TP-DASTT Poetry Analysis

Directions: You will watch a video representation of the poem, “To This Day.”
Before watching/reading, respond to the first element of TP-DASTT (the title).
After predicting what the poem is about, watch the video and read over the lyrics.
Then complete the rest of the TP-DASTT process outlined below. You may work
on your own or with one other person.

Use the following links to aid you with your poetry analysis:
“To This Day” Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltun92DfnPY
“To This Day” Poem:
https://genius.com/Shane-koyczan-to-this-day
Paraphrase: Pick at least 3 stanzas of the poem to translate into your own
words. Look for complete thoughts (sentences may be inverted) and look up
unfamiliar words.

Devices: Examine the poem for meaning beyond the literal. Look for figurative
language, imagery, and sound elements. Think about similes and metaphors.
What does the figurative language mean in the poem?

There was definitely a lot of imagery in the video. The images really helped me
understand the extent of every situation that he was talking about. There would
be different colors used base on the tone of what he was saying. For example,
when he said something kind of somber, the colors would change to be cool tones
and darker colors like black and dark blue. I didn’t see a ton of figurative language
but one big saying that he really dove into and used as a transition was the saying
“sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me”. He used
that and built off of it by explaining how the words hurt just as much, if not more
than breaking a bone or getting a bruise.
Attitude/Tone: Notice the speaker’s tone and attitude. Humor? Sarcasm? Awe?
Anger?

The tones did change, but a lot of the time the tone was really despairing and
somber. I think it was probably because he was talking about some really sad and
intense situations that had really affected him and maybe his perspective on life.
Also, you could tell that there was a lot of intensity and passion in his voice, just
by the level of volume and articulation he was at.

Shifts: Note any shifts or changes in the speaker or attitude. Look for any key
words, time change, punctuation.

Some shifts in tone/attitude were when he started talking about how his silly
mistake lead to a full-scale investigation. From there on, he would mostly switch
between a really intense a loud voice, to just a sad or frustrated one. He would
kind of slow down when he was actually explaining what happened, and then he
would speed up and pronounce his words with great confidence when he was
sort of explaining how kids like him felt in those situations. His voice would also
intensify when he reached the climax in the story.

Title: Examine the title again, this time on an interpretive level.

Now, I think the title means that still, to this day, people are bullying others for
the same reasons that they were before. And to him, that is frankly disgraceful
because he thinks that people would have accepted each other's differences by
now. But, still, people are getting bullied and are hating themselves for things that
they can’t control and that shouldn’t be a factor in whether someone is friends
with another person. And they are judging each other's characters based on only
what they can see, and not on what their personality is actually like.

Theme: Briefly state, in your own words, what the poem is about (subject), then
what the poet is saying about the subject (theme).

I think this poem is about bullying and beauty. I think he is trying to explain that
people go through different things in their life, and they have different looks, but
that really shouldn’t matter. To him, he can relate to people who got bullied or
got made fun of because of their differences. And he has empathy for the kids
that still have insecurities and doubts about themselves because they were
maybe a little different as a kid. And he really thinks that that in itself is an
injustice.