Poetry Analysis 101

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Poetry Analysis 101

• A basic introduction

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Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

• Voices in the Night published in 1839
• First American poet to reach a wide audience and
  create a national interest in poetry
• Translated foreign poetry, which inspired him.
• Romanticized Americas early history and
  democratic ideals.
• Criticized for being to optimistic and
  sentimentalironic b/c thats what made him
  popular in the first place.

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William Cullen Bryant

• Thanatopsis (about nature)
• Journalist and political activist
• Defender of human rights and freedomsfor women
  and slaves
• First American poet to win worldwide critical
  acclaim

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Oliver Wendell Holms

• Descendent of Anne Bradstreet
• Contributed to literature and medicine as a
  medical researcher
• Saved a battleship planned for destruction with
  his poem Old Ironsides

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TP-CASTT

• Helps to give you something general to say about
  the poem in order to personally interpret

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TP-CASTT

• TitlePonder the title before reading the poem
• ParaphraseTranslate the poem into your own words
• ConnotationContemplate the poem for meaning
  beyond the literal suggestive meaning
• AttitudeObserve both the speakers and the
  poets attitude (tone).
• ShiftsNote shifts in speakers and attitudes
• TitleExamine the title again, this time on an
  interpretive level
• ThemeDetermine what the poet is saying

• How to discover shift
•   Key words (but, yet, however, although)
• Punctuation (dashes, periods, colons, ellipsis)
• Stanza divisions
• Changes in line or stanza length, or both
• Irony (sometimes irony masks a shift)
• Structure
• Changes in sound or rhythm
• Changes in diction (ex. slang to formal language)
  

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Figurative Language Literary Terms

• Also be sure to consider what type of figurative
  language is being used so you can adequately
  interpret the poem. Some figurative language to
  consider

Alliteration Refrain Onomatopoeia
Mood Tone Personification Repetition
Quatrain Ballad Stanza Iamb Trochee Sonnet Octave
Sestet Theme
Metaphor Simile Rhyme Diction Imagery
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They've Put a Brassiere On a Camel

• They've put a brassiere on a camel, She wasn't
  dressed proper, you know. They've put a
  brassiere on a camel, So that her humps wouldn't
  show. And they're making other respectable
  plans, They're even even insisting the pigs
  should wear pants, They'll dress up the ducks if
  we give them the chance Since they've put a
  brassiere on a camel. They've put a brassiere on
  a camel, They claim she's more decent that way.
  They've put a brassiere on a camel, The camel
  had nothing to say. They squeezed her into it,
  i'll never know how, They say that she looks
  more respectable now, Lord knows what they've
  got in mind for the cow, Since they've put a
  brassiere on a camel.

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Romantic Poetry Take 1

• Bryant, Longfellow Holmes

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Terms to know

• Iamb 2 syllables where the first is unstressed
  while the second is stressed
• Trochee 2 syllables where the first is stressed
  while the second is unstressed
• Ballad Stanza quatrain written in folk ballad
  format (has a story/plot) usually with a/b/c/b
  pattern
• Quatrain Poem/stanza with 4 lines
• Sonnet 14 line poem that follows a strict
  structure/rhyme scheme usually an octave followed
  by a sestet
• Octave poem/stanza with 8 lines
• Sestet poem/stanza with 6 lines

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Act 1

• Bryant
• Read the poem to the group
• Share your TPCASTT chart
• Teach your group all that you learned about your
  poem.
• Group members should write their first
  impressions of the poem on the worksheet based on
  what their group member taught them

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Act 2 Critical Analysis (structure)

• Read through side 1 of the handout (structure of
  the poem) paying special attention to the terms
  on the board.
• Together, discuss how the structure affects the
  reading of the poem.
• Write your response in the first part of the 2nd
  box (or on your TPCASTT page), but leave room for
  the explanation piece!

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Act 3 Critical Analysis (Explanation)

• Read through Side 2 of the handoutexplanation.
• Together, discuss and summarize what the critic
  had to say about the poem.
• Write your summary in the second ½ of box 2be
  thorough
• Consider Theme, Figurative Language, effect of
  figurative language, effect of structure
• Make sure to talk about how you feel about the
  analysis.

