Writing a Literary Analysis
Discuss and Explain
Identify and Show
Examine and Evaluate
What Do I Need to Do?
Read, Read, Read
Research, Research, Research
Provide specific support
What is my Reading
Objective?
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To carefully examine and evaluate the
piece of literature
•
To break down the component parts
of the piece of literature
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To develop an appreciation and
understanding of the piece of
literature
What is my Writing Objective?
•
Stay sharply focused
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Develop a specific idea
•
Convince the reader that you have supported
the idea you are developing
•
Maintain your focus throughout the paper
Really Reading A Text
In order to write well about literature, you must
be able to read the text closely:
•
•
•
look at its structure,
analyze the words the author has
chosen,
interpret the characters’ motivations,
uncover the patterns of language and
literary devices.
Analysis Strategies
1. When reading through the work for the first time, read as you would at the
beach: get the “gist” of the plot.
2. During the second read, pay particular attention to words that you do not
know and look up those words in the dictionary.
3. Think about the setting of the work and its culture. Is the work set in the 20th
century or another time? Is it set in the U.S. or another country? In what
region of the U.S. or world? What are customs, traditions, and lifestyles like
in that particular region? What is the socioeconomic status of the
characters—are they rich, middle class or poor? What is the ethnicity of the
characters?
Analysis Strategies
continued…
4. During subsequent readings, methodically begin to pay attention to how
characters interact with one another, how the writer uses words to
convey meaning, how the characters speak, who is telling (or narrating)
the story, the kinds of images the writer uses, or any other aspect of the
text that seems important to you.
5. Annotating the text (by underlining or circling passages and writing in the
margins) is helpful because your annotations can refer you to particular
sections of the work later. Since you will need to draw the evidence for
your interpretation from the work itself, having already marked sections of
the work will aid you in garnering your evidence when writing the paper
later.
Helpful Hints
• Think carefully about the beginnings and endings
of sections of the text, and,too, about the
opening and closing of the work as a whole.
• Think carefully about any assertions that the
author seems inclined to repeat.
• Look closely at any oppositions or conflicts that
would seem important in the writer’s treatment of
the subject matter.
• Why did the author choose to title the piece the
way he or she did?
Helpful Hints continued…
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Are there any compelling details that trigger for you any vivid
memories or
strong emotions?
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Always read everything more than once.
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Always try to have conversations about the things you read.
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Try to read persistently, to find ways to disagree with or at
least to complicate the author’s message.
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List as many memorable details in the text and categorize
them according to Kenneth Burke’s pentad of “Who-WhatWhen-Where-Why.”
How do I create a critical and
specific point of development?
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Your writing must cover the specific topic of your
discussion
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Your writing must have a specific, central idea (a
thesis) that controls the development of your
discussion
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Your writing must be organized and coherent so that
every paragraph relates to your central idea (thesis)
and contributes to the reader’s understanding of the
central idea (thesis)
What is a Thesis?
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A thesis is a statement (1 or 2 sentences maximum)
that tells the reader the focus of your writing.
•
In other words, your purpose and the point you are
trying to make.
What do you include in a thesis
statement?
There are two (2) parts to a thesis
statement
1. The limited topic – the specific idea
2. The main idea – what you want to say
about it.
Where do you put the Thesis
Statement in your paper?
The Thesis Statement
goes at the end of
your introductory
paragraph.
Crafting a Thesis and Argument
1. Refer to textual specifics.
• This is not simply an extension of the requirement that your
thesis be specific. It is also a way of ensuring that you will
write an analysis and not just a summary.
The following sentence makes an interesting and contestable
point, but it is not a great thesis:
• The audience is supposed to have doubts about Hamlet's
sanity.
Let's rewrite it with textual specifics:
• By causing the Prince to speak in "wild and whirling"
images, Shakespeare raises doubts about Hamlet's sanity.
This version focuses on a specific literary technique, imagery.
Supporting its claim will require close attention to the text.
Thus, the thesis lays the groundwork for a strong argument.
Crafting a Thesis
and Argument
continued…
2. Don't rely on statements of, or assumptions about, authorial
intention.
