I hope you can take look all the files to write and requirments
february_12_figurative_metaphors.pptx
feb_19_tropes_denotation_connotation.pptx
feb_21_connotation_and_realism_.pptx
feb_26_codes_and_ideology.pptx
feb_28_codes_and_counter_codes.pptx
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Today’s lecture
• What is the distinction between literal language and figurative (or rhetorical)
language, and why should we take this distinction seriously?
• What are some of the conventions of figurative language – metaphor,
metonym, synecdoche – and how do they work?
• Why do communication scholars call figurative (or rhetorical) conventions
“master tropes”?
• How does figurative (or rhetorical) language fit into the study of semiotics?
Assignment and Exam updates
TAs have almost finished grading your first assignments and will be
ready to return them to you beginning Friday, Feb 15
TAs will distribute your assignments in section; in the meantime,
students will be able to check their grades on TritonED after Friday @
12pm
We will announce when midterm exams will be returned (soon) and
when midterm exam grades will be posted (soon)
Challenging the literal: René Magritte, La Trahison des images
(“The Treachery of Images”) (1929)
Getting past “the literal” to “the figurative”
Magritte: “If I had written on my
picture ‘This is a pipe,’’ I’d have
been lying!”
• For Magritte, the painting was a vehicle for thinking
about the distinction between the literal and the
representational
• For semioticians, the painting is also a vehicle for
thinking about how the signifier and signified may
not be two equal or apparent “sides” of the sign
• “There is always a difference between the
represented and its representation: ‘the camera
always lies.’…[W]e can acknowledge instead that
reality does not exist independently of signs, turning
our critical attention to the issue of whose realities
are privileged in particular representations”
(Chandler, 90)
“How one thing can mean another”
“In communication or representation,
tropes have been traditionally classified
as marked deviations from a supposed
norm of literal expectations…While
literal language ‘means what it says,’
figurative language ‘says one thing and
means another.’ Similarly, pictorial
‘metaphors’ symbolically depict one
thing but are intended to refer to
another. The issue of ‘how one thing can
mean another’ is at the heart of
semiotics (Watt, quoted in Chandler,
149, emphasis mine)
How cultures rely on figurative language
Conventions of representation that have been repeated over time and have
thus solidified into recognizable forms are called tropes. Tropes become
useful in human communication because of their seemingly fixed reliability
and transparency
Tropes rely on rhetorical devices, and are the means through which
conventions of representation are produced.
Types of figurative language – metaphor, metonym, synecdoche – are
examples of rhetorical devices
How metaphors work
“Metaphors are pervasive and largely unrecognized within a culture or sub-culture
and…highlighting them is a useful key to identifying whose realities such metaphors
privilege” (Chandler, 151).
*Orientational: metaphors that rely on spatial organization (e.g. up-down, in-out,
front-back, on-off, near-far, deep-shallow, central-peripheral)
*Ontological (from the Greek meaning “what something is”): metaphors that rely on
associations with things, conditions, states of being (e.g “she’s a gem,” “he’s a bitter
person, “their style is arresting”)
*Structural: metaphors that are embedded in a system, which itself is a metaphor
(e.g. argument is war, time is a commodity)
From George Lakoff and Mark Johnson, Metaphors We Live By (1980)
“Metaphors initially seem to disregard ‘literal’ or denotative resemblance but some
kind of resemblance or association must become apparent if the metaphor is to make
any sense at all to its interpreters…[M]ore interpretive effort is required in making
sense of metaphors than of more obvious signs” (Chandler, 153, emphasis mine).
