Poetry English 9

TP-CASTT
Method to Interpret Poetry

TP-CASTT
Does poetry puzzle
you?
Do you ask yourself the
following questions:
Why dont poets say
what they mean?
How do these lines fit
together?
How can I figure out
what this poem means?

TP-CASTT
T Title
P Paraphrase
C Connotation
A Attitude (Tone)
S Shifts
T Title (Again)
T - Theme

TP-CASTT

TITLE
READ THE TITLE CAREFULLY!

What can you infer from the

title?

What does the title mean

to
you?

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Paraphrase
Translate or write the poem in your own
words. Identify and define any unknown
words.

Identify the literal meaning of the poem.

Do words in the poem have more than one meaning?
Write out the poem in your own words.
Do not skip the parts you do not understand.

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Connotation
Look at the poetic devices
of the poemhow do they
contribute to the meaning
of the poem?
Do these devices
contribute to the meaning
of the poem or its effect?

Literary Elements to
Consider

Figurative Language
Simile
Metaphor
Personification
Hyperbole
Assonance
Consonance
Others...

TP-CASTT

(Tone)

Silly

How does the writer feel about the subject

of the poem?

SYMPATHETIC

CON

DING
N
E
C
DE S

ET
E
SW

CH
TA
DE
D

SENTIMENTAL

GIC

BI
TT
E

ATTITUDE

NO
STA
L

ry
g
n
A

Afr
aid
JOYFUL

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SHIFTSSHIFTSSHIFTS
Some things to look for:

Changes in line or stanza length

Punctuation (dashes, periods, colons, ellipsis)
Stanza division
Changes in sound or diction
Key words (but, yet, however, although)

TP-CASTT
TITLE (Again)
Re-examine the title. Now that
youve read the poem, does the
title hold a different meaning?

TP-CASTT
THEME
What is the universal message the writer is
trying to get across?
To find the theme:
Summarize the plot of the poem.

List the subject(s) of the poem (literal to abstract)

What is the poet saying about each subject? Write a

complete sentence describing what the poet is saying.
Congratulations! Youve identified the theme!

TP-CASTT
Title, Paraphrase, Connotation,
Attitude (Tone), Shifts, Title
(Again), Theme TP-CASTT
Applying this method of evaluating
poetry will help you understand how the
poem fits together and enable you to
understand what the poet is trying to
convey. Good reading!