Basic Tips for Writing a
Literary Analysis
THE IDEAS
Why Write a Literary
Analysis?
• A literary analysis broadens
understanding and appreciation of a
piece of literature
Difference between analysis and
summary
Sample
Story
Robin
Hood
Snow
White
Summary
Analysis!
Robin Hood stole goods
and money from the rich
residents of his town to give
to the town’s poorer
residents.
The use of a monarchy or kingdom
setting in Robin Hood allowed the
author to portray the abuses of power
that often occur among the wealthiest
members of a community.
Snow White falls into a
deep, death-like slumber
when she takes a bite of a
poisoned apple.
The use of certain plot elements in
Snow White, such as the poisoned
apple and resulting slumber, help
readers understand that being too
trusting can lead to dire
consequences.
Cinderella Cinderella tells the story of The author of Cinderella paired lazy
a young girl whose evil
female characters with a hard–
stepmother tries to keep her working female protagonist to show
from her true love.
that hard work leads to love and
happiness.
Twilight and Mormonism
• Characterization
• Conflict
• Theme
Thesis Example:
Stephanie Meyers uses characterization, conflict, and theme to reveal
ideas of Mormonism throughout her work Twilight.
Twilight/Mormonism
Mormonism
Characterization
•
Bella is characterized in the novel as
someone who doesn’t drink, stays a virgin
until marriage, and won’t abort her baby
•
Humans are bitten and turn into vampires.
Vampires are then immortal and inhumanly
beautiful and perfect
• Various
religious
beliefs (don’t
drink, no sex
until
marriage, no
abortion)
• Humans can
become
divine/godlike
Twilight/Mormonism
Mormonism
CONFLICT
•
Edward is tormented throughout all
of the books between his bloodlust
and good heart. He must daily
choose not to feed on humans and
be a “vegetarian”.
• Humans are
evil and must
daily
overcome
our evil
selves to be
better selves
Twilight/Mormonism
Mormonism
THEME
•
Edward’s natural state revolves
around the fact that he is a
vampire, but he knows he can be
much more. He can be loving and
good. Despite his circumstances of
being a vampire, he alters his
destiny through his choices and
overcomes his situation through
his decisions.
Read
more: http://www.beliefnet.com/columnists/flunkingsa
inthood/2010/07/yes-robert-pattinson-there-aremormon-themes-in-twilight.html#ixzz3P5xu3hKe
• You have
control over
your destiny
despite your
circumstances
.
The Process
• Read the piece of literature a plethora of
times, noting important passages.
• Decide upon the literature’s theme and
author’s purpose. Then explore the means
by which he/she reveals the purpose.
• Keep collecting information until you have
enough to develop your topic thoroughly.
THINK
1. The author attempts to convey what
themes?
2. The author employs which techniques to
convey the theme, mood, characterization,
and etc.?
3. What ideas lie beneath the text?
4. What significance/importance does the
reader find in the work?
Questions to ask yourself
• Ask yourself the BIG PICTURE IDEAS questions first. Decide if any of them
are relevant to your piece and how the author accomplishes those things.
Decide which smaller pieces support your BIG PICTURE ideas.
• Ask yourself, what theme or main idea did the author want the reader to
understand after he or she had finished reading?
• Ask yourself what struck you most when you read it? What images, ideas,
lines, or characters caused you to have a strong response? Figure out why
you had that response, how the author achieved it, and why the author would
do so?
• Ask yourself, why did the author choose to use these devices,
in these particular ways? How does this kind of character, plot event, or type
of imagery help the reader understand the theme or idea that you are trying
to support?
Ways to Think
Big Picture Ideas
• How character is revealed using…
• How author conveys theme using…
• How setting creates a certain mood of…by
using…
• How the author’s purpose of…is revealed
using…
• How the author reveals a philosophy
(feminism, racism, Mormonism, Christianity)
using…
Ways to Think
Smaller Pieces for investigation
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Setting
Figures of speech (similes, metaphors, personification,
alliteration,hyperbole)
Rhyme
Plot (foreshadowing, suspense, conflict, exposition rising action)
Characterization
Theme
Dialogue
Speaker/narrator
Point of view
Connotation
thesis
Your thesis will be made up of the big
pictures and small pieces.
•
Your thesis should be the last sentence in your first paragraph.
Examples
• Meyers reveals Mormonism throughout the novel Twilight
through character, conflict, and theme.
•
Bradbury creates a setting with the a lifeless and death-like
mood by using imagery, similes, and character.
