Connotation: find a positive and negative word for the denotation “to look at”.

Positive: Watch

Negative: Stare

Explanation:

The denotation of a word is its dictionary meaning. It is the literal and precise definition of what a word tries to convey. Connotation, on the other hand, expresses the meaning of a word along with the positive or negative feelings that the word suggests. In this example, "to look at" can have positive and negative connotations. For example, when you "watch" something (such as a movie or a video), this implies that you are looking at it with interest and attention. On the other hand, if you stare (for example, at someone), you are looking deeply and with intent, which might make some people uncomfortable.

Well for one, characterisation is how a writer chooses to reveal a characters personality in a story, through things like physical appearance (shiny hair, blue eyes, nice smile, ect.) and through virtues and faults (brave, attentive, smart - egotistical, bitter, evil.)

Figurative language is basically how you'd describe said chracterisations, through things like personification, hyperbole, metaphors, similes, ect.

So with that being said, figurative language can help characterise a monster by doing more than just saying it's a monster; figurative language can make it /feel/ like a monster to the reader. Figurative language can turn the monster '3-D' (for lack of better words), by saying it has long claws, stinky breath, vicious fangs, a horrifying growl, ect. 

My favourite example of figurative language is actually in the childrens book "Where the Wild Things Are" by Maurice Sendak, because it uses simple figurative language. Maurice Sendak describes the wild things as so: "They roared their terrible roars and gnashed their terrible teeth and rolled their terrible eyes and showed their terrible claws.'

Anyway, I hope this helped !! :-)