THE LITERARY ESSAY IT DOESN T HAVE TO BE BORING!
WHAT IS IT? IF YOU HAVE EVER SAID THAT IS THE WORST (OR BEST) THING I EVER READ YOU HAVE DONE A LITERARY CRITIQUE.
THE LITERARY ANALYSIS ESSAY PUTTING INTO WRITING WHAT YOU OBSERVE FROM READING A LITERARY ANALYSIS IS DFFERENT FROM A FILM CRITIQUE OR REVIEWING A PLAY. YOU FOCUS ON LITERARY TECHNIQUE.
WHERE TO START FIRST, BASE IT ON LOOKING AT THE WORK OF THE WHOLE THEN, TAKE A LOOK AT IT S VARIOUS PARTS BRACE YOURSELF: YOU SHOULD READ THE WORK MORE THAN ONCE. THE SECOND TIME YOU PICK UP THINGS YOU DIDN;T SEE BECAUSE YOU DIDN T HAVE THE WHOLE PICTURE.
USING THE CRITICAL LENS IT DOESN T MEAN TO LOOK FOR THINGS TO CRITICIZE. RATHER, MAKE A CRITICAL JUDGEMENT FROM ONE VIEWPOINT. LOOK AT THE WORK IN TERMS OF WHAT IS IN IT WHAT IT TELLS YOU ABOUT LIFE HOW IT COMPARES TO WORK BY THE SAME OR OTHER AUTHORS.
DON T PANIC IF... IF YOU ARE TOLD TO ANALYZE THE WORK ACCORDING TO LITERARY TECHNIQUE, DONT PANIC. THIS IS ACTUALLY YOUR ROADMAP. SOME TECHNIQUES ARE: SATIRE, SETTING, CHARACTERIZATION, IMAGERY, SYMBOLISM, CONFLICT, POINT OF VIEW, THEME. IF THIS IS YOUR DIRECTION, YOU KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR WHEN YOU READ THE ASSIGNMENT AGAIN.
IF YOU AREN T GIVEN DIRECTION... DRAW YOUR OWN MAP. ASK YOURSELF QUESTIONS ABOUT THE READING TO HELP YOU GET TO WHAT THE STORY IS ABOUT.
ASK YOURSELF: WHAT IS THE FUNCTION OF THE SETTING? WHAT MAKES THE CHARACTERS ACT THE WAY THEY DO? HOW DO THE CHARACTERS RELATE TO ONE ANOTHER? WHAT IS THE TONE? WHAT IS THE THEME? WHAT DO CERTAIN SYMBOLS MEAN?
ASK YOURSELF WHAT IS THE WRITER S PURPOSE? HOW DOES THIS WORK RELATE TO THE WRITER S OTHER WORK?
YOU CAN T BE WRONG! GOOD NEWS: YOU CAN T GET IT WRONG. THE LITERARY ESSAY IS BASED ON YOUR OWN INSIGHT AND BACKGROUND. OTHER STUDENTS WILL REACH DIFFERENT CONCLUSIONS.
EXPLICATE A POEM HUH?
RELAX TAKE THE POEM LINE BY LINE AND SHOW HOW EACH ELEMENT FITS INTO THE GENERAL PATTERN AND PURPOSE OF THE REST OF THE POEM. READ SLOWLY SEVERAL TIMES LOOK FOR MEANING IN THE REPITION AND INTERCONNECTEDNESS OF WORDS AND IMAGES.
BUT FORGET ABOUT POEMS...FOR NOW BACK TO PROSE--STORIES, BOOKS, PLAYS
START AT THE START FIRST, READ FOR CONTENT, GENERAL KNOWLEDGE OF CHARACTERIZATION, AND PLOT SECOND, DECIDE WHAT YOU WANT TO CONCENTRATE ON BE CAREFUL: DO NOT WRITE A SUMMARY
OH... DO NOT WRITE A SUMMARY DO NOT WRITE A SUMMARY DO NOT WRITE A SUMMARY DO NOT WRITE A SUMMARY DO NOT WRITE A SUMMARY DO NOT WRITE A SUMMARY
IF YOU DO NEED TO SUMMARIZE... KEEP IT SHORT. NO MORE THAN TWO PARAGRAPHS. KEEP IN MIND, THE PERSON GRADING YOUR EXAM HAS READ THE STORY TOO. IF YOU AND A FRIEND ARE TALKING ABOUT A MOVIE YOU BOTH JUST SAW, YOU DON T TELL HIM THE STORY OF THE MOVIE..YOU GET TO THE POINT. DO THIS IN YOUR ESSAY.
LITERARY ANALYSIS ESSAY USING COMPARISON IF YOU HAVE READ OTHER WORKS BY THE AUTHOR YOU MAY WANT TO COMPARE THEM. IF YOU COMPARE, USE CRITICAL LENS POSSIBLY INCLUDING PLOT, SETTING, CHARACTERIZATION, OR A COMBINATION COMPARE TECHNIQUES LIKE IRONY. COMPARE TO WORKS BY OTHER AUTHORS COMPARE ASPECTS SIMILAR TO OTHER WORKS: DEPICTION OF WOMEN, ETC.
LITERARY ESSAY INCLUDES EXPOSITORY AND PERSUASIVE WRITING
EXPOSITORY WRITING USED TO EXPLAIN THE DETAILS YOU ARE FOCUSING ON AND HOW THEY FIT INTO THE WORK AS A WHOLE.
PERSUASIVE WRITING YOUR THESIS STATEMENT EXPRESSES YOUR INTERPRETATION...NOT THE INTERPRETATION OF OTHERS. USE PERSUASIVE TECHNIQUES, USING YOUR DETAILS AS EVIDENCE TO CONVINCE READERS YOUR INTERPRETATION IS SOUND. SUPPORT YOUR INTERPRETATION WITH FACTS
ORGANIZING THE LITERARY ESSAY THE ORGANIZATION OF THE LITERARY ESSAY FOLLOWS ONE OF THREE PATTERNS: CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER ORDER OF IMPORTANCE COMPARISON-CONTRAST
CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER DISCUSSES CHARACTERS OR EVENTS AS THEY CHANGE OVER TIME
ORDER OF IMPORTANCE PRESENTING THE MOST NOTE-WORTHY OR SIGNIFICANT POINT FIRST OR LAST
COMPARISON- CONTRAST ORDER GROUPING SIMILARITIES OR DIFFERENCES FROM A WORK OR TWO WORKS
NO MATTER THE METHOD... SUPPORT WITH EVIDENCE!!!!!! LOOK AT THE WORK IN DEPTH DECIDE WHAT YOU WILL FOCUS ON GATHER INFORMATION (EVIDENCE FOR SUPPORT.