Literary terms test next Tuesday, January 21...remember that you will be asked to identify only 20 of the 32 words.
In class: poetry analysis review for the Regents exam on Monday, January 27
We are looking at two poems and applying two different types of analysis, both of which should be familiar.
Copies of both poems and graphic organizers can be found below.
For the following poem, use the TPCASTT graphic organizer
To be of use
The people I love the
best
jump into work head
first
without dallying in the
shallows
and swim off with sure
strokes almost out of sight.
They seem to become
natives of that element,
the black sleek heads
of seals
bouncing like
half-submerged balls.
I love people who
harness themselves, an ox to a heavy cart,
who pull like water
buffalo, with massive patience,
who strain in the mud
and the muck to move things forward,
who do what has to be
done, again and again.
I want to be with
people who submerge
in the task, who go
into the fields to harvest
and work in a row and
pass the bags along,
who stand in the line
and haul in their places,
who are not parlor
generals and field deserters
but move in a common
rhythm
when the food must come
in or the fire be put out.
— Marge Piercy
TPCASTT Template
TPCASTT:
Poem Analysis Method: title, paraphrase,
connotation, diction, attitude, tone, shift(s), title revisited and theme
|
|
Title Before you even think
about reading the poetry or trying to analyze it, speculate on what you think
the poem might be about based upon the title. Often time authors
conceal meaning in the title and give clues in the title. Jot down what you
think this poem will be about…
|
|
Paraphrase Before you begin
thinking about meaning or tying to analyze the poem, don't overlook the
literal meaning of the poem. One of the biggest problems that students often
make
in poetry analysis is jumping to conclusions before
understanding what is taking place in the poem. When you paraphrase a poem,
write in your own words exactly what happens in the poem. Look at the number
of sentences in the poem—your paraphrase should have exactly the same number.
This technique is especially helpful for poems written in the 17th and 19th
centuries. Sometimes your teacher may allow you to summarize what
happens in the poem. Make sure that you understand the difference between a paraphrase
and a summary.
|
|
Connotation Although this
term usually refers solely to the emotional overtones of word choice, for
this approach the term refers to any and all poetic
devices, focusing on how such devices contribute to the meaning, the effect,
or both of a poem. You may consider imagery, figures of speech (simile,
metaphor, personification, symbolism, etc), diction, point of view, and sound
devices (alliteration, onomatopoeia, rhythm, and rhyme). It is not necessary
that you identify all the poetic devices within the poem. The ones you do identify
should be seen as a way of supporting the conclusions you are going to draw about
the poem.
|
|
Attitude Having examined the poem's devices and clues closely,
you are now ready to explore the multiple attitudes that may be present in
the poem. Examination of diction, images, and details suggests the speaker's
attitude and contributes to understanding. You may refer to the list of words
on Tone that will help you. Remember that usually the tone or attitude
cannot be named with a single word Think complexity.
|
|
Shift Rarely does a poem
begin and end the poetic experience in the same place. As is true
of most us, the poet's understanding of an
experience is a gradual realization, and the
poem is a reflection of that understanding or
insight. Watch for the following keys to
shifts:
• key words, (but, yet, however, although)
• punctuation (dashes, periods, colons, ellipsis)
• stanza divisions
• changes in line or stanza length or both
• irony
• changes in sound that may indicate changes in meaning
• changes in diction |
|
Title revisited Now look at
the title again, but this time on an interpretive level. What new insight
does the title provide in understanding the poem.
|
|
Theme What is the poem
saying about the human experience, motivation, or condition? What subject or
subjects does the poem address? What do you learn about those subjects? What
idea does the poet want you take away with you concerning these subjects?
Remember that the theme of any work of literature is stated in a complete
sentence.
|
|
Name __________________________________________ Title of
Poem __________________________________ Period _____ Score _______
For the second poem, use the SOAPTONE graphic organizer
Walking at Night With My Son, James
This summer he’s grown
to my own height.
Our shoulders almost
touch as we walk,
flashlights dark, the
path through the field.
We remember old games,
knowing night by touch
rather than going, like
tightrope walkers,
on a thin beam of light
from one hand to the earth.
The moon is a golden
apple sliced in half
by earth’s shadow,
glazed by southern clouds.
We pause where the
meadow grass is highest,
both stopped by the
thick smell of campion blossoms.
They’re all around us,
my son says, look!
Their blossoms are like
larger, paler stars
in the sky spread at
our feet.
So we stand for a time,
shoulders almost touching,
in the midst of this
field off the Middle Grove Road,
in the midst of our
lives, sharing late August darkness.
All around us night
flowers.
—Joe Bruchac
The SOAPS Tone Document
Analysis allows you to trace an examination of a document
using the seven
components listed. This approach to analysis is relevantly used in poetry,
speeches, short
stories, newspaper articles, and countless other documents. Oftentimes, this
approach is introduced
to AP students at the high school level. However, in this case, this
approach is used my
classroom on all levels to stimulate and “prove” student’s point in analyzing
particular documents.
Remember, all components of this approach MUST be supported from the
text and MUST be backed
up by the words from the text.
1.
Speaker
Who is the speaker who
produced this piece? What is the their background and why are they
making the points they
are making? Is there a bias in what was written? You must be able to cite
evidence from the text
that supports your answer. No independent research is allowed on the
speaker. You must “prove”
your answer based on the text.
2.
Occasion
What is the Occasion? In
other words, the time and place of the piece. What promoted the author
to write this piece?
How do you know from the text? What event led to its publication or
development? It is
particularly important that students understand the context that encouraged
the writing to happen.
3.
Audience
Who is the Audience?
This refers to the group of readers to whom this piece is directed. The
audience may be one
person, a small group or a large group; it may be a certain person or a
certain people. What
assumptions can you make about the audience? Is it mixed racial/sex
group? What social
class? What political party? Who was the document created for and how do
you know? Are there any
words or phrases that are unusual or different? Does the speaker use
language the specific
for a unique audience? Does the speaker evoke God? Nation? Liberty?
History? Hell? How do
you know? Why is the speaker using this type of language?
4.
Purpose
What is the purpose?
Meaning, the reason behind the text. In what ways does he convey this
message? How would you
perceive the speaker giving this speech? What is the document
saying? What is the
emotional state of the speaker? How is the speaker trying to spark a reaction
in the audience? What
words or phrases show the speaker’s tone? How is the document supposed
to make you feel? This
helps you examine the argument or its logic.
5.
Subject
What is the subject of
the document? The general topic, content, and ideas contained in the text.
How do you know this?
How has the subject been selected and presented? And presented by the
author?
6.
Tone
What is the attitude of
the speaker based on the text? What is the attitude a writer takes towards
this subject or
character: is it serious, humorous, sarcastic, ironic, satirical,
tongue-in-cheek,
solemn, objective. How
do you know? Where in the text does it support your answer?
No comments:
Post a Comment