Poetry Analysis: Literary Devices and TPCASTT Method

Study for the Honors English 9 Poetry Final

Poetry teaches lessons

False

Poetry communicates an experience of feeling

True

Poems must rhyme

False

Poetry says more that ordinary language does, and with fewer words

Poetry uses this language

Poetic language

Audience types

Speaker/self, general audience, specific audience

Diction

Words that are often chosen carefully/ might be elegant, formal, informal, slang, etc.

Denotation

Dictionary definition of a word

Connotations

Thought and feelings from a word choice

Weak diction words

That, instead, which, but, sometimes, when, him, rather, over, the.

Strong diction words

Moon, peacock, Tibet, music, firelight, temple, danced, joy.

Tone

The speaker's attitude.

Speaker

The narrator of the poem; we should not assume this is the poet.

Mood

The feeling that embodies the poem; the setting is not the mood.

Imagery

The extended description that appeals to one or more of our senses.

Allusion

A figure of speech that makes brief reference to a historical or literary figure, event, or object.

Simile

Direct comparison of two unlike things using like or as.

Metaphor

An implied comparison in which one thing is identified with another.

Extended Metaphor

Takes a metaphor and develops it in a variety of directions.

Personification

A metaphorical in which an animal or an inanimate object is given one or more human attributes.

Hyperbole

An exaggeration for emphasis or humorous effect.

Theme

The central idea or message of a poem; not the same as the poem's subject.

Verbal irony

words are used to mean the opposite of their ordinary meanings.

Situational irony

Occurs when a character OR the reader expects one thing to happen, but something entirely different happens instead.

Dramatic irony

One type occurs when the reader knows information the character(s) does/do not know; the other type is when there is a discrepancy between what the speaker is saying and what the poet is saying.

Symbolism

A technique in which one item is used to represent another.

Rhythm

The pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in each line that creates this.

Repetition

In poetry, often sound, word, phrase, or line may be repeated for emphasis and unity.

Rhyme

Enhances the musical quality of a poem; can occur at the ends of lines as end rhyme or within lines as internal rhyme.

Onomatopoeia

Words that are imitative of the sound they name.

Alliteration

Repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words.

Assonance

Repetition of vowel sounds in words that don't end with the same consonant.

Consonance

Repetition of consonant sounds within and at the ends of words.

Cacophony

Purposeful use of harsh sounds for effect.

Euphony

The use of flowing, smooth, harmonious sounds.

TPCASTT

A method for analyzing poetry: Title, Paraphrase, Connotations, Attitude, Shift, Title, Theme.