TP-CASTT How to Respond to a Poem

A NALYZING P OETRY Students often find reading a poem to be intimidating Poetic language is different from everyday speech Writers shape language in unusual ways to achieve an effect It’s helpful to have a systematic way to approach reading a poem

TP-CASTT A mnemonic device; helps to remember what you should look at in a poem. Title Paraphrase Connotation Attitude Shifts Theme Title

T ITLE Sometimes a title can reveal something important It may make you form an image that the poet will use in the poem It may be a reference to something that adds meaning to the poem

P ARAPHRASE It is always helpful to try and restate the poem in your own words. Before you can work with the poem in detail, you have to know what it is about

C ONNOTATION This is the most detailed part of the analysis It involves almost any aspect of a poem The meaning of words The use of symbols Figurative language and poetic devices You must look carefully at specific parts of the poem and consider what effect they have on your understanding.

A TTITUDE The speaker in the poem will have an attitude about the thing that is being spoken about. Does the attitude express love, hate, warmth, indifference? How does the language of the poem shape its attitude?

S HIFTS A shift is a change Most poems have changes that are noticeable The changes might include Time Tone Point of view Attitude

T HEME What are the main ideas present in the poem? How does the poet make those ideas clear?

T ITLE (A GAIN ) After working with the poem, look at the title one last time. Is there meaning that you can see in the title now that you couldn’t recognize before you read the poem?