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Act 4 The mixing bowl

• Consider your first impressions and the critical
  analysis. Also consider how you feel about the
  analysis and answer these questions in box three
  (or on your TPCASTT page). Discuss with your
  groupbut keep it personal.
• How does analyzing the structure affect your
  perception of the poem? Explain.
• Did you have thoughts the critic didnt touch?
  Explain why you think you did/didnt
• Did the critic have ideas you didnt think about?
  Explain.
• Did you agree with the critic? Explain.
• How does the theme relate to the time period in
  which it was written? (Romanticism)
• What are your final thoughts about the poem?
  (positive, negative, neutral, good message, bad
  message)

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Act 1

• Longfellow
• Read the poem to the group
• Share your TPCASTT chart
• Teach your group all that you learned about your
  poem.
• Group members should write their first
  impressions of the poem on the worksheet based on
  what their group member taught them

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Act 2 Critical Analysis (structure)

• Read through side 1 of the handout (structure of
  the poem) paying special attention to the terms
  on the board.
• Together, discuss how the structure affects the
  reading of the poem.
• Write your response in the first part of the 2nd
  box (or on your TPCASTT page), but leave room for
  the explanation piece!

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Act 3 Critical Analysis (Explanation)

• Read through Side 2 of the handoutexplanation.
• Together, discuss and summarize what the critic
  had to say about the poem.
• Write your summary in the second ½ of box 2be
  thorough
• Consider Theme, Figurative Language, effect of
  figurative language, effect of structure
• Make sure to talk about how you feel about the
  analysis.

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Act 4 The mixing bowl

• Consider your first impressions and the critical
  analysis. Also consider how you feel about the
  analysis and answer these questions in box three
  (or on your TPCASTT page). Discuss with your
  groupbut keep it personal.
• How does analyzing the structure affect your
  perception of the poem? Explain.
• Did you have thoughts the critic didnt touch?
  Explain why you think you did/didnt
• Did the critic have ideas you didnt think about?
  Explain.
• Did you agree with the critic? Explain.
• How does the theme relate to the time period in
  which it was written? (Romanticism)
• What are your final thoughts about the poem?
  (positive, negative, neutral, good message, bad
  message)

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Act 1

• Holmes
• Read the poem to the group
• Share your TPCASTT chart
• Teach your group all that you learned about your
  poem.
• Group members should write their first
  impressions of the poem on the worksheet based on
  what their group member taught them

20
Act 2 Critical Analysis (structure)

• Read through side 1 of the handout (structure of
  the poem) paying special attention to the terms
  on the board.
• Together, discuss how the structure affects the
  reading of the poem.
• Write your response in the first part of the 2nd
  box (or on your TPCASTT page), but leave room for
  the explanation piece!

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Act 3 Critical Analysis (Explanation)

• Read through Side 2 of the handoutexplanation.
• Together, discuss and summarize what the critic
  had to say about the poem.
• Write your summary in the second ½ of box 2be
  thorough
• Consider Theme, Figurative Language, effect of
  figurative language, effect of structure
• Make sure to talk about how you feel about the
  analysis.

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Act 4 The mixing bowl

• Consider your first impressions and the critical
  analysis. Also consider how you feel about the
  analysis and answer these questions in box three
  (or on your TPCASTT page). Discuss with your
  groupbut keep it personal.
• How does analyzing the structure affect your
  perception of the poem? Explain.
• Did you have thoughts the critic didnt touch?
  Explain why you think you did/didnt
• Did the critic have ideas you didnt think about?
  Explain.
• Did you agree with the critic? Explain.
• How does the theme relate to the time period in
  which it was written? (Romanticism)
• What are your final thoughts about the poem?
  (positive, negative, neutral, good message, bad
  message)

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  The Tide Rises, the Tide Falls Old Ironsides Mutation
Theme
Figurative Language used      
Effect of figurative language      
Effect of structure      
Romantic elements      
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Sharing

• Elect a spokesperson from your group
• Be clear in articulating your responses

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Reflect

• How is poetry both OBJECTIVE and SUBJECTIVE?