Download - Intro.Lit Analysis
Literary Analysis
Mack Gipson, Jr.
Tutorial and Enrichment Center
Gayla S. Keesee
Education Specialist
Literature focuses on the search for reasons, values, and interpretations in all areas of human interest and experience.
Because literature presents us with more than one possible meaning, interpreting
literature requires more care and attention than does responding to an essay.
Read slowly and carefully.
Plan on reading the work several times.
Ask questions to establish the literal meaning first; then work on interpretation.
Annotate as you read.
Identify themes and patterns.
How to proceed
An analysis explains what a work of literature means, and
how it means it.
Critical Thinking and Reading
Responding to literature with a critical temperament means always being willing to analyze, interpret,
question, synthesize, and evaluate.
Critical Thinking and Reading
ANALYZE What does the passage mean, literally?
INTERPRET: What does it mean figuratively? Are there symbolic overtones? Can it mean more than one thing? What passages in the text lead you to believe this
is a valid interpretation?
Critical Thinking and Reading
QUESTION: What problems are suggested by the reading? What's confusing? If you had the author here, what would you ask? What philosophical question(s) does the reading
inspire?
Critical Thinking and Reading
SYNTHESIZE: How does this reading compare or contrast what
you’ve read previously? How does it fit into your scheme, either
thematically or formally?
Critical Thinking and Reading
EVALUATE: Is it a first rate piece of writing or fifth rate piece of
writing? What criteria do you use to establish this
judgment? If you are evaluating a poem, for instance, what
defines a first rate poem? How does this particular poem match up to that
standard? Can you point to the exact places in the text to
support your reading?
What is Literary Analysis?
It’s literary
It’s an analysis
It’s—
An Argument!
Uses evidence from the text
May also involve research on and analysis of secondary sources
How is it “literary”?
Usually, a literary analysis will involve a discussion of a text as writing, thus the term literary, which means “having to do with letters”
This will involve the use of certain concepts that are very specifically associated with literature
How to Analyze a Story
• Essential Elements of the Story• Structure of the Story• Rhetorical Elements• Meaning of the Story
How to Analyze a Story
Essential Elements of the StoryPlot: Relationship and patterns of eventsCharacters: people the author creates
Including the narrator of a story or the speaker of a poem
Setting: when and where the action happensPoint of View: perspective or attitude of the
narrator or speakerTheme: main idea—what the work adds up to
PlotExposition: Introductory material giving setting, tone, charactersRising Action: series of complications leading up to the climaxConflict: Person vs…Person, Nature, Society, Supernatural, SelfCrisis/Climax: Turning point in the conflict—moment of highest interest and/or emotionFalling Action: Events after the climax which close the story.Resolution (Denouement): Concludes the action
Introduction
RisingAction
Crisis/Climax
Falling Action
Resolution
Plot Sequence
Complications leading to Conflict(s)
Characterization
ProtagonistMain character
AntagonistCharacter or force that opposes the main character
FoilCharacter that provides a contrast to the protagonist
RoundThree-dimensional personality
FlatOnly one or two striking qualities—all bad or all good
DynamicGrows and progress to a higher level of understanding
StaticRemain unchanged throughout the story
Point of View
First Person Narrator is a character within the story—reveals own
thoughts and feelings but not those of others
Third Person Objective: narrator outside the story acts as a reporter
—cannot tell what characters are thinking Limited: narrator outside the story but can see into the
mind of one of the characters Omniscient: narrator is all-knowing outsider who can
enter the mind of more than one character.
Setting
Time period
Geographical location
Historical and cultural context Social Political Spiritual
Instrumental in establishing mood
May symbolizes the emotional state of characters
Impact on characters’ motivations and options
Theme
Main idea or underlying meaning of the literary work.What the author wants the reader to
understand about the subject In fables, this may also be the moral of the
story
Common Themes in Literature
Questions, issues or problems: what is right or wrong; good or bad; worthwhile or unimportant
Abstract ideas: love, death, honor
Conflicts: freedom vs. restraint, poverty vs. wealth
Common topics: self-realization, mortality, fall from innocence, search for the meaning of life.
How to Analyze a Story
Structure of the Story: design or form of the completed actionMay philosophically mirror the author’s
intentionsHow the author uses the elements of the
story to reveal his/her themeLook for repeated elements in action,
gestures, dialogue, description as well as shifts in direction, focus, time, place, etc.
How to Analyze a StoryRhetorical Elements: Identify the author’s use and explain their importanceForeshadowing
Use of hints or clues to suggest event that will occur later in the story
Builds suspense—means of making the narrative more believable
ToneAuthor’s attitude—stated or implied—toward the
subjectRevealed through word choice and details
Rhetorical Elements
MoodClimate of feeling in a literary workChoice of setting, objects, details, images,
words
SymbolismPerson, place, object which stand for larger
and more abstract ideasAmerican flag = freedomDove = peace
Rhetorical Elements
Irony: contrast between what is expected or what appears to be and what actually isVerbal Irony—contrast between what is
said and what is actually meant Irony of Situation—an event that is the
opposite of what is expected or intendedDramatic Irony—Audience or reader knows
more than the characters know
Rhetorical Elements
Figurative Language: language that goes beyond the literal meaning of wordsSimileMetaphorPersonificationOxymoronHyperbole
How to Analyze a Story
Meaning of the Story (Interpretation) Identify the theme(s) and how the author
announces it.Explain how the story elements contribute to
the theme. Identify contextual elements (allusions,
symbols, other devices) that point beyond the story to the author’s life/experience, history or to other writings.
How do I support a thesis statement?
Examples from the textDirect quotationsSummaries of scenes/actionParaphrases
Other critics’ opinions
Historical and social context
Supporting Your Thesis
The Text (Primary Source)As you write, consistently refer to the text
to support your purpose.Use the author’s own words—quotes.No right or wrong interpretation as long as
you can support it from the text.
Secondary SourcesLiterary Criticism