![]() So far so good in our poetry unit! But let's take a few more moments to talk about connotation, our TP-CASTT method, and why feelings are such a big deal in poetry. I've been trying to pay (even more) attention to what I read and listen to and how we use language to get others to feel stuff. My little kids are quite aware of how some words and phrasing affect me more than others. For example... Addy: "Can I eat this gigantic drippy ice cream sandwich five minutes before bedtime?" Me: Um, no you may not. vs. Addy: "May I eat this gigantic drippy ice cream sandwich five minutes before bedtime?" Me: What a proper way to ask a ridiculous question. Sure! Enjoy it and be sure to get extra sticky. Manners and properness will take you far, guys. Plus it's adorable and I don't want to raise a couple of heathens who eat gigantic drippy ice cream sandwiches five minutes before bedtime. wink. Or, another scenario... Student A: Ugh, reading is so boring! Student B: Ugh, reading is so challenging! Me: Student A, shut your face, reading is amazing and totally not-boring and, yes I agree Student B, at times, reading is challenging! Boring and challenging...probably not much of a difference in this scenario, right? But with teacher ears and connotation, I'm immdeiately emotional. ..... Although what I'm talking about is more under the umbrella of rhetoric than poetry, they're probably the same in the other, right? In MLK's "I Have a Dream" speech, which you all know and have studied, the pathos is kicking. We feel so many feelings in that speech, and that's accomplished through a very deliberate use of language. But it's not only pathos, it's poetry. The same techniques of repetition, figurative language, imagery, tone, rhythm and sound help to create this really condensed emotional moment, and I think poetry does something similar. By the end of (a Salfia favorite) The Negro Speaks of Rivers you may not be moved to action, but you might consider the world around you a little bit differently. Either way you slice it, what we're talking about is craft.
This might be taking the long way around (I know, sorry), but it could be a useful way of thinking of the C in TP-CASTT. Although we've done loads of lit analysis this year, we've not been this deep into feeling and emotion. I'm not sure if our studies so far have required it. But poetry will. And we're not talking about sentimentality, we're talking about writers capturing the human experience. Remember the second half of the Aristotle quote, "Poetry is the music of the soul, and, above all, great and feeling souls"? Yeah. And the first half of that quote, well, we'll save for another day. Your job for this blog comment is to... Extend the idea of connotation in the TP-CASTT method by finding an example of language in a book, a song, or a poem that connotes or creates emotion. (In other words, whatever you choose would appropriately fit into the C box of a TP-CASTT worksheet.) And then... Provide a few sentences explaining your example. My example: I'll post my explanation later, but for now, my example is from a Josh Ritter song called To the Dogs or Whoever... "Can you love me like the crosses love the nape of a neck?" What a line! So... Have fun!
42 Comments
Alexis Bush
1/31/2015 03:50:59 am
"Why do you want to fly, blackbird? You aren't ever going to fly."
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Mrs. H
1/31/2015 09:11:52 am
Excellent first post! I'm happy to see you explicitly address the connotation of the word 'blackbird.' Blackbird will forever only remind me of that pretty little Beatles song. :)
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Jonathan McGuire
2/1/2015 03:23:39 am
"What do I think, he asks, what should he do with an employee who spends company time in some little fantasy world. If I was in his shoes, what would I do?...What I would do, I say, is I'd be very careful who I talked to about this paper. I say, it sounds like some dangerous psychotic killer wrote this, and this buttoned-down schizophrenic could probably go over the edge at any moment in the working day and stalk office to office with an Armalite AR-180 carbine gas-operated semiautomatic."
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Susan Margevich
2/1/2015 08:08:44 am
The song I will be analyzing for connotation is "Bullet" by Hollywood Undead, which is way out from my usual music taste, but it's a very neat song. You can listen to it here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=lP077RitNAc
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Annyssa Greene
2/1/2015 08:28:51 am
"You may write me down in history With your bitter twisted lies, You may tread me in the very dirt But still, like dust, I'll rise."
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Ashley Boothe
2/1/2015 09:09:21 am
My line isn't from any poem or any piece of literature but something from a conversation I had roughly two years ago with someone. I was told that "Redemption is a beautiful thing," in regards to a problem I was having at the time of this conversation.
