TPCASTT Template
TPCASTT: Poem Analysis Method: title, paraphrase, connotation, diction, attitude, tone, shift(s), title revisited
and theme
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I think the Title of poem means:
The title of the poem describes a simplistic action of the narrator, but simultaneously
prepares the reader for something that happens while the narrator walked out one evening.
With “as” used as a conjunction at the beginning of the title, it prepares the audience for
something to be happening during the narrator’s stroll.
Paraphrase parts of the Poem
In the first stanza of the poem, Auden establishes the setting of the poem, which is on
Bristol street, which may be assumed to be in the city of Bristol, which is just west of
London. Auden also establishes the season of the poem by saying “the crowds upon the
pavement were fields of harvest wheat,” implying that it’s autumn. In the following
stanza, the speaker comes to a river, where he hears a lover singing about how “love has
no ending.” The speaker continues to listen to the lover’s declaration, which continues
throughout the next two stanzas. In the following stanzas, the lover continues to describe
his everlasting love, saying that he’ll love until “China and Africa meet,” when the river
moves over the mountain, and salmon sing in the street. He continues emphasize how
he’ll continue to love until the impossible happens. In the fifth stanza, the lover’s ardent
declaration concludes as he says that their love is the first of the world. In the following
stanza, Auden gives the nearby chiming clocks voices, who begins to argue with the lover,
saying that the lover cannot conquer time. Time waits and interrupts the lovers just when
they’d be together, reminding them that their time together is only of brevity. When the
end comes for the lovers, they won’t have been the first because “into many a green valley
drifts the appalling snow.” The clocks encourage the lovers to cleanse their hands, and
imagine what it’d be like to reflect on their lives with all the time having gone by. The
stanzas following assume a much more whimsical tone, which almost makes the tone of
the passage more morbid than it already is. Time again encourages the lovers to look into
the mirror again to consider what’s already there. It’s reiterated that life is given to the
lovers, but they’re not in control of what happens throughout that journey, especially in
regard to time. In the last stanza of the poem, the speaker resumes the narration of the
poem, saying that the lovers had left, the clocks had stopped chiming, and the river ran on.
Connotation of some of the words—changing literal meaning to implied or associated values
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Auden frequently uses symbolism throughout this poem to help emphasize that time is
ultimately in control of everything else, and we’re just subject to the turning of time. For
instance, in the setting of the poem, the two lovers are standing by the river. In the last
stanza, Auden reiterates how the river continues to flow on. The reiteration of the river’s
flow is symbolic for time, because like a river, time doesn’t stop on command. Other
connotation that serves as important parts to understanding the meaning of the poem is in
the twelfth stanza, when Auden references nursery rhymes in his description. Nursery
rhymes are often associated with simplicity and innocence. However, Auden’s reference
to the nursery rhymes, such as “Jack and the Beanstalk” or “Jack and Jill,” makes the
description more haunting, since he’s talking about something rather morbid instead of
light and whimsical, as is often associated with nursery rhymes.
Attitude—What is the attitude of the author, characters, or yourself?
Auden’s poem has three main attitudes in it:
One attitude is the indifferent narration of the speaker, who simply observes the exchange
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of sweet words between lovers by a riverside and imagines the voice of time speaking to
the them. The second attitude in the poem is that of the lover who talks. The lover is
confident that their love is the first of the world, and that he’ll be able to continue to love
her until time stops. The attitude of the lover is very naïve, with a blatant disregard for the
passing of time, or for the people who have loved and died before them. The last major
attitude in the poem is that of time, which bluntly reminds the lovers that life is only brief,
their love isn’t the only love to have not withstood the tests of time.
Shift—At first we think or feel one way—then there is a shift: identify the shifts and explain them
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There’s one major shift in this poem, with two minor shifts to help make the poem more
fluid. The most noticeable shift in this poem is when the narration of the poem switches
from the lover to the clocks. While the lover makes confident declarations of his love, the
clocks bring more of a reality to the situation, reminding the lovers that their love can only
be ephemeral in the long run because of the course of time. Other, more minor, shifts in
he poem are located at the beginning and end, when the narration of the poem goes from
the narrator to the lover, then from the clocks back to the narrator again at the end.
Title revisited—any new insights on meaning or significance of title.
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The title of this poem doesn’t serve as a good representation of the overall theme of
Auden’s poem. I stand by the basic assumption that the title of the poem simply prepares
the reader for something that happens while the speaker “went out one evening” because
of the “as” used in the conjunctive form.
Theme or Author’s Purpose
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Auden’s main purpose throughout this poem is to emphasize that everything in life can’t
last forever because of the brief time we’re allotted to live. This theme is most
embellished through the personification of time, s the lovers stand by the river and declare
their dedication to one another. Some other pretty major themes throughout the poem
include the cycle of life and death. These other themes are especially apparent because a
majority of the poem discusses life’s brevity, which just emphasizes the nearness of death,
and the shortness of life’s cycle, compared to most other things.