Name:

Period:
Title1:
Title 2:
Paraphrase: (line by line)

Dreams Deferred
BY LANGSTON HUGHES

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up
Like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore-And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over-like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?

Attitude (Tone):

Shifts:

Theme(s):

Connotation:

How to turn TPCASTT notes into an essay of poetry analysis

Note: The suggested approach here may result in a four-paragraph essay, but it could just as easily result in a five or six
paragraph essay, depending on how the writer chooses to break down the elements that are included.

1. TAG line: Use the authors full name in the introduction, and then use the authors last name for the rest of the
essay. Since you are writing about the same poem and author all the way through, your parentheticals ONLY need
to include the line numbers. Make sure to mention the title (capitalize correctly) and the genre. Give a short
synopsis of the poem, using your notes from the Paraphrase segment. It is also OK to blend in some of your
interpretive remarks from your notes on Connotation. Then, near the end of this opening paragraph, work in your
Thesis statement.
Example:
In section 1 of Song of Myself, Walt Whitman opens his epic by setting a tone of celebration, while, at
the same time, giving his mission statement for the long poem. In the guise of a speaker who is at once the writer
and also a mythic persona, he declares to the reader that he plans to celebrate and sing of his life, but also reveals
that through this poem he will create an intimate relationship with the reader; and the implication is that his
experiences will be those of the reader as well. He invites his inner self, his soul, to join in the dialogue and the
contemplation of life in general, and of nature in particularso this will be an inner journey as well as a lifelong
adventure. In fact, he claims that part of his mission will be to get in touch with nature on a fundamental level,
and without compromise. When he says, I harbor for good or bad, I permit to speak at every hazard/Nature
without check, with original energy he seems to be setting the ground rules for his journey through life. He
intends to learn from traumatic experiences as well as joyful ones, and experience nature and life without any
preconceived notions. Although this is only part one of a very long work, he clearly implies that life must be
experienced without prejudice if one expects to find meaning.

2. Now begin your body paragraphs. I suggest that you write one paragraph dealing with the Connotative elements
you havent already explained in your introduction. Explore each element in depth and develop your ideas
completely.
3. Next, write a paragraph about the Tone, or Attitude of the poem and how it shifts or changes over the course of
the poem.
4. Finally, give a little consideration to the Title and how your impression of it changes from the first reading to the
point where you revisit the title after doing some analysis. Then give your thesis statement in an expanded form
and make a new statement of some kind to finish off the analysis. If you are writing about a single poem, then
come up with a more universal version of the Theme statementsomething that is true on a larger scale than just
within the context of the poem. The purpose of all literature is to help the reader make sense of the experiences of
life, so a universal truth should apply to experiences outside the world of the poem. Explain how the topic/main
idea of the poem relates to the outside world.

Write an essay that describes how the authors style and use of literary devices effect
the presentation and meaning of the poem and addresses the question. Support
your discussion with evidence from the text.
PROMPT: How does the poets stylistic choices (rhyme scheme, figurative
language, literary devices) contribute the overall structure, meaning, and impact
of the poem?

QUOTING ONE LINE OR LESS FROM A POEML: Only include the line number in the parenthetical citation. Be sure to make
clear the author and the poem in your sentence. In Richard Howards Oystering, he writes, Lunch is served (45).

QUOTING BETWEEN ONE AND THREE LINES FROM A POEM: Replace the line breaks with a virgule (a backslash). For a
stanza break, use two virgules. Mary Reufles The Hand opens with the lines, The teacher asks a question. / You know the answer,
you suspect / you are the only one... (1-3).