TP-CASTT

Presentation

Elegy for the Giant Tortoises

Title

An elegy is a lyric poem about death. Since the title said Elegy for the Giant Tortoises , it might mean the poem may be about dead giant tortoises.

Connotation
In this poem, the most used connotation is the word I. It doesnt just refer to the narrator, but actually everyone.
The last day in the 4th stanza refers to the last day the giant tortoises ever set foot on this world. It has nothing to do with the apocalypse though.
The last lines of the poem uses religious words like relics andaltars to describe a museum containing animals that have been stuffed. These words also creates a mood identical to that of a funeral.
Attitude
Depressing and serious
Shifts
Poem uses I then switches to we
Poem starts to use religious words toward the end.
Theme
Almost all animals are becoming extinct or endangered because of humans. And since those animals are extinct, we read, talk, and think about them and eventually forget about them. We can still see
them stuffed in museums, but never ever see a live one.

Margaret Atwood was born on November 18, 1939 in Ottawa, Canada. She was raised in Ontario, Quebec, and Toronto. Her father was an entomologist. She got her
undergraduate degree from Victoria College in the University of Toronto. She later got her masters degree from Radcliffe College in 1962. She and her husband,
Graeme Gibson, are currently joint honorary presidents of the Rare Bird Club of Bird Life International.

Elegy for the Giant Tortoises

http://www.scientificamerican.com/slideshow/lonesome-george-the-last-of-hiskind-strikes-his-final-pose-slideshow/

Grape
Sherbet
Title - I think it might be about a childhood treat that a person enjoyed. The literal
meaning of the title is a grape flavored sherbet, but the title might rather be used as a
symbol in the poem.
Paraphrase - The meaning of the poem in our own words
Connotation - The grape sherbet is described with words of imagery and similes, and in
some ways, can symbolize the narrators father.
Attitude - Happy and innocent in beginning, but reflexive at end
Shifts - Setting changes between the grill and the graveyard
- Changing of perspective and age of narrator
Title - The poets memories of her father

400-Meter Freestyle
Title
Using common knowledge, one can surely assume the title refers to swimming. The 400 meters mentioned in the title can be the
distance of the race. The freestyle might concern the type of swimming the participants are required to use.
Connotation
The poem includes quite a bit of poetic devices and these devices increase the intensity of the race. Personification is used in this poem
describing the swimmers body, for example, it states The astonishing whites of the soles of his feet rise and salute us on the turns;
This means his feet rise and face the audience when he turns around after a lap. Another example would be how the heart is given the
human characteristic of crying, He does not list for air, he drives along on little sips carefully expended, but, that plum red heart pumps
hard cries hurt this presents how the heart is in pain during the extreme race.
There is only one example of a metaphor, at the beginning, water is referred to as glass when the swimmers crack it. This means the
contestants disrupted the water that was calm and peaceful until the race began and they started swimming.
The alliteration used in the poem is quite short but still adds to the intensity of the race, The gun full swing the swimmer catapults, and
To his mobile mouth that siphons in the air.
The most noticeable use of poetic device that is seen in this poem is how it is positioned on the paper. This concrete poem has the
unique layout of what is assumed to be the lanes in which the participants in the race are swimming in.
Attitude
The attitude would have to be intense and concentrated. The poems only focus is the race in which the swimmers are trying their best to
win with the best time. Intensity is created with the creative wording of the poem combined with the sound devices used.

400-Meter Freestyle
Shift
The poem revolves around the race occurring, this means there isnt a very big shift into a deeper meaning or experience. There are two small
shifts that occur one during the competition and one immediately after. The first shift happens while the swimmer is in the middle of race; the
focus is moved to the audience watching him for signs, meaning they are watching attentively. The second shift is the result of the race, in the
poem, the swimmers actions are described throughout the race. When the competition finishes the time of the swimmer the poem has been
focusing on is stated 4:25:9, displaying how the hard work of the individual paid off.
Theme
In order to do your best towards a goal you must give full concentration and ignore the distractions around you.
Maxine Kumin
Maxine was born in Germantown, Philadelphia, in 1925 and passed away in 2014. Her poetic career was very successful receiving many awards, including a poetry
pulitzer award, Ruth Lilly Poetry Prizes, the 2005 Harvard Arts Medal, and many more. She had taught at many respected universities including MIT, Princeton University,
Columbia University, Brandeis University, and the University of Miami.
Maxine has wrote pieces based on experiences and inspirations. Although she may not have been an avid swimmer, she may have observed swimming races that
helped her write 400- Meter Freestyle. Maxine was seriously injured in an accident, there is a possibility that her physical therapy included a swimming segment. She had
written a few other poems about the topic of swimming, however, they were not concerning the same theme.

