(On Your Week of Do Now Sheet) Questions: What is the difference between Mood and Tone? What is a Theme?

Independent Reading

TP-CASTT Poetry / Text Analysis 8th Grade Language Arts

Getting Started… This is a process to help you organize your analysis of poetry. We have already learned the vocabulary, now it’s time to put it into practice! Together, we are going to analyze “A Man” using TP-CASTT.

T is for Title Analyze the title first. (“A Man”) 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!!!!

T is for Title Title: Think about the title before reading the text to predict what it will be about. I predict that the poem will be about a man, since the title is only referring to one person, I think that this man must be someone important.

Stop: Now Read the Poem

A Man by Nina Cassian page 56 While fighting for his country, he lost an arm And was suddenly afraid: From now on, I shall only be able to do things by halves. I shall reap half a harvest. I shall be able to play either the tune or the accompaniment on the piano, but never both parts together. I shall be able to bang with only one fist on doors, and worst of all I shall only be able to half hold my love close to me. There will be things I cannot do at all, applaud for example, at shows where everyone applauds.” From that moment on, he set himself to do everything with twice as much enthusiasm. And where the arm had been torn away a wing grew A Man by Nina Cassian page 56

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 a few sentences or a page, depending on the particular poem.

“From now on, I shall only be able to do things by halves” P is for Paraphrase “From now on, I shall only be able to do things by halves” Paraphrase: After diffusing the text, translate the most challenging lines of the reading into your own words (you may need to reread the text several times) then briefly summarize what you read This line symbolizes the fact that the man now has half the ability to do what he did before. Things are not literally split in half for him to complete. Loosing an arm took away the everyday power the man used to have.

C is for Connotation ONOMATOPEIA apostrophe ASSONANCE alliteration Analyze the figures of speech and sound effects of the poem. These are the poetry vocabulary we have already studied. These elements add to the meaning. alliteration RHYME personification diction onomatopoeia meter simile ONOMATOPEIA HYPERBOLE metaphor consonance

C is for Connotation Connotation: Mark the text by highlighting the diction (words and phrases) used for positive effect (color 1) and/or negative effect (color 2). Then, study the diction to determine a pattern (e.g., mostly negative begins negatively but ends positively) and record your analysis.

A Man by Nina Cassian page 56 While fighting for his country, he lost an arm And was suddenly afraid: From now on, I shall only be able to do things by halves. I shall reap half a harvest. I shall be able to play either the tune or the accompaniment on the piano, but never both parts together. I shall be able to bang with only one fist on doors, and worst of all I shall only be able to half hold my love close to me. There will be things I cannot do at all, applaud for example, at shows where everyone applauds.” From that moment on, he set himself to do everything with twice as much enthusiasm. And where the arm had been torn away a wing grew A Man by Nina Cassian page 56

C is for Connotation Connotation: Mark the text by highlighting the diction (words and phrases) used for positive effect (color 1) and/or negative effect (color 2). Then, study the diction to determine a pattern (e.g., mostly negative begins negatively but ends positively) and record your analysis. Reap, Play, Love, Applaud, Enthusiasm, Wing, Grew Fighting, Lost, Afraid, Never, Bang, Worst, Cannot, Torn By looking at the diction (word choice) we can see that the poem begins negatively and ends positively

A is for Attitude Tone: The attitude of the author or speaker toward the subject of the poem.

A is for Attitude Attitude: Determine how the writer or speaker feels about the subject of the text (There might be more than one tone.) Highlight words that convey tone. Be sure to use precise tone words (e.g. mournful, not sad). Finally, summarize the tone. In the beginning, the speaker feels dissatisfied and hopeless about the loss of his arm. The tone is dreary or sad. By the end, the speaker feels optimistic and renewed, he feels as though he can do anything. The tone changes to hopeful.

Don’t Confuse : Tone & Mood! * Tone is the author's or the poet's attitude towards his or her subject. * Therefore, the tone in this poem would be how Nina Cassian feels about servicemen returning from battle and returning to daily life. * The tone seems to be hopeful since in the end the man’s feelings change into enthusiasm & happiness.

S is for Shift If there is a change in… Time Tone Mood Speaker This should always be noted as this will also affect the meaning.

Shift in Mood Mood is how the poem makes the reader or the listener feel. For example: But the beginning of the poem, the mood is fearful and angry because the man is upset he lost his arm. But, the mood becomes more optimistic towards the end of the poem as the reader discovers the soldier wants to push himself to continue life normally .

S is for Shift Shift: Identify shifts, such as in the speaker, setting, subject, tone, or images. After marking the text with a star and numbering each, study and explain the shifts. There is a great shift in the mood of the poem. In the beginning, the mood is scared and angry because the man lost his arm and thinks that he will not be able to accomplish anything. However, by the end of the poem, the mood shifts to happiness and optimism. The man says he will do things with twice the enthusiasm.

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?

T is for Title (again) “A MAN” Ideas: Strength Being alone Protection Examine the title to determine the deeper meaning. Look beyond the literal, even if the title is simple (e.g. “Choices”). Record ideas. “A MAN” Ideas: Strength Being alone Protection Mystery

T is for Theme As you already know, theme is a universal lesson or message 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 the Theme? Look at the other parts of TP-CASTT. What insight are all of these working together to convey? What is the poet trying to say about life?

T is for Theme Theme: Determine the message about life implied in the poem. After you identify a subject (e.g. friendship), write a statement about the subject that sounds like a piece of advice (e.g. For a friendship to survive, one must be selfless, not selfish.) Record your theme statement(s). The theme of Nina Cassian’s poem, “A Man”, is that you need to believe in yourself in order to overcome challenges life may present to you. In the beginning, the soldier does not think he will be able to do anything since he lost his arm. But, he started to believe in himself and by the end of the poem he was determined to enthusiastically do things as he did before.

On Your Own: Read the first 5 pages of Chapter 19 of Lightning Thief Complete the chart for TP-CASTT Illustrate one Letter for TP-CASTT Homework: HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND 