LITERARY ANALYSIS

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Literary Analysis
Literary Analysis
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OBJECTIVES

• Define literary analysis
• Understand purpose of literary analysis
• Understand the components of good writing depth,
  complexity, quality
• Tips for effective analysis
• Analysis of Literary Elements diction, conflict,
  character, images, symbols, figurative language,
  theme and form/style

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LITERARY ANALYSIS

• A literary analysis explains a literary work in
  a formal essay. The work (novel, short story, or
  poem) is referenced by considering the full range
  of literary elements present and the intention of
  the author.

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LITERARY ANALYSIS

• Literary analysis assumes knowledge of the work
  and therefore does not provide a summary.
• Each analysis paper supports a clearly defined
  thesis to be proved about the work it is
  PERSUASIVE.

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PURPOSE OF ANALYSIS

• The ultimate end of analysis is a deeper
• understanding and a fuller appreciation
• of the literature
• you learn
• to see more,
• to uncover or create
• richer, denser, more interesting
• meanings.

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To begin to analyze written work a common way of
identifying the qualities that characterize it as
'good' by examining its .
YOU MIGHT BE ASKING---
WHAT DO I LOOK FOR?
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D E P T H
COMPLEXITY
QUALITY
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D E P T H

• When we looking deeply into the text we see
• that we are formed largely by culture
• we have common human needs
• we experience life with complexity
• our lives hold symbolic and historical meaning
• When you read remember that authors are
• demonstrating to us that there is more to life
• Than our physical sense of it.
• Authors seek to define some of the forces and
• feelings which give resonance to our being.

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COMPLEXITY

• Think in terms of our human experience as
• being made up by interacting factors --
  environment, character, situation and so forth,
  and
• comprised of a number of different elements --
  thought, feeling, sensation, memory, imagination,
  significant symbols, conventions,
  culturally-formed ways of saying and thinking.
• Our experience is complex.

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QUALITY

• In order to evoke the complexities and the depth
  of experience, literature has to use all of its
  resources well.
• The more the resources of language and meaning
  are used to reveal the depth and complexity the
  more we say this work has QUALITY.

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STRATEGIES TO FOLLOW FOR EFFECTIVE ANALYSIS

• Read the text
• Consider applicable perspectives
• Consider literary elements

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Quick Tips Reading

• Read s l o w l y, p a y a t t e n t I o n to
  every word
• Use your gut (initial) reactions
• Free write your impressions and observations
• Try to discover the authors intention--research
  what the authors have said about their work or
  biographical events that relate to the work

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Quick Tips Critical perspective

• Political perspective consider how political
  systems and politics are portrayed in the work
• Feminist perspective consider how the work
  portray women and approach gender roles of the
  sexes
• Ethnic perspective consider how ethnic groups
  and interactions are approached within the work

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Quick Tips Critical perspective

• Consider other perspectives where appropriate
• religious
• psychological
• mythological
• sociological
• belief systems
• The caution here is to accurately represent the
  text and support all interpretations by evidence
  in the text.

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ANALYZE ALL APPLICABLE LITERARY ELEMENTS
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Literary Elements DICTION
THE WORDS
Focus on of the
work. Ask Is the language concrete or
abstract? Is this the language of emotion or
reason? What structure does the language
follow? What images are created? How has
dialogue been employed or not employed?
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Literary Elements CONFLICT
List all of the conflicts or tensions in the work
and fill them out with examples or evidence
from the work Draw conclusions about
the conflict and this will become a thesis.

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Literary Elements CHARACTER
Consider what consistent qualities the character
has, what motivates the character, what
complexities the character shows, does the
character change or remain the same. Are the
characters dynamic, static, stock
(stereotypical)?
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Literary Elements IMAGES

• Most literature can be analyzed through images
  and symbols.
• Scan the work, listing images, symbols, searching
  for patterns and repetitions.
• Write down page references and your first
  interpretations.

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Literary ElementsTHEME
REVENGE
PROVIDENCE
Look for the meaning in the text, but dont
settle for first thing you see. Make a list of
all possible themes stated in complete sentences
and in universal terms Example The theme of
Romeo and Juliet is that romantic love cannot
exist in a corrupt world.
INTEGRITY
GOOD VS. EVIL
POWER
INJUSTICE
LOVE
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Literary Elements FORM/STYLE
Each genre or type of literature has its own
principles of style and form.
Poetry is examined through rhyme, rhythm,
sound devices, and format
Fiction is examined by considering narrative
point of view, transitional devices, sentence
structure or time sequence.
Dramas unique element is staging, the props,
actors gestures, lighting, the set, and visual
effects.
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Poetry Analysis Using

• TPCASTT

Poetry is thoughts that breathe, and words that
burn.  Thomas Gray
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Getting Started

• This is a process to help you organize your
  analysis of poetry.
• Using the terminology, it is time to dig deeper.

Poetry is the key to the hieroglyphics of
Nature.  Augustus William Hare and Julius
Charles Hare, Guesses at Truth, by Two
Brothers, 1827
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T is for TITLE

• Analyze the title first.
• What do you predict this poem will be about?
• Write down your predictions.
• We will reflect on the title again after we have
  read the poem.

