TPCASTT Poetry Analysis
Poem Title:
Title: Consider the title before reading the poem and predict what the poem may
be about.
Paraphrase: Put the poem into your own words with the goal of achieving a better
understanding of the literal meaning of the poem. Your paraphrase should have
roughly the same number of lines or syntactical units as the original. You should
do this on the poem itself.
Connotation: Contemplate the poem for meaning beyond the literal. What do the
words mean beyond the obvious? What are the implications, the hints, and the
suggestions of the particular word choices?
TARGET:
1) Identify poetic devices in poem
2) Explain or describe the emotional effect behind those devices
Step 1: Find and circle at minimum 3 poetic devices. These could include…
a) 3 images that stick out to you (imagery)
b) any similes or metaphors (figurative language)
c) sound devices (alliteration, onomatopoeia, rhyme, etc..)
d) point of view (identifying specific spots where the speaker of the poem
sticks out)
e) diction (specific and unique words the stick out)
Step 2: Explain, in your own words, what the images and/or figurative language
(a,b) you circled mean.
Step 3: If necessary, explain the effect of the sound devices (c) in the poem.
Step 4: If necessary, explain the effect of the speaker’s POV or diction (d,e) from
above.
Attitude:Observe both the speaker’s and the poet’s attitudes (tone).
Shifts: A shift in a poem refers to when the poet or speaker changes feelings or
attitude. Rarely does a poet begin and end the poetic experience in the same place.
As is true of most of us, the poets understanding of an experience is a gradual
realization, and the poem is a reflection of that epiphany. Trace the changing
feelings of the speaker from the beginning to the end, paying particular attention to
the conclusion. TARGET:
1) Identify the part(s) in a poem where there is a shift in attitude or realization
2) Explain why the shift occurs and/or how it changes from earlier in the poem
Step 1: Pay attention to the beginning of lines and look for the following...
Step 2: Find key transition words or unusual capitalization and underline (but, yet,
so, however, although, etc…)
Step 3: If necessary, note or star any abrupt line breaks or stanza divisions
Step 4: If necessary, note or star any sudden changes in sound that may indicate
changes in meaning (in other words, does the rhyme change?)
Step 5: If necessary, note or star any punctuation marks that are unusual (dashes,
periods, etc…)
Step 6: Explain how the attitude or feeling of the poem changes after the shift
Title: Now examine the title again, this time on an interpretive (read between the
lines) level.
Theme: Theme is the underlying point or lesson we should take away from the
text. Usually, we try to state the theme in one sentence that captures the essence of
the central idea and can be supported by specific details in the poem. In
identifying theme, recognize the human experience, motivation or condition
suggested by the poem.
TARGET:
1) Determine what the overall point of the poem.
2) Write one sentence that summarizes the point and can be supported by details
in the poem.
Step 1: Identify what you consider to be the most important line(s) of the poem.
Step 2: Paraphrase that line from step 1.
Step 3: Defend why you think that line is the most important by giving 2 or 3
reasons.
Step 4: Answer the following question in one complete sentence about the poem:
“What idea does the poet want you to learn or take away with when reading this
poem?
Author:
Respond to your 3 Bloom’s Qs with a well-written paragraph for each.
1.
2.
3.