English Homework

Journal 4: Annotating a Poem

TP-CASTT: A Strategy for Analyzing Poetry

TP-CASTT stands for “Title, Paraphrase, Connotation, Attitude, Shift, Title, Theme.”

It’s a tool that is very helpful in breaking down poems to figure out their meanings.

Title: Ponder the title before reading the poem.

Paraphrase: Translate the poem into your own words.

Connotation: Contemplate the poem for meaning beyond the literal (interpret).

Attitude: Observe both the speaker’s and the poet’s attitudes (tone, diction,

mood…).

Shifts: Note shifts in speakers and in attitudes (are there changes?).

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

Theme: Determine what the poet is saying by identifying out two themes.

Look at the sample TP-CASTT below based on the poem “Ozymandias” by Percy Bysshe Shelley, one of the Romantic poets we have been studying.

“Ozymandias,”

by Percy Bysshe Shelley

I met a traveller from an antique land 1

Who said: "Two vast and trunkless legs of stone 2

Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand, 3

Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown 4

And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command 5

Tell that its sculptor well those passions read 6

Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, 7

The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed. 8

And on the pedestal these words appear: 9

‘My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings: 10

Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!' 11

Nothing beside remains. Round the decay 12

Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare, 13

The lone and level sands stretch far away". 14

“Ozymandias” TP-CASTT

T Perhaps this is the name of a person? It reminded me of The Wizard of Oz. It certainly

does not sound like a British name.

P I met a traveler from a faraway, old land who told me: “Two big slabs of stone stand in

the desert. Nearby, in the sand, a broken statue of a face is buried. It has a mean,

nasty expression that shows that this person was a ruthless leader. These features of

the face show that the sculptor could easily see the person’s character and was able to

portray them in his statue so that the qualities, like the statue, survived even after

the person’s death. You can tell that the sculptor put all his heart into his work, even

though it is mocking. The inscription on the base of the statue reads, “My name is

Ozymandias, the greatest king of all. Look at all the things I have done and fear me!”

Nothing else remains. Around the broken statue, the barren desert stretches on

endlessly.” (Since this is a paraphrase of the whole poem, no line numbers are needed

here.)

C It is significant that the statue was once great, like the king, but is now decaying and

abandoned in the desert (12-13) This suggests that all things must come to an end.

Even though the traveler seems to be admiring the statue for its size and detail, he is

also mocking it and the king by pointing out that it has decayed to nothingness over

the years.

A Like the sculptor, it seems that the traveler is mocking the great Ozymandias, who is

now reduced to a decaying statue buried in the sand (12-14). Ozymandias, who

speaks through the inscription on the poem, has an egotistic, arrogant attitude, which

justifies the traveler’s mocking tone (10-11).

S There are three speakers in this poem: the narrator or initial speaker (1-2), the

traveler (2-14), and Ozymandias through the inscription on the statue (10-11).

T Ozymandias was the king portrayed by the broken statue (10-11)

T Nothing, not even the greatest of people or civilizations, can last forever.

Being prideful or arrogant will not create a good lasting legacy.

Instructions:

Now, it’s your turn! Select one of the Romantic poems listed below to create your own. Make sure you use textual evidence, citing with line numbers, in your responses! You can choose Lord Alfred Tennyson’s “Ulysses” or Robert Browning’s “My Last Duchess.” First copy and paste the poem below and them complete the TPCASTT for the poem. Copy the entire poem below, and then number the lines. Remember to provide line numbers with evidence when you complete the TPCASTT

T

P

C

A

S

T

T

Journal 4: Annotating a Poem

TP-CASTT: A Strategy for Analyzing Poetry

TP-CASTT stands for “Title, Paraphrase, Connotation, Attitude, Shift, Title, Theme.”

It’s a tool that is very helpful in breaking down poems to figure out their meanings.

Title: Ponder the title before reading the poem.

Paraphrase: Translate the poem into your own words.

Connotation: Contemplate the poem for meaning beyond the literal (interpret).

Attitude: Observe both the speaker’s and the poet’s attitudes (tone, diction,

mood…).

Shifts: Note shifts in speakers and in attitudes (are there changes?).

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

Theme: Determine what the poet is saying by identifying out two themes.

Look at the sample TP-CASTT below based on the poem “Ozymandias” by Percy Bysshe Shelley, one of the Romantic poets we have been studying.

“Ozymandias,”

by Percy Bysshe Shelley

I met a traveller from an antique land 1

Who said: "Two vast and trunkless legs of stone 2

Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand, 3

Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown 4

And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command 5

Tell that its sculptor well those passions read 6

Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, 7

The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed. 8

And on the pedestal these words appear: 9

‘My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings: 10

Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!' 11

Nothing beside remains. Round the decay 12

Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare, 13

The lone and level sands stretch far away". 14

“Ozymandias” TP-CASTT

T Perhaps this is the name of a person? It reminded me of The Wizard of Oz. It certainly

does not sound like a British name.

P I met a traveler from a faraway, old land who told me: “Two big slabs of stone stand in

the desert. Nearby, in the sand, a broken statue of a face is buried. It has a mean,

nasty expression that shows that this person was a ruthless leader. These features of

the face show that the sculptor could easily see the person’s character and was able to

portray them in his statue so that the qualities, like the statue, survived even after

the person’s death. You can tell that the sculptor put all his heart into his work, even

though it is mocking. The inscription on the base of the statue reads, “My name is

Ozymandias, the greatest king of all. Look at all the things I have done and fear me!”

Nothing else remains. Around the broken statue, the barren desert stretches on

endlessly.” (Since this is a paraphrase of the whole poem, no line numbers are needed

here.)

C It is significant that the statue was once great, like the king, but is now decaying and

abandoned in the desert (12-13) This suggests that all things must come to an end.

Even though the traveler seems to be admiring the statue for its size and detail, he is

also mocking it and the king by pointing out that it has decayed to nothingness over

the years.

A Like the sculptor, it seems that the traveler is mocking the great Ozymandias, who is

now reduced to a decaying statue buried in the sand (12-14). Ozymandias, who

speaks through the inscription on the poem, has an egotistic, arrogant attitude, which

justifies the traveler’s mocking tone (10-11).

S There are three speakers in this poem: the narrator or initial speaker (1-2), the

traveler (2-14), and Ozymandias through the inscription on the statue (10-11).

T Ozymandias was the king portrayed by the broken statue (10-11)

T Nothing, not even the greatest of people or civilizations, can last forever.

Being prideful or arrogant will not create a good lasting legacy.

Instructions:

Now, it’s your turn! Select one of the Romantic poems listed below to create your own. Make sure you use textual evidence, citing with line numbers, in your responses! You can choose Lord Alfred Tennyson’s “Ulysses” or Robert Browning’s “My Last Duchess.” First copy and paste the poem below and them complete the TPCASTT for the poem. Copy the entire poem below, and then number the lines. Remember to provide line numbers with evidence when you complete the TPCASTT

T

P

C

A

S

T

T