Poetry / Lyric Analysis Using

TPCAST
 First, let’s review some vocabulary:

• literal = means “exact” or “not exaggerated”.

Literal language is language that means exactly
what is said. Most of the time, we use literal
language.

• figurative = the opposite of literal language.

Figurative language is language that means more
than what it says on the surface. Often used by
poets and other writers.
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 Review vocabulary, continued:

• denotation = the dictionary definition of a word or

phrase
• connotation = a meaning suggested by a word or
phrase, in addition to its exact (denotative) meaning;
can be the emotional feelings associated with the
word

Think of the denotative and connotative meanings of

words such as home, mother, love, peace, friend, etc.

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 T is for TITLE
• Analyze the title first.
• What do you predict this poem will be
about?
• Write down your predictions.
• We will reflect on the title again after we
have read the poem.
• The next step is often omitted, but it is the
most important!!!!
READ THE POEM!!!!
P is for PARAPHRASE
• Paraphrasing is
putting something in
your own words.
• After reading the
poem, rewrite it in
your own words.
• This may be three
sentences or a page,
depending on the
particular poem.
C is for CONNOTATION
• Analyze the figures of
speech and sound
effects of the poem.
• These are the poetry
vocabulary we have
already studied.
• These elements add to
the meaning.
 A is for ATTITUDE /
ATMOSPHERE
• Tone is the attitude of
the speaker toward the
subject of the poem.
S is for SHIFT
• If there is a change
in…
– Time
– Tone
– Speaker
This should always
be noted as this
will also affect the
meaning.
 T is for THEME
• As you already know, theme is the general
insight into life conveyed by the author
through his/her work.
• It does not make a judgment.
example: “Don’t do drugs” is not a theme.
• It merely states something that is true to
life and the human condition.
How do I find the THEME?
• Look at the other
parts of TPCASTT.
• What insight are all of
these working
together to convey?
• What is the poet
trying to say about
life?
TP-CASTT is an ACRONYM for…
Title
Paraphrase
Connotation
Attitude
Shift
Theme

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Title: What predictions can you
make about the poem from the
title?
What are your initial (first)
thoughts about the poem?
What might be the theme of the
poem?

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Title: What predictions can you The poem might be simply
make from the title? about a piano or playing a
piano . Is it about some
memory the author has or
some special feelings he has
about his piano?

(now read the poem)

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 Piano by D. H. Lawrence.
Softly, in the dusk, a woman is singing to me;
Taking me back down the vista of years, till I see
A child sitting under the piano, in the boom of the tingling strings
And pressing the small, poised feet of a mother who smiles as she
sings.

In spite of myself, the insidious mastery of song

Betrays me back, till the heart of me weeps to belong
To the old Sunday evenings at home, with winter outside
And hymns in the cozy parlour, the tinkling piano our guide.

So now it is vain for the singer to burst into clamour

With the great black piano appassionato. The glamour
Of childish days is upon me, my manhood is cast
Down in the flood of remembrance, I weep like a child for the past.

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Title: What predictions can you
make from the title? Read the
poem. What are your initial
(first) thoughts about the poem?
What might be the theme of the
poem?

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Title: What predictions can you
make from the title? Read the It seems like the author is
poem. What are your initial saddened by a childhood
(first) thoughts about the poem? memory. Maybe the theme is
What might be the theme of the regret or nostalgia.
poem?

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Paraphrase: Describe what
happens in the poem, in your
own words.

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Paraphrase: Describe what The poet/speaker hears a
happens in the poem, in your woman singing, which
own words. makes him vividly recall a
childhood memory. He
listened to his mother
playing the piano, while
sitting underneath the piano
and touching her feet. He
longs to be back in the cozy,
happy home of his family,
when he was a child. He is
overcome by emotion and
cries.

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Connotation: What might the
poem mean beyond the literal
level? Find examples of
imagery, metaphors, similes,
personification, symbolism,
idioms, hyperbole, alliteration,
rhyme scheme, rhythm, etc. and
think about their possible
connotative meanings. Consider
the emotional feelings that the
words may give the reader.

