Poetry Analysis Using TP-CASTT
What the heck is TP-CASTT? TP-CASTT is a process to help you organize your analysis of poetry. When successful, you will reveal true and deeper meanings in a poem; thus, write stronger literary analysis essays and have better understanding of the poem.
T is for TITLE Poets often conceal meaning and give clues in the title. Analyze the title first: What do you predict this poem will be about? Write down your predictions.
READ THE POEM!!!!
P is for PARAPHRASE Paraphrasing is putting something in your own words. After reading the poem, rewrite it in your own words. This may be three sentences or a page, depending on the particular poem. While this may seem tedious and boring, it is a way to make you think about the poem line by line.
C is for CONNOTATION: CONNECT TO MEANING Sound Terms: alliteration, assonance, consonance, end rhyme, internal rhyme, diction Figurative Language: personification, metaphor, simile, synecdoche, hyperbole, symbolism, imagery, understatement, irony, paradox *Analyze the figures of speech and sound elements of the poem. *Use your literary terms for analyzing.
A is for ATTITUDE Tone is the attitude of the speaker toward the subject of the poem. What is the tone of this poem? Check out diction, imagery and details.
S is for SHIFTS Check out: *key words (but, yet..) *punctuation (dashes, periods, colons, etc.) *stanza divisions and length/ line length *irony *changes in diction (formal to informal, etc.)
T is for TITLE (again) At this time, you should interpret the title. Were you right in your predictions? What other meanings might the title have in light of your analysis? If you still have no clue as to what the title means, reread the poem because you are missing something big.
T is for THEME Theme is the general insight into life conveyed by the author through his/her work. It does not make a judgment. Ex. “Don’t do drugs” is not a theme; it is a moral.
How do I find the THEME? What subject(s) was addressed in the poem? What idea does the poet want you to take with you concerning these subjects? Remember to write your theme in a complete sentence without “you” and without clichés.