Megan Judge

Judge 1

Mrs. Hope
English LPS
9 November 2015
TPCASTT Analysis
TITLE:
Jade Flower Palace could be about a persons life in a palace surrounded by beautiful jade
flowers
PARAPHRASE:
The creek twists.
The breeze creates a low sound in the pine trees.
Gray rodents run hastily over shattered tiles.
Which kings son, long time, assembled this castle, structured among the destruction next to the
cliffs?
There are Green spirit fires in the dark space.
The broken paved surfaces are all swept away.
Ten thousand wind instruments bellow and whistle.
The fall, ruby leaves are dispersed because of the storm.
His girls that moved to music have turned into yellow, tiny particles.
Their colorful cheeks have fallen to pieces.
His gold wagons and attendants have left.
The only object left of his fame is a stone stallion.
I perch myself on the grass and begin writing poetry, but the quality of it overwhelms me with
sorrow.
Without being noticed, the future slips away.

Judge 2
Who can say what will happen in the time to come?
CONNOTATION:
The poem has an overall negative connotation; this is shown by the authors word choice and
imagery. The text uses words such as moans, ruins, and left of his glory (Tu Fu). All of
these words aid in making a depressing image of a run down palace. The last sentence also
portrays a hopeful connotation because you never know if your future will turn out bad or good.
ATTITUDE/ TONE:
The speakers tone is contemplative because by examining all of the glory this prince lost, the
poet begins to express how no one knows what the future holds. He/she feels the future/ Slips
imperceptibly away (Tu Fu, 18-19). By thinking of what is to come, the poet creates a reflective
tone.
SHIFTS:
One time where the poem shifts is near the end. The poet states, I sit on the grass and/ Start a
poem, but the pathos of/ It overcomes me (Tu Fu, 16-18). This is a shift because the author uses
the word but.
TITLE:
The first impression I got of the poem based on the title was that it was going to be uplifting and
joyful. However, after reading it the title gains more of a deeper, hidden meaning since the story
is about how anyone can lose anything, and the future is uncertain. The title symbolizes how
something beautiful can slip away into ruins.
THEME:
The future is unpredictable, and people never know what the future holds.

Judge 3

Jade Flower Palace by Tu Fu is a poem about a forgotten palace in ruins and an

unknown prince. This Confucian poet uses the shih form to write a compelling piece that
describes loss which brings about sorrow. After analyzing the poem, Tu Fus opinions on a
variety of topics are revealed. In his poem Tu Fu uses the title, connotation, his attitude, and the
overall theme to convey his views on the future.
Tu Fu uses words that contain a deeper message beyond the literal and the title of the
poem in order to get his overall message across. The image he depicts and his word choice, for
the most part, portray a negative connotation. For example, Tu Fu uses words such as moans
and ruins to convey his point. These words create a painful and depressing picture in peoples
heads resulting in a negative vision. However, the text states, Who can say what the years will
bring (Tu Fu 20). This statement that the poet ends with contains a somewhat hopeful message.
He is not saying for certain that the future carries a bad outcome. Instead, it alludes to the fact
that the future is not yet written; therefore, anything can happen. Additionally, the meaning of the
poem is displayed in the title. The first impression of the title is that the poem is going to be
uplifting and joyful. This is because jade, flower, and palace all come across as positive and
gleeful words. However, after reading the poem the title gains a deeper, hidden meaning. The
poem is based on losing everything you have (fame, riches, luxury, etc.) and how the future is
uncertain; therefore, the title symbolizes how something great can fade away from peoples
memories and slip into ruins.

Judge 4
Furthermore, Tu Fus overall attitude in his poem conveys his beliefs. To begin with, the
tone of Jade Flower Palace is contemplative; by examining all of the glory this prince lost, the
poet begins to express how no one knows what the future holds. He feels the future/ Slips
imperceptibly away (Tu Fu 18-19). By thinking of what is to come, the poet creates a reflective
tone. As a result he ends the poem with a rhetorical question forcing the reader to contemplate
his/her own future. To add on, the theme is about how everything is temporary and the future is
uncertain. The poet is saying that anything can happen. It is possible to have all of the glory and
fame in the world but lose it all; on the other hand, there is also opportunities for people to have
nothing and then do something great, leading people to remember them for ages. Either way the
poet is trying to get the point across that the future can bring surprises, even great loss.
All in all, Tu Fu uses a variety of elements in his poem in order to articulate his views on
what the future brings. By examining the different aspects the poem has to offer, the reader can
reach the conclusion that the future is unpredictable. In order to portray this the poet tells the
short story of a prince and a palace that lost all of its glory. Overall, the poet leaves the reader
thinking about what their own destiny will hold because nothing is set in place.