TP-CASTT Poetry Analysis

1
TP-CASTTPoetry Analysis

• Understanding meaning and how technique enhances
  meaning

2
Summary of TP-CASTT Analysis
Title Ponder the title before reading the poem.
Paraphrase Translate the poem into our own words.
Connotation Contemplate the poem for meaning beyond the literal.
Attitude Observe both the speakers and the poets attitude (tone).
Shifts Note shifts in speaker and in attitudes
Title Examine the title again, this time on an interpretive level.
Theme Determine what the poet is saying.
3
Title

• Ponder the title before reading the poem.
• Write your first impressions of the title.
• Predict such elements as mood, tone, and theme,
  for example.

4
Paraphrase

• Translate the poem into your own words.
• This is more difficult with modern poems that are
  more similar to your own diction and syntax.
• For longer poems, work in stanzas, for shorter
  poems, work line by line.
• Focus on the literal, denotative use of the
  words, not the deeper meaning.

5
Connotation

• Contemplate the poem for meaning beyond the
  literal.
• What is the speaker actually conveying with their
  words?
• You should note holistic connotations present in
  complete stanzas
• Include specific choices of diction, idioms,
  punctuation, etc.

6
Attitude

• Observe both the speakers attitude (mood) and
  the poets attitude (tone).
• Go beyond simply naming the tone and mood
  explain how these are created.
• Comment on specific words, phrases, poetic
  devices, punctuation, etc. that the poet employs
  to convey attitude.

7
Shifts

• Note shifts in speaker, point of view, attitude,
  time, diction, syntax, punctuation, etc.
• Go beyond identifying the shift and its location
  in the poem how is it created?
• Be specific.

8
Title

• Examine the title again, this time on an
  interpretive level.
• What new insights do you have on the title after
  reading the poem?
• Note such elements as sarcasm, understatement,
  attitude, etc.

9
Theme

• Determine what the poet not the speaker-- is
  saying.
• What affect does the poet want the poem to have
  on the reader?
• A single word may be a symbol or a motif, but not
  a theme.
• Themes are complete sentences, in the third
  person, stated as a universal truth.