Poetry is one of the most expressive forms of literature. It can evoke emotions, set a mood, tell a story, or create a deeply and universally understood feeling in its readers. This makes expounding its elements, and understanding its rich meaning, comparisons, and symbols, even more important.
The TP-CASTT method of poetry analysis is a great way to teach students to dissect a poem and understand its parts. It helps students to uncover the deeper meanings within poems while giving them the confidence to be self-educators. TP-CASTT Poetry Analysis is an order of operations similar to PEMDAS for math. It asks students to list items in sequential order and answer questions based on their reading of the poem.
| T | TITLE |
The title makes the poem sound like it might be about women. Maybe women in general? Women who made a difference in life? |
|---|---|---|
| P | PARAPHRASE |
The poem focuses on the narrator’s mother’s generation who were fierce and brave as they knocked down obstacles in order for their children to go to school. They probably wanted their children to have more opportunities than they did. |
| C | CONNOTATION |
The narrator uses words that make the women sound like warriors: “...with fists as a well as hands / How they battered down doors”... “How they led armies / Headragged generals across mined fields / Booby-trapped ditches.” |
| A | ATTITUDE/TONE |
The narrator’s tone is filled with admiration, determination, and awe of these women from the beginning of the poem. At the end, it softens as the women’s mission is made clear: to make sure their children are educated, even when they themselves were not. |
| S | SHIFT |
The shift in the poem appears near the end when the narrator moves from warrior and military imagery to the reason why they are fighting: schools for their children. |
| T | TITLE |
The title is about the women of the narrator’s mother’s generation, who made sacrifices and fought so that their children could go to school. |
| T | THEME |
The theme of the poem is that mothers will find bravery in their mission to make a better life for their children, and that education is worth fighting for. |
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Student Instructions
Perform a TPCASTT analysis of "Women". Remember that TPCASTT stands for Title, Paraphrase, Connotation, Attitude/Tone, Shift, Title, Theme.