Warm-Up 11/30/15
• Using the A-Z Review Sheet, write down
as many poetry related terms as you can
think of for each letter.
• For example, for P you may write Poetry.
• Complete as many as you can on your own
and then we will share with our table
groups.
Poetry Analysis
Using TP-CASTT
Getting Started…
• TP-CASTT is a process to help
you organize your analysis of
poetry.
• When successful, you will reveal
true and deeper meanings in a
poem; thus, write stronger literary
analysis essays.
T is for TITLE
• Analyze the title first:
– What do you predict this poem will be about?
• Write down your predictions.
• We will reflect on the title again after we
have read the poem.
READ THE POEM!!!!
P is for PARAPHRASE
• Paraphrasing is putting
something in your own
words.
• After reading the poem,
rewrite it in your own
words.
• This may be three sentences
or a page, depending on the
particular poem.
• While this may seem
tedious and boring, it is a
way to make you think
about the poem line by line.
C is for CONNOTATION
Sound Terms:
Alliteration, assonance,
consonance, end rhyme,
internal rhyme, diction
Figurative Language:
Personification, metaphor,
simile, synecdoche,
hyperbole, symbolism,
imagery, understatement,
irony, paradox
• Analyze the figures of
speech and sound
elements of the poem.
• Use your literary
terms for analyzing
• How do these
elements add to the
meaning?
A is for ATTITUDE
• Tone is the attitude of
the speaker toward the
subject of the poem.
• What is the tone of
this poem?
S is for SHIFT
•If there is a change in…
–Time
–Tone
–Speaker
This should always be
noted as this will also
affect the meaning.
•Check your poem for
shift.
T is for TITLE (again)
• At this time, you should reconsider the
title.
• Were you right in your predictions?
• What other meanings might the title have
in light of your analysis?
• If you still have no clue as to what the title
means, reread the poem because you are
missing something big.
T is for THEME
• Theme is the general insight into life
conveyed by the author through his/her
work.
• It does not make a judgment.
– Ex. “Don’t do drugs” is not a theme; it is a
moral.
• It merely states something true to life and
the human condition.
How do I find the THEME?
• Look at the other parts of
TPCASTT.
– What connections do you
notice between these lit
elements?
– What insight are all of
these working together to
convey?
• Ask yourself:
What is the poet trying to
say about life?
Review: TP-CASTT
• Make predictions based on the Title
• Paraphrase the poem
• Determine Connotation by searching for literary
terms
• Analyze the speaker’s Attitude to determine the
tone of the poem
• Search for Shifts in time, tone, and speaker
• Analyze the Title again in light of you reading
the poem.
• Determine the Theme of the poem based on your
readings and the other steps of TP-CASTT.