.

*You will now take notes on how to TPCASTT a poem. This is a method to help you thoroughly analyze and understand a poem.

*Then we will work through a poem together.

*Title: Does it mean anything?

*Paraphrase: Rewrite the poem in your own words.

*Connotation: List words with emotional meaning.

*Attitude: Find examples that illustrate the tone of the poem.

*Shift: Is there a change in tone?

*Title: Does the title mean anything else?

*Theme: What is the overall theme?

TPCASTTNotes:

Morning is

a new sheet of paper

for you to write on.

Whatever you want to say,

all day,

until night folds it up

and files it away.

The bright words and the dark words

are gone

until dawn

and a new day

to write on.

*Write your answer in the “title” section of your TPCASTT notes.

*The word metaphor describes a comparison between 2 things. This poem is probably going to be a comparison.

Don’t read the poemyet.

Just look at the title.

Morning is

a new sheet of paper

for you to write on.

Whatever you want to say,

all day,

until night folds it up

and files it away.

The bright words and the dark words

are gone

until dawn

and a new day

to write on.

*Now you look at the poem.

*Go one idea at a time and just write it in your own words – this is translation to common language, not interpretation of significance.

*Wrong way

*The beginning of life is like the morning where you can do anything.

*Right way

*The morning time is like a blank sheet of paper.

Don’t read the poemyet.

Just look at the title.

Morning is

a new sheet of paper

for you to write on.

Whatever you want to say,

all day,

until night folds it up

and files it away.

The bright words and the dark words

are gone

until dawn

and a new day

to write on.

*Make a list of all the emotional words.

* Morning * new * Whatever * want * all * day* night * folds * up* files * away* bright * dark * gone* dawn* new

Morning is

a new sheet of paper

for you to write on.

Whatever you want to say,

all day,

until night folds it up

and files it away.

The bright words and the dark words

are gone

until dawn

and a new day

to write on.

*Now put a + or – next to each word based on the emotional feeling of the word.

* Morning * new * Whatever * want * all * day* night * folds * up* files * away* bright * dark * gone* dawn* new

Morning is

a new sheet of paper

for you to write on.

Whatever you want to say,

all day,

until night folds it up

and files it away.

The bright words and the dark words

are gone

until dawn

and a new day

to write on.

*Since most of your connotation words are positive, then it’s fair to say the tone is also positive.

*Now try to summarize the tone specifically. Pick a word (or words) that describes this tone accurately. Be specific.

*Wrong: The tone is good.

*Wrong: The tone is emotional.

* Right: The tone is optimistic.

Morning is

a new sheet of paper

for you to write on.

Whatever you want to say,

all day,

until night folds it up

and files it away.

The bright words and the dark words

are gone

until dawn

and a new day

to write on.

*Most poetry has a shift. This will normally contrast with the rest of the poem and help you to understand the meaning of the poem.

*Where is the shift in this poem?

*What does it accomplish?

* It points out that the tone/mood is not purely optimistic. We are limited in the amount of time we have each day, and we can make bad decisions.

Morning is

a new sheet of paper

for you to write on.

Whatever you want to say,

all day,

until night folds it up

and files it away.

The bright words and the dark words

are gone

until dawn

and a new day

to write on.

*The title seems kind of simple, doesn’t it? Almost every poem is a metaphor, after all.

*Does the title mean anything more after reading the poem? (Write your answer to that question on your TPCASTT notes.)

Morning is

a new sheet of paper

for you to write on.

Whatever you want to say,

all day,

until night folds it up

and files it away.

The bright words and the dark words

are gone

until dawn

and a new day

to write on.

*A theme is an underlying message. It is not the topic. The theme has nothing to do with paper, dawn, or night.

*This is where you interpret the meaning of the poem. (Write your overall interpretation of the poem’s theme on your TPCASTT notes.)

Now try this method on your own with Robert Herrick’s poem “To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time” (p. 463).

*Watch the following clip from the film Dead Poets Society which references Herrick’s poem:

*Notice the students’ reaction upon hearing the poem’s title. Is their reaction similar to yours? How does the reading of the poem shed more light on the title?

*Does Mr. Keating (Robin Williams’ character) interpret the overall theme of the poem correctly?