Literary Essay
English 122
Introduction
 Discusses your interpretations
 Goes beyond the plot
 Explain some deeper meaning of the work
 Do not retell the story
 Details of plot should be used only to
support particular claim
 Resist mentioning what you think of the
work
Before Writing
 Analyze the piece of literature closely so
that you can interpret it.
Tone
 Determine the author’s tone
 Serious, ironic, humourous, etc.
Conflict
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Man vs. Man
Man vs. Self
Man vs. Nature
Man vs. Supernatural
Man vs. Technology
Man vs. Society
Character & Character
Development
 Understanding of the characters
 Analyze their speech, actions, and
reactions to other characters and by
other characters
 As a result of their experiences,
characters often develop or change
 Change often results from a particular
insight or realization
Situation
 Has two elements that affect the main
character
 External elements (other characters, time,
place, atmosphere, etc.)
 Internal elements (the way he/she deals with
conflict, and experiences he/she is
undergoing)
Narrator & Point of View
 Limited point of view
 Can only tell the story from as one character
sees or hears it.
 Omniscient point of view
 Third person point of view
Symbol
 Something that stands for or represents
something else
Theme
 Manipulates all of the preceding
elements in developing his/her theme or
general idea
 Seldom, this is stated explicitly