TP-CASTT A Directed System of Analyzing Poetry (to make it more accessible!)

Merging an example with the process of analysis

T for TITLE… CONSIDER POSSIBLE MEANINGS A poet selects a title for a reason, so before reading the poem, ask yourself what the title may mean in relation to the content.

T for TITLE… SYMPATHY by Paul Lawrence Dunbar

SYMPATHY… “The capacity to share feelings” (encarta). This is going to be a poem about emotions – possibly discovering them and sharing them.

TP-PARAPHRASE… Paraphrase – READ THE POEM and then paraphrase the lines Don’t jump to find a meaning Look at complete lines and other punctuation

Sympathy I know what the caged bird feels, alas! When the sun is bright on the upland slopes; When the wind stirs soft through the springing grass, And the river flows like a stream of glass; When the first bird sings and the first bud opes, And the faint perfume from its chalice steals – I know what the caged bird feels! I know why the caged bird beats his wing Till its blood is red on the cruel bars; For he must fly back to his perch and cling When he fain would be on the bough a-swing; And a pain still throbs in the old, old scars And they pulse again with a keener sting – I know why the caged bird beats his wing!

I know why the caged bird sings, ah me, When his wing is bruised and his bosom sore, -- When he beats his bars and he would be free; It is not a carol of joy or glee, But a prayer that he sends from his heart’s deep core, But a plea, that upward to Heaven he flings – I know why the caged bird sings!

Take it line by line… I know what the caged bird feels, alas! (Heck, I know what the cooped-up bird is feeling!) When the sun is bright on the upland slopes; (When it’s a sunny day outside;) When the wind stirs soft through the springing grass, (When I can hear the wind blowing softly through the grass,) And the river flows like a stream of glass; (And the water is as smooth as glass;) When the first bird sings and the first bud opes, (When the bird sings and the flowers blossom,) And the faint perfume from its chalice steals – (And I can smell the pretty flower smell --) I know what the caged bird feels! (I know what the cooped-up bird is feeling!)

Continue line by line… I know why the caged bird beats his wing ( I know why he’s doing that) Till its blood is red on the cruel bars; (Until his blood is dripping on the bar in his cage;) For he must fly back to his perch and cling (Because he has to go back and sit there) And he fain would be on the bough a-swing; (And he’d rather be swinging on a tree limb;) And a pain still throbs in the old, old scars (And he still hurts, especially where he used to hurt) And they pulse again with a keener sting – (And it hurts even more now --) I know why the caged bird beats his wing! (I know why he’s doing that!)

Continue line by line… I know why the caged bird sings, ah me, (Gosh, I know why the cooped-up bird sings,) When his wing is bruised and his bosom sore, -- (When his wing and chest hurt, --) When he beats his bars and he would be free; (When he smacks at his bars to try to earn his freedom;) It is not a carol of joy or glee, (It is not a song of joy or celebration,) But a prayer that he sends from his heart’s deep core, (But a prayer from deep within,) But a plea, that upward to Heaven he flings – (But a plea that he sends up to Heaven --) I know why the caged bird sings! (I know why the cooped-up bird sings!)

TP-C- Connotation Connotation – “the associated or secondary meaning of a word or expression in addition to its explicit or primary meaning” (dictionary.com). Look at the way the poem is written and consider the following:  Diction, imagery, symbolism, allusions, irony, the effect of sound devices (alliteration, onomatopoeia, rhyme, etc.) What do you think it could all mean?

DICTION: “The style of speaking or writing as dependent upon choice of words” (dictionary.com).  alas!  till  chalice (cup-shaped flower) steals  upland slopes  faint perfume  caged bird  plea  prayer  heaven  carol  flings  keener  I know, I know, I know (what, why)  feels This is not written in the vernacular, but rather has the spirit of a hymn (plea, prayer, heaven, carol, chalice, alas, till). Hymns are also sensory, heart-felt, and experiential, which is consistent with the use of “I know.”

Imagery: “The formation of mental images or likenesses…” (dictionary.com).  A bright, sunny day outside  A bird beating itself up against the bars of its cage inside  A river flowing outside  Blood running inside  A persistent bird beating itself up against the bars of its cage  Birds outside singing and flowers blooming  The caged bird flying back to its perch in even more pain – wanting freedom…  Someone (I) knowing what that bird feels and why it sings  Someone (I) knowing why the bird continues to beat its wings  The music of a bird’s song – it’s so beautiful  But it’s not a beautiful carol  It’s a prayer sent from deep within to heaven  Freedom  Someone (I) know(s) why!!

Symbolism: “The practice of representing things by symbols, or of investing things with a symbolic meaning or character” (dictionary.com). Knowledge of the poet is helpful in this case. Paul Lawrence Dunbar was the son of former slaves. On a symbolic level, the bird could represent the slaves who were held on plantations, longing to be free. They sang their songs/hymns, which sounded so beautiful to their “owners,” but which were actually prayers for freedom.

