Writing a Literary Analysis

1. Writing a Literary Analysis Format Notes

2. Goal of Literary Analysis Papers • To identify and explain a main theme that an author includes in their writing. • to express an author's idea • to dig deeper in your reading comprehension and logical understanding of a particular piece of literature.

3. Organizing Your Literary Analysis • Intro paragraph (includes thesis) • Body Paragraphs (2-4) • Conclusion Paragraph • Conclusion statement

4. Intro paragraph • introduces the reader to topic identified in a story. • brief description of the setting and theme/topic introduces the reader to your basic understanding of the text in a broad, general way. • transition sentences narrow your topic or provide hints at the things to come in your body paragraphs. • Thesis/claim sentence concisely defines your theme based on the author's writing.        

5. Thesis/Claim Statement • Respond to the Prompt • Include a Definite Statement • Create an arguable claim • Show Knowledge of Topic • Create parameters

6. DOES NOT MEET STANDARD(Poor) • I will show how Parker incorporates suicide into her story so the reader can get a better picture of the feelings associated with the situation.

7. MEETS STANDARD(Better) • Dorothy Parker's "Résumé" uses images of suicide to make her point about living.

8. Exceeds Standard(Best) • Dorothy Parker's "Résumé" doesn't celebrate life, but rather scorns those who would fake or attempt suicide just to get attention.

9. Exceeds Standard(Best) • In "Résumé," Dorothy Parker subverts the idea of what a résumé is--accomplishments and experiences--with an ironic tone, silly images of suicide, and witty rhymes to point out the banality of life for those who remain too disengaged from it.

10. Does Not Meet Standard • Shakespeare's Hamlet is a play about a young man who seeks revenge. (That doesn't say anything-it's basically just a summary and is hardly debatable. )

11. Meets Standard • Hamlet experiences internal conflict because he is in love with his mother. How can we make this thesis/claim statement EXCEED standards?

12. Exceeds Standard(Best) • Despite her avowal on the importance of love, and despite her belief that she would not sell her love, the speaker in Edna St. Vincent Millay's "Love is not all: it is not meat nor drink" remains unconvinced and bitter, as if she is trying to trick herself into believing that love really does matter for more than the one night she is in some lover's arms.

13. You can use two sentences for your thesis statement if it is necessary. Exceeds Standard(Best) • In his novel, The Secret Agent, Conrad uses beast and cannibal imagery to describe the characters and their relationships to each other. This pattern of images suggests that Conrad saw corruption in every level of early twentieth century London society.

14. Does Not Meet Standard • Spirituality means different things to different people. King Lear, The Book of Romans, and Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance each view the spirit differently. • Again, that says nothing that's not already self-evident. Why bother writing a paper about that? You're not writing an essay to list works that have nothing in common other than a general topic like "spirituality."

15. Meets Standard • King Lear, Romans, and Zen each view the soul as the center of human personality. Then you prove it, using examples from the texts that show that the soul is the center of personality

16. Thesis/Claim Statement Frames • In (text), (author) criticizes/expresses/proves (verb)… • EX: In ‘Harrison Bergeron,’ Vonnegut criticizes the government by ______________ • Through (situation/character development, etc.), (author) shows/criticizes/expresses/explains/etc. • EX: Through Paul’s experience behind the lines, at a Russian prisoner of war camp, and especially under bombardment in the trenches, Erich Maria Remarque realistically shows how war dehumanizes a man.

17. CREATIVE OPENING: the beginning sentences of the introduction thatcatch the reader’s interest. • 1) A startling fact or bit of information • Ex. Nearly two citizens were arrested as witches during the Salem witch scare of 1692. Eventually nineteen were hanged, and another was pressed to death (Marks 65). • 2) A snatch of dialogue between two characters • Ex. “It is another thing. You [Frederic Henry] cannot know about it unless you have it.” “ Well,” I said. “If I ever get it I will tell you [priest].” (Hemingway 72).With these words, the priest in Ernest Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms sends the hero, Frederic, in search of the ambiguous “it” in his life.

18. More Hooks… • 3) A meaningful quotation (from the work or another source) • Ex. “To be, or not to be, that is the question” {3.1.57}. This familiar statement expresses the young prince’s moral dilemma in William Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. • 4) A universal idea. • Ex.The terrifying scenes a soldier experiences on the front probably follow him throughout his life—if he manages to survive the war.

19. More Hooks... • 5) A rich, vivid description of the setting • Ex. Sleepy Maycomb, like other Southern towns, suffers considerably during the Great Depression. Poverty reaches from the privileged families, like the Finches, to the Negroes and “white trash” Ewells, who live on the outskirts of town. Harper Lee paints a vivid picture of life in this humid Alabama town where tempers and bigotry explode into conflict. • 6) An analogy or metaphor • Ex. Life is like a box of chocolates: we never know what we’re going to get. This element of uncertainty plays a major role in many dramas. For example, in Shakespeare’s play, Romeo and Juliet have no idea what tragedieslie ahead when they fall so passionately and impetuously in love.

20. Body Paragraph Structure • 1. topic sentence / support thesis • 2. lead-in to concrete detail • 3. concrete detail • 4. commentary • 5. transition and lead-in to next concrete detail • 6. concrete detail • 7. commentary • 8. concluding or clincher sentence

21. To ADD INFORMATION: Again another for instance finally * also and moreover as well additionally besides next along with in addition for example likewise To EMPHASIZE A POINT: for this reason again truly nevertheless to emphasize to repeat in fact To CONCLUDE or SUMMARIZE: as a result finally * in conclusion (avoid if possible) therefore last/lastly all in all in summary To CLARIFY: in other words for instance put another way that is Transitions to Use in Literary Analysis Writing

22. Concluding Paragraph • 1) Reflect on how your essay topic relates to the book as a whole • 2) Evaluate how successful the author is in achieving his or her goal or message • 3) Give a personal statement about the topic • 4) Make predictions • 5) Connect back to your creative opening • 6) Give your opinion of the novel’s value or significance

23. Concluding Paragraph • Make a new statement about the topics/texts rather than repeat any of your main points • Sample: Although Othello’s imperfections cause his ultimate downfall, he still manages to experience an awakening of self. • Sample: Using his descriptions of the life on the river and life on the shore, Twain encourages people to look outside themselves to find meaning.

24. TEWWG Literary Analysis • Choice A: The statement, “clothes make the man,” is generally accepted to mean that who a person is on the inside (what they are feeling, etc.) is represented on the outside by their attire. In Their Eyes Were Watching God, how does Hurston use to clothing to “make” Janie? Analyze the ways in which Janie’s clothing reflects her inner self and comment on Hurston’s use of these articles to convey her thoughts. • Choice B: Janie experienced different kinds of love throughout her marriages. Her time with Joe and Tea Cake, in particular, helped shape her into the woman she is by the end of the novel. Compare and contrast the relationships between Janie and Joe and Janie and Tea Cake. Focus primarily on the areas of expectations, status, courtship and death. Be sure to address all four areas in your essay. • Choice C: Throughout the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, you have examined the language used by the author and its effect on the reader. Explain how Hurston uses figurative language (imagery, similes, metaphors, etc.) to develop a character from the novel.