The document discusses the components of words, including denotation which is the dictionary meaning, and connotation which suggests additional meanings beyond the literal definition. It provides the example of the word "home" which denotes a place of residence but connotes security, love, and family. Connotation allows poets to enrich meaning and say more with fewer words. The document then analyzes Emily Dickinson's poem "There Is No Frigate Like a Book" which compares books to means of transportation like ships and horses to represent their ability to transport the mind. Dickinson carefully chooses words like "frigate", "coursers", and "chariot" that have romantic connotations.

1. • The average word has three component parts:
sound, denotation, and connotation.
• The denotation is the dictionary meaning of
the word.
• The connotation is what it suggests beyond
what it expresses.
Diction

2. Connotative meaning of a word acquires its
past history and associations, by the way and
the circumstances in which it has been used.
The word “home,” for instance, by denotation
means only a place where one lives, but by
connotation it suggests security, love, comfort,
and family.
Connotation, then, is very important to the
poet, for it is one of the means by which
he/she can concentrate or enrich the meaning
of the poem– say more in fewer words.

3. Now let’s consider the following poem:
There Is No Frigate Like a Book
The is no frigate like a Book
To take us lands away,
Nor any coursers like a page
Of prancing poetry.
This traverse may the poorest take
Without oppress of toil;
How frugal is the chariot
That bears a human soul!
Emily Dickenson (1830-1886)

4. The poem deals with the great power of the book or of
poetry to carry us away, to let us escape from our immediate
surroundings into the world of imagination. The book is
compared to various means of transportation: a boat
(frigate), a team of horses (coursers), and a chariot.
These vehicles take man to different places to see the wide
world, life, and people. The book is a source of knowledge, a
key to a door that opens to the world, thus enabling the reader
to widen his/her knowledge and deepen his/her
understanding.
Reading a book is like travelling throughout the world.
However, the book is superior to other means because the book
is the most economical way for us to acquire knowledge; even
the poorest can afford to travel without having to work hard to
earn enough money for travelling expenses.

5. In making these comparisons, Dickenson is
particularly careful in choosing words that have
romantic connotations:
“Frigate” suggests exploration and adventure,
“Coursers” conveys the meaning of beauty, spirit
(energetic and liveliness) and speed,
“chariot” connotes the ideas of speed and the ability
to go through the air as well as on land.
Source: Surapeepan Chatraporn, Poetry: An Introductory Study,
1996: p. 29-30).

6. In making these comparisons, Dickenson is
particularly careful in choosing words that have
romantic connotations:
“Frigate” suggests exploration and adventure,
“Coursers” conveys the meaning of beauty, spirit
(energetic and liveliness) and speed,
“chariot” connotes the ideas of speed and the ability
to go through the air as well as on land.
Source: Surapeepan Chatraporn, Poetry: An Introductory Study,
1996: p. 29-30).