Get out a piece of notebook paper.

Before you even think about reading the poetry or

trying to analyze it, speculate on what you think the
poem might be about based on the title. Often,
authors conceal meaning in the title and give clues in
the title.
Today we are going to be analyzing a poem called
When I Have Fears That I May Cease to Be.
Based on the title, jot down what you think this
poem will be about.

Copy the following poem, When I Have Fears

That I May Cease to Be by John Keats
When I have fears that I may cease to be
Before my pen has gleaned my teeming brain,
Before high piled books, in charactery,
Hold like rich garners the full-ripened grain;
When I behold, upon the night's starred face,
Huge cloudy symbols of a high romance,
And feel that I may never live to trace
Their shadows, with the magic hand of chance;
And when I feel, fair creature of an hour!
That I shall never look upon thee more,
Never have relish in the faery power
Of unreflecting love;then on the shore
Of the wide world I stand alone, and think,
Till Love and Fame to nothingness do sink.

TPCASTT- Title, Paraphrase,

Connotation, Attitude, Shifts, Title, Theme
Paraphrase- dont overlook the literal meaning of the poem.
Write in your own words exactly what happens in the poem.
Look at the number of sentences in the poem your
paraphrase should have exactly the same number.
If you look words up in your dictionary, remember that the
first definition is not always the correct one. Think about
what the speaker seems to be saying, and decide on the
most appropriate definition.
Words to look up: cease, glean, teeming, relish

TPCASTT- Title, Paraphrase,

Connotation, Attitude, Shifts, Title, Theme
Connotation- refers to the emotional overtones of word choice (as
opposed to denotation, the dictionary definition). Focus on any poetic
devices that you see in the poem and the effect those devices have
on the feeling of the poem. Consider imagery (words appealing to the
senses), similes, metaphors, personification, symbolism, diction, point
of view, alliteration, onomatopoeia, rhythm, and rhyme. The devices
you identify should be seen as a way of supporting the conclusions
you are going to draw about the poem.

TPCASTT- Title, Paraphrase,

Connotation, Attitude, Shifts, Title, Theme
Attitude- Explore the attitudes present in the poem. When you read
the poem, what attitude does the speaker seem to have? Tone words
would be useful here.

TPCASTT- Title, Paraphrase,

Connotation, Attitude, Shifts, Title, Theme
Shifts- Rarely does a poem begin and end the poetic experience in the
same place. As is true of most of us, the poets understanding of an
experience is a gradual realization, and the poem is a reflection of that
understanding or insight. Watch for the following keys to shifts:
Key words (but, yet, however, although)
Punctuation (dashes, periods, colons, ellipsis)
Stanza divisions
Changes in line or stanza length or both
Irony
Changes in sound that may indicate changes in meaning
Changes in diction

TPCASTT- Title, Paraphrase,

Connotation, Attitude, Shifts, Title, Theme
Title- now look at the title again, but this time on an interpretive
level. What new insight does the title provide in understanding the
poem?

TPCASTT- Title, Paraphrase,

Connotation, Attitude, Shifts, Title, Theme
Theme- What is the poem saying about the human experience,
motivation, or condition? What subject or subjects does the poem
address? What do you learn about those subjects? What idea does
the poet want you to take away with your concerning these subjects?
Remember that the theme of any work of literature is stated in a
complete sentence.