CHOOSING THE RIGHT WORDS

Creating Mood in Poetry

What are the “right” words?

When you write poetry, or anything really, you need to be careful with the words you choose. The wrong word could confuse or mislead the reader about the message you are trying to get across and/or it can evoke a feeling or emotion other than what you intended.

But how do you know what the right word is???

DENOTATION

First, you must look at the DENOTATION (actual meaning) of the word. How appropriately does it fit the statement you are making?

For instance, say you have waited all year to ride your favorite rollercoaster and the day finally arrives when you get to do so… do you feel excited or anxious?

DENOTATION

Many people say anxious when they are waiting for something to happen. While this isn’t necessarily incorrect, the definitions most commonly associated with these words are as follows:

Anxious: full of mental distress oruneasiness due to a fear of future danger or misfortune

Excited: emotionally stirred while eagerly awaiting something.

CONNOTATION

When choosing between these two words, you have to ask which one will fit best and be the least misunderstood. In other words, you must consider the CONNOTATION (associated meaning) that the word possesses.

Most words fall under one of three categories

of connotative meanings: positive, neutral or negative.

CONNOTATION

Let’s go back to the first example using ANXIOUS and EXCITED. Because “anxious” is often associated with fear or

misfortune, for many it has a NEGATIVE CONNOTATION.

“Excited” usually refers to awaiting something good or rewarding and therefore has a POSITIVE CONNOTATION for most people.

CONNOTATION

Another example: You love SPAM. The word SPAM

alone makes your mouth water.In other words, you have had a positive experience with SPAM and feel positively about the food and therefore you feel positively about it’s name.

Someone else hates SPAM because as a young child, they were forced by their grandmother to eat it. Upon hearing the word SPAM they cringe and begin to feel sick. They had a negative experience with the food and now associate the word SPAM with feelings of complete disgust.

DICTION

Once you have taken the the denotation and connotation into consideration, it’s time to make a choice: which word best supports what you mean? Which word will best help your reader to understand what you mean?

This choice is referred to as DICTION (word choice). The words you choose will determine several different things including the effect you have on the reader and his or her feelings or emotions.

DICTION EXAMPLE

ODOR SMELL FRAGRANCE

The woman’s ___________ caught the attention of everyone who walked by her.

Negative Neutral

Positive

TONE and MOOD

TONE and MOOD in poetry are not the same thing, however, they do have something in common: they depend on the DICTION of the piece.

DICTION effects the TONE by revealing the attitude of the author through the words that they chose to incorporate in the piece.

DICTION effects the MOOD by using certain words to create an emotional reaction or response within the reader.

TONE and MOOD

Simplified Version…

Tone= Author’s attitude towards subject. Serious, ironic, humorous, romantic, playful, sarcastic.

Mood=The feeling a poem creates within a reader. Love, fear, peace, hate, etc.

PRACTICE

Try to identify the TONE and MOOD of the following poem focusing on the author’s DICTION.

Do a majority of the words have positive or negative connotations? Does this match up with the TONE and the MOOD?

My Papa's WaltzTheodore Roethke

 The whiskey on your breath

Could make a small boy dizzy;

But I hung on like death:Such waltzing was not easy.

 We romped until the pans

Slid from the kitchen shelf;My mother's countenanceCould not unfrown itself.

 The hand that held my wrist

Was battered on one knuckle;

At every step you missed

My right ear scraped a buckle.

You beat time on my headWith a palm caked hard by

dirt,Then waltzed me off to bedStill clinging to your shirt