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Tania Boh
2/1/2015 11:18:25 am
"You'e loathing already ready to incite rage as if each message board is a stage where you recite hostility turning freedom of speech into freedom of cruelty....We were once upon a time told that none of you exist, we dismissed you as make believe of myth, now armed only with resolve we will no longer tell ourselves that you aren't real, we will not let you make your dinners out of the things we feel." Troll by Shane Koyzcan
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Leah Smith
2/1/2015 11:34:13 am
This is cliché and really "basic white girl" of me, but 'Photograph' by Ed Sheeran has a deep connotation. In this line of the chorus: "We keep this love in a photograph", the word photograph connotes that they want the memory to last forever, as a picture would. In the following verse:
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Cailin
2/1/2015 11:43:39 am
YAAAS LEAH YAAAS
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Karla Hilliard
2/1/2015 12:05:14 pm
Slow clap...
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jordan fain
2/1/2015 11:37:53 am
"As we grow to meet decay"
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Rachel Chapman
2/1/2015 11:50:12 am
One of my favorite quotes, that I was once told, and I continue to use to help others, is "Kill them with kindness"
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Cailin Mosser
2/1/2015 12:13:18 pm
My all time favorite quote was said by Lance Armstrong:
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Lex Reyes
2/1/2015 12:35:32 pm
"And be my slave to the grave, I'm the priest God never paid"
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Erica Conaughty
2/1/2015 12:53:05 pm
Last night I had the house to myself, and I watched my favorite movie, Eat Pray Love. There is a part in the movie, for those who haven't seen it, where they go to the Augusteum. It was built by Octavian Augustus to house his remains. It was the only thing that lasted in the fall of Rome, and now is one of the loneliest places. I could quote the entire passage (because trust me, I love this movie) but she ends by saying, "Ruin is a gift. Ruin is the road to transformation."
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Carolyn Hill
2/1/2015 01:15:38 pm
"The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is just a little something extra"
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Ryan Moore
2/1/2015 01:21:50 pm
I'm not sure were I heard this quote or if I remember it correctly but it's this.
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Alona Jepifanova
2/1/2015 01:45:00 pm
alright, so I saw this movie a long time ago, long enough to not remember the name but it was about a girl who just went through a whole lot of issues and blah blah the whole sappy love movie thing. Anyways, as she was also, a senior in highschool, her Senior quote was "Has the ambition to witness a miracle" which I believe is the most wonderful fragment sentence I've ever seen and it's stuck in my head ever since. Her quote can be inspiring for anyone because I mean really, who wouldn't want to witness a miracle? it's saying that she (and anyone else) should have the love and passion to see and experience something breathtaking in their lifetime but in a different way, it all depends on what you consider a "miracle" also. whether it's watching two people fall in love, a baby being born, or just hearing a good speech, we should all push ourselves to see great things in life because (from another quote that I could write about but I'll save for another time) It's not about how many breaths we take in life that are important, but it's how many moments take our breath away.
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Alexis King
2/1/2015 02:05:59 pm
"And I've been a fool and I've been blind
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Hannah Cherry
2/1/2015 02:13:05 pm
One of my favorite quotes is "Go where you are celebrated- not tolerated. If they can't see the real value of you, it's time for a new start." - unknown
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Lexi Sowers
2/1/2015 02:14:24 pm
"Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be to eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the very wise cannot see all ends." -J.R.R. Tolkien LOTR
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Dani Matthews
2/1/2015 02:29:01 pm
This quote is from the opening of Memories by Panic! at the Disco.
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Kara Iden
2/1/2015 02:46:44 pm
"Never Let the Fear of Striking Out Keep You From Playing the Game." Originally said by Babe Ruth, it was also quoted by Hilary Duff (one of my role models) in the Movie A Cinderella Story. "Never" gives a very strong connotation, almost like you don't have a choice. The play of words with comparison to baseball is very motivating, even if you don't play baseball you understand what they are trying to say. I think the quote radiates a very positive connotation to stick up for what you believe in and don't be afraid of failure because that will get you nowhere.
