You will present a poetry analysis using TPCASTT. The poems given will have a central
theme of the Civil War. Notes for TPCASTT will be taken in the format attached. The final
project will be written in paragraph form. A sample will be provided. Attached is the
rubric. Responses must meet the following:
Criteria
Points
Written in complete sentences
and at least one page long.
No Spelling, Grammar Usage, and
Punctuation errors
Uses quotes or examples from the
poem to support analysis
Visual: Clip Art or full page
illustration pertaining to poem
10
T: Initial response to Title
P: Paraphrase/Summarize
C: 4 or more interpretations and
connotative meanings
A: Defines Tone/Attitude
S: Describes shift
T: Responds to title after reading
T: Defines and discusses theme
Total
5
5
5
5
10
10
10
10
5
5
80
Points Given
TPCASTT Analysis Form
Title: What predictions can you make from the
title? What are your initial thoughts about the
poem? What might be the theme of the poem?
Based on your first impressions, what does the
title mean? Paraphrase the title before reading.
Paraphrase: Summarize the poem in your
own words. Translate the poem into your own
words—line-by-line or stanza-by-stanza. What
is the plot summary?
Connotation/Figurative Language/Diction:
Find examples of imagery, metaphors, similes,
alliteration etc. and elaborate on their
meanings. What do they bring to mind?
Locate and examine literary devices as you
think about the meaning beyond the actual
words.
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Metaphor: implied comparison (My love is a rose)
Personification: attributing human characteristics
to something that isn’t human. (The wind moaned
and wailed all night)
Symbolism: an object with meaning beyond itself.
(The flag is symbolic of patriotism)
Point of view: First person, third person limited
omniscient, third person omniscient.
Alliteration: practice of beginning several
consecutive or neighboring words with the same
sound: (The twisting trout twinkled below)
Allusion: reference to a mythological, literal, or
historical person, place or thing. (He met his
Waterloo)
Assonance: repetition of vowel sounds in a series
of words.
Consonance: repetition of consonant sound within
a series of words.
Onomatopoeia: use of words in which resemble the
sounds they describe. (hiss, buzz, bang)
Attitude/Tone: What attitude/tone do the poet
and the speaker have toward the subject of the
poem? Find and list examples that illustrate
the tone and mood of the poem.
Note: It is NOT how we (the reader) feel!
Shift: Is there a shift in the tone/attitude of the
poem? Where is the shift? What does the tone
shift to? Rarely does a poet begin ad end in the
same place.
Look for…
key words (but, yet, however, although)
punctuation (dashes, periods, colons,)
changes in line or stanza length
changes in diction (slang to formal)
changes in sound
changes in subject or speaker
Title: Go back to the title and explain any new
insights it provides to the meaning of the
poem. What does the title mean to you now?
Theme: What is the overall theme of the
poem? What is the poem saying? What lesson
does the poet want us to learn?
For Shifts, watch for the following: key words—but, yet, however, though; punctuation—dashes, periods,
colons, ellipsis; stanza and/or line divisions—changes in line or stanza length or both
Sample Project using Langston Hughes’
Dreams
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.
-Langston Hughes
Title
The poem “Dreams” by Langston Hughes will be about someone dreams. Life without goals or dreams it does
not have meaning.
Paraphrase
Hold on tight to dreams
Because if dreams die
Life is like an injured bird
That cannot fly.
Hold on tight to dreams
Because when dreams are lost
Life is like a field with nothing in it
That is frozen with snow
Connotation
Dreams are personified as dying and going. The poet is stating that if dreams die and go then is empty and
gone.
The author uses metaphors such as life is a broken winged bird and life is a barren field. These metaphors
compare life to two tragic episodes. The broken winged bird cannot fly and the barren field cannot produce
life. Therefore if there are no longer dreams then the reader will see the comparison of the tragic episodes.
The author uses imagery such as the broken winged bird that cannot fly and the barren field frozen with
snow, so the reader can visualize the two events.
The rhyme scheme is an end rhymes- die, fly and go, snow which is ABCB
There is also repetition throughout the entire poem, for example Hold fast to dreams, second lines always
start with for, and the third line always start with life is.
Attitude
The author’s tone is cautionary and somewhat melancholy because he is afraid that dreams will die.
Shift
The poem has two fill sentences ending in period and stanzas are broken up into short 3 to 5 word lines.
Title ~Revisited
The title is very indicative of what the poem will be about. The poem is about dreams and continuing to
dream and achieving your goals in life because if one does not, life will end.
Theme
Subject: Dreams/Dreaming, Life, Value
Theme: Continuing to dream will lead to a good life. Lack of
dreaming, or not having dreams, makes life empty.