1. TPCASTT
Poetry Analysis

2. Title
 Examine the LITERAL meaning of the title
before reading the poem.

3. Paraphrase
 Translate the poem line by line into your
own words.
 Resist jumping into interpretation; you are
looking at literal meaning.

4. Connotation
 Examine the poem for meaning beyond the literal
translation. Look for:
 Diction: word choice
 Imagery: word pictures (5 senses)
 Figures of Speech: metaphor, simile, personification,
allusion, etc.
 Musical Devices: alliteration, onomatopoeia, rhythm,
rhyme scheme, etc.
 Irony: surprising, interesting, or amusing contradictions
 Symbolism: word, phrase, or other object that stands for
something else

5. Attitude
 Tone-- look for the speaker’s tone and the
author’s tone. What are their attitudes
toward the audience?

6. Shifts
 Note shifts in the speaker or attitude
 Occasion: time and place
 Key words: “but,” “yet,” etc.
 Punctuation: dashes, periods, colons
 Stanza length/change in foot: notice when the
poem seems to speed up or slow down

7. Title
 Look at the title on an INTERPRETIVE
level.

8. Theme
 First list what the poem is about (subjects)
then determine what the poet is saying
about each of these subjects.
 Express the theme as a complete
sentence.

9. In addition to these items, make sure you
can answer the following questions:
 Who is the speaker in this poem?
 Who is the audience for the poem?
 What is the purpose of this poem?
Does the author achieve it?

10. Literary Association
 What song, movie, book, or story comes to
mind when you read this poem? Why
does this other piece of literature remind
you of this poem? What do they have in
common?

11. Personal Association
 What does this poem remind you of from
your own life?

12. One more thing…
 Use these symbols the first time you read
the poem:
 * = This word or line is cool
 ! = This is something important
 ? = I don’t get it: I don’t understand
this line or phrase