List everything you know
about Literary Analysis
Unit by Karen Gynn
Common Core Standards:
Key Ideas and Details
CCSS. ELA-Literacy.RL.8.1 Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of
what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.8.2 Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its
development over the course of the text, including its relationship to the characters, setting, and
plot; provide an objective summary of the text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.8.3 Analyze how particular lines of dialogue or incidents in a story or drama
propel the action, reveal aspects of a character, or provoke a decision.
Craft and Structure:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.8.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text,
including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on
meaning and tone, including analogies or allusions to other texts.
Content Focus
»Theme
»Character Development
»Character Point of View
»Setting
»Plot Development (e.g. Foreshadowing,
Flashback)
»Conflict
»Resolution
»Figurative Language
Learning Target Skills
Author’s use of Literary Elements
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Theme
Point of View
Characterization
Setting
Plot
Author’s use of Figurative
Language
• Simile
• Metaphor
• Personification
• Hyperbole
• Symbolism
• Allusion
• Imagery
• Pun
• Repetition
• Irony
• Apostrophe
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Benchmark Questions HIGH SCHOOL QUESTION TASK CARDS
CHARACTER & PLOT DEVELOPMENT/
POINT OF VIEW/SETTING/
CONFLICT RESOLUTION
PLOT DEVELOPMENT
How do __________’s comments contribute to the development of the story/article?
What events lead to the resolution?
CONFLICT
What is the main conflict in the essay?
When is the central conflict between ______ and ______ introduced in the story/poem?
RESOLUTION
What in the passage indicates that the conflict is resolved?
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT
How does ______’s character change from the beginning to the end of ______?
What word best describes the character?
What pair of words best describes ______?
How do the character’s responsibilities affect how he/she reacts?
What phrase best describes the narrator’s ______?
Which statement from the essay illustrates the characteristic the author appreciates most about _________?
How does ____ change _____’s opinion about _____?
CHARACTER POINT OF VIEW
How do _____’s comments contribute to the development of the passage/poem?
What is _____’s opinion of ______?
THEME
Which statement best describes _______’s approach to life?
Which sentence from the passage mostly expresses its theme?
Which line from the poem clearly reveals its theme?
How do the changes in the narrator’s feelings toward ____ contribute to the theme?
SETTING
How does the setting add to the feeling that _____?
Why is the setting at the beginning of the passage important?
Think about the title:
The Other Side of the Wall
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Preview
Predict
Genre
Structure
What might the author’s purpose be?
Answer these two questions:
What would it be like to go on a blind
date?
What do you think the other
person would look like?
Character Analysis
-As you read,
Ask yourself these questions:
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What does the character do?
What does the character say?
How do others feel about the character?
How has the character changed?
What does the character want?
Use text codes as you read:
D -Do
F
-Feel
S -Say
C
-Change
W
-Want
With your partner fill in the
Character Analysis Graphic Organizer
• What does the
character do?
• How has the
character
changed?
• What does the
character say?
What is
the
character’s
conflict?
What is
the
setting?
What is
the
Author’s
message?
What is
the plot?
• How do others
feel about the
character?
With your partner, fill in the plot
diagram.
With your partner, decide which types
of figurative language the author used.
Type
1.
Example from the text
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Impact on meaning?
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3.
Impact on meaning?
Impact on meaning?
Choose a question from slide 4 and
answer it.
Question
1. What is the central conflict
between Mimi and Gustav
introduced in the story?
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Answer
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List the Strategies and steps used today to
help you be successful on this benchmark
Strategy (Steps)
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Helps find?
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Examples of Character Traits
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able
active
adventurous
affectionate
afraid
alert
ambitious
angry
annoyed
anxious
apologetic
arrogant
attentive
clever
clumsy
coarse
concerned
confident
confused
considerate
cooperative
courageous
cowardly
cross
cruel
curious
dishonest
disrespectful
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impolite
inconsiderate
independent
industrious
innocent
intelligent
jealous
selfish
serious
sharp
short
shy
silly
skillful
sly
smart
sneaky
sorry
spoiled
stingy
strange
thoughtless
tired
tolerant
touchy
trusting
trustworthy
unfriendly
unhappy
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Common Themes in Literature
Man Struggles Against Nature: Man is always at battle with human nature, whether the drives
described are sexual, material or against the aging process itself.
