Imagery

Imagery: vivid language designed to appeal to these senses
Even though we associate "image" with sight, imagery could also play on the senses of touch, taste, hearing, and scent.











Source: Oregon State University

-Sight-- Trees blowing in the wind
-Smell-- Rain
-Sound--Voices calling out, birds tweeting

Image

-"...the tops of trees that were all aquiver with new spring life."
-"The delicious breath of rain was in the air."
-"...a peddler was crying his wares.  The notes of a distant song which someone was singing reached her faintly, and countless sparrows were twittering..."

Text

Example: "The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin

"She could see in the open square before her house the tops of trees that were all aquiver with new spring life.  The delicious breath of rain was in the air.  In the street below a peddler was crying his wares.  The notes of a distant song which someone was singing reached her faintly, and countless sparrows were twittering in the eaves."

what the word implies— the nuances and shades of meaning that the word carries with it

Connotation

plain and direct meaning—its explicit meaning








Source: Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Denotation

Denotation vs. Connotation
These two terms refer to a word's meaning

Denotation and Connotation Example

Childlike vs. Childish

Sometimes words that look similar and share a denotation have different connotations.
Childlike and childish have denotation of “resembling a child.”
-Childlike has connotations of innocence, trust, simplicity, and candidness
-Childish has connotations of immaturity and lack of poise
Describing an adult as “childlike” is very different from describing that person as “childish.”


Source: Merriam-Webster Dictionary