Then we discussed Dylan Thomas' poem "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night" and used the TP-CASTT method to analyze the poem.
Here are the steps:
T= Title:The meaning of the title without reference to the poem.
P= Paraphrase: Put the poem, line by line, in your own words. DO NOT READ INTO THE POEM. Only read on surface level. Translate the poem into your own words. And I mean translate! Word for word! Find synonyms for every possible word. Summarizing is NOT paraphrasing!
C= connotation: looking for deeper meaning. (Look at the DENOTATION of the words, then look for other readings/alternate meanings). For poetry, connotation indicates that students should examine any and all poetic devices, focusing on how such devices contribute to the meaning, the effect, or both of a poem. Students may consider imagery (especially simile, metaphor, personification), symbolism, diction, point of view, and sound devices (alliteration, onomatopoeia, rhythm, and rhyme).
C= connotation: looking for deeper meaning. (Look at the DENOTATION of the words, then look for other readings/alternate meanings). For poetry, connotation indicates that students should examine any and all poetic devices, focusing on how such devices contribute to the meaning, the effect, or both of a poem. Students may consider imagery (especially simile, metaphor, personification), symbolism, diction, point of view, and sound devices (alliteration, onomatopoeia, rhythm, and rhyme).
- Diction and symbolism
- Imagery
- Metaphors and similes
- Rhyme scheme
- End rhymes and internal rhymes
- Alliteration
- Assonance
- Consonance
- Mood
- Allusions
- Punctuation
- Personification
A= Attitude – Or tone. Examine both the speaker’s and the poet’s attitudes. Do not confuse the speaker (persona or character) with the poet (author). Look for: speaker’s attitude toward self, other characters, subject; attitudes of characters other than the speaker; attitudes of poet toward characters, subject, and reader. Explore the multiple attitudes that may be present in the poem. Rarely does a poet begin and end the poetic experience in the same place. Discovery of a poet’s understanding of an experience is critical to the understanding of a poem. Trace the feelings of the speaker from the beginning to the end, paying particular attention to the conclusion.
S= Shifts – Note shifts (changes) in speaker and attitude. Shifts can be signaled by: transition words (but, yet, however, although); punctuation (dashes, periods, colons, ellipsis); stanza divisions; changes in line/stanza length; irony (sometimes irony disguises a shift); a change in diction; a change in sound (rhyme, rhythm, sound devices).
Look for the following to find shifts:
1. Key words (but, yet, however, although) |
2. Punctuation (dashes, periods, colons, ellipsis) |
3. Stanza division |
4. Changes in line or stanza length or both |
5. Irony (sometimes irony hides shifts) |
6. Effect of structure on meaning |
7. Changes in sound (rhyme) may indicate changes in meaning |
8. Changes in diction (slang to formal language) |
T= Theme – First list what the poem is about (subjects), then determine what the poet is saying about each of those subjects. Remember, theme must be expressed as a complete sentence with a universal message.
First summarize the plot (in writing or orally); next, list the subject or subjects of the poem (moving from literal subjects to abstract concepts such as war, death, discovery); then, to determine what the poet is saying about each subject and write a complete sentence.
2. loss of a pet
3. innocence
1. Children become aware of the inevitability of death and are transformed by the knowledge.
2. The death of innocence is inevitable
