"There Will Come Soft Rains" TPCASTT (FSA style)

Title: What does "soft rains" in the title most likely reference?

• the sadness that the poet wants to evoke (make people feel)
• the cleansing power that nature has to replenish itself
• the well-documented effects of nuclear fallout Teasdale knew
• the joyful mood of springtime and playing in rain puddles

Tags

CCSS.RL.11-12.8

CCSS.RL.8.10

CCSS.RL.8.5

CCSS.RL.9-10.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.9

Title: Why does the poet say the words "There Will Come" to describe the soft rains?

• to indicate that she's speaking of a possible future
• to demonstrate the inevitability of mankind's destruction
• to suggest that people know nuclear weapons will be invented
• to describe that we can see the rain clouds in the distance

Tags

CCSS.RL.11-12.8

CCSS.RL.8.10

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.9

Paraphrase: Which quote is worked in correctly to the sentence? 

• The poem ends with the idea that "Spring herself" would "scarcely know" that mankind had died out (Teasdale 1).
• The poem culminates with the idea that "Nature herself" would scarcely know that "we were gone" (Teasdale 1).
• The poem ends with the idea that Nature doesn't notice mankind has died out.
• "And Spring herself...Would scarcely know that we were gone" (Teasdale 1). 

Tags

CCSS.RI.3.5

CCSS.RL.4.1

CCSS.RL.5.1

CCSS.RL.9-10.9

Paraphrase: Which is the best topic sentence for a paraphrase of this poem?
Note: Remember the topic sentence is the sentence that expresses the main idea.

• Teasdale writes about war.
• Teasdale uses imagery to depict scenes after a terrible war, juxtaposing man with nature to show man's destructive tendencies.
• Teasdale suggests that humanity will destroy nature with a series of detailed concerns about the fate of the environment.
• Teasdale criticizes mankind's penchant for war directly with a scathing tone and obvious irony. 

Tags

CCSS.RI. 9-10.2

CCSS.RI.11-12.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

CCSS.RL.11-12.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

Connotation: What do the phrases the "smell of the ground" and "shimmering sound" contribute to the first stanza of the poem? 
Note: juxtaposition = an intentional contrast using the differences between two things to create meaning; juxtaposed is the verb. 

• These images create a peaceful atmosphere.
• The imagery enhances the juxtaposition (contrast) between man and nature.
• These images are juxtaposed (contrasted) with each other to show the two sides of nature.
• The imagery serves to highlight the changes to the world after the war.

Tags

CCSS.RL.11-12.8

CCSS.RL.8.10

CCSS.RL.8.5

CCSS.RL.9-10.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.9

Connotation: What idea does the word "tremulous" add to the line, "And wild plum trees in tremulous white." 
I. It juxtaposes the idea of "wild" with the shyness of the word "tremulous" which suggests that the trees were timid and returned slowly after a traumatic event.
II. It enhances the imagery by telling the reader what color the trees were.
III. It personifies the trees by suggesting they are hesistant to return. 

• I only
• II and III
• I and III
• I, II, and III

Tags

CCSS.RL.11-12.8

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.8.5

CCSS.RL.9-10.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.9

Attitude: What is the speaker's tone when describing the imagery of the first 3 stanzas? 

• awe-with seriousness/solemnity and wonder
• bitter-exhibiting strong animosity as a result of pain or grief
• gloomy-sadness, full of rejection
• optimistic-hopeful/cheerful

Tags

CCSS.RL.11-12.8

CCSS.RL.8.10

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.9

Attitude: What is the speaker's attitude in the lines, "Not one would mind, neither bird nor tree/if mankind perished utterly"?

• objective-an unbiased view that is able to leave personal judgments aside and consider only the facts
• satiric-ridiculing to show weakness in order to make a point, teach 
• malicious-purposely hurtful and cruel
•  solemn-deeply earnest, tending toward sad reflection

Tags

CCSS.RL.11-12.8

CCSS.RL.8.10

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.9

Shift: Where does the major shift in the poem occur?

• At the line, "Robins will wear their feathery fire" in stanza 3.
• At the line, "And not one will know of the war, not one" in stanza 4.
• At line, "If mankind perished utterly" in stanza 5.
• At line, "Would scarcely know that we were gone" in stanza 6.

Tags

CCSS.RL.11-12.8

CCSS.RL.8.10

CCSS.RL.8.5

CCSS.RL.9-10.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.9

Shift: What kind of shift does the poem have? (The major shift above.) 

• The speaker reveals that the peaceful natural scene described is nature recovering from a major war.
• The speaker suggests that mankind will die out, juxtaposing this idea with the idyllic future described earlier. (Idyllic = ideal and beautiful, like perfect in beauty.)
• The speaker foreshadows a deeper mystery that must be unraveled later in the poem, creating dramatic irony and suspense. (Dramatic irony = something the reader knows but the characters do not.)
• The speaker's tone changes from respectful to cruel. 

Tags

CCSS.RL.11-12.8

CCSS.RL.8.10

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.9