AP POETRY

Introduction to Poetry

I ask them to take a poem
and hold it up to the light
like a color slide

or press an ear against its hive.

I say drop a mouse into a poem
and watch him probe his way out,

or walk inside the poem's room
and feel the walls for a light switch.

I want them to waterski
across the surface of a poem
waving at the author's name on the shore.

But all they want to do
is tie the poem to a chair with rope
and torture a confession out of it.

They begin beating it with a hose
to find out what it really means.

--Billy Collins

 

TPCASTT

Poem Analysis Method

 

Poems can be very difficult to interpret because a lot of what they have to say is not written but is implied. A major probrem that students have with interpreting poetry is that they read the poem once, assign it a personal meaning and try to get their meaning to match the information in the poem. Instead, it is important for students to gather significant data about the poem before committing to an interpretation. This is the only way to get at the poet's meaning. Students need to look for clues, piece them together, and then interpret. The acronym below will help with this process.

 

 

TTitle: Ponder the title before reading the poem.

PParaphrase: Translate the poem into your own words.

 

FFigurative language: Locate figures and contemplate their significance

 

AAttitude: Observe both the speaker’s and the poet’s attitude.

 

SShifts: Note shifts in the speaker’s and the poet’s attitude.

 

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

TTheme: Determine what the poet is saying

 

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