This is an analysis of both the subject matter and different denotations and connotations used in the poem, "The Gift," by Li-Young Lee.
Connotations are associations and implications that
go beyond a word’s literal meanings. Connotations derive from
how the word has been used and the associations people make
with it. Therefore, the connotations of “senior” could include
wisdom or snobbishness, fragility or forgetfulness — it depends
on the context the poet has created.
Denotations are the literal, dictionary meanings of a
word. For example, the word “senior” denotes a higher or older
position, such as a senior in high school, or a senior citizen, or a
senior-ranking officer in the military.
Original Title
Analysis of Connotations and Denotations in the Poem, "The Gift," by Li
This is an analysis of both the subject matter and different denotations and connotations used in the poem, "The Gift," by Li-Young Lee.
Connotations are associations and implications that
go beyond a word’s literal meanings. Connotations derive from
how the word has been used and the associations people make
with it. Therefore, the connotations of “senior” could include
wisdom or snobbishness, fragility or forgetfulness — it depends
on the context the poet has created.
Denotations are the literal, dictionary meanings of a
word. For example, the word “senior” denotes a higher or older
position, such as a senior in high school, or a senior citizen, or a
senior-ranking officer in the military.
This is an analysis of both the subject matter and different denotations and connotations used in the poem, "The Gift," by Li-Young Lee.
Connotations are associations and implications that
go beyond a word’s literal meanings. Connotations derive from
how the word has been used and the associations people make
with it. Therefore, the connotations of “senior” could include
wisdom or snobbishness, fragility or forgetfulness — it depends
on the context the poet has created.
Denotations are the literal, dictionary meanings of a
word. For example, the word “senior” denotes a higher or older
position, such as a senior in high school, or a senior citizen, or a
senior-ranking officer in the military.
The Gift by Li-Young Lee was quite an amazing poem.
It jumped out at me because the visualizations
provided by Lee explained similarities to my own childhood, and Im sure many others had the same feelings. I believe the author of this poem is also the main character. The poem is about something all children dread, slivers in their skin and the fear that accompanies it, and more importantly how to get over it. The speaker uses many connotative references to describe the horrors of childhood splinters. The connotative idea that spoke to me the loudest was how Young described the sliver itself. When I think of slivers, I think of wood. Lee was talking about a more sinister type of sliver made of metal. This is explained in denotative words such as iron, silver tear, shard and Metal. All of these words are literal descriptions for metal, or small pieces of metal. My favorite line of the whole poem is when he used annotative descriptions of the sliver when he says, Little Assassin, Ore Going Deep for My Heart. This line sums up his anxiety of how horrific a sliver can be and the pain that will accompany the removal of it. Another connotative word used in this poem is the word flame. Flame as we know the literal meaning describes fire and heat. In this sense, it describes pain and emotion. When he says, a silver tear, a tiny flame, he is describing the intense searing pain that something so small can provide. He also uses the word flame to describe the intensity of how disciplined one must be to trust someone to take out a sliver. We take this idea of discipline even further in the last part of the poem. The author is describing The Gift he was given by his father: a quiet gift of discipline and also the gift of being able to take out a splinter in a correct way. In the last paragraph, Lee transforms from child to husband/adult whilst describing the gift of discipline that was given to him by his own adult father. This is evidenced when he says, I did not hold that shard between my fingers and think and I did not lift up my wound and cry, Death visited her! As a child, it requires extreme discipline to remove a sliver, tend a wound, etc. and do it without bawling your eyes out. I remember when I was a child, the littlest cut would make me cry. The author does not cry, does not reminisce about the pain (Death visited here!). He uses this experience and this discipline and translates it into adulthood and takes out the sliver of his wife without causing her pain, yet another example of discipline, disciplined hands and thoughts. I believe this was The Gift that was given to the author the gift of discipline through adversity.