• What an author meant to do in a particular work can be
useful in determining that work's meaning. However, keep
the following in mind:
– Authors lie or make mistakes. Even if Shakespeare had
said somewhere (and he didn't) that he wanted the
audience to doubt Hamlet's sanity, he could have had
a different intention while he was writing the play, or
he could have failed to carry out his intention. So do
not let Shakespeare get in the way of his own text.
Focus on the work itself.
• Authorial intention is rarely clear. Shakespeare did not give
interviews, and very little is known about him personally. So
how do you know what he intended? You don't.
• Above all else, citing authorial intention is an easy way out.
If you accept an author's claims about a work, you have
no more analysis to do. Why bother writing your paper?
Crafting a Thesis
and Argument
continued…
3. Avoid obvious arguments.
• In some works— for instance, John Milton's Paradise
Lost— the author supplies a ready theme for readers.
Do not have the bulk of your argument be, for
instance, "Paradise Lost attempts to justify the ways of
God to man." That's what Milton says in the first dozen
lines.
• Instead, either call this theme into question, noting
ways in which the book fails in its stated purpose, or
focus on specific ways in which it achieves that
purpose. If, for instance, you feel that iambic
pentameter in Paradise Lost is crucial to its theme of
divine providence, then say so, and prove your point.
This argument avoids the obvious and requires close
reading.
Crafting a Thesis
and Argument
continued…
4. Do not be constrained by chronological order.
• For example, the witches in Macbeth appear in
several different scenes. You are free to discuss
those scenes as a group, and then backtrack to
examine an intervening scene, such as the
murder of King Duncan.
• In other words, you can organize a literary
analysis according to themes (such as witchcraft)
or techniques (such as symbolism) without regard
to the order in which events in a work occur.
Crafting a Thesis
and Argument
continued…
5. Feel free to argue that a text is ambiguous — but don't stop there.
•
You do not have to deny the complexities in a literary work in order to craft
a strong thesis. If a text is unclear, say so — but then explore the qualities in
the writing that make it unclear. Consider these two comments on Hamlet:
–
–
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The ghost in Hamlet may be real, but then again, he may not be.
In the closet scene, we in the audience see and hear the ghost, but Hamlet's
mother does not. As a result, the play makes it impossible to tell whether we are
observing an actual spirit or participating in Hamlet's delusion.
In the first example, the writer sounds uncertain about the play; the
comment is a confession of bewilderment, not a literary analysis. In
contrast, the writer of the second comment finds the play ambiguous but
takes a definite stance about the sources of its ambiguity.
What lesson can we draw from these examples? We would say this: Be
certain of your opinion, but don't be afraid to argue that the text itself is
uncertain.
The Introduction
The introduction must provide the reader with:
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The focus of your writing
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Background information to help the reader
understand your position or your point.
How do you do this?
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Always include the title of the piece of
literature and the name of the author.
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Catch the interest of your reader by bringing
focus to your topic through the use of
quotations, provocative questions, anecdotes,
a startling statement, etc.
Example of an Introduction
What would you expect to be the personality of
a man who has his wife sent away to a convent
(or perhaps has had her murdered) because she
took too much pleasure in the sunset and in a a
compliment paid to her by another man? It is just
such a man --- a Renaissance duke --- that Robert
Browning portrays in his poem “My Last Duchess.”
Through what he says about himself, through his
actions, and through his interpretation of earlier
incidents, the Duke reveals the arrogance,
jealousy, and materialism that are his most
conspicuous traits.”
From the poem “My Last Duchess” by Browning from Bucks County Community College
Example of an Introduction
The first paragraph of Alberto Alvaro Rios’s short story
“The Secret Lion” presents a twelve-year-old boy’s view
of growing up --- everything changes. As the narrator
tells us, when the magician pulls a tablecloth out from
under a pile of dishes, children are amazed at the
“stay-the-same part, “ while adults focus only on the
tablecloth itself (42). Adults have the benefit of
experience and know the trick will work as long as the
technique is correct. When we “grow up” we gain this
experience and knowledge, but we lose our innocence
and sense of wonder. In other words, the price we pay
for growing up is a permanent sense of loss. This
tradeoff is central to “The Secret Lion.” The key symbols
in the story reinforce its main theme: change is
inevitable and always accompanied by a sense of loss.
