Poetry Analysis Using TPCASTT

Poetry Analysis Using TPCASTT English II Ms. Tennant

Make a chart like this in your journal (leave a big space for “C”)

The SunflowersReread the poem and review your TPCASTT.

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. • The next step is often omitted, but it is the most important!!!!

READTHEPOEM!!!!

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.

Analyze the figures of speech and sound effects of the poem. These are the poetry vocabulary we will now review. These elements add to the meaning. C is for CONNOTATION apostrophe ASSONANCE alliteration RHYME diction personification onomatopoeia simile implied metaphor meter HYPERBOLE direct metaphor

Figures of Speech (aka Figurative Language) • Diction-Word Choice • Imagery-Description that makes an object or experience so real you can imagine it with your senses (sight, smell, taste, touch, hearing)

I – S.H.A.M.P.O.O. !! • Metaphor-comparison between unrelated things (Does NOT use like or as) • Ex. Life is a box of chocolates. • Simile-comparison between unrelated things that DOES use like or as. • Ex. She walked like a snail.

Personification-a figure of speech where human characteristics are given to a nonliving object/thing • Symbolism-anything that stand for or represents something else

Irony-Opposite of what is expected • Paradox-statement that seems contradictory or absurd but that expresses the truth • Wise fool • Bittersweet • "I can resist anything but temptation."-Oscar Wilde

Oxymoron-a figure of speech that combines two opposing or contradictory ideas • Larger half • Open secret • Act naturally • Yikes! Paradox and Oxymoron sound the same. • They are VERY similar. • Paradox is more about a truth as Oxymoron is just opposites put together.

Yes, there’s more! • Allusion- A brief, usually indirect reference to a person, place, or event--real or fictional. • "I violated the Noah rule: predicting rain doesn't count; building arks does."(Warren Buffett) • "I was not born in a manger. I was actually born on Krypton and sent here by my father, Jor-el, to save the Planet Earth."(Senator Barack Obama, speech at a fund-raiser for Catholic charities, October 16, 2008)

Alliteration-Repetition of the first sounds (tongue twisters) • Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. • Onomatopoeia-sound words that imitate real sounds

Assonance-repetition of vowel sounds • Fleet feet sweep by sleeping geese. • Consonance-repetition of identical consonant sounds that are preceded by different vowels • Don’t eat in that tent

Last one for “C” • Rhyme-repetition of word ending sounds • Rhyme Scheme-The pattern of rhyme in a stanza of poetry There once was a big brown cat a That liked to eat a lot of mice. bHe got all round and fat a Because they tasted so nice. b

A is for ATTITUDE • Tone is the attitude of the speaker toward the subject of the 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.

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? • Next, the biggie….

T is for THEME • As you already know, theme is the general insight into life conveyed by the author through his/her work. • It does not make a judgment. example: “Don’t do drugs” is not a theme. • It merely states something that is true to life and the human condition.

How do I find theTHEME? • Look at the other parts of TPCASTT. • What insight are all of these working together to convey? • What is the poet trying to say about life? • What is the BIG idea?

Poetry Analysis Using TPCASTT