Poetry Analysis Using TPCASTT

English II

Ms. Tennant

Make a chart like this in your journal (leave a big space for

“C”)

The SunflowersReread the poem and review your TPCASTT.

Ttitle

What do you think the title means?Based on the title, what do you predict the poem

is about?

Pparaphrase

Summarize what happens in the poem in 1-3 sentences.

Cconnotation

1. Identify figurative language used in the poem (esp. simile/metaphor/personification).

2. Is there symbolism?3. Are sound devices (alliteration, onomatopoeia,

rhythm, rhyme) used?4. Give examples of the diction (word choice/

formal-informal)5. The poem is told from what pt. of view?

Aattitude

What is the author’s attitude toward the subject matter? What makes you think this?

Sshift

Is there s shift (change) in the speaker’s attitude, the ideas presented, word choice, spacing of the words/lines, or the rhythm? Give specific examples.

Ttitle

Revisit the title. Now, what do you think the title means? Go beyond the literal and examine a possible abstract/symbolic meaning.

Ttheme

What is the theme? What makes you think this? (If you think the poem does not have a theme, explain why you believe this.)

T is for TITLE

• Analyze the title first.• What do you predict this poem will be

about?• Write down your predictions.• We will reflect on the title again after we

have read the poem.• The next step is often omitted, but it is the

most important!!!!

READ THE

POEM!!!!

P is for PARAPHRASE

• Paraphrasing is putting something in your own words.

• After reading the poem, rewrite it in your own words.

• This may be three sentences or a page, depending on the particular poem.

C is for CONNOTATION

• Analyze the figures of speech and sound effects of the poem.

• These are the poetry vocabulary we will now review.

• These elements add to the meaning.

Figures of Speech (aka Figurative Language)

• Diction-Word Choice • Imagery-Description that makes an object or experience so real you can imagine it with your senses (sight, smell, taste, touch, hearing)

I – S.H.A.M.P.O.O. !!I – S.H.A.M.P.O.O. !!• Metaphor-comparison

between unrelated things (Does NOT use like or as)

• Ex. Life is a box of chocolates.

• Simile-comparison between unrelated things that DOES use like or as.

• Ex. She walked like a snail.

• Personification-a figure of speech where human characteristics are given to a nonliving object/thing

• Symbolism-anything that stand for or represents something else

• Irony-Opposite of what is expected

•

• Paradox-statement that seems contradictory or absurd but that expresses the truth

• Wise fool• Bittersweet• "I can resist anything

but temptation."-Oscar Wilde

• Oxymoron-a figure of speech that combines two opposing or contradictory ideas

• Larger half• Open secret• Act naturally

• Yikes! Paradox and Oxymoron sound the same.

• They are VERY similar.

• Paradox is more about a truth as Oxymoron is just opposites put together.

Yes, there’s more!

• Allusion- A brief, usually indirect reference to a person, place, or event--real or fictional.

• "I violated the Noah rule: predicting rain doesn't count; building arks does."(Warren Buffett)

• "I was not born in a manger. I was actually born on Krypton and sent here by my father, Jor-el, to save the Planet Earth."(Senator Barack Obama, speech at a fund-raiser for Catholic charities, October 16, 2008)

• Alliteration-Repetition of the first sounds (tongue twisters)

• Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.

• Onomatopoeia-sound words that imitate real sounds

• Assonance-repetition of vowel sounds

• Fleet feet sweep by sleeping geese.

• Consonance-repetition of identical consonant sounds that are preceded by different vowels

• Don’t eat in that tent

Last one for “C”

• Rhyme-repetition of word ending sounds

• Rhyme Scheme-The pattern of rhyme in a stanza of poetry

  There once was a big brown cat      a That liked to eat a lot of mice.        bHe got all round and fat                  a Because they tasted so nice.            b

A is for ATTITUDE

• Tone is the attitude of the speaker toward the subject of the poem.

S is for SHIFT

• If there is a change in…– Time– Tone– SpeakerThis should always

be noted as this will also affect the meaning.

T is for TITLE (again)

• At this time, you should reconsider the title.

• Were you right in your predictions?

• What other meanings might the title have in light of your analysis?

• Next, the biggie….

T is for THEME

• As you already know, theme is the general insight into life conveyed by the author through his/her work.

• It does not make a judgment.

example: “Don’t do drugs” is not a theme.

• It merely states something that is true to life and the human condition.

How do I find the THEME?

• Look at the other parts of TPCASTT.

• What insight are all of these working together to convey?

• What is the poet trying to say about life?

• What is the BIG idea?