From the short story “The Secret Lion” by Alvaro Rios
from Bucks County Community College
Example of an Introduction
The setting of John Updike’s story “A & P’ is crucial to
[an] understanding of Sammy’s decision to quit his job.
Even though Sammy knows that his quitting will make
life more difficult for him, he instinctively insists upon
rejecting what the A & P represents in the story. When
he rings up a “No Sale” and “saunter[s]” out of the
store, Sammy leaves behind not only a job but the rigid
state of mind associated with the A & P. Although
Sammy is the central character in the story and [the
reader] learn[s] much about him, Updike seems to
invest as much effort in describing the setting as he
does Sammy. The title, after all, is not “Youthful
Rebellion” or “Sammy Quits” but “A & P.” In fact, the
setting is the antagonist of the story and plays a role
that is as important as Sammy’s.
From the sstory “A & P” by John Updike
from Bucks County Community College
The Body of your paper
This part of your paper presents the information (in
paragraphs) that supports your thesis.
Your paragraphs must contain the following:
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An explanation of your ideas
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Evidence from the literature piece that support your
ideas
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Support from literary critics/sources that support your
ideas
How do you put this textual
evidence together?
Textual evidence consists of:
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Context (not too much summary---only enough to explain the context)
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Repeat the process of the context (paraphrase)
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Specific details
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Direct quotations
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Analysis – in-depth understanding and significance of the idea you want
your audience to understand --- why and how it is important to the point you
are trying to make.
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Unity and Coherence – all points lead back to the thesis and must be
presented in an organized way for understanding and appreciation of your
purpose
To Sum that up. . .
Each paragraph of your paper should have a topic sentence which
states a point (idea) associated with your thesis combined with an
assertion about how the topic will support the central idea.
The topic sentence then must:
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Tie the details of the paragraphs to your thesis statement.
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Tie the details of the paragraph together.
Thus, you are organized
and you make sense.
An Example of a Body Paragraph
Sammy’s descriptions of the A & P present a setting
that is ugly, monotonous, and rigidly regulated. We can
identify with the uniformity Sammy describes because
we have all been in chain stores. The fluorescent light is
as blandly cool as the “checkerboard green-andcream rubber tile floor” (486). The “usual traffic in the
store moves in one direction (except for the swim suited
girls, who move against it), and everything is neatly
organized and categorized in tidy aisles. The
dehumanizing routine of this environment is suggested
by Sammy’s offhand references to the typical shoppers
as “sheep,” “house slaves,” and “pigs.” These regular
customers seem to walk through the store in a stupor;
as Sammy tells us, not even dynamite could move them
out of their routine (485).
From the sstory “A & P” by John Updike
from Bucks County Community College
The Conclusion
The concluding paragraph lets your audience know
that they are coming to the end of your paper. It
should include the following:
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Begin with restating your thesis in different words.
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Summarize your main points.
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Make a relevant point about the literary piece you
have just analyzed.
Example of a Concluding
paragraph
“If the Duke has any redeeming
qualities, they fail to appear in the poem.
Browning’s emphasis on the Duke’s traits
of arrogance, jealousy, and materialism
make it apparent that anyone who might
have known the Duke personally would
have based his opinion of him on these
three personality “flaws.” Ultimately, [any]
opinion of the Duke is not a favorable
one, and it is clear that Browning meant
[the reader] to feel this way.”
From the poem “My Last Duchess” by Browning from Bucks County Community College
What’s the Point?
Key points to remember as you develop your paper:
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With a literary analysis, the focus is not on offering one’s
opinion about a work; rather, the focus is to interpret and
analyze the text.
Certainly, you offer your informed opinion of the text’s
interpretation, but you do not assess the merits of the text
or tell readers whether or not you liked the work.
With a literary analysis, the focus is not on offering one’s
opinion about a work; rather, the focus is to interpret and
analyze the text.
Certainly, you offer your informed opinion of the text’s
interpretation, but you do not assess the merits of the text
or tell readers whether or not you liked the work.
Real Life Applications
• Being able to construct a reasonable
claim, supported by evidence and
logic, is essential to many other types
of expository writing
• Regardless of the writing task or
audience, it is essential to be able to
communicate your ideas clearly and
effectively.
Skills we all use in the Real World. Can You come
up with some real life examples?