TP-CASTT Poetry Analysis
Adapted from: www.smusd.org/cms/lib3/CA01000805/Centricity/ModuleInstance/4550/TP-CASTT_Poetry_Analysis_PPT.ppt
1/09 Poetry Unit: TP-CASTT – Blume (San Marcos High School)
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TP-CASTT is an ACRONYM for…
Title
Paraphrase
Connotation
Attitude
Shift
Title
Theme
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First, let’s review some vocabulary:
• literal = means “exact” or “not exaggerated.”
Literal language is language that means exactly
what is said. Most of the time, we use literal
language.
• figurative = the opposite of literal language.
Figurative language is language that means
more than what it says on the surface. Often
used by poets and other writers.
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Review vocabulary, continued:
• denotation = the dictionary definition of a word
or phrase
• connotation = a meaning suggested by a word
or phrase, in addition to its exact (denotative)
meaning; can be the emotional feelings
associated with the word
Think of the denotative and connotative
meanings of words such as home, mother, love,
peace, friend, etc.
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Use Resource 3.4 to record
your answers to the following
questions.
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Title: George Gray
by Edgar Lee Masters
What predictions can you make
about the poem from the title?
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Title: George Gray
by Edgar Lee Masters
What predictions can you make
about the poem from the title?
Now read the poem.
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George Gray by Edgar Lee Masters
I have studied many times
The marble which was chiseled for me—
A boat with a furled sail at rest in a harbor.
In truth it pictures not my destination
But my life.
For love was offered me and I shrank from its disillusionment;
Sorrow knocked at my door, but I was afraid;
Ambition called to me, but I dreaded the chances.
Yet all the while I hungered for meaning in my life.
And now I know that we must lift the sail
And catch the winds of destiny
Wherever they drive the boat.
To put meaning in one’s life may end in madness,
But life without meaning is the torture
Of restlessness and vague desire—
It is a boat longing for the sea and yet afraid.
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Title: What are your initial (first)
thoughts about the poem?
What might be the theme of the
poem?
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Paraphrase: Describe what
happens in the poem, in your
own words.
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Connotation: What might the
poem mean beyond the literal
level? Find examples of
imagery, metaphors, similes,
personification, symbolism,
idioms, hyperbole, alliteration,
rhyme scheme, rhythm, etc. and
think about their possible
connotative meanings. Consider
the emotional feelings that the
words may give the reader.
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Attitude: Describe the tone of the
poem. What is the poet’s attitude
toward the subject of the poem?
The speaker’s attitude? Find and
list examples that illustrate the
tone and mood of the poem
(these show attitude).
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Shift: Is there a shift (a change)
in the tone or speaker of the
poem? Where does the shift
happen in the poem? What
does it shift from and to?
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Title: Look at the title again.
Have your original ideas about
the poem changed? How? What
do you think the title means
now?
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Theme: What is the overall
theme of the poem?
What insight, understanding,
lesson, or truth are we supposed
to have after reading this poem?
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Doing a TP-CASTT poem analysis will
help you turn your observations into
meaningful discussions or writing.
You have noticed the details - now you
can put them together in order to
understand and talk about the poem much
better.
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