Explanation / Answer:
Alright here's the sentence they're talking about in the first question.
" I remember muteness as a prolonged and giddy fast, where every moment is a feast of utterance received. "
The denotation of giddy : having a sensation of whirling
The denotation of utterance : A spoken word, or statement.
The connotation of giddy: make (someone) feel excited to the point of disorientation.
The connotation of utterance: the action of saying or expressing something aloud.
I think Dillard meant the connotation of the words because of the way the words are used in the sentence.
I hope this helped! Sorry it took a while for me to answer. c: