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TPCASTT
Poetry Analysis
+Title
Examine the LITERAL meaning of the title before reading the poem.
There are two kinds of titles.
Interactive Titles – have some sort of interplay with the poem itself and can affect its meaning.
Naming Titles – may give less crucial information
If a poem lacks a title you can do this step with the first line of the poem
+Paraphrase
Translate the poem line by line into your own words.
AND I MEAN TRANSLATE…WORD FOR WORD!!!
Find SYNONYMS for every word.
Resist jumping into interpretation; you are looking at LITERAL meaning.
Summarizing is NOT paraphrasing
+ Connotation
Examine the poem for meaning beyond the literal translation. Identify and figure out the figurative language.
Look for: Diction: word choice Imagery: word pictures (5 senses) Figures of Speech: metaphor, simile, personification, allusion,
etc. Musical Devices: alliteration, onomatopoeia, rhythm, rhyme
scheme, etc. Irony: surprising, interesting, or amusing contradictions Symbolism: word, phrase, or other object that stands for
something else
+Attitude
After identifying a subject/topic of a poem then you identify how the speaker or poet feels about it.
Tone-- look for the speaker’s tone and the author’s tone. What are his or her attitudes toward the audience and his or her subject matter?
+Shifts
Note transitions/shifts in the speaker or attitude Occasion: time and place Key words: “but,” “yet,” etc. Punctuation: dashes, periods, colons Stanza length/change in foot: notice when the poem seems
to speed up or slow down Also look for shifts in subject, attitude, mood, and motif.
+Title
Look at the title on an INTERPRETIVE level.
Examine the title again. Figure out how the title illuminates the poem. Remember a naming title may not mean much. Remember you can do this with the first line of a poem if it lacks a title.
+Theme
First list what the poem is about (subjects) then determine what the poet is saying about each of these subjects.
Express the theme as a complete sentence.
With this step, you are determining what the poet thinks about the subject, what insight or message about life is the poet revealing to the reader.
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