400-Meter Freestyle
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWeUZO9xdyA

Anyone Lived in a Pretty how Town

Title
Judging from the fact that all of the words are uncapitalized, this is likely to be an organic poem.
Connotation
The words he, she, his, and her actually refers to the people who live in the town instead of just one person. So basically
the poem talks about the lifestyle of the town, not just one or two people.
Another connotation involves the words spring, summer, autumn, winter, sun, moon, stars, and rain.
They each symbolize a stage in the cycle of life and death. For example, spring and sun refers to birth while winter and
rain refers to death. This is significant because the poem starts with life and ends with death.
Attitude
The poem starts with a seemingly joyful tone at first since it talks about the peaceful, but careless lifestyle of the town. However,
in the 7th stanza, the tone becomes depressing. Thats because not only everyone in the town died, but also everyone isnt
mourned over

Anyone Lived in a Pretty how Town

Shift
The poem often shifts from using words like he and him to words like they and them when referring to the townspeople
several times.
In the 7th stanza, the point of view of the poem changes from 3rd person to 1st person. This shows as if it seems
a person was telling a story the whole entire time.
Another shift would be when the order of the 4 seasons and the 4 objects in the sky (the ones mentioned in this
poem) change every time they get mentioned. This shows the stage of the life cycle the townspeople are in.

Theme
Everyone knows that people die at some point, but if the dead person didnt care about anything and/or was never cared by
anyone, then not only they become forgotten, but also they never change.
Edward Estlin Cummings was born on 10/14/1894 at Cambridge, Massachusetts. His father was both a
minister and a professor at Harvard, but it was his mother who taught him the love of language.
Cummings earned his B.A. and M.A. in 1916 from Harvard University. After that, he volunteered for the
ambulance corps during WWI. Cummings got a fellowship from the Academy of American Poets in the
1950s. He even won the Bollingen prize for Poetry from Yale University. He was married 3 times. On
September 3, 1962, Cummings died in North Conway, New Hampshire from a brain hemorrhage.

Elegy for the Giant Tortoises

Title

An elegy is a lyric poem about death. Since the title said Elegy for the Giant Tortoises , it might mean the poem may be about dead giant tortoises.

Connotation
In this poem, the most used connotation is the word I. It doesnt just refer to the narrator, but actually everyone.
The last day in the 4th stanza refers to the last day the giant tortoises ever set foot on this world. It has nothing to do with the apocalypse though.
The last lines of the poem uses religious words like relics andaltars to describe a museum containing animals that have been stuffed. These words also creates a mood identical to that of a funeral.
Attitude
Depressing and serious
Shifts
Poem uses I then switches to we
Poem starts to use religious words toward the end.
Theme
Almost all animals are becoming extinct or endangered because of humans. And since those animals are extinct, we read, talk, and think about them and eventually forget about them. We can still see
them stuffed in museums, but never ever see a live one.

Margaret Atwood was born on November 18, 1939 in Ottawa, Canada. She was raised in Ontario, Quebec, and Toronto. Her father was an entomologist. She got her
undergraduate degree from Victoria College in the University of Toronto. She later got her masters degree from Radcliffe College in 1962. She and her husband,
Graeme Gibson, are currently joint honorary presidents of the Rare Bird Club of Bird Life International.

Elegy for the Giant Tortoises

http://www.scientificamerican.com/slideshow/lonesome-george-the-last-of-hiskind-strikes-his-final-pose-slideshow/

Grape
Sherbet
Title - I think it might be about a childhood treat that a person enjoyed. The literal
meaning of the title is a grape flavored sherbet, but the title might rather be used as a
symbol in the poem.
Paraphrase - The meaning of the poem in our own words
Connotation - The grape sherbet is described with words of imagery and similes, and in
some ways, can symbolize the narrators father.
Attitude - Happy and innocent in beginning, but reflexive at end
Shifts - Setting changes between the grill and the graveyard
- Changing of perspective and age of narrator
Title - The poets memories of her father

