Semiotics

Semiotics is the study of sing systems which allows us to construct media texts to understand how means is being created.

TEXT - Rose - signifier
OBJECT - actual rose - signified

A sign is the smallest element of meaning. Signs will be grouped together top create larger units of meaning; these are called codes, which can be decoded or interpreted.

Re-combination of signs create a code - which can be understood usually through cultural or social contexts e.g. people wearing certain cultural identity.

The combination of dark hair, black make-up and nail polish, black clothes and fishnets (all signs) - we create a cultural code.

Like wise the word itself would act as a signifier of this image.

Denotation and Connotation:

denotation - what the sign denotes (the literal meaning of a sign)
connotation - what the sign connotes (the interpreted meaning of a sign or signs)

a rose denotes nature/flowers but context could connote growth, love or passion

polysemy refers to the capacity of all signs to be many signed (polysemic: i.e. to have more than one meaning)

A dictionary is a good place to discover this. The average number of meanings for a single word (or sign) in English is four or five.

Polysemy therefore also applies to the ideas that many signs will be 'iconic', 'symbolic' and 'indexical'.