Structural metaphor: tree as “natural” metaphor:
“evolution [of time]”
“growth [of knowledge]” “progress [toward something]”
How metonyms work
A metonym is a rhetorical device that conveys a relationship based on an substitution or a
connection between a part or aspect of a thing for the whole thing:
“Sacramento” as metonym for “the state government” (place for institution)
“9/11” as a metonym for “terrorist attack” (date for historical event)
“Plastic” as metonym for “credit card” (substance for form it takes)
In Peircean language, something “indexical” is closely related to the concept of
metonymy in that something (e.g. a photograph) indexes a larger reality
A metonym is based on an “imputed relationship being that of contiguity” (Wilden,
quoted in Chandler, 156, Chandler’s emphasis)
Menstrual metonymy
How synecdoche work
A synecdoche (sin-eck-dough-key) is a rhetorical device in which a word or concept or
figure is used to stand in for the whole
In the phrase “All hands on deck,” hands are a synecdoche for “sailors” or
“people who work here”
Golden Gate Bridge is a synecdoche for “San Francisco” or “Bay Area”
In a crime drama, a “twitching eye” as a synecdoche for “criminal person”
For some, synecdoche and metonym are closely aligned as to be
interchangeable; some use synecdoche for to describe physical or spatial
properties, whereas some use metonym to describe causal relationships
Synecdoche as rhetorical code:
“Mammy” doll (ca. 1940) and Gucci sweater (2018)
How figurative language lifts
the veil on rhetorical codes
“The conventions of figurative language
constitute a rhetorical code, which is part
of the reality maintenance system of a
culture or subculture…[M]uch of the time
– outside of ‘poetic’ contexts – figures of
speech retreat to ‘transparency.’ Such
transparency tends to anesthetize us to
the way in which the culturally available
stock of tropes acts as an anchor linking
us to the dominant ways of thinking
within our society” (Chandler, 149)
For Thursday
For Thursday, February 14: read Chandler, 160-174
(from the beginning of “Irony” to the end of the chapter)
• Why does Chandler say that irony is the most radical of all the rhetorical devices?
• What is the distinction between denotation and connotation?
• What aspects of semiotics that we’ve studied so far parallel or resemble this
distinction?
• Who was Charles Osgood, and how do his methods for “mapping” denotation and
connotation contribute to our understanding of tropes?
Today’s lecture
• What is a trope, and how is it a foundational concept for semiotics?
• What do we mean when we say that certain uses of figurative language are
the basis of “master tropes”?
• What is the distinction between denotation and connotation?
• How are visual media (e.g. photography, film, video) useful for
understanding the distinction between denotation and connotation
Getting past “the literal” to “the figurative”
Magritte: “If I had written on
my picture ‘This is a pipe,’’ I’d
have been lying!”
• For Magritte, the painting was a vehicle
for thinking about the distinction
between the literal and the
representational
• For semioticians, the painting is also a
vehicle for thinking about how the
signifier and signified may not be two
equal or apparent “sides” of the sign
How cultures rely on master tropes
Conventions of representation that have been repeated over time
and have thus solidified into recognizable forms are called tropes.
Tropes rely on figurative uses of language (as opposed to literal
uses of language) as the means through which conventions of
representation are produced.
Types of tropes – metaphor, metonym, synecdoche, and irony –
form the basis of the four master tropes
Tropes become useful in human communication because of their
seemingly fixed reliability and transparency
How metaphors work
*Orientational: metaphors that rely on spatial organization (e.g. up-down, inout, front-back, on-off, near-far, deep-shallow, central-peripheral)
*Ontological (from the Greek meaning “what something is”): metaphors that
rely on associations with things, conditions, states of being (e.g “she’s a gem,”
“he’s a bitter person, “their style is arresting”)
*Structural: metaphors that are embedded in a system, which itself is a
metaphor (e.g. argument is war, time is a commodity)
From George Lakoff and Mark Johnson, Metaphors We Live By (1980)
“Metaphors initially seem to disregard ‘literal’ or denotative resemblance but
some kind of resemblance or association must become apparent if the
metaphor is to make any sense at all to its interpreters…[M]ore interpretive
effort is required in making sense of metaphors than of more obvious signs”
(Chandler, 153, emphasis mine).