Remember:
It is not enough to say that these things
occur. You must prove that they occur
with examples. (below is a body paragraph example)
Meyer reveals the Mormon idea of humans' ability to achieve deity
status through her characterization of the vampires. These characters were
once human; however, now they have achieved a new, more perfect status.
Meyer describes the Cullens as inhumanly beautiful. She says, “I stared
because their faces, so different, so similar, were devastatingly, inhumanly
beautiful” (19). Their beauty transcends the human world, transfixing regular
mortals so that they cannot look away. She also says that they looked like they
had been “painted by an old master as the face of an angel” (19). Using the
simile of angels in her characterization, she further escalates their supernatural
status by equating them to beings above regular humans. The vampires'
characterization is the literal manifestation of a human achieving an immortal
god-like status.
Basic Tips for Writing a
Literary Analysis
THE STRUCTURE
Always include the name of
the poet or author.
• Example: Langston Hughes creates a feeling of
discomfort in “A Dream Deferred.”
• NOT: “A Dream Deferred” makes the reader
uncomfortable.
Write in present tense
•
Example: In Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily,” the townspeople visit
Emily Grierson’s house because it smells bad.
NOT: In Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily,” the
townspeople visited Emily Grierson’s house
because it smelled bad.
Refer to authors by their full
name or last name only.
• Example: Langston Hughes uses similes to create a
•
feeling of discomfort in “A Dream Deferred.”
Or
Hughes uses similes to create a feeling of discomfort in
“A Dream Deferred.”
• NOT: Langston uses similes to create a
feeling of discomfort in “A Dream Deferred”.
No 1st or 2nd person POV
•
Normally, you should not use 1st or 2nd person when writing a
literary analysis. Keep I, me, my, you, your, yourself out of your
paper!
• Example: The narrator in “Thank You Ma’m
undergoes a transformation when he meets Ms. Luella
Washington Bates.
• NOT: I believe the narrator in “Thank you
Ma’m undergoes a transformation when he
meets Ms. Luella Washington Bates.
Avoid passive voice
•
Your subject should be doing an action not receiving an action.
•
•
•
Avoid the verbs of being (am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been).
Example: Connell strengthens the Zaroff character
using both power and money.
Or
Power and money strengthen the Zaroff character.
• NOT: The character of Zaroff is
strengthened by his power and money.
Passive Voice continued
•
Your subject should be doing an action not receiving an action.
•
Avoid the verbs of being (am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been).
• NOT: Rainsford is frightened by the dogs,
Ivan, and Zaroff’s skill as he tries to escape.
Example: The dogs, Ivan, and Zaroff’s skill all
frighten Rainsford in his attempt to escape.
Now you try…
•
Your subject should be doing an action not receiving an action.
•
Avoid the verbs of being (am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been).
•
NOT: Leonard Meade is harassed by the
police car without cause.
•
NOT: The future is a dark and lonely place.
Try to rewrite these sentences in active
voice!
Basic Tips for Writing a
Literary Analysis
THE MECHANICS
TITLES
• Titles of poems and short stories are always in
quotation marks.
• Play titles and book titles are italicized (or
underlined when handwritten).
DIRECT QUOTATIONS
• When you quote more than one line of a poem,
use a forward slash/ to separate each line of the
poem.
• Example:
The speaker states, “I don’t enjoy it here/Squatting
on this island/Looking picturesque and
mythical.”
DIRECT QUOTATIONS
• You should always have a lead-in when quoting
in your paper
• Example:
The speaker states, “I don’t enjoy it here/Squatting
on this island/Looking picturesque and
mythical.”
DIRECT QUOTATIONS
• You should always have a lead-in when quoting
in your paper
• Example:
The speaker states, “I don’t enjoy it here/Squatting
on this island/Looking picturesque and
mythical.”
2 types of lead ins for our focus
1. Somebody said lead-in
2. Blended lead-in
EXAMPLES OF SOMEBODY SAID LEAD IN
In the book, Nelson says, “It is really hard to be this
amazing”(Nelson 99).
Mr. Nelson states, “I’ve never seen her acting like a
ninja because she is that good” (Nelson 45)
“Ninjas Are Awesome” adds, “Nelson can levitate with
the best of them” (99).
“You can try to be like me, but it would be impossible,”
argues Nelson (22).
Examples of Blended Lead Ins
Nelson, a well-known ninja, believes her “skills are
higher than all others” (Nelson 23).
Mr. Nelson argues that “no one on earth can imagine
the things she can do” (Nelson 13).
Even though Nelson is one of the top ninjas in the
world, she “works daily” on her skills (Nelson 35).