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Poetry Analysis Intro. TPCASTT. Introduction to Poetry Billy Collins. I ask them to take a poem and hold it up to the light like a color slide or press an ear against its hive. I say drop a mouse into a poem and watch him probe his way out,
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Poetry Analysis Intro TPCASTT
Introduction to PoetryBilly Collins • I ask them to take a poemand hold it up to the lightlike a color slide • or press an ear against its hive. • I say drop a mouse into a poemand watch him probe his way out, • or walk inside the poem's roomand feel the walls for a light switch. • I want them to waterskiacross the surface of a poemwaving at the author's name on the shore. • But all they want to dois tie the poem to a chair with ropeand torture a confession out of it. • They begin beating it with a hoseto find out what it really means.
Poetry Terms • Imagery: Anything that appeals to the five senses. • Sight, Sound, Taste, Touch, Smell • Simile: A comparison of two things using the words like or as. • Her hair was black like the feathers of a crow in winter. • Metaphor: A comparison of two unlike things without using the words like or as. • Her hair was the black feathers of a crow in winter. • Personification: Giving nonhuman things human characteristics. • The tree danced with the grace of a ballerina in the wind • Symbol: When an ordinary object stands for something beyond itself. • A flag is just a piece of cloth but it represents a country’s individuality. • Rhythm: A repetition of sound paterns • Ba duh, ba duh, ba duh, ba duh • Meter: The pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables.
TPCASTT • Title: Ponder the title before reading the poem • Paraphrase: Translate the poem into your own words • Connotation: Look at the poet’s word choice; find one or two words that seem odd/different/interesting. Ask yourself: Why did the poet choose that word? What does it convey? How would a different word affect the mood/tone/message of the poem? • Attitude: Identify what the poem is about and then explain how you are supposed to feel about that thing • Shifts: Note shifts in speaker, message, and/or attitude • Title: Examine the title again, this on an interpretive level (now that you understand more about the poem) • Theme: Determine what thematic message the poet is conveying
Practice • A Poison Tree – William Blake • Look at the title and attempt to predict what the poem will be about.
A Poison Tree – William Blake • I was angry with my friend:I told my wrath, my wrath did end.I was angry with my foe:I told it not, my wrath did grow.And I watered it in fearsNight and morning with my tears,And I sunned it with smilesAnd with soft deceitful wiles.And it grew both day and night,Till it bore an apple bright,And my foe beheld it shine,And he knew that it was mine - And into my garden stoleWhen the night had veiled the pole;In the morning, glad, I seeMy foe outstretched beneath the tree. • Paraphrase the literal meaning or “plot” of the poem. A true understanding of the poem must evolve from comprehension of “what’s going on in the poem.”
A Poison Tree – William Blake • I was angry with my friend:I told my wrath, my wrath did end.I was angry with my foe:I told it not, my wrath did grow.And I watered it in fearsNight and morning with my tears,And I sunned it with smilesAnd with soft deceitful wiles.And it grew both day and night,Till it bore an apple bright,And my foe beheld it shine,And he knew that it was mine - And into my garden stoleWhen the night had veiled the pole;In the morning, glad, I seeMy foe outstretched beneath the tree. • For poetry, connotation indicates that students should examine any and all poetic devices, focusing on how such devices contribute to the meaning, the effect, or both of a poem. Students may consider imagery (especially simile, metaphor, personification), symbolism, diction, point of view, and sound devices (alliteration, onomatopoeia, rhythm, and rhyme).
A Poison Tree – William Blake • I was angry with my friend:I told my wrath, my wrath did end.I was angry with my foe:I told it not, my wrath did grow.And I watered it in fearsNight and morning with my tears,And I sunned it with smilesAnd with soft deceitful wiles.And it grew both day and night,Till it bore an apple bright,And my foe beheld it shine,And he knew that it was mine - And into my garden stoleWhen the night had veiled the pole;In the morning, glad, I seeMy foe outstretched beneath the tree. • Having examined the poem’s devices and clues closely, you are ready to explore the multiple attitudes that may be present in the poem.
A Poison Tree – William Blake • I was angry with my friend:I told my wrath, my wrath did end.I was angry with my foe:I told it not, my wrath did grow.And I watered it in fearsNight and morning with my tears,And I sunned it with smilesAnd with soft deceitful wiles.And it grew both day and night,Till it bore an apple bright,And my foe beheld it shine,And he knew that it was mine - And into my garden stoleWhen the night had veiled the pole;In the morning, glad, I seeMy foe outstretched beneath the tree. • Rarely does a poet begin and end the poetic experience in the same place. Discovery of a poet’s understanding of an experience is critical to the understanding of a poem. Trace the feelings of the speaker from the beginning to the end, paying particular attention to the conclusion. • Look for the following to find shifts: • 1. Key words (but, yet, however, although) • 2. Punctuation (dashes, periods, colons, ellipsis) • 3. Stanza division • 4. Changes in line or stanza length or both • 5. Irony (sometimes irony hides shifts) • 6. Effect of structure on meaning • 7. Changes in sound (rhyme) may indicate changes in meaning 8. Changes in diction (slang to formal language)
A Poison Tree – William Blake • Examine the title again, this time on an interpretive level.
A Poison Tree – William Blake • I was angry with my friend:I told my wrath, my wrath did end.I was angry with my foe:I told it not, my wrath did grow.And I watered it in fearsNight and morning with my tears,And I sunned it with smilesAnd with soft deceitful wiles.And it grew both day and night,Till it bore an apple bright,And my foe beheld it shine,And he knew that it was mine - And into my garden stoleWhen the night had veiled the pole;In the morning, glad, I seeMy foe outstretched beneath the tree. • Identify the theme by recognizing the human experience, motivation, or condition suggested by the poem. • Remember: Theme is always a STATEMENT, not a single word, and not a cliché.
Practice on a poem of choice (Thematic connection to P&P) The Garden of Love (Diyanni 936) The Ruined Maid (Diyanni 947) Complete a TPCASTT. Decide which it is better to be. What did you learn about the period? • Complete a TPCASTT. • Decide why the garden changes. • What did you learn about the period?