Man Struggles Against Societal Pressure: Mankind is always struggling to determine if societal
pressure is best for living. Check out books like Revolutionary Road or Mrs. Dalloway for
examples of characters who know how society says they should live, but feel society's dictation is
contrary to what makes them happy.
Man Struggles to Understand Divinity: Mankind tries to understand and make peace with God,
but satisfaction is elusive and difficult.
Crime Does Not Pay: A popular theme played out in books throughout time is the concept that
honesty is honored and criminals will eventually be caught. Crime and Punishment and "The
Telltale Heart" are two stories written on this theme.
Overcoming Adversity: Many books laud characters who accept a tough situation and turn it into
triumph. Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With the Wind exemplifies a shrewd person who finds a way to
come out on top despite failed relationships and an economic depression after the Civil War.
Friendship is Dependent on Sacrifice: This is the idea that you can't have friends if you don't act
like a friend.
The Importance of Family: Sacrifices for family are honored and explored, as are the family bonds
that survive adversity.
Yin and Yang: Just when you think life is finally going to be easy, something bad happens to
balance it all out.
Love is the Worthiest of Pursuits: Many writers assert the idea that love conquers all, appealing
to the romantic side of us.
Death is Part of the Life Cycle: Literary works with this theme show how death and life and
intricately connected.
Sacrifices Bring Reward: Sacrifices and hard work pay off in the end, despite the challenges along
the way.
Human Beings All Have the Same Needs: From Montagues to Capulets in Romeo and Juliet or the
characters in S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders, book after book asserts that rich or poor, educated or
dumb, all human beings need love and other basic needs met.
Words to Describe Tone
1. accusatory-charging of wrong doing
2. apathetic-indifferent due to lack of energy or concern
3. awe-solemn wonder
4. bitter-exhibiting strong animosity as a result of pain or grief
5. cynical-questions the basic sincerity and goodness of people
6. condescension; condescending-a feeling of superiority
7. callous-unfeeling, insensitive to feelings of others
8. contemplative-studying, thinking, reflecting on an issue
9. critical-finding fault
10. choleric-hot-tempered, easily angered
11. contemptuous-showing or feeling that something is worthless or
lacks respect
12. caustic-intense use of sarcasm; stinging, biting
13. conventional-lacking spontaneity, originality, and individuality
14. disdainful-scornful
15. didactic-author attempts to educate or instruct the reader
16. derisive-ridiculing, mocking
17. earnest-intense, a sincere state of mind
18. erudite-learned, polished, scholarly
19. fanciful-using the imagination
20. forthright-directly frank without hesitation
21. gloomy-darkness, sadness, rejection
22. haughty-proud and vain to the point of arrogance
23. indignant-marked by anger aroused by injustice
24. intimate-very familiar
25. judgmental-authoritative and often having critical opinions
26. jovial-happy
27. lyrical-expressing a poet’s inner feelings; emotional; full of
images; song-like
28. matter-of-fact--accepting of conditions; not fanciful or
emotional
29. mocking-treating with contempt or ridicule
30. morose-gloomy, sullen, surly, despondent
31. malicious-purposely hurtful
32. objective-an unbiased view-able to leave personal judgments
aside
33. optimistic-hopeful, cheerful
34. obsequious-polite and obedient in order to gain something
35. patronizing-air of condescension
36. pessimistic-seeing the worst side of things; no hope
37. quizzical-odd, eccentric, amusing
38. ribald-offensive in speech or gesture
39. reverent-treating a subject with honor and respect
40. ridiculing-slightly contemptuous banter; making fun of
41. reflective-illustrating innermost thoughts and emotions
42. sarcastic-sneering, caustic
43. sardonic-scornfully and bitterly sarcastic
44. satiric-ridiculing to show weakness in order to make a point,
teach
45. sincere-without deceit or pretense; genuine
46. solemn-deeply earnest, tending toward sad reflection
47. sanguineous -optimistic, cheerful
48. whimsical-odd, strange, fantastic; fun