tags

CCSS.L.6.5C

CCSS.RI.7.4

CCSS.RI.8.4

CCSS.RL.6.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

Which statement has an anxious connotation?

• He stomped down the stairs and out the door.

• He hopped down the steps two at a time and waltzed out the door.

• He rushed down the stairs and stumbled through the door.

• He came down the stairs and through the door.

Tags

CCSS.L.6.5C

CCSS.RI.8.4

CCSS.RL.6.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RL.8.4

Which statement has an objective connotation?

• He stomped down the stairs and out the door.

• He hopped down the steps two at a time and waltzed out the door.

• He rushed down the stairs and stumbled through the door.

• He came down the stairs and through the door.

Tags

CCSS.L.8.5C

CCSS.RI.6.4

CCSS.RL.6.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RL.8.4

Which words in this passage create a feeling of danger?

I stay where I am...staring out at those icicles. They're like teeth waiting to chomp someone.

• Stay, waiting

• icicles

• chomp, teeth

• staring, someone

Tags

CCSS.L.1.6

CCSS.L.3.6

CCSS.L.4.6

CCSS.RL.1.4

Zoey's mom "finally had to sell our beat up car to scrape together the money to get those teeth extracted." Why does the author use the phrase "scrape together" instead of "save" or "get"?

• It communicates how desperate she was

• No reason

• It just sounds better

• 'Scrape together' has a more positive connotation than 'save'

Tags

CCSS.L.6.5C

CCSS.L.7.5C

CCSS.RI.7.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RL.8.4

I start to pull the bedspread off them. Bryce grabs hold tight, curls into it, and growls. Aurora with her eyes still closed, pinches her face together tight.

Do the highlighted words have a negative or positive connotation?

• negative

• positive

Tags

CCSS.L.6.5C

CCSS.L.8.5C

CCSS.RI.6.4

CCSS.RI.7.4

CCSS.RL.8.4

I start to pull the bedspread off them. Bryce grabs hold tight, curls into it, and growls. Aurora with her eyes still closed, pinches her face together tight.

Why is the author using such negative words to describe Bryce and Aurora waking up?

• To show that Zoey's mornings are very difficult

• To show that Zoey is a negative person

• No reason, it was an accident

• To show that Bryce and Aurora are bad children

Tags

CCSS.L.3.3A

CCSS.L.4.3A

CCSS.L.5.3A

CCSS.L.6.3A

CCSS.L.6.3B