Symbolism continued…  Evidence supports this interpretation…  The bird sees the outside world, but cannot reach it. The bird sees fellow birds (whites) functioning in that free world. He fights his fate, but still cannot earn freedom.  Slaves so often kept their faith, believing that God would deliver them.  The poem itself is a descriptive, musical prayer (diction) of understanding.

Alliteration: the repetition of beginning consonant sounds When the wind stirs soft through the springing grass The effect of this sound device? Musical, soothing -- HYMNLIKE, which fits in with the symbolism discussed.

Irony: “A technique of indicating, as through character or plot device, an intention or attitude opposite to that which is actually or ostensibly stated” (dictionary.com).  How ironic is it that we think the bird is singing a “carol” of “joy” or “glee,” when in actuality, it is a prayer born of pain and suffering? It is a “plea” to “Heaven” that he “flings,” begging for his freedom.  The irony here is that a caged bird’s song is ever thought of as beautiful music!

Rhyme  The rhyme scheme is: abaabcc deddedd fgffgdd The effect? Once again, there is a musical quality here; it is deceptively soothing and punctuating.

TP-CA - Attitude Attitude: Don’t confuse the author with the persona (speaker in the poem) Look for the speaker’s attitude toward self, toward other characters in the poem, and toward the subject of the poem Look at the attitudes of characters other than the speaker

Who is the speaker? “I know why the caged bird sings…”  The speaker identifies with and understands the bird.  Perhaps the speaker, like the bird, is someone longing for his individual freedom.  Perhaps the speaker feels ‘caged’ by outside influences.  Perhaps the speaker feels trapped by the color of his skin, by financial circumstances, by physical limitations, by earthly concerns.  The speaker ‘gets it’ long before we do, and must help us see, feel, and hear the truth. He/She does so with passion.

TP-CAS: SHIFTS Look for: Occasion of the poem (time and place), key words, punctuation, stanza divisions, changes in line/stanza length, effect of structure on meaning.

Repetition of lines “I know what the caged bird feels, alas!” “I know what the caged bird feels!” “I know why the caged bird beats his wing” “I know why the caged bird sings, ah me,” “I know why the caged bird sings!”  Hymns and songs have refrains  Each of these insights is into a feeling or an action/reaction. The speaker repeats these insights at the beginning and end of each stanza, just as the bird repeats the action. The speaker’s words are a declaration of understanding – of SYMPATHY! The speaker has the power to make a difference with his words; yet, the bird is destined to continue his pattern of caged action without freedom.

TP-CAST: TITLE Examine again on an interpretive level  SYMPATHY – The speaker obviously feels sympathy for the caged bird, whom we now know is not singing for our entertainment, but rather because he longs for his freedom.  A question to be asked now is what is going on in the head of the speaker? What brought him to this point in his journey, that he knows how the caged bird feels?  Should we feel sympathy for the speaker; is he/she trapped by modern-day figurative bars?

TP-CASTT: THEME What is the poem truly about? Express the theme as a complete sentence and expand… The author feels sympathy for a bird trapped in a cage. He declares that sympathy and asks us to understand it on more than just the concrete level. Confinement vs. freedom is, therefore, at issue. We must consider how we relate to those who are denied their freedom, for whatever reason. Perhaps we are confined by lifestyle, disability, race, sex, or education. We must look within to decide how we react to our “bars,” and what we ask of others who are in a position to feel sympathetic. What do we want others to know about our personal circumstances? What do we want/expect them to do, if anything? What is my heaven-sent prayer for freedom?

A Change Made in Recent Years… TPC/FASTT The C is now accompanied by the F, which stands for FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE.

Snowy Egret Bruce Weigl My neighbor's boy has lifted his father's shotgun and stolen down to the backwaters of the Elizabeth and in the moon he's blasted a snowy egret from the shallows it stalked for small fish. Midnight. My wife wakes me. He's in the backyard with a shovel so I go down half drunk with pills that let me sleep to see what I can see and if it's safe. The boy doesn't hear me come across the dewy grass. He says through tears he has to bury it, he says his father will kill him and he digs until the hole is deep enough and gathers the egret carefully into his arms as if not to harm the blood-splattered wings gleaming in the flashlight beam.

Snowy Egret, con’t. His man's muscled shoulders shake with the weight of what he can't set right no matter what, but one last time he tries to stay a child, sobbing please don't tell.... He says he only meant to flush it from the shadows, but only meant to watch it fly but the shot spread too far ripping into the white wings spanned awkwardly for a moment until it glided into brackish death. I want to grab his shoulders, Shake the lies loose from his lips but he hurts enough, he burns with shame for what he's done, with fear for his hard father's fists I've seen crash down on him for so much less. I don't know what do to but hold him. If I let go he'll fly to pieces before me. What a time we share, that can make a good boy steal away, wiping out from the blue face of the pond what he hadn't even known he loved, blasting such beauty into nothing.