Tpcastt of learn'd astronomer
- 1. TPCASTT (Poetry Analysis) Applying the process to the poem, “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer”
- 2. This is a process to help you organize your analysis of poetry. We have already learned the vocabulary, now it’s time to put it into practice! Together, we are going to analyze a poem using TPCASTT. You have a note sheet that looks like this… Getting Started…
- 3. Add your analysis to this sheet!
- 4. 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!!!!
- 5. When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer By Walt Whitman 1819–1892
- 6. NOW READ THE POEM
- 7. When I heard the learn’d astronomer, When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me, When I was shown the charts and diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them, When I sitting heard the astronomer where he lectured with much applause in the lecture-room, How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick, Till rising and gliding out I wander’d off by myself, In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time, Look’d up in perfect silence at the stars.
- 8. 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. P IS FOR PARAPHRASE
- 9. apostrophe ASSONANCE RHYME alliteration personification diction onomatopoeia simile ONOMATOPEIA meter HYPERBOLE metaphor 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. C IS FOR CONNOTATION
- 10. Tone is the attitude of the speaker toward the subject of the poem. A is for ATTITUDE
- 11. If there is a change in… Time Tone Speaker This should always be noted as this will also affect the meaning . S IS FOR SHIFT
- 12. At this time, you should reconsider the title. Were you right in your predictions? What other meanings might the title have in light of your analysis? Next, the biggie…. T IS FOR TITLE - AGAIN
- 13. 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. T is for THEME
- 14. 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? How do I find the THEME ? Thanks – Ms. Pollreis