Trope #1: Tree as metaphor:
“evolution [of time]” “natural” as authentic form
“growth [of knowledge]” “progress [toward something]”
How metonyms work
A metonym is a rhetorical device that conveys a relationship based on an substitution or a
connection between a part or aspect of a thing for the whole thing:
“Sacramento” as metonym for “the state government” (place for institution)
“9/11” as a metonym for “terrorist attack” (date for historical event)
“Plastic” as metonym for “credit card” (substance for form it takes)
In Peircean language, something “indexical” is closely related to the concept of
metonymy in that something (e.g. a photograph) indexes a larger reality
A metonym is based on an “imputed relationship being that of contiguity” (Wilden,
quoted in Chandler, 156, Chandler’s emphasis)
Trope #2: Blue liquid as menstrual metonym
How synecdoche work
A synecdoche (sin-eck-dough-key) is a rhetorical device in which a word or concept or
figure is used to stand in for the whole
In the phrase “All hands on deck,” hands are a synecdoche for “sailors” or
“people who work here”
Golden Gate Bridge is a synecdoche for “San Francisco” or “Bay Area”
In a crime drama, a “twitching eye” as a synecdoche for “criminal person”
For some, synecdoche and metonym are closely aligned as to be
interchangeable; some use synecdoche for to describe physical or spatial
properties, whereas some use metonym to describe causal relationships
Trope #3: Lips as racial synecdoche
How irony works
• Irony comes from the disjunction between the signifier what is
signified: what is represented (literally) is not what is intended
(figuratively)
• Sarcasm is the most familiar form of irony; but the disjunction between
what is said and what is meant is not necessarily sarcastic
• Irony is the only master trope where knowing the intention (sometimes
called a modality) through which it is communicated enables easier
translation and interpretation
• “While typically an ironic statement signifies the opposite of its literal
signification, such variations as understatement and overstatement can
be regarded as ironic. At some point, exaggeration may slide into irony”
(Chandler, 160)
Trope #4: Linguistic irony
•“The weather is so
warm today”
•“Nice shirt”
• The double entendre (French for “doubleheard” or “double-take”)
From The Silence of the Lambs (1990)
“I do wish we could chat longer, but I’m
having an old friend for dinner.”
From RuPaul’s Drag Race (2016)
“How’s your head?” “I’ve never had any
complaints”
Trope #4: Ironic Modalities
Trope #4: Photographic irony (Weegee, 1940s)
Master tropes as components of structuralism
• Structuralists challenge the idea of “literal” signs to show how the recurring use of
a particular sign in a given context determines a shared or collective meaning
• For semioticians, master tropes illuminate structural patterns that, once traced,
can reveal how signs (and sign systems) construct (rather than merely reflect)
meaning between one or more people
• Like signs themselves, tropes rely on the illusion of transparency and “common
sense” in order for them to disguise their power
• Structuralists believe that some master tropes can be tied or aligned with
particular signs (and system systems) in a given community of speakers, therefore
revealing something about the ideological character of that community
Advertisement
for Pall Mall
brand
cigarettes
(1969)
Understanding denotation and connotation
Denotation is often defined as the obvious, literal, common-sense, “face-value”
meaning of a sign; connotation is often defined as the suggestive, figurative,
“deeper” meaning of a sign
We have seen denotation and connotation in other forms before: in discussions of
literal and figurative language, especially in irony (the difference between what is
represented and what is intended) and in the double-entendre (with its sexual
connotation)
• “Denotation is what is photographed, connotation is how it is photographed”
(Fiske, quoted in Chandler, 163; emphasis in original)
• Fiske’s observation is useful but it presumes that what something is can be
distinguished from how that thing is presented; still, most semioticians argue that
nothing that uses any system of signification can ever be purely denotative
• To believe in the denotative or the literal as unmediated or connotation-free is to
believe that “realism” or “authenticity” can be unmediated or connotation-free;
what could be more rhetorical than to “keep it real”?
Visualizing denotation and connotation
Visual media (e.g. photography, film, video) are sometimes useful for
understanding the distinction between denotation and connotation
Three examples:
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GB2yiIoEtXw
• “Good Morning” from Singing in the Rain (1952)
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVQ0JFzXMgY
• “No Dames” from Hail Caesar! (2016)
• https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xaifd0
• “Ain’t There Anyone Here for Love?” from Gentleman Prefer Blondes (1953)
For Thursday
For Thursday, February 21: read Chandler, 177-185
(from the beginning of chapter to the end of “Digital and Analog Codes”)
We will finish up Chapter 4 and begin Chapter 5
*What are ”codes” in the context of semiotics?
*What does it mean if something is “codified”? What are some examples?
ALSO:
*The prompt for your second writing assignment to be distributed/posted to TritonEd
later this week
Heading into Week Eight!
For Tuesday, February 26: read Chandler, 187-203
(from the “Digital and Analog Codes” to “Representational Codes”)
ALSO:
*Your TAS are currently grading midterm exams, and will return them at the end of
lecture next Thursday, February 28. Grades will be on physical exams only; they will not
be posted to TritonEd.
