TPCASTT Poetry Analysis
Title & Author of the Poem: Infantry Assault by Doug Anderson
Title Before you even think about reading the poetry or
trying to analyze it, speculate on what you think the
poem might be about based upon the title. Often time
authors conceal meaning in the title and give clues in the
title. Jot down what you think this poem will be about…
Paraphrase Before you begin thinking about
meaning or tying to analyze the poem, don't overlook the
literal meaning of the poem. One of the biggest problems
that students often make in poetry analysis is jumping to
conclusions before understanding what is taking place in
the poem. When you paraphrase a 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. This technique is
especially helpful for poems written in the 17th and 19th
centuries. Sometimes your teacher may allow you to
summarize what happens in the poem. Make sure that
you understand the difference between a paraphrase and
a summary.
Infantry Assault normally has to do with the full-frontal assault on the ground. They are
known to be extremely deadly to both sides of the conflict so it is likely the poem is
recounting the soldier’s experience assaulting an enemy position and seeing his
metaphorical brothers die around him or be about him dealing with the trauma he
experienced while partaking in one of these missions.
The poem begins with a description of a dead Vietnamese whose body is still violently
shaking from the impact of the bullets being released into him. The author sees the
corpse’s face begin to fall off as well as his brain begins to leak out of the skull around the
corpse. The author next goes into the mind of the person shooting the Vietnamese and
describes the terror but also feeling of revenge experienced by the American soldier. A
forward skip in time occurs and the author sees the soldiers dragging the dead Vietnamese
into the river before continuing to chop them into smaller pieces and turn the entire river
red. The author also recounts his captain’s compliance with this and how they were told to
leave no survivors. Anderson then remembers how they had lined up all the Vietnamese
beforehand in rows, and counted all 39 of them. Directly afterward, Anderson recounts
what the Americans did to the village after they finished with the bodies. According to
Anderson, the soldiers killed every animal within the village and burnt it to the ground.
As the soldiers walk away from the burning village, smoke spiraling into the sky, they feel
a deep sense of remorse in their bones.
 Craft This refers to any and all poetic devices,
focusing on how such devices contribute to the
meaning, the effect, or both of a poem. You may
consider imagery, figures of speech (simile, metaphor,
personification, symbolism, etc), denotation and
connotation, point of view, and sound devices
(alliteration, onomatopoeia, rhythm, and rhyme). It is
not necessary that you identify all the poetic devices
within the poem. The ones you do identify should be
seen as a way of supporting the conclusions you are
going to draw about the poem.
Attitude Having examined the poem's devices and
clues closely, you are now ready to explore the multiple
attitudes that may be present in the poem. Examination
of diction, images, and details suggests the speaker's
attitude and contributes to understanding. You may refer
to the list of words on Tone that will help you.
Remember that usually the tone or attitude cannot be
named with a single word Think complexity.
Imagery: “the corpse’s face began to peel off like a mask” Shows the violence of war,
meant to be as disgusting and explicit as possible, “dragged that guy out to the stream, cut
him to pieces” shows the absolute lack of empathy the soldiers show and that they
seemingly had no problem chopping up bodies, “no place that was not red” Shows the
violence and atrocious acts committed by the soldiers with little empathy
Personification: “the way he made the corpse dance” By making the corpse seem alive
again by dancing, something often associated with vitality, Anderson shows the cruel
realities of war, “watching the ancestral serpent rise over the village in black coils” By
giving the smoke rising above the village life in the form of a snake, Anderson exemplifies
the connection between the soldiers and the terrors they committed in the village.
Dialogue: The reference to dialogue in this chapter being absolutely nothing save the
silence from the captain that meant to kill the remaining Vietnamese shows once again the
brutality of war
The attitude of this poem is primarily one of indifference until the very last section where
an extremely melancholy tone takes over as the soldiers begin to think about what they
have done. The author states the entire poem in a list format to show that everything that
the soldiers experienced, while terrible, was just another day and is as itemized as a
receipt. Anderson also uses informal language such as “that guy” to set the attitude that the
entire experience was nothing out of the normal.
Shift Rarely does a poem begin and end the poetic The main shift within the poem occurs within the last section, where the poem goes from a
experience in the same place. As is true of most of us,
bored yet gory tone to one of great despair and desperation. Anderson goes into detail
the poet's understanding of an experience is a gradual
realization, and the poem is a reflection of that using words such as “ancestral serpent” and “black coils” as well as referencing the very
understanding or insight. Watch for the following keys own soldiers’ bones. Additionally, the last line about how the soldiers felt it within their
to shifts: bones is separated very differently from the previous line to drive home the point that the
• key words, (but, yet, however, although) soldiers all felt the despair from the actions they had committed.
• 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

Title Revisited Now look at the title again, but this The title’s bare-bones manner makes more sense in relation to the rest of the poem now
time on an interpretive level. What new insight does the
that it is known that Anderson writes the majority of the poem in a bored, itemized manner.
title provide in understanding the poem.
This shows that Infantry Assaults, while brutal and terrible things, were a daily part of the
life of a soldier.

Theme What is the poem saying about the human The events that transpire while at war can leave soldiers feeling extreme guilt for the rest
experience, motivation, or condition? What subject or
of their lives.
subjects does the poem address? What do you learn
about those subjects? What idea does the poet want you
to take away concerning these subjects? Remember that
the theme of any work of literature is stated in a
complete sentence and expresses a clear lesson for the
reader.

Thesis Statement: By combining theme and craft, In Doug Anderson’s thought-provoking short poem, Infantry Assault, he employs both
please construct a formal thesis statement
vivid imagery and shifts in tone to elucidate the fact that the events that transpire while at
war will leave soldiers feeling remorse and guilt ridden for the rest of their lives.

Topic Sentences Topic Sentence 1: Through the symbolism and personification of the mark the soldiers
leave on the village, Anderson shows the new permanent bond between the soldiers, their
guilt, and the actions they committed against the village.
 Topic Sentence 2: Through an extended metaphor and other figurative languages,
Anderson explores the trauma that the soldiers have experienced and how it will stay with
them until the day they die.

How to write a THESIS STATEMENT for POETRY: Provided by Mrs. Blevins :)

EXAMPLE of a THESIS STATEMENT you will be required to master next year:

In William Shakespeare’s provocative, heartbreaking tragedy, Othello, he utilizes/uses/illustrates/demonstrates/shows/depicts both

common animal imagery and clipped, lewd language to illustrate that even the most noble and valiant of individuals can devolve and
mutate into beastial human beings and inelegant, base speakers.

Green illustrates my voice/opinion words;

Blue shows my two salient features;
Yellow indicates my theme statement.