TCLASTT

Poetry Analysis

It is not necessary to identify all the poetic devices within the poem. However, the ones you do identify should be seen as a way of supporting the conclusions you are going to draw about the poem. ||
 * T || **Title** || Before you even think about reading the poem or trying to analyze it, speculate on what you think the poem //might// be about based on the title. ||
 * C || **Content** || Before you begin thinking about meaning or trying to analyze the poem, don’t overlook the literal meaning of the poem. Be careful not to jump to conclusions before understanding what is taking place in the poem. ||
 * L || **Literary Features** || Identify any poetic devices, focusing on how such devices contribute to the meaning, the effect, or both of a poem. You may consider
 * Imagery
 * Simile
 * Metaphor
 * Personification
 * Diction
 * Sound devices (alliteration, onomatopoeia, rhythm, rhyme
 * A || **Attitude** || Having identified 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. ||
 * S || **Shifts** || Rarely does a poem begin and end the poetic experience in the same place. As it is true of most of us, the speaker’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 (//yet, but, however, although//)
 * Punctuation (dashes, periods, colons, ellipsis)
 * Stanza divisions
 * Changes in the line or stanza length or both
 * Irony
 * Changes in sound that may indicate changes in meaning
 * Changes in diction ||
 * T || **Title** || Now look at the title again, but this time on an interpretive level. What new insight does the title provide in understanding the poem? ||
 * T || **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 to take away with you concerning these subjects? Remember that the theme should be stated in a complete sentence, and it is not a moral. ||