TP-CASTTTP-CASTTTP-CASTTTP-CASTT Strategy for Analyzing Poetry

Title BEFORE YOU READ A POEM, LOOK AT THE TITLE… oWhat does it make you think of? oWhat do you think the topic may be? oAny ideas as to the possible theme? oWho might be “speaking”? oWhat mood does it set?

Paraphrase oThe easiest way to understand something is to put it in your own words. oHow would you summarize each stanza if you were telling a friend about it? oThink back to the “fancy” definition of poetry—wasn’t it easier to understand when we put it in our own words?!?

Connotation oTHIS IS WHEN YOU HAVE TO THINK ABOUT… MOOD!!! oImagery oFigures of Speech (simile, metaphor, personification, symbolism, hyperbole, etc.) oDiction oPoint of View oSound Devices (alliteration, onomatopoeia, rhythm, and rhyme)

Attitude oWhat is the speaker’s attitude towards the poem’s topic? (TONE!!!) oLook back at the literary devices under “Connotation.” These same things should help you figure out how the speaker feels about the topic.

Shift (NO! NO! NO! NOT the stuff you stepped in!) oDoes the attitude/tone shift (CHANGE)? oLook for words, such as but, however, although oLook for punctuation, such as periods, colons, dashes oHow is the poem divided—does it have stanzas? Is there a change in tone at the beginning or end of a stanza? Does the length of the stanza change?

Title Title (AGAIN????) o“But, Mrs. Dollar, you already said title!!!!” oLook back at it, now that you have read the poem. Ask yourself if the meaning of title has changed from your first impression. oWhy do you think the poet titled it this?

Theme!!!!!!! oWhat is THE POINT? oWhat message is the poet trying to get across? oWhat did you learn? oRemember that the theme of any work of literature usually has to do with HUMAN NATURE or LIFE.