Connotations and Research Techniques
NOTE: This page has an assignment in the middle of the page and a second assignment at the end of the page.
A denotation is a dictionary definition while a connotation is an implied meaning. We use connotations everyday. The teacher is cool, the girl is hot, the guy is buff. We have no problem understanding as long as one of two things has happened. Either we have been told the meaning, or we have determined the meaning from the context and our knowledge of the world.
We know that in our society being physically fit is considered a good thing. Therefore, when we hear the admiration in someone’s voice and see a man with well developed muscles. We know that buff translates to a man who has taken a societal positive to high degree. However, we also know that a man with well-developed muscles can be referred to as an ox, bully, or muscle bound.
The difference in how we should understand the connotation of a word or phrase depends totally on other clues. While buff is positive and ox negative, some words can have either a positive or negative connotation. For example, the word jazz in the poem below is a neutral word until Brooks gives it a meaning. We can grasp the meaning by the other words in a poem and our understanding of the world. Let’s practice on a short poem by Gwendolyn Brooks.
This poem challenges us to think through the connotations. We know that Brooks is looking at war and potential artistry, but what is she saying about them? Can we fight a war and then play music in a “civilize(d) space?” Is the space physical or temporal? Is Brooks talking about physical war, psychological war, or political war?
Is the war she discusses country versus country or is it the genocide of a group’s abilities, or the genocide of a group (muzzling the note…the music that they wrote)?
To answer the questions above, and yield a satisfactory understanding of the poem, requires us to: (1) read the poem several times using different pauses, tones, and moods (2) to space our readings over the course of several days so that we can assimilate our ideas and add to them, and (3) it is critically important we hear multiple points of view.
Assignment: This is where having several people discussing and reading the same poem yields many surprise clues. You will use the discussion board twice with this poem. For this first entry, (FFTF#1) share your immediate reaction/understanding. It is not a problem if there is more than one understanding—as long as the understandings are supported. Can you explain why you drew a particular meaning?
After you have posted your initial reaction to the poem and commented on at least one other person’s reaction THEN research the poem.
Doing some research will give you clues to the issues that would be of importance to the poet. Then, you can, in the light of the multiple voice readings and research, make a confident assertion as to the meaning of the poem.
We have been trained to look at the author’s biography and read the poem in a manner that fits our vision of the author’s life. While not wrong, this approach is limiting. This approach requires you to understand everything a poet (author/musician/etc) writes as a reflection of his/her life. Most people look at the world beyond themselves in terms of their understanding of that world. We have to be willing to understand the poet (etc) beyond the narrow framework of a single life without dismissing biographical information.
Here is a brief biography of Gwendolyn Brooks
http://www.english.uiuc.edu/Maps/poets/a_f/brooks/life.htm
A second way to get information to help inform our understanding is to look at the world at the time the poem was written. In this case, the poem was published in 1949. (The publication date indicates, but does not guarantee the date the poem was written.) What do we know about 1949? If we add the 1949 information to the bio information, our knowledge grows exponentially.
This link will take you to a brief chronology of the major events of 1949. Just reading the snippets that show on the index page will give you an idea of the prevailing emotions and concerns of the country. By the way, I simply typed 1949 into Google and received 132,000 hits. http://www.answers.com/topic/1949
What if to the knowledge bases listed above, we were to add a bit of physics knowledge? Knowledge such as how is a violin played? And what is the difference between a violin and a fiddle? This knowledge would help us understand when Brooks is being literal and when she is being allegorical. 
Here are some YouTube videos to watch. Play attention to your visceral reactions.
The first video is a woman playing at a contest---she plays two songs.
Listen to them and recognize your very different reactions to the two tunes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONesP1GdRho&mode=related&search =
The blog comment that describes my hearing of this woman is “a violinist who plays fiddle tunes.” The writer of the blog and I separate the playing of a violin with the playing of a fiddle. Why, when they are the same instrument?
This link will take you to a master violinist. Again, be aware of your visceral reactions as you simply listen to the home page soundtrack.
http://www.nicolabenedetti.co.uk/
The links below are of a seven year old playing a fiddle (I believe you will enjoy part 2 even more than part one---these links are a great illustration of how you can do one action while your mind is elsewhere.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZRjoqq84og&mode=related&search=
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsJO4gWYGH0&mode=related&search=
Try to define what you like about each performance
Now you have clues from the technical aspects of violin playing, clues from Brooks’ biography, clues from the history of the times, clues from the meaning, sound, and tone of the words in the poem. These are sufficient to confirm your original understanding of the poem or to have helped you develop a new meaning.
Assignment: Now is the time to use the DB (FFTF#2) for the second time for this poem, to write and discuss the meaning you derived from Brooks’ poem, “First Fight. Then Fiddle.” Remember that you post a comment and you comment on someone else’s ideas.
| Do you have the feeling that poetry requires more research than other forms of literature—not really. We do the same research to achieve an understanding of any piece of literature. If you don’t need to do research for your other literature, maybe you are not challenging yourself enough. The challenge actually becomes fun with practice. |
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