400-Meter Freestyle
Title
Using common knowledge, one can surely assume the title refers to swimming. The 400 meters mentioned in the title can be the
distance of the race. The freestyle might concern the type of swimming the participants are required to use.
Connotation
The poem includes quite a bit of poetic devices and these devices increase the intensity of the race. Personification is used in this poem
describing the swimmers body, for example, it states The astonishing whites of the soles of his feet rise and salute us on the turns;
This means his feet rise and face the audience when he turns around after a lap. Another example would be how the heart is given the
human characteristic of crying, He does not list for air, he drives along on little sips carefully expended, but, that plum red heart pumps
hard cries hurt this presents how the heart is in pain during the extreme race.
There is only one example of a metaphor, at the beginning, water is referred to as glass when the swimmers crack it. This means the
contestants disrupted the water that was calm and peaceful until the race began and they started swimming.
The alliteration used in the poem is quite short but still adds to the intensity of the race, The gun full swing the swimmer catapults, and
To his mobile mouth that siphons in the air.
The most noticeable use of poetic device that is seen in this poem is how it is positioned on the paper. This concrete poem has the
unique layout of what is assumed to be the lanes in which the participants in the race are swimming in.
Attitude
The attitude would have to be intense and concentrated. The poems only focus is the race in which the swimmers are trying their best to
win with the best time. Intensity is created with the creative wording of the poem combined with the sound devices used.

400-Meter Freestyle
Shift
The poem revolves around the race occurring, this means there isnt a very big shift into a deeper meaning or experience. There are two small
shifts that occur one during the competition and one immediately after. The first shift happens while the swimmer is in the middle of race; the
focus is moved to the audience watching him for signs, meaning they are watching attentively. The second shift is the result of the race, in the
poem, the swimmers actions are described throughout the race. When the competition finishes the time of the swimmer the poem has been
focusing on is stated 4:25:9, displaying how the hard work of the individual paid off.
Theme
In order to do your best towards a goal you must give full concentration and ignore the distractions around you.
Maxine Kumin
Maxine was born in Germantown, Philadelphia, in 1925 and passed away in 2014. Her poetic career was very successful receiving many awards,
including a poetry pulitzer award, Ruth Lilly Poetry Prizes, the 2005 Harvard Arts Medal, and many more. She had taught at many respected universities
including MIT, Princeton University, Columbia University, Brandeis University, and the University of Miami.
Maxine has wrote pieces based on experiences and inspirations. Although she may not have been an avid swimmer, she may have observed
swimming races that helped her write 400- Meter Freestyle. Maxine was seriously injured in an accident, there is a possibility that her physical therapy
included a swimming segment. She had written a few other poems about the topic of swimming, however, they were not concerning the same theme.

400-Meter Freestyle
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWeUZO9xdyA

Anyone Lived in a Pretty how Town

Title
Judging from the fact that all of the words are uncapitalized, this is likely to be an organic poem.
Connotation
The words he, she, his, and her actually refers to the people who live in the town instead of just one person. So basically
the poem talks about the lifestyle of the town, not just one or two people.
Another connotation involves the words spring, summer, autumn, winter, sun, moon, stars, and rain.
They each symbolize a stage in the cycle of life and death. For example, spring and sun refers to birth while winter and
rain refers to death. This is significant because the poem starts with life and ends with death.
Attitude
The poem starts with a seemingly joyful tone at first since it talks about the peaceful, but careless lifestyle of the town. However,
in the 7th stanza, the tone becomes depressing. Thats because not only everyone in the town died, but also everyone isnt
mourned over

Anyone Lived in a Pretty how Town

Shift
The poem often shifts from using words like he and him to words like they and them when referring to the townspeople
several times.
In the 7th stanza, the point of view of the poem changes from 3rd person to 1st person. This shows as if it seems
a person was telling a story the whole entire time.
Another shift would be when the order of the 4 seasons and the 4 objects in the sky (the ones mentioned in this
poem) change every time they get mentioned. This shows the stage of the life cycle the townspeople are in.

Theme
Everyone knows that people die at some point, but if the dead person didnt care about anything and/or was never cared by
anyone, then not only they become forgotten, but also they never change.
Edward Estlin Cummings was born on 10/14/1894 at Cambridge, Massachusetts. His father was both a
minister and a professor at Harvard, but it was his mother who taught him the love of language.
Cummings earned his B.A. and M.A. in 1916 from Harvard University. After that, he volunteered for the
ambulance corps during WWI. Cummings got a fellowship from the Academy of American Poets in the
1950s. He even won the Bollingen prize for Poetry from Yale University. He was married 3 times. On
September 3, 1962, Cummings died in North Conway, New Hampshire from a brain hemorrhage.

Anyone Lived in a Pretty how Town