Name ______Date____ Period____

(love song, with two goldfish)

(He's a drifter, always
floating around her, has
nowhere else to go. He wishes
she would sing, not much, just the scales;
or take some notice,
give him the fish eye.)
(Bounded by round walls
she makes fish eyes
and kissy lips at him, darts
behind pebbles, swallows
his charms hook, line and sinker)
(He's bowled over. He would
take her to the ocean, they could
count the waves. There,
in the submarine silence, they would share
their deepest secrets. Dive for pearls
like stars.)
(But her love's since
gone belly-up. His heart sinks
like a fish. He drinks
like a stone. Drowns those sorrows,
stares emptily through glass.)
(the reason, she said
she wanted)
(and he could not give)
a life
beyond the
(bowl)

By Grace Chua

QLRS Vol. 2 No. 2 Jan 2003

Complete the TPCASSTT using the guiding questions. Please write in complete sentences.

TPCASSTT for (“Mother to Son by Langston Hughes)

Title
Ponder the title. / What do the words of the title suggest to you? What denotations are presented in the title? What connotations or associations do the words possess?
Paraphrase
Paraphrase line by line. / Translate the poem into your own words. What is the poem about? When and where is it set?
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Connotation
Make notes about the meaning beyond the literal. Examine any and all devices, focusing on how such devices contribute to meaning, the effect, or both. / Imagery :
Comment on the use of imagery as a way of presenting ideas on life.
Diction: Comment on the poet’s choice of words. Explore denotative and connotative meanings.
Notice and comment on three other literary devices (alliteration, allusions, ambiguity, antithesis, apostrophe, assonance, consonance, details, hyperbole, internal rhyme, irony, metaphor, metonymy, onomatopoeia, oxymoron, paradox, personification, pun, rhyme, simile, symbols, syntax, synecdoche, understatement). See your TPCASTT: Literary Analysis Made Easy handout for definitions.
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Attitude / Examine both the speaker’s and the poet’s attitudes.
What is the speaker’s attitude? How does the speaker feel about himself, about others, and about the subject? What is the poet’s attitude? How does the poet feel about the speaker, about other characters, about the subject, and the reader?
Sound Devices / If there is a rhyme scheme, why do you think the poet has chosen this to communicate his ideas? Perfect/full rhyme can offer a sense of harmony, assurance, while slant rhymes could reinforce a sense of change, disharmony…)
Assonance, alliteration, consonance, repetition, anaphora (rep of phrase) are easily recognizable. Suggest what ideas are being reinforced
Rhythm and meter will often reflect the attitude, or will serve to reinforce certain words or ideas.
Shifts / Where do the shifts in tone, setting, voice, rhythm etc. occur? Look for time and place, keywords, punctuation, stanza divisions, changes in length or rhyme, and sentence structure. What is the purpose of each shift? How do they contribute to effect and meaning?
Title / Reanalyze the title on an interpretive level. What part does the title play in the overall interpretation of the poem?
Theme / List the subjects and the abstract ideas in the poem. Then determine the overall theme. What message is the author trying to convey? What lesson is being taught? The theme must be written in a complete sentence.
Personal response / Do you like the poem? Why or why not?