1. ANALYZING POEMS SYSTEMATICALLY
TPCASTT
TITLE (ON SPECULATIVE LEVEL)
PARAPHRASE (DENOTATION)
CONNOTATION (FIGURATIVE DEVICES)
ATTITUDE (SPEAKER’S ATTITUDE AND TONE)
SHIFT
TITLE (AGAIN, THIS TIME ON INTERPRETIVE LEVEL)
THEMES

2. KEY WORDS TO KNOW – ADD TO NOTES
Connotation: emotional overtones associated with a word
Denotation: Literal meaning of the word
Cacophony: Harsh, discordant sounds placed together for effect
Euphony: Musical, pleasing sounds placed together for effect

3. “OUT, OUT” BY ROBERT FROST
We have already established a paraphrase for the poem.
Time to go deeper and see what makes this poem effective.
Added contextual notes:
Written during 1916, during the height of the First World War

4. DECONSTRUCT THE POEM Use TPCASTT if necessary to aid understanding
Deconstruct “Out, Out” by Robert Frost, focusing on the following elements:
1. Radiant images
2. Metonymy
3. Consonance (words chosen for emotional effect)
4. Cacophony, euphony and other sound elements
5. Context – does the era in which it was written suggest anything about the poem you had not considered before?