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PD-FASSST Poetry Analysis. If it’s in pink, make sure it’s written down. P retty D arn - FASST. On the AP English test and in many college courses, you are required to read a poem and plan, write, and proofread a critical essay within a 40 minute time frame.
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PD-FASSST Poetry Analysis If it’s in pink, make sure it’s written down.
Pretty Darn - FASST • On the AP English test and in many college courses, you are required to read a poem and plan, write, and proofread a critical essay within a 40 minute time frame. • It is often difficult when working under time restraints and pressure to remember the numerous elements that a poem contains. • Using this method, you may be able to do all of that … Pretty Darn - FASST
P Paraphrase the poem. • When you get right down to it, a poem is no different than a short story or a novel. They all have a plot. • Put the situation – the “plot” – of the poem into your own words. Once you know what’s going on, the easier it becomes to analyze. • Be sure to determine the speaker of the poem and examine the connotations the title may have. Question: What is the difference between “denotation” and “connotation?”
It’s all in the words Denotation Connotation • This is the dictionary definition of a word. • Clown: a: a fool, jester, or comedian in an entertainment (as a play); specifically: a grotesquely dressed comedy performer in a circus • The emotional implications and associations that a word may carry. • Clown: A freaky, face-painted harbinger of doom; a thing of nightmares.
D Diction • Examine the words in the poem. Are they heightened or plain? Modern or Antiquated? • Examine their connotations. • Always describe the diction of the poem by using adjectives (at least two) • In his poem “Those Winter Sundays,” poet Robert Hayden employs diction that is reflective,nostalgic, and melancholy to express the speaker’s longing for the chance to share his long-unspoken appreciation of his father.
F Figurative language • language that uses words or expressions with a meaning that is different from the literal interpretation • Find all that you can …
Acronyms within Acronyms I x 2 PASS U MOP • Imagery • Irony • Personification • Allusions * • Simile • Symbols • Understatement * • Metaphor • Oxymoron * • Paradox * * We will get more “in depth” with these devices in the weeks to come.
S Sound Devices • also known as musical devices, are elements of literature and poetry that emphasize sound. • The sounds created by these devices are typically either: • Euphonious (Euphony) – pleasing to the ear • Cacophonous (Cacophony) – harsh, discordant sounds
Still More Acronyms … ACORA • Alliteration • Consonance • Onomatopoeia • Rhyme • Assonance
S Syntax • How are the sentences in the poem structured? • Short? • Medium? • Long? • Inverted? • A combination of all? • Why? Yep, we’ll work the syntax, too, so if this doesn’t make sense to you yet, it will.
S Shifts • Look for shifts in speaker, tone, location, or other shifts you can find. • Only rarely will a poem stay the same throughout.
T Theme • Determine the theme of the poem. Write it in one complete sentence. • “Love” is not a theme. “Death” is not a theme. Those are thematic devices. • EX: • “Deep, enduring love is the result of time, practice, and compromise,” is a theme. • “How one faces death is just as important as how one faces life,” would also be a theme.