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English workshopLO: To explore and apply skills for
higher level responses: Connotation and denotation; signs and signifiers.
WJEC English Literature Unit 1, Section A:
Prose (different cultures)Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck O Assessment ObjectivesO AO1: Respond to texts critically and imaginatively;
select and evaluate relevant textual detail to illustrate and support interpretations
O AO2: Explain how language, structure and form contribute to writers’ presentation of ideas, themes and settings
O AO4: Relate texts to their social, cultural and historical contexts; explain how texts have been influential and significant to self and other readers in different contexts and at different times
Unit 1, Section B: Unseen Poetry
AO1: Respond to texts critically and imaginatively; select and evaluate relevant textual detail to illustrate and support interpretations
AO2: Explain how language, structure and form contribute to writers’ presentation of ideas, themes and settings
AO3: Make comparisons and explain links between texts, evaluating writers’ different ways of expressing meaning and achieving effects
AO1O Ideas – relate to Thinking and
Understanding – usually expressed by abstract nouns (identity, loneliness)
OFeelings – relate to personal and emotional states, expressed as nouns or adjectives (fear/afraid, pleasure/pleased)
OAttitudes – relates to consistent behavioural approaches to ideas, events or situations.
AO2O StructureO FormO Language
First explore what these terms mean:
Structure: whole text or extract
ODramatic structure: sequence of events building up to a powerful conclusion/climax
OLogical structure: series of events sequenced by time
OOpposition structures: problem/solutionQuestion/answer - Cause/effect
Structure: syntaxOSentence types – simple/complex / compound/minor OSentence function - declarative/interrogative/exclamative/ imperativeOSyntax – how individual sentences are structured.
Form:
OCharacterisationOSettingONarrative techniqueOPlot/Events
CharacterisationCharacterisation should be the focus, not characters. Remember that the characters have been created by the authors to represent aspects of human behaviour and to arouse specific attitudes in the reader or audience.
Language:OFormal/InformalOImagery -simile/metaphor/personification/symbolismODenotation/connotation OAural impact - alliteration/assonanceOWord classes – Noun types, pre-modifiers…
AO4OSocial – how did other texts influence the writer?
OCultural – Comparing and contrasting values and attitudes of different readers/audiences.
OHistorical – What impacted on the language and content of the text?
Higher level answers discuss:
O relationship of author with reader or audience
O contextual awareness
O sub textual meaning/purpose
O Don't offer one `right answer` but rather discuss the given texts within their contexts.
Writing SkillsOThe way you express your response is
important – sophisticated writing.
O It is vital to keep developing your writing skills.
OTo achieve an A and A* grade, students must have sophisticated writing skills. (Don't neglect this area)
Key A-A*Specific Skills
Frequent use of short quotation, supported by explanation Written `Voice`Sophisticated ConnectivesSpecialist LanguageComplex comparisonsSentence Structures – simple and complexComplex Punctuation - .,;:
‘A’ grade students should understand...
OSemantics: the relationship between symbol and sign
O Words: and the things they denote, connote
OPragmatics: the study of factors which govern our choices of language – such as social awareness, our culture and our sense of etiquette
Denotation and connotation
O Words in texts can work on more than one level.
O This is described by the terms denotation and connotation.
O They are important terms for you to understand.
GuessO I think denotation is…..O I think connotation is…..
DENOTATION is the straight forward or common- sense meaning
of a sign
O Literally what is actually shown in an image or through language.
O A red rose is a flower
O An apple is a fruit we eat
O A lamb is a young sheep
CONNOTATION is the extra, linked meaning that goes with any sign.
O The connotations of a sign will be much more personal than the straight forward denotation because they are to do with personal ideas and feelings about it.
O The connotations will not be the same for everybody.
What is it?It’s a flower (denotation)
But, the connotation is everything that we
associate with it.What do you
associate with roses, record it on your
white boards
O For romantics a red rose can be a symbol of love.
O In Lancashire it is a symbol for the county.
O It has even been a symbol for a political party.
O These are all connotations or extra layers of meaning that the image carries with it.
What is it? (denotation)
What do we associate with it?
(connotation)
Think about the apple…It can be a symbol of health. It can have associated meanings of New York -“The Big Apple”. It can even stand for sin.
These are all connotations or extra layers of meaning that the image carries with it.
Signs and signifiers:O Signs – work like denotation – it’s
what you seeO Signifiers work like connotation – it’s
what the sign signifies!
What is this?
What if I am a mathematician?
Now what is it?
Now what is it?
What is it now?
Now what have these lines become?
What does this symbol signify?
Now what does it signify?
Signs are there to signify things but they have a cultural reference
• In other words, they only “make sense” if we understand what they mean.
• We only understand what they mean because we have a shared knowledge – I know a red light means stop, so do you, so do all other drivers so we all stop at red traffic lights.
What is this?
Actually…O It is a Norwegian Pine tree, covered in snow
and with a red ribbon on (denotation)O But it signifies: (connotation)
O ChristmasO PresentsO Families
O And this is because we share a cultural knowledge about the use of Norwegian Pine trees (thanks to Queen Victoria’s husband, Prince Albert, who brought this German cultural tradition to England in the 1840s!)
Putting it all together:O On the following page, you will see
an advert.O This time, you will read the images
to look at the denotation and the connotations of it.
O You need to talk about the use of signs and signifiers in this advert.
This advert depicts toddlers in roller skates and this is the denotation of it. However, what are the connotations of it? What are the key signs and signifiers?
Now apply this to a textO Read the description below:A tall man stood in the doorway. He held a crushed Stetson hat under his arm while he combed his long, black, damp hair straight back. Like the others he wore blue jeans and a short denim jacket. When he had finished combing his hair he moved into the room, and he moved with a majesty achieved only by royalty and master craftsmen. He was a jerkline skinner, the prince of the ranch, capable of driving ten, sixteen, even twenty mules with a single line to the leaders. He was capable of killing a fly on the wheeler’s butt with a bull whip without touching the mule. There was a gravity in his manner and a quiet so profound that all talk stopped when he spoke. His authority was so great that his word was taken on any subject, be it politics or love.
What is the denotation of this description (What does it mean)?What is the connotation? What does it tell us about Steinbeck’s opinion of Slim and his position in the ranch? Focus on the language used and write an analytical paragraph using the terminology from this lesson.
