Poem: “Eating Together” by Li-Young Lee Page: 663

TPCASTT: Poem Analysis Method
Title
The meaning of the title without reference to the poem. / eating together with the family
Paraphrase
the Poem / the steamer holds the cooking trout
it will be a lunch time meal shared with brothers, sister, and mother
mother eats the sweetest meat while holding it the way the father did
father died peacefully just weeks before
mother eats the meat of the head in remembrance of the newly dead father
the speaker feels the weight of the separation from the father
Connotation
How does the use of all the poetic devices (back of paper) contribute to the overallmood and meaning of the poem? / The poem references the father’s death, which creates a solemn mood.
Attitude
What is the speaker’s attitude? How does the speaker feel about himself, about others, and about the subject?
What is the author’s attitude? How does the author feel about the speaker, about other characters, about the subject, and the reader? / peaceful acceptance
speaker: son, young enough to live at home; respectful, somber, and accepting of death
author: based on biography, could the same person with the same attitude
Shift
Where do the shifts in tone, setting, voice, 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? / ln 8—moves from present to remembrance
Title revisited
Any new insights on meaning or significance of title? / all who are alive are eating together because it is important to still keep family tradition
continuing on after the death of a loved one
Theme
What does the poem mean? What is it saying? How does itrelate to life/our unit of study? / importance of family: tradition
acceptance of death
letting things go
what happens to the survivors of a loved one

Poetic Devices

POETIC FORM
(Elegy, Ode, Sonnet,
Free-Verse, etc.)
PF
Free verse
telling of a memory
no specific form
reads similarly to prose / RHYME SCHEME or
APPROXIAMATE RHYME
PF/SD
Internal rhyme
ln 6--sweetest meat / REPETITION or REFRAIN
PF/SD / PUNCTUATION
PF/SD
Few long sentences
Uses many complex sentences to describe the meal—helps establish setting, imagery, and mood
DICTION,SPEAKER, RHYTHM and DENOTATION
MM
Diction: plain
Denotation:
ln 8 deftly—skillfully
ln 1 steamer—bamboo basket used for cooking
Speaker: the poet / CONNOTATION
(Specific words that carry a larger meaning.)
MM
title--“eating together”
ln 10--“snow-covered road”
ln 1 and 4--steamed trout and rice
ln 8 deftly—skillfully, quickly / ALLUSIONS
MM
ln 1 steamer and description of meal—tells us the family is probably Asian / MOOD
MM
somber, respectful, peaceful, wistful but accepting
ln 10--“snow-covered road”
ln 12—“lonely for no one”
contemplative, grief stricken
PERSONIFICATION
FL
ln 10-11--“snow-covered road winding”
ln 12--“lonely for no one” / IMAGERY
FL
ln10-12--“snow-covered road/ winding through pines older than him,/ without any travelers” / METAPHORS
FL / SIMILES
FL
ln 10--“he lay down to sleep like a snow-covered road”
death—sleeping like a snowy road
SYMBOLISM
I
meal time=father’s memory
sleep=death
meat of the head=mother taking head of household upon father’s death—carrying on tradition / ALLITERATION
SD
ln 1-3 steamer, seasoned, silver, spring,sesame
ln 6-7 head, holding
ln 10 sleep like a snow-covered road / ONOMATOPOEIA
SD / ADDITIONAL
(Consonance, Assonance, End/Internal Rhyme)

KEY: PF (poetic form), MM (mood & meaning), FL (figurative language), I (interpretation), SD (sound devices)