Lake Sumter State College
ENC 1102
Leonard M. Miller, Instructor
Fall 2015
Longer Literary Analysis
OVERVIEW: Writing
Literary Analysis is another level of writing at the college level, because the writer employs both primary and
secondary sources into the analysis. Longer pieces of literary analysis are generally 6-8 pages with a Works Cited page. This
assignment will not review, summarize, or promote works of literature, but it will focus upon a literary aspect of the work with close
readings. Secondary sources must be also used. Select 2-4 secondary, scholarly sources* PER primary work or writer. These
sources will effectively analyze and bring additional light to the reader of the selected works.
*Do NOT utilize: Sparknotes, Save-A-Grade, Masterplots, “Go Ask Google..” or any other of these resource types. If there is a question, ask the
instructor. Do NOT forget: There are many, many pieces of approved secondary sources found right in your texts.
SPECIFICS of the ASSIGNMENT:
1.
The “audience” is considered to be academically focused and able to comprehend the level of discourse needed for
literary analysis. For this reason, the analysis should not summarize, review, or promote the pieces of literature or the
authors/playwrights. When considering who will read your analysis, keep in mind that their asking, “So what?” at the
end of your essay is NOT what you are aiming for. You want the reader to know a little more about the writers and the
pieces of literature than when he/she began. Even if the reader is familiar with your subject matter, you may be the writer
to suggest a different perspective on literary style, the characterizations, or development of theme, for example.
2.
The writer of this analysis is to actively read two selections, ONE may be assigned on the syllabus, or two works from
the same author/poet/playwright from the “Fiction,” “Poetry” or “Drama” genres. Selections must be from the Kennedy
and Gioia text currently being used for ENC 1102. This “active reading” should happen several times, each time with the
writer making notes about any of the elements of literature that have been discussed in class.
One of those elements of literature needs to be focused upon and researched. Will it be a theme? An aspect of style?
Development of character? Theme? Symbol? Literary technique? A Motif? That is the writer’s choice.
3.
The length of this essay will be from 6-8 pages of text with an additional final page of Works Cited. It will be submitted
in correct MLA format as directed by the The Little Seagull Handbook or Part 4: Writing. Pay attention to font, size of
font, spacing, etc. as directed by those sources and your instructor.
4.
The due-date will be discussed in class. It is advisable that writers use the Learning Center frequently at various stages of
this assignment and produce multiple drafts for assessment and review.
PROCEDURE:
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“Percolate” on at least three potential topics that would not only be of interest to you as the writer, but also be of interest
to your reading audience. Make sure you have read the literature that you are considering and understand it.
Once the topic has been accepted and approved, begin researching the authors and the particular pieces using all
suggested ways outlined in class.
Create a “Working” Works Cited page.
After actively rereading the literature, create a “working” thesis. This is what you will attempt to prove and develop in
your analysis.
Begin drafting. Make sure that if you write using the word processor that you continue to SAVE. (I would even suggest
your doing a SAVE AS, so that you’ll have several NUMBERED drafts.)
Complete a ROUGH DRAFT, complete with cited notations and Works Cited Page. (DO NOT LEAVE THE
CITATIONS TO BE FILLED IN LATER.)
Peer Editing will occur on your own time at various outlets.
Reflect, revise, rewrite, edit, finalize.
Keep to all deadlines.
Over Please
Suggested Topics: (These are ONLY to get you thinking. Try thinking of one yourself based on your likes when it comes to genre and/or author.)
Suggested Topics for Thematic Essays:
Do NOT use any of these suggestions for TITLES.
Please think of your own; creativity and originality counts!
1. A Look at the Parent/Child Relationship :
Drama: Death of a Salesman; Fences; Hamlet etc.
Short Fiction: “Everyday Use,” Luke 15:11-32 “The Parable of the Prodigal Son;” “Teenage Wasteland,” “This is What It
Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona,”“The Shunammite,” “Barn Burning,” etc.
Poetry: “My Papa’s Waltz,” “For My Daughter,” “Rite of Passage,” “Daddy” etc.
2. Love and Marriage: Eternal Bliss or Damnation?
Drama: A Doll’s House; A Midsummer’s Night Dream; Death of a Salesman; Tattoo; Soap Opera; etc.
Short Fiction: “Shiloh;” “Happy Endings;” “Sweat;” “Araby;” “A Place I’ve Never Been;” “The Chrysanthemums;”
“How I Met My Husband;” “I Stand Here Ironing;” “Miss Brill;” etc.
Poetry: “My Last Duchess;” “Lonely Hearts;” “Love Calls Us to the Things of this World;” “Love and Friendship;” etc.
“Oh, my love is like a red, red rose;” “First Love: A Quiz;” “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock;”
“Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day?” “The Heart;” “You fit into me;” “Deathly;” etc.
3. Forever Friends or Bitter Enemies: Brothers/Sisters in Our Lives
Drama: Death of a Salesman; Antigone; Hamlet; Othello; etc.
Short Fiction: “Everyday Use;” “The Rich Brother;” “The Fall of the House of Usher;” etc.
Poetry: “On the Death of Friends in Childhood;” etc.
Miscellaneous Suggestions:
1. Choose and read two stories from the section in “Fiction.” After briefly summarizing plot and characterization, write at length
about how the protagonist is changed or tested by the story’s events. What do the main characters’ actions reveal about his/her
personality? Possible selections: “Everyday Use;” “Young Goodman Brown;” “A Rose for Emily;” A Good Man is Hard to Find;”
“Parker’s Back;” “Paul’s Case;” “Sweat;” “The Rich Brother;” etc.
2. Take any story in this chapter and analyze how the author presents the key setting. Don’t pay special attention to the protagonist or
other human characters, but focus on the setting that surrounds him/her and how it emerges as a force in the story.
3. Examine a short story with a style you admire. Analyze the author’s approach toward diction, sentence structure, tone, and
organization. How do these elements work together to create a certain mood? How does that mood contribute to the story’s meaning?
If your chosen story has a first-person narrator, how do stylistic choices help to create a sense of that particular character?
4. “To Build a Fire” and “The Open Boat” both address the theme of a human being pitted against indifferent nature. Contrast the
stories’ approaches to this theme. How do the tones of the stories differ? How do these tonal differences help to communicate theme?
5. Choose a story with a strong central symbol. Explain how the symbol helps to communicate the story’s meaning, citing specific
moments in the text. Refer to any the ancillary material in your text for assistance.
6. Compare Oedipus the King to Antigone in terms of their characterizations of their protagonists. In what ways does Antigone
resemble Oedipus, and in what ways does she differ? Is either or both consider tragic heroes?
7. Discuss how any, or both, of these Shakespearean characters are tragic heroes: Hamlet and/or Othello. You might want to contrast
the characters: Hamlet: the procrastinating son/boyfriend and Othello: the impulsive lover/best friend.
8. Select at least five poems by the same poet (1 or 2 may be found outside the text, if need be) and discuss the poet’s poetic style and
thematic purpose. Suggested poets: Robert Frost, Langston Hughes, Sylvia Plath, William Shakespeare, Emily Dickinson, Thomas
Hardy, Edgar Allan Poe, etc.