Poetry is plucking at the heartstrings, and
making music with them.  Dennis Gabor
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Now it is time to

• and read the poem
• before going on

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P is for PARAPHRASE

• Paraphrasing is putting something in your own
  words.
• After reading the poem, rewrite it in your own
  words.
• This may be three sentences or a page, depending
  on the particular poem.

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C is for CONNOTATION

• Analyze the figures of speech and sound effects
  of the poem.

alliteration
apostrophe
RHYME
personification
diction
ASSONANCE
meter
simile
onomatopoeia
implied metaphor
HYPERBOLE
direct metaphor
These elements add to the meaning.
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A is for ATTITUDE

• Tone is the attitude of the
• speaker toward the subject
• of the poem.

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S is for SHIFT

• If there is a change in
• Time
• Tone
• Speaker

this should always be noted since it will affect
the meaning
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T is for TITLE (again)

• At this time, you should reconsider the title.
• Were you right in your predictions?
• What other meanings might the title have in light
  of your analysis?
• Next comes the biggie.

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T is for THEME

• As you already know, theme is the general insight
  into life conveyed by the author through his/her
  work.
• It does not make a judgment.
• example Dont do drugs is not a theme.
• It merely states something that is true to life
  and the human condition.

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How do I find the THEME?

• Look at the other parts of TPCASTT.
• What insight are all of these working together to
  convey?
• What is the poet trying to say about life?

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Poetry Explication

• A poetry explication is a relatively short
  analysis which describes the possible meanings
  and relationships of the words, images, and other
  small units that make up a poem.
• Writing an explication is an effective way for a
  reader to connect a poem's plot and conflicts
  with its structural features.
• Some of the important techniques of approaching
  and writing a poetry explication, and includes
  parts of two sample explications.

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Pre-writing

• Consider
• What is being dramatized? What conflicts or
  themes does the poem
• present, address, or question?
• Who is the speaker? Define and describe the
  speaker and his/her
• voice. What does the speaker say? Who is the
  audience? Are other
• characters involved?
• What happens in the poem? Consider the plot or
  basic design of the
• action. How are the dramatized conflicts or
  themes introduced,
• sustained, resolved, etc.?
• When does the action occur? What is the date
  and/or time of day?
• Where is the speaker? Describe the physical
  location of the dramatic
• moment.
• Why does the speaker feel compelled to speak at
  this moment? What
• is his/her motivation?

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Details

• To analyze the design of the poem, we must focus
  on the poem's parts, develop our understanding of
  the poem's structure, and we gather support and
  evidence for our interpretations. Some of the
  details we should consider include the following
• Form Does the poem represent a particular form
  (sonnet, sestina, etc.)? Does the poem present
  any unique variations from the traditional
  structure of that form?
• Rhetoric How does the speaker make particular
  statements? Does the rhetoric seem odd in any
  way? Why? Consider the predicates and what they
  reveal about the speaker.
• Syntax Consider the subjects, verbs, and objects
  of each statement and what these elements reveal
  about the speaker. Do any statements have
  convoluted or vague syntax?
• Vocabulary Why does the poet choose one word
  over another in each line? Do any of the words
  have multiple or archaic meanings that add other
  meanings to the line? Use the Oxford English
  Dictionary as a resource.

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Patterns

• As you analyze the design line by line, look for
  certain patterns to develop which provide insight
  into the dramatic situation, the speaker's state
  of mind, or the poet's use of details. Some of
  the most common patterns include the following
• Rhetorical Patterns Look for statements that
  follow the same format.
• Rhyme Consider the significance of the end words
  joined by sound in a poem with no rhymes,
  consider the importance of the end words.
• Patterns of Sound Alliteration and assonance
  create sound effects and often cluster
  significant words.
• Visual Patterns How does the poem look on the
  page?
• Rhythm and Meter Consider how rhythm and meter
  influence our perception of the speaker and
  his/her language.

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Poetry is language at its most distilled and
most powerful.  Rita Dove
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Use TPCASTT for your next Analysis of
PoetryTPCASTT TEMPLATE
T  TITLE
 TITLE
P  PARAPHRASE
 PARAPHRASE
C  CONNOTATION
 CONNOTATION
A  ATTITUDE
 ATTITUDE
S  SHIFT
 SHIFT
T  TITLE
 TITLE
T  THEME
 THEME
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REFERENCES

• Bauman, M. G. (2007). Ideas details A guide to
  college writing. Massachusetts Thomson
  Wadsworth 273-307.
• Images from Microsoft Office 2003 clipart
• Knott Poetry Analysis Using TPCASTT retrieved on
  January 25, 2008 from images.schoolinsites.c
  om/.../BakerHigh/Uploads/Presentat ions/Poetry20A
  nalysis20Using20TPCASTTknott.ppt
• Lye, J. (2000). Critical reading A guide.
  Retrieved August 15, 2003 from
  http//www.brocku.ca/english/jlye/criticalreading
  .html
• Poetry explications. (2007). The Writing Center.
  University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
• Retrieved on January 17, 2009 from
• http//www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/poetry-ex
  plication.html
• Quotations about Poetry, (2008). The Quote
  Garden A Harvest of Quotes for Word Lovers
  Retrieved on January 30, 2008 from
  http//www.quotegarden.com/poetry.html