*The prompt for your final project – which will incorporate your second writing
assignment – will be posted to TritonEd tomorrow.
*The final project will be in lieu of a final exam, but it will still be due at the end of the
final exam period: 2:30pm on Tuesday, March 19.
Today’s lecture
• How are visual media (e.g. photography, film, video) useful for
understanding the distinction between denotation and connotation?
• How do master tropes become the basis for myth?
• How does a semiotics approach help us thinking through “the real” and “the
literal” as creations of culture?
How cultures rely on master tropes
Conventions of representation that have been repeated over time
and have thus solidified into recognizable forms are called tropes.
Tropes rely on figurative uses of language (as opposed to literal
uses of language) as the means through which conventions of
representation are produced.
Types of tropes – metaphor, metonym, synecdoche, and irony –
form the basis of the four master tropes
Tropes become useful in human communication because of their
seemingly fixed reliability and transparency
Master tropes as components of structuralism
• Structuralists challenge the idea of “literal” signs to show how the recurring use of
a particular sign in a given context determines a shared or collective meaning
• For semioticians, master tropes illuminate structural patterns that, once traced,
can reveal how signs (and sign systems) construct (rather than merely reflect)
meaning between one or more people
• Like signs themselves, tropes rely on the illusion of transparency and “common
sense” in order for them to disguise their power
• Structuralists believe that some master tropes can be tied or aligned with
particular signs (and system systems) in a given community of speakers, therefore
revealing something about the ideological character of that community
Trope #1: Tree as metaphor:
“evolution [of time]” “natural” as authentic form
“growth [of knowledge]” “progress [toward something]”
Trope #2: Blue liquid as menstrual metonym
Trope #3: Lips as racial synecdoche
How irony works
• Irony comes from the disjunction between the signifier what is
signified: what is represented (literally) is not what is intended
(figuratively)
• Sarcasm is the most familiar form of irony; but the disjunction between
what is said and what is meant is not necessarily sarcastic
• Irony is the only master trope where knowing the intention (sometimes
called a modality) through which it is communicated enables easier
translation and interpretation
• “While typically an ironic statement signifies the opposite of its literal
signification, such variations as understatement and overstatement can
be regarded as ironic. At some point, exaggeration may slide into irony”
(Chandler, 160)
Trope #4: Ironic Modalities
Advertisement
for Pall Mall
brand
cigarettes
(1969)
Understanding denotation and connotation
Denotation is often defined as the obvious, literal, common-sense, “face-value”
meaning of a sign; connotation is often defined as the suggestive, figurative,
“deeper” meaning of a sign
We have seen denotation and connotation in other forms before: in discussions of
literal and figurative language, especially in irony (the difference between what is
represented and what is intended) and in the double-entendre (with its sexual
connotation)
• “Denotation is what is photographed, connotation is how it is photographed”
(Fiske, quoted in Chandler, 163; emphasis in original)
• Fiske’s observation is useful but it presumes that what something is can be
distinguished from how that thing is presented; still, most semioticians argue that
nothing that uses any system of signification can ever be purely denotative
Roland Barthes: connotative meanings produce
myths, which work (invisibly) to produce ideology
US family with a year’s worth of food, 1949
Denotation or
connotation?
Queen Elizabeth II
and Prince Philip
(photograph by
Cecil Beaton
(British), 1947)
Denotation or
connotation?
Brian Ridley
and Lyle Heeter
(Robert
Mapplethorpe (US),
1979)
Tropes, connotations, and “the real”
• Understanding master tropes and denotation/connotation disrupts
the idea that signs can ever be literal, or that there is a “real” that
stands apart from systems of signification
• To believe in the denotative or the literal as unmediated or
connotation-free is to believe that “realism” or “authenticity” can
be unmediated or connotation-free
• What could be more rhetorical than to “keep it real”?– that is, to
use the trope of “the real” or “the authentic” that appears to be
transparent but is in fact a linguistic construction?
Housekeeping for Week Eight
*TAS are nearly finished grading midterm exams and will return them at the end of
lecture on Thursday. These grades will be on physical exams and will not be posted to
TritonEd.
*The prompt for your final project – which incorporates your second writing assignment
in the form of a proposal – has been posted to TritonEd.
*Proposals for your final project will be due on March 5 (a week from …
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