Analyzing Poetry with TP-CASTT: Decoding Meaning in John M. Roderick's "Passage"
The TP-CASTT strategy is an effective tool for analyzing poetry, allowing readers to extract deeper meanings from a poet's work. This method involves examining the Title, Paraphrasing the text, exploring Connotations, Assessing Attitudes, identifying Shifts, revisiting the Title, and ultimately determining the Theme. By applying this framework to John M. Roderick's poem "Passage," readers can gain insights into its complexities and nuances. This guide serves as a structured approach to understanding how each component contributes to the poem's overall significance.
Analyzing Poetry with TP-CASTT: Decoding Meaning in John M. Roderick's "Passage"
E N D
Presentation Transcript
TP-CASTT Poetry Analysis English I
Reading strategy used to analyze a poetic text • Allows the reader to decipher meaning from a poet’s work What is TP-CASTT?
T = Title • P = Paraphrase • C = Connotation • A = Attitude • S = Shift • T = Title…again • T = Theme • When analyzing a poem, one should examine each of the components outlined with TP-CASTT …starting with the first “T” to the last. What does TP-CASTT mean?
With the poem “Passage” by John M. Roderick, use the TP-CASTT strategy to decipher meaning from the poem Let’s Practice
Before you read the poem… • Make a prediction: What do you think the title “Passage” means? T = TITLE
Translate the poem in your own words. What is the poem about? Rephrase the difficult sections word for word. P = Paraphrase
Look beyond the literal meaning of key words and images to their associations. • Identify the use of poetic devices and consider how they effect meaning in the poem. • For “Passage”, look for diction, imagery, and sound devices (alliteration and onomatopoeia) C = Connotation
What is the speaker’s attitude? • What is the poet’s attitude? • How does the poet feel about the speaker, about the characters, about the subject? SPEAKER AND POET ARE DIFFERENT! A = Attitude
Where do shifts in tone, setting, voice, etc. occur? (Look for time and place, keywords, punctuation, stanza divisions, changes in length or rhyme, and sentence structure.) • What is the purpose of each shift? • How does the shift effect the meaning of the poem? S = Shifts
Reexamine the title. What do you think it means now in the context of the poem? T = Title
What is the overall theme of the poem. • THE THEME MUST BE WRITTEN IN A COMPLETE SENTENCE. Theme is a message or complete thought…NOT just one word! THEME = LOVE LOVE IS BLIND = THEME • Theme does not have to be a cliché. It is the writer’s message to the reader. What does he/she want the reader to know/learn/think? T = Theme