TPCASTT The Waking
TPCASTT: Poem Analysis Method: title, paraphrase, connotation, diction, attitude, tone, shift(s), title revisited
and theme
T
P
I think the Title of poem means:
“The Waking” seems to have multiple meanings. It could mean waking up from sleep or realizing what
one has to do in life.
Paraphrase parts of the Poem
Waking follows sleeping and I prefer to take my time waking up
I do not fear my fate
I will gain wisdom by going where I am destined to go
Thought is caused by emotion. So what is there to learn?
I have many thoughts within myself
Waking follows sleeping and I prefer to take my time waking up
To all those that surround my life, are you awake or asleep?
God bless the underground where I will be buried. I will be there soon enough.
And I will gain wisdom by going where I am destined to go
We are all part of the circle of life.
It takes a long time to go to our final destination
Waking follows sleeping and I prefer to take my time waking up
The world has more in store for us
For us so live your life fully
Gain wisdom by going to new places
Worrying and not knowing keeps me aware.
What is gone will always be gone but still be close by
Waking follows sleeping and I prefer to take my time waking up
I will gain wisdom by going where I am destined to go
Connotation of some of the words—changing literal meaning to implied or associated values
C
“Ground” line 8: The literal meaning of “ground” is what we stand on but the poem’s meaning of
ground is underground, the final physical resting place of humans.
“Softly” line 8: In this poem “softly” means slowly.
“Light” line 10: The implied meaning of “Light” is the light of life. So what gives us life.
“Tree” line 10: The implied meaning of “Tree” is all life.
“Lowly worm” line 11: The implied meaning of worms is us humans. Our path to our destiny will take
a long time and worms are slow so that is why we are described as worms.
“Winding stair” line 11: A “winding stair” is thought of to be long. So our path to our destiny will be
long. Also, a long stair case will eventually tire someone out so the implied meaning of “winding stair”
is that the path to our destiny will be difficult, tiresome, and will require endurance.
Attitude—What is the attitude of the author, characters, or yourself?
A
The attitude of the author seems like he is anticipating and almost impatient for his death a lot in the
beginning of the poem and then at the end he realizes that he should just live his life because God has
more than just death prepared for him.
Shift—At first we think or feel one way—then there is a shift: identify the shifts and explain them
S
From lines one through twelve the author speaks of waiting for his death and is always thinking of it
but then in lines thirteen through fifteen he says, “Great Nature has another thing to do/
To you and me, so take the lively air,/And, lovely, learn by going where to go.” In other words, live
your life and think about the present instead of the unknown future.
Title revisited—any new insights on meaning or significance of title.
T
There are two main things that I learned about the title after reading the poem. First, the waking is
actually death. Second, the waking could actually mean what happened to the author during the poem.
He finally decides that the world has other plans for him so he decides to actually live his life instead of
thinking about his death.
Theme or Author’s Purpose
T
The purpose of this poem is to teach people to live their life to the fullest and not think about the past or
the future because you lose so much time when you do.