1. TPCASTT
Analyzing poetry

2. Title
Before reading a poem, make a guess at what the poem will be about based only on the TITLE. Use prior knowledge and personal experience to anticipate the poem’s meaning.

3. Paraphrase
Paraphrase is NOT the same as summarize; to paraphrase is to translate figurative to literal. Paraphrasing is a thought-by-thought translation of the poem (not word-for-word or line-by-line).

4. Identify and explain one or several poetic devises.
Connotation
Identify and explain one or several poetic devises.
Imagery (five senses)
Figurative language (simile, metaphor, personification, symbolism, allusion, etc.)
Diction (intentional word choice)
Point of View (the speaker of the poem and his/her impact on the content)
Sound Devices (alliteration, onomatopoeia, consonance, assonance, rhythm, rhyme, etc.)
It is not necessary that you identify all the poetic devices within the poem, but it is key that you note the ones that most impact the meaning of the poem itself.

5. What is the speaker’s attitude about the main idea of the poem?
Answer the questions:
What is the speaker’s attitude about the main idea of the poem?
How does this attitude impact the overall tone?
Note: the tone/attitude often cannot be captured with a single word. Often a phrase or a sentence is necessary. Stay away from overly general descriptors such as “dark,” “nice,” “happy,” or “sad.”

6. Shift Identify and explain the change that occurs at the SHIFT.
Rarely does a poem begin and end in the same poetic place. Often, a speaker’s understanding of an experience is a gradual realization, and therefore the poem is a reflection of that growing understanding/insight. Watch for the following to note when a shift occurs:
key words (but, yet, however, although)
punctuation (dashes, periods, colons, ellipsis)
stanza divisions/changes in line length, stanza length, or both
Changes in tone (a sudden ironic element)
changes in sound that may indicate changes in meaning
changes in diction (specifically the diction’s tone)
Changes in subject matter/focus
Changes in narration
Changes in time (today/tomorrow)

7. Title (revisited)
After reading the poem, analyzing the poem, and understanding the poem, return to the title. Now that you’ve read, make a connection between the poem and it’s title based on “TPCAS” above.

8. Theme
What does the poem say about the human experience, motivation, or condition? What idea does the poet want you take away with you concerning the human experience? Use these words  Every, all, none, everyone, no one, always, never

9. six traits of a well written theme:
it should be expressed in a statement with a subject and a predicate (a complete sentence)
it should be stated as a generalization about the human experience: specific characters, locations, and dates are unnecessary
Avoid making a generalizations larger than what is justified by the terms of the story
A theme is the central and unifying concept of a piece, thereby it must account for all major details in the poem and cannot be contradicted by any details in the poem (nor can it rely upon supposed facts)
There is no one way to state a theme: one theme may be phrased in a variety of ways
Avoid reducing a theme to a familiar saying or cliché that has been heard by many, such as “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” or “You must walk in another man’s shoes in order to fully understand him”

10. TITLE: What might the title mean
TITLE: What might the title mean? (pre-reading) PARAPHRASE: Literal translation of a stanza. CONNOTATION: Identify and explain one figurative language device. ATTITUDE: How does the speaker feel about the main idea of the poem? SHIFT: Identify a shift (change) in the time or tone of the poem and describe the change. TITLE: What does the title mean? (post-reading) THEME: What idea does the poet want you take away from reading this poem?