1. TP-Castt
Poetry Analysis

2. Title
Without reading the poem, consider the possible meanings of the title.

3. Paraphrase Read through the poem several times.
Don’t try to analyze the meaning of the poem at this point.
Write a brief paraphrase of the poem.
Don’t try to keep the format of the poem. In fact, the paraphrase doesn’t have to be in the format of a poem.

4. Connotation Contemplate the poem for meaning beyond the literal.
Look at all poetic devices and how they contribute to the meaning, the effect, or both, of the poem.
Pay close attention to imagery (especially simile, metaphor, and personification), symbolism, diction, point of view, and sound devices (alliteration, onomatopoeia, rhythm, and rhyme).

5. Attitude Observe both the speaker’s and the poet’s attitude (tone).
The speaker and poet can have an attitude about more than one thing in the poem.

6. Shift
Note shifts in speakers and in attitudes. Rarely does a poet begin and end the poetic experience in the same place.
Look for key words that indicate a shift (but, yet, however, although), punctuation (dashes, periods, colons, ellipsis), stanza divisions, changes in line or stanza length or both, changes in diction (slang or formal).

7. Title
Examine the title again, this time on an interpretive level.

8. Theme Determine what the poet is saying.
To determine the theme, first identify what the subject(s) of the poem is/are.
Then list a summary of events.
Finally, combine what the events and the subjects together reveal in a thematic statement.