Feb 27 - Poetry Today we will begin our unit on poetry During this unit you will learn how to understand, analyze, respond to and write about poetry During this unit, you will… Practice the above-mentioned skills Write responses to AP-style poetry essay prompts Practice multiple choice questions Prepare and present a detailed analysis of a poem to the class To begin, we will be looking at a strategy for analyzing poetry called TPSFASTT

Analyzing Poetry: TPSFASTT Title: Determine the literal meaning of the title. Complete this before reading the poem. In some cases the title will give you a clue about the content of the poem, and in others it provide crucial information to assist in understanding. Paraphrase: Read the poem, and then determine what it literally means in your own words (This can be very difficult when a poem has abstract meaning.) Don’t jump to interpretation – a failure to understand the literal meaning may lead to an interpretive misunderstanding.

Analyzing Poetry: TPSFASTT Speaker: Identify the speaker of the poem. Remember, always distinguish the speaker from the poet – they are not always the same. Figurative Language: Examine the poem for language that is not used literally. This includes, but is not limited to literary devices such as imagery, symbolism, metaphor, allusion, litotes, the effect of sound devices (alliteration, consonance, assonance, rhyme, onomatopoeia), and any other devices used in a non-literal manner

Analyzing Poetry: TPSFASTT Attitude: Determine the feelings or attitudes expressed by the speaker. Watch punctuation, word choice and sound usage for clues. Shift: Note shifts in speaker and attitude. Shifts can be indicated by the occasion of the poem (time and place), turn words (but, yet) , punctuation, stanza divisions, changes in line or stanza length, etc. Look for any indication that something has changed. There should be a break, when the speaker ends one manner of speech, changes point of view, or pauses to consider something other than the subject. This is known as the shift, referring to the shift in thought.

Analyzing Poetry: TPSFASTT Title: After unlocking the puzzle of the poem itself, return to the title. The connotations you uncovered before analyzing the body can now be matched up to your interpretation of the title to see if they apply, or add any fresh perspectives. Theme: Identify the subject(s) of the poem, and determine what the poet is saying about the subject(s). Interpret the meaning of the poem. Make connections.