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Connotation: What might the The poem might mean that the
author/speaker is unhappy with
poem mean beyond the literal
his current adult life. Things
level? Find examples of seemed to be quite loving and
imagery, metaphors, similes, warm in his childhood.
personification, symbolism,
idioms, hyperbole, alliteration, There is a simple rhythm in the
rhyme scheme, rhythm, etc. and three-stanza, rhyming couplet
think about their possible structure, maybe related to his
pleasant, more simple
connotative meanings. Consider
childhood. The piano itself is a
the emotional feelings that the symbol of rhythmic emotion.
words may give the reader.
Rich imagery created by use of
such devices as onomatopoeia
(boom, tingling, tinkling) and
simile (weep like a child). The
word “appassionato” suggests
heightened emotions (passion).

“Manhood is cast down” suggests

he is giving in to his longings
for the past. 21
Attitude: Describe the tone of the
poem. What is the poet’s attitude
toward the subject of the poem?
The speaker’s attitude? Find and
list examples that illustrate the
tone and mood of the poem
(these show attitude).

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Attitude: Describe the tone of The poet/speaker’s tone seems
the poem. What is the poet’s to be one of sadness and
attitude toward the subject of longing, as shown by “till the
the poem? The speaker’s heart of me weeps to
attitude? Find and list examples belong…”, “the glamour of
that illustrate the tone and mood childish days is upon me…”,
of the poem (these show and “I weep like a child for
attitude). the past”.

“softly, in the dusk…”

“a mother who smiles as she
sings…”
“betrays me back, till the
heart of me weeps to
belong…”
“cast down in a flood of
remembrance…”

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Shift: Is there a shift (a change)
in the tone or speaker of the
poem? Where does the shift
happen in the poem? What
does it shift from and to?

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Shift: Is there a shift (a change) There is a subtle shift in tone
in the tone or speaker of the from the beginning of the
poem? Where does the shift poem ,which seems like a
happen in the poem? What simple recollection of a
does it shift from and to? childhood memory.
In the second stanza, the
author/speaker uses words
like “betrays” and “weeps” to
indicate a desire to return to
these happier times.
Then in the third stanza,
words like “it is in vain”,
“appassionato”, “manhood is
cast down”, “flood of
remembrance”, and “I weep
like a child for the past”
demonstrate a more painful
longing to have things the
way they used to be.
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Title: Look at the title again.
Have your original ideas about
the poem changed? How? What
do you think the title means
now?

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Title: Look at the title again. I think the title Piano
Have your original ideas about represents a focal point for
the poem changed? How? What the author/speaker’s feelings.
do you think the title means Pianos and music are, by
now? nature, connected with our
emotions and often with
other people in our lives.
Music can prompt us to feel
very deeply, and thus the
piano comes to represent a
much happier time in the life
of the author/speaker.

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Theme: What is the overall
theme of the poem?
What insight, understanding,
lesson, or truth are we supposed
to have after reading this poem?

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Theme: What is the overall The theme of the poem
theme of the poem? appears to be longing for the
What insight, understanding, past, which may seem to have
lesson, or truth are we supposed been more loving and happy.
to have after reading this poem?

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Analyzing songs for poetic value

Lyric poetry consists of a poem, such as a sonnet or an ode,

that expresses the thoughts and feelings of the poet. The lyric
poet addresses the reader directly, portraying his or her own
feeling, state of mind, and perceptions
 Lyric Poetry
• This is the most personal kind of poetry
wherein the topics range from anything
that appeals to the author.
• It can be any kind of reflection or
revelation based on the author’s
experiences. It is a fairly short poem which
expresses a personal mood or feeling of the
poet.
• There tends to be a song-like quality in the
poem. The most common subjects of
lyrical poetry are love and grief.
 Analyzing a song
1. What is the mood of the song?
2. How is the mood achieved? (what kinds of words,
instruments, etc.)
3. What is the theme? (the message of the song)
4. What emotions is the songwriter trying to express?
5. What lyrics especially move you or what words do you
have a connection with?
6. What imagery in this song is especially vivid for you?
7. Are there any symbols? If so, what do they represent?
8. Are there any examples of figurative language?
 Analyzing a Song
1. Who is speaking?
2. To whom is he/she speaking?
3. What is the occasion?
4. Is there a sense of time in the song?
5. Where is it taking place, what are the
mentioned locations?
6. What do you like/dislike about this song?
7. What is the storyline of this song?
You will find a song and apply this analysis
to it by Monday.

It will be marked and graded

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