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Nikki Schlapo
2/1/2015 02:57:32 pm
"Even now, as I write this, I can still feel the tightness. And I want you to feel it-the wind coming off the river, the waves, the silence, the wooded frontier. You're at the bow of a boat on the Rainy River. You're twenty-one year's old, you're scared, and there's a hard squeezing pressure in your chest. What would you do?" - The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien ~~~~~ So I chose this quote because of everything that falls into the connotation part of TP-CASTT. O'Brien uses point of view, imagery, and sentence structure to create meaning and feeling. His point of view switch puts the reader in his shoes and the imagery sets the scene. Then he asks a question which really makes you think about the situation and how he must have felt. I think this quote shows how all of those literary devices create meaning in the story.
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Angel Mercado
2/1/2015 03:21:51 pm
This quote is from my favorite book/movie The Great Gatsby.
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Katie King
2/1/2015 03:27:56 pm
"The sun hasn't died, deep in my bones, straight from inside." -Radioactive, by Imagine Dragons. The word sun gives a very positive connotation and by saying it "hasn't died" is giving off the feeling that the singer has gone through something but is still shining, pushing through. Also the strong connotation of "deep" paired with "bones" and "from inside" add to the sense of power that is coming out from within.
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Kristen Blaine
2/1/2015 03:30:44 pm
"For attractive lips, speak words of kindness.
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Austin Custer
2/1/2015 03:32:48 pm
"Jarring of judgement and reasons defeat the sweet heat of her breath in my mouth I'm alive" Hozier- Angel of small and the codeine scene. When he says jarring it basically let's the listener know that he knows that this realtionship with this girl is a bad choice but the word jarring is like him saying that he put this in his head to last
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Olivia McGoldrick
2/1/2015 03:52:30 pm
"The sky it was gold, it was rose
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Haili Ortego
2/1/2015 04:03:38 pm
"Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times if one only remembers to turn on the light."
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Stephanie Johnson
2/1/2015 04:04:28 pm
"Down in the flood of remembrance, I weep like a child for the past."
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Lexi Beach
2/1/2015 04:16:59 pm
"And I want it, I want my life so bad. I'm doing everything I can, then another one bites the bust. It's hard to lose a chosen one. You did not break me. I'm still fighting for peace."
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Elise Freeman
2/1/2015 04:23:34 pm
"Clap along if you feel like a room without a roof"
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Travis Krauch
2/1/2015 05:06:11 pm
The quote I thought of for this assignment comes from the song "Cherry Wine" by Hozier:
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Hope Spriggs
2/1/2015 05:30:46 pm
My song that I decided to look at was "Gypsy" by Shakira. The reason I think this song demonstrates the effects of connotation is because throughout the song she changes what the average connotation of what a gypsy. Shakira does this by having an upbeat track playing in the background which makes the song lighter. This lightness then plays into the idea she tries to create by saying gypsies are just people that have free spirits and live life to please themselves. She stays away from the original connotation of thieving and conning to get what they want and then moving on the next town. By the end of the song the listener sees gypsies as a care free people that move where ever they please and live by their own means.
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Mrs. H
2/1/2015 09:21:20 pm
Great, fun, & deep posts everybody! Y'all have motivated me/impressed me once again.
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Liam Redding
2/1/2015 10:56:01 pm
I shall be telling this with a sigh
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Brittney Brodnan
2/2/2015 03:02:45 pm
"I am both happy and sad and I'm still trying to figure out how that could be." - Perks of Being a Wallfower
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Brock Adams
2/2/2015 04:50:55 pm
"I talked to God about you. He said he sent you an angel. Look at all that he gave you. You asked for you and you got two. You know I never left you 'cause every road that leads to heaven is right inside you. So I can say, hello my only one."
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Jantzen Szanca
2/3/2015 03:04:13 am
My quote is“Lose your dream, you lose your mind.” By the Rolling Stones
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Savannah Owens
2/3/2015 01:19:35 pm
"Beyond this place of wrath and tears
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Savannah Owens
2/3/2015 01:19:49 pm
"Beyond this place of wrath and tears
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