TPCASTT

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TP-CASTT

• A Method for Poetry Analysis

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T-Title

• Examine the title before reading the poem.
• Consider connotations.
• What are connotations? The set of ideas
  associated with a word.

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P-Paraphrase

• Translate the poem into your own words
  (literal/denotation). Resist the urge to jump to
  interpretation. A failure to understand what
  happens literally inevitably leads to an
  interpretive misunderstanding.
• What is the poem about?

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C-Connotation

• What meaning does the poem have beyond the
  literal meaning?
• Form Allusions
• Diction Symbolism
• Imagery Details
• Point of View Sound Devices

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A-Attitude

• Tone
• What is the speakers attitude?
• How does the speaker feel about himself, others,
  and the subject?
• What is the authors attitude?
• How does the author feel about the speaker, other
  characters, the subject, and the reader?

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S-Shift

• Where do the shifts in tone, setting, and voice
  occur?
• Look for time, place, keywords, punctuations,
  stanza divisions, and changes in line and/or
  stanza length.
• What is the purpose of each shift?
• How do they contribute to the effect and
  meaning?

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T-Title

• Reanalyze the title on an interpretive level.
• What part does the title play in the overall
  interpretation of the poem?

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T-Theme

• List the subjects and the abstract ideas in the
  poem.
• Then determine the overall theme.
• The theme must be written in a complete sentence.
• Theme is a central message or insight into life
  revealed through the literary work.

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Fog

• Fog
• the fog comes
• on little cat feet.
• It sits looking
• over harbor and city
• on silent haunches
• and then moves on.

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Title

• The title Fog implies something quiet that
  enters and exits without warning.

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Paraphrase

• The poem compares the fog that enters the city to
  a cat.
• Both the fog and the cat arrive without warning,
  look at the surroundings, and then slip away.
• The fog and the cat are powerful and mysterious.

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Connotation

• The words evoke a feeling of silence, stealth,
  power and mystery.
• The poetic device is, of course, a metaphor,
  comparing the cat to the fog.
• Why did the writer use the words, little,
  looking, and haunches?

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Attitude

• Both a cat and the fog are elusive.
• Cats are notoriously fickle and refuse to be
  trained or controlled.
• They wont succumb to anyones expectations.

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Shifts

• The shift from the cat to the fog is as subtle as
  these two elements themselves.
• The first stanza is very short. Why is it short?
• Why is the whole poem so short?

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Title

• After reading and analyzing the poem, what does
  the title mean now?

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Theme

• Moments in life are powerful, yet elusive.