TPCASTT Template

“To a Daughter Leaving Home”

TPCASTT: Poem Analysis Method: title, paraphrase, connotation, diction, attitude, tone, shift(s), title revisited and theme
T / I think the Title of poem means:
I think that the poem is a mother talking to her daughter who is going to go out on her own soon.
P / Paraphrase parts of the Poem
When I taught you
When you were eight to ride
A bicycle, going along
Next to you
As you biked away unsteadily
My mouth was rounding
In surprise when you biked away
Down the curved
Path in the park
I was anticipating
For the sound
Of your crash as I
Ran to catch you
You looked smaller and more fragile
As you got further away
Pedaling, pedaling
As fast as you can
Laughing
Your hair blowing
Behind you like a
Handkerchief waving
Goodbye
C / Connotation of some of the words—changing literal meaning to implied or associated values
In the first stanza the words loping and wobbled are used to create a silly, innocent tone. They create an image of a young, stumbling child who is innocent and having new experiences.
Onomatopoeia is used in with the word “thud”, a word that is used to describe the fears that the parent has.
Words like “smaller” and ”breakable” verbalize the parent’s fears, but at the same time they are contrasted with words like “screaming with laughter” to describe the daughter’s feelings.
Diction in this passage is very simple and informal.
A / Attitude—What is the attitude of the author, characters, or yourself?
The speaker is both apprehensive and worried about the safety of her daughter, but she is also proud that her daughter is becoming more independent.
The speaker’s daughter is adventurous and happy to be trying something new.
S / Shift—At first we think or feel one way—then there is a shift: identify the shifts and explain them
In the beginning of the poem we can sense the speaker’s helping, caring nature as they try to teach their daughter to ride a bike. After the daughter does not crash and speeds away, the poem shifts to a feeling of nostalgia and the mother realizes that her daughter is becoming independent.
T / Title revisited—any new insights on meaning or significance of title.
I originally thought that the poem is talking about a grown up daughter leaving home, but after reading the poem I realized that it is about an eight year old going for her first bike ride away from home.
T / Theme or Author’s Purpose
The author’s purpose in this poem is to explore all of the feelings that a parent goes through as their children mature and become more independent. The author works through feelings or apprehension, worry, concern, protectiveness, and finally sadness and reminiscence as their daughter leaves home. The theme of the poem is something along the lines of “If you love something, set it free.” The parent is nervous and worried, but they have to let their daughter grow up and be independent.