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TPCASTT Practice & Great Depression Poetry August 27, 2012

+Do Now

What does TPCASTT stand for? (Use your notes if you don’t remember)

Complete the “Title,” and “Paraphrase” portion of TPCASTT on the song lyrics that you have in front of you.

+T -- Title

Ponder the title before reading the poem

Look at the title and attempt to predict what the poem will be about.

Using the sample in front of you, let’s do this step now.

+P -- Paraphrase

Translate the poem into your own words

Make sure you understand the literal plot of the poem.

Write notes in the margin beside each major section of the poem so you can review these later

+C -- Connotation

Contemplate the poem for meaning beyond the literal level

Look for any and all poetic devices and try to see how those devices contribute to the meaning, the effect or both of the poem Metaphor, simile, personification, alliteration,

onomatopoeia, rhythm, rhyme, symbolism, and diction

Analyze your sample poem now. Circle these devices and make margin notes about their meanings.

+A -- Attitude

Observe both the speaker’s attitude and the poet’s attitude (this may or may not be clear)

This, of course, is TONE.

Remember that these attitudes will probably shift or be mixed in the poem. Label all you see, especially if you see a shift.

+S -- Shift

Note shifts in speakers or attitudes

See your handout for more information about indicators of shifts

Are there any shifts in the poem before you?

+T – Title (again)

Re-examine the title. Try to see how the title fits with the work as a whole.

This time, you are interpreting the title, not just predicting or looking at it literally.

+T -- Theme

Determine what the poet is saying

THIS IS NOT THE MORAL OF THE POEM

Identify the theme by recognizing the human experience, motivation, or condition of the poem.

Follow the steps on your handout to help you come to theme.

Notice that theme is not a trite parable or axiom

One work may have several possible themes

+How to Find Theme

Theme: a message in a text (book, poem, play, etc.) that explains how the author feels about a certain subject

The theme is not presented directly to you – you have to make an inference based on the events in the story.

Theme is always a statement, never just one word, or a question.

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In order to find a text’s theme, you must first find the thematic subjects.

A thematic subject is the basic subject of a text. Example of thematic subjects: love, hate,

anger, trust, family, travel, children, war, government, nature, religion, games

Theme, cont.

+Theme, cont. After you find all of the thematic subjects of a text,

you need to then decide how the author feels about that thing. This will become your theme.

Themes are complete sentences.

Thematic Subject

Theme

love When two people are in love, they might do things they later regret.

family Sometimes people become family even when they are not related by blood.

nature If you do take nature for granted, you will often find yourself in dangerous situations.

+Why Do Themes Matter?

Themes help you think about the message of a text, instead of just the surface-level ideas.

Often, you will be asked to write about the theme of a text – so it’s good to know it!

Discussing theme is a great way to demonstrate your full understanding of a text. If you can explain / discuss the theme, you really show that you know what you’re talking about!

+Theme, cont.

This video explains more about what a theme is, and how to find it.

+Great Depression Poetry

You are going to look at some poetry from the Great Depression Era.

Understanding and analyzing these poems (including THEME), will help prepare you for some of the themes that you will see in Of Mice and Men.

You will also use these poems to help improve your use of TPCASTT, and of analyzing poetry in general.