  Poetry
This week: Edited by: Red Writing Hood <3  
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Poetry should please by a fine excess and not by singularity. It should strike the reader as a wording of his own highest thoughts, and appear almost as a remembrance.
John Keats (1795 - 1821)
Painting is silent poetry, and poetry is painting with the gift of speech.
Simonides (556 BC - 468 BC)
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Connotation and Denotation: What they are and how to make use of them in your poetry.
“Mom, you won’t believe how cheap this outfit was!” I declare as I wave the Bell’s Outlet bag like a victory banner.
My mother cringes, “Inexpensive, not cheap, please.”
When writing anything, word choice is a key component. Because of its compact nature, it is even more so with poetry. How the word sounds in relation to the words around it, the point you are trying to make to your reader, and the use of imagery are a few of the reasons why this is so. You can use both denotation and connotation to help you make affective word choices.
Let’s start with the easy one: Denotation. Denotation is simply the dictionary meaning of a word. Both the word inexpensive and the word cheap mean not spending much money. However, they have differing connotations. But, let’s get back to denotation for a moment before we tackle connotation.
Because the world has access to most written works, it isn’t easy to be sure that the word you are using is how you meant it to be taken by your reader. To keep misunderstanding down, check words you aren’t absolutely sure of in your dictionary – you have one of those beside you, right?
No? *gasp*
Well, you’re in luck; you can find many free dictionaries online, too.
Connotation is trickier. Not what it is. That’s the easy part. It’s is the implied meaning of a word. It’s when you see a word and think of its dictionary meaning and start thinking about other meanings or feelings the word may trigger in your mind.
The hard part is using it. Again, the difficulty is taking into account that different regions, countries, and even decades may have different disguised meanings of words. To make the most of it you must consider your audience. Since you can never have everyone understand the implied meaning of each word you write, aim for the majority. If your audience is the teen crowd, then if most of them would understand your implied meaning, then consider it a good word choice. If parents are your audience, then consider if they would understand the “hidden” meaning of your chosen word.
Let’s look at a couple of examples:
My favorites, and probably the easiest to see the connotation of, are colors. In America the color yellow has a connotation of fear, while the color red connotes anger. Can you think of some more color examples or does your region have different connotations for these colors? Please share them with us. 
Done well, connotations can aid in the imagery and add a wonderful depth to your poetry as well as your other written works.
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Alphabet poem submission:
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Gotta question, answer, problem, solution, tip, trick, cheer, jeer, or extra million lying around?
If so, send it through the feedback section at the bottom of this newsletter OR click the little envelope next to my name Red Writing Hood <3 and send it through email.
Comments on last month's newsletter:
Submitted By: billwilcox
Submitted Comment:
Heya, Red in the Hood... 
I don't normally sound off in the poetry newsletter, but this time I thought I'd let you know that simple poetry is always the hardest to write, and alphabet poetry, for me, is never simple - Bill
I agree. I think they are deceptive. Doing something well is not easy. For beginners, it would be an easy form to try. Adding the nuances that a mature poet brings to the poem - that would be the difficult part.
Submitted By: Elisa: Snowman Stik 
Submitted Comment:
So...if alphabet poetry is easier said than done, is there a supposedly difficult form out there that's easier to write than people think? If so, what do you think it is?
That answer is as different as each poet, methinks - Egad! I just used methinks (and egad) in a sentence 
Seriously, it wouldn't be easy to pinpoint something like that, because a form I find easy, may be difficult for someone else, and vice versa.
Submitted By: fleckgirl
Submitted Comment:
One of the Abecedarian forms you hadn't mentioned was the acrostic that starts & ends with the same letter going from A-Z. Now THAT is a challenge! Samlbinj just held a contest for that form.... Phew - what a workout to come up with some of those words! But the challenge can somtimes break a block, so every once in awhile I'll try a new form. Thanks for a great newsletter - lots of GREAT poetry this week! Fleck Girl
Submitted By: Lexi 
Submitted Comment:
Great highlighted items in your features, Red!
Submitted By: Homo Heroic is BACK!!!! 
Submitted Comment:
The 3/21 newsletter was brilliant. Thanks for a new style and challenge in writing. --wp
Submitted By: SHERRI GIBSON 
Submitted Item: "DEEPLY LOVED" [E]
Submitted Comment:
Thank you for putting my poem among the others, and for the kind comments. I'm honored. Like always, your newsletters are great. Keats and Simonides said it well. Like a portrait, poetry should be a masterpiece of emotion, in my opinion.
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Poetry: April 18, 2007 Issue [#1658]
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