1. Poetry Analysis English I
TP-CASTT
Poetry Analysis
English I

2. What is TP-CASTT? Reading strategy used to analyze a poetic text
Allows the reader to decipher meaning from a poet’s work
What is TP-CASTT?

3. What does TP-CASTT mean?
T = Title
P = Paraphrase
C = Connotation
A = Attitude
S = Shift
T = Title…again
T = Theme
When analyzing a poem, one should examine each of the components outlined with TP-CASTT
…starting with the first “T” to the last.
What does TP-CASTT mean?

4. With the poem “Passage” by John M
With the poem “Passage” by John M. Roderick, use the TP-CASTT strategy to decipher meaning from the poem
Let’s Practice

5. T = TITLE Before you read the poem…
Make a prediction: What do you think the title “Passage” means?
T = TITLE

6. Translate the poem in your own words. What is the poem about
Translate the poem in your own words. What is the poem about? Rephrase the difficult sections word for word.
P = Paraphrase

7. Look beyond the literal meaning of key words and images to their associations.
Identify the use of poetic devices and consider how they effect meaning in the poem.
For “Passage”, look for diction, imagery, and sound devices (alliteration and onomatopoeia)
C = Connotation

8. SPEAKER AND POET ARE DIFFERENT!
What is the speaker’s attitude?
What is the poet’s attitude?
How does the poet feel about the speaker, about the characters, about the subject?
SPEAKER AND POET ARE DIFFERENT!
A = Attitude

9. Where do shifts in tone, setting, voice, etc. occur
Where do shifts in tone, setting, voice, etc. occur? (Look for time and place, keywords, punctuation, stanza divisions, changes in length or rhyme, and sentence structure.)
What is the purpose of each shift?
How does the shift effect the meaning of the poem?
S = Shifts

10. Reexamine the title. What do you think it means now in the context of the poem?
T = Title

11. T = Theme What is the overall theme of the poem.
THE THEME MUST BE WRITTEN IN A COMPLETE SENTENCE. Theme is a message or complete thought…NOT just one word!
THEME = LOVE LOVE IS BLIND = THEME
Theme does not have to be a cliché. It is the writer’s message to the reader. What does he/she want the reader to know/learn/think?
T = Theme