What is TPCASTT?

Answer 1

TPCASTT (which stands for title, paraphrase, connotation, attitude, shifts, title, and theme) is a way of analyzing poetry.

1. Title: Before reading a poem, foreshadow what it might be about by thinking about the title. Why might the poet have chosen that title instead of a synonym for it or some other completely different title?
2. Paraphrase: Read the poem, then rewrite it in your own words.
3. Connotation: Ponder about the poet's diction, imagery, point-of-view, allusions, symbolism, similes, metaphors, paradox, etc. Ask yourself, "Why did the poet include something like Life is but a teardrop or The Internet is Godzilla if we're not careful in his/her poem?" As a critical thinker, you should wonder about every word the poet uses in the poem and about words that the poet doesn't use or doesn't omit. For example, why did the poet use the word lake instead of ocean or pool? Why did the poet write Now I am a lake instead of just I am a lake in his/her poem?
4. Attitude: What feelings or mood does the poet express toward the speaker, other characters, and the reader? What feelings does the speaker express toward other characters. Don't get confused between the poet and the speaker.
5. Shifts: Notice the poem's physical shape. How many lines are there per stanza; how many stanzas are there; how many words are there per stanza; how long or short are the sentences; how long are the words that the poet uses? A poet writing a poem about Basketball might make the poem have 5 stanzas or 5 lines per stanza because there are 5 players on a team in a basketball game.
6. Title: Now, reanalyze the poem's title after having read the whole thing and critically pondering about it. Why do you think the poet chose that title now instead of some other similar title?
7. Theme: Identify the topics the poet had written about in the poem, then formulate a profound lesson that the poet was trying to convey through that poem. Is he/she trying to teach us, the readers, that life ends in inevitable death no matter how successfully we've lived, or is he/she telling us that truly loving someone comes from more than seeing good looks?