TPS-FASTT or “Types Fast” Method Practice

Poem Title: “The Writer” Poet: Richard Wilbur

Title Ponder the title before reading the poem. Briefly make a prediction.

“The Writer” could just be about someone who writes for a living.

Paraphrase Translate the poem into your own words. (expand the cell as needed)
Either translate line by line or stanza by stanza, depending on the composition of the
poem. Resist the urge to jump into interpretation. Failure to understand what happens
literally inevitably leads to an interpretive misunderstanding.
(1) At the front of the house, someone’s daughter is writing a story in a room with windows
covered by curtains and where light shatters. (2) Someone stops in the stairwell, where they
can hear the sound of a typewriter. It sounds like a chain being dragged back onto a boat.
(3) Although she is young, the things she needs for her life are great, and even heavy
sometimes. They wish their daughter a fortunate journey. (4) The daughter stops her typing,
almost refusing the person’s ideas and simple build. The calmness seems to greaten, and (5)
The entire house appears to be pondering. The daughter starts typing again with an uproar of
clicks but then stops again. (6) The person recalls the stunned bird, who two years ago was
imprisoned in that exact room. The person and their daughter snuck in to open the window.
(7) They backed away to not scare it. For a boring hour, they looked at the smooth, crazy
blackness through an opening in a door. (8) And the shimmering animal, battered by the
radiance, falls like a glove to the hard ground or to the desk. (9) And then, banged and
bloodied, for the guts to attempt it again; and how their moods leaped as abruptly certain. (10)
It took off from the back of a chair, following a clean path to the right window and topping
the world's sill. (11) As I had forgotten, it is always a question of life and death, my love. I
wish you what I wished you previously, with greater strength.
Speaker Who is the speaker of this poem? Remember to always distinguish the speaker from the
poet.
This poem's speaker is Richard Wilbur, who is listening to his daughter type on a typewriter.
The poet and speaker are the same.

Figurative Examine the poem for language that is not used literally.
Language Include at least 3 poetic devices: identify term, pull out phrases (using quotations),
analyze meaning according to the poem. How does the use of that device contribute to
the meaning of the poem? Focus on MAJOR devices that stand out to you.
Example:
1. Term #1: Metaphor
Look for 2. Phrase from poem: “I remember the dazed starling/ Which was trapped in that very
such things room, two years ago,”(Stanza 6).
as:
alliteration 3. Analysis: The bird becomes a metaphor for the life of a writer, notably the one he believes
allusion his daughter is entering as a writer. The starling was locked in the room, much as his
assonance daughter, a symbol for all authors at the present, is trapped in her own thoughts as she
diction tries to reconcile what she wants to write.
hyperbole
imagery
metaphor 4. Term #2: Personification
onomatopoei 5. Phrase: “The whole house seems to be thinking,”(Stanza 5).
a
personificati 6. Analysis: To express his sentiments, the poet personifies the "home"; "The whole house
on seems to be thinking," here, the house is given the human attribute of thinking to explain
repetition the silence he feels while his daughter pauses while writing.
simile
etc.!
7. Term #3: Similie
8. Phrase: “Like a chain hauled over a gunwale,”(Stanza 2).

9. Analysis: Wilbur compares the sound of a "chain hauled over a gunwale" to the
"commotion of typewriter keys" using a simile. The image of the blossoming writer
bringing the chains back represents the beginning of her journey.

Attitude Observe both the speaker’s and the poet’s TONE (or attitude) towards the subject of the
poem. You must be able to identify the SUBJECT first, before you can analyze the tone.
Pull brief examples of passages from the poem and explain HOW these examples
demonstrate attitude and what that attitude is.
Example:
"The Writer" has a sentimental attitude. As he considers his daughter's writing, the speaker
experiences a range of emotions. He is also sympathetic and optimistic. He understands his
daughter's situation because he is a writer himself. He is confident that his daughter will
succeed in life.

Shifts Note shifts in tone, time, or speakers and in attitudes. Look for key transitions words
(but, yet), punctuation (dashes, periods, colons, etc.), stanza divisions, changes in line or
stanza length, and anything else that indicates that something has changed or a
question is being answered.
List the 1) line(s), 2) the type of shift (tone, time or speaker) and 3) WHY you claim it is a
shift
Example: 1. Line 15 and 16
2. Time
3. There’s a time shift in Line 15 and 16. We go from the present day to back two years
ago.

Title Examine the title again, this time on an interpretive level.

Example: The title is about someone who writes, maybe not for a living, but they definitely do write.
We do find out that the writer is the speaker’s daughter, though. The poet describes the
difficulties of writing and the affection a father feels for his daughter.
Theme Determine the underlying meaning of the poem. First consider what the poem is about
(subject), then determine what the poet is saying about the subject(s) (theme). What is
the deeper meaning? What is this poet saying about life? – MUST BE A COMPLETE
SENTENCE.
Example: This piece hits on a multitude of themes that include writing, perseverance, and creativity.
Nonetheless, the poem's major theme is to remain positive in the face of adversity and to keep
persevering with or without the help of your loved ones.