Poetic Connotation

This is another essay written for an online course in poetry.  The lesson was about denotation and connotation.  Enjoy!

Poetic Connotation

Connotation is defined as an idea or feeling a word invokes in addition to its literal meaning or denotation.   Connotation can be used to add deeper meaning to a poem without writing additional lines to explain the idea being conveyed. 

I believe a prime example of this can be seen in Shakespeare’s Macbeth.  Though known more as a play than a poem, I feel the language Shakespeare uses, and the use of connotations throughout, give this play, at least this portion of the play, a poetic feel.  The portion I refer to is: 

“The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.”

The comparison of life to a candle and an actor is an example of connotation.  The person is not actually blowing out a candle, but talking about how life is like a candle that can go out so soon.  Not everyone is an actor, but life can be like an act, where even the best actor gets up, gives their spiel and dies in the end regardless. 

Another famous example of connotation can be found in Dylan Thomas’s Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night. 

“Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”

The writer is expressing extremely strong emotions regarding aging and the inevitable death that follows.  He does this by comparing death to night and to sunset and old age that should burn and rave.  Does old age really burn?  Not in the literal sense but anyone who has lived a long life can probably resonate with the feelings he expresses. 

Poetry without connotation would be unnecessarily wordy and less exciting than poetry that uses connotation.  The simple act of reading a poem and seeing beyond the literal words on the page make the poem more meaningful and memorable to the reader, which is generally what poets attempt to do in their writing.