Language of Literary Analysis 1

Writelike a boss. Find the right words.

There is no ONE right way to write analysis, but there are definitely some WRONG ways:
1) NOT using the original text. Without quoting and paraphrasing your text, you are not writing analysis.
2) Not addressing the prompt, if you have one. Your entire paper is your “answer” to a prompt. Analytical answers, by definition, have parts that are organized into what we call “essays.”
3) Neglecting to use the language of literature. That’s what this activity is all about. However, there are some overused, overly unclear words you must stop using because students use these words too often to cover up the fact that they have not spent time looking for the right words. These words are:
Shows
Says
Is/Are
So there are some things not to do. Let’s focus on what SHOULD be done.
I. Writing about Allegorical (symbolic) Literature:
Allegoryis the “big picture” behind a story or text: when a story and its characters represent some larger lesson or meaning that are bigger than the story itself. For example, “Gift of the Magi” could be said to be an allegory for God’s love toward humanity as celebrated during Christmas.
Below are some words and their exact meanings. Which BEST fit the following statements?
imply(ies): words or events that suggest larger, unstated ideas and meanings

illustrate(s): provides specific fictional or narrative examples of larger situations or themes

represent(s):to provide symbolic examples of real characters or situations
Try these words out:

Robert Louis Stevenson’s Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde ______man’s struggle to contain his animal instincts.

The aliens in the film District 9 ______black South Africans who were segregrated by White South African rulers during Apartheid from 1948 to 1994.

The X Men films directly ______the evils of prejudice.

The greater dangers of seeking “racial purity” are ______by the Harry Potter series. Hermione’s quest to free the house-elves could easily ______the efforts of female abolitionists such as Abbey Kelly or Lucretia Mottwho rallied together promote freedom for American slaves in the 1830’s.

The anti-vampire movement in the True Blood series ______that homophobia is still a real issue. The now-famous “God hates fangs” sign from the film is an obvious pun on the “God hates fags” hate-campaign that popped up in churches and on the Internet years ago.

Remember these are not FORMULAS, but simple examples of analysis writing. These words are flexible and can be used in multiple contexts—YOU must determine if they make sense or not in your sentences!

II. Writing about characters & Setting
Below are some words and their exact meanings. Which BEST fit the following statements that follow?

WHAT AUTHORS DO:
Describe(s): We usually say an author describes when he or she writes about the physical condition of a setting or person, whether real or fictional.

Establish(es): “Establishing” in writing means to describe a setting, situation, or mood in such a way that they are a natural part of a story’s setting which is important because a story’s DRAMA is in the way the characters REACT to that setting and one another.
Characterize(s): This special word specifies ways in which an author describes characters directly (through direct description of appearances, thoughts, actions) or indirectly (learning about a character through another character’s reactions or comments).
Imply(ies) motive: A character’s reasons for behaving the way a character does is not usually directly stated. By participating in a character’s experiences and adding our own knowledge of human behavior to those experiences, we feel we can sympathize with (or not) a character’s motives.
Poe ______the Red Death as a plague that has swept the countryside in his famous story, “Masque of the Red Death.” He ______the Red death as a disease that causes “dissolution” and the fast-acting shutting-down of the organs followed by profuse bleeding. When the Red Death appears as a party-goer at Prince Prospero’s masked ball, the Red Death is then ______as a corpse-like mummer who moves silently among the dancers.
O. Henry ______Della as a pretty, slim, but nervous young woman who is torn between her own beauty and her love for her husband.
Della’s repeated looking the mirror ______that she has serious doubts about cutting her knee-length hair for a mere $20.
WHAT CHARACTERS DO:
Thoughts and feelings: Characters feel anything that real people do: React, remark, reply, feel, move, discuss, determine, set out, fear, forget, etc. The key here is to keep an AUTHOR’s actions in a story separate and distinct from a CHARACTER’S actions.
Special literary functions:
Symbolize(s): Some characters are “character types” that may symbolize real-life ideas, feelings, or behaviors—a character can “symbolize god’s love” or “symbolize the evil of war.” Please note that authors don’t symbolize—CHARACTERS and SYMBOLS symbolize. Authors use symbolism.
Symbolism - when an object is meant to be representative of something or an
idea greater than the object itself. Examples:

Cross - representative of Christ or Christianity
Bald Eagle - America or Patriotism
Owl - wisdom or knowledge
Yellow - implies cowardice or rot

3 Common symbolic character types:
Christ Figures: Characters who are Saviors and symbolize self-sacrifice
and unconditional love in the face of evil or cruelty. In
Melville’s Billy Budd, the title character Billy is punished
not because he does wrong but because he is an
innocent whose forgiveness makes others suspicious and
hateful.
Tricksters: Characters who are not necessarily evil or good but bring
chaos or trouble that serves a higher purpose, often to bring
about needed change or the beginnings of things. Tricksters
tend to survive by wit and skill rather than strength, often causing
trouble for themselves because they don’t obey social rules—thus
they are often thought of as “wise fools.” In West
African Anansi stories, Anansi the spideroutwits the
ferocious, king-like Tiger and, in doing so, brings about the
telling of stories by human beings.

Everyman: Characters that represent all human beings’ experiences,
reaching maturity, facing temptations, or undergoing trials of
the spirit. In The Hunger Games, Katniss is an Everyman
character in that she represents the individual who must learn
to think and act for herself, regardless of the consequences—
even if the consequences mean she must give up things she
loves in favor of loyalty to her beliefs that may inspire change.

Contrast(s): A foil is a character (usually minor) that uses contrast to stress the
importance of the major character(s) personalities. In Romeo and
Juliet, Rosaline is Juliet’s FOIL because Romeo is at first attracted to
Rosaline for her beauty—however, this contrasts to Romeo’s love for
Juliet which is a deeper, spiritual love that moves to die with her rather
than live without her.

Instigates(s): A character can instigate (bring about, start, kick off) change in other
characters or the plot of a story—such characters are called catalysts.
React(s): When we speak of how a character acts “naturally” in response to a
situation, we maysay a character reacts to his or her environment.
Try these words out:
Harry Potter’s refusal to avoid saying Voldemort’s name ______every child’s inevitable, harsh realization that, to grow up, one must be rid of superstition and nameless fear of the unknown. Harry’s tragic suffering helps overthrow the evil of Voldemort’s regime and qualifies Harry as a ______.

In Book 5 of the Harry Potter series, Harry ______to Ron being made a Prefect (a student who is supposed to monitor the behavior of other students). Because the two characters ______in an important way, Ron is Harry’s ______.
When Hagrid appears with news that Harry is to enroll at Hogwart’s, he ______the beginning of Harry’s journey.
Hagrid is like an eternal child, but Harry will soon encounter more major shakeups in his view of the world. For example, the Dark Lord Voldemort appears not as a tyrant wizard but as a ______who lures Harry and Ginny into the past that radically changes the reader’s understanding of the background to the novel’s world and drives Harry closer to his own past.
Look for: Connections, links, and clues between and about characters. Ask yourself what the function and significance of each character is. Make this determination based upon the character's history, what the reader is told (and not told), and what other characters say about
themselves and others.

III. Writing About Story Structure

Remember, some words are interchangeable depending on the wording of your sentence and your understanding of how stories work.
Authors
Suggest(s): to suggest means to directly give advice or directions.
Build(s): To make larger or stronger, fabricate out of mechanical parts, or to increase in size, length, or scope.
Create(s): To bring about in existence, usually through acts of intelligence, language, or emotional situating.
Pace(s): How slowly or quickly a story’s plot moves along—pacing can be affected by action, point of view, and setting.
Allude(s): When authors use an allusion—such as saying “He was more tortured than Prometheus”—then the author alludes to the myth. “Allude” is the verb form of “allusion.”
Trigger(s): A “trigger” in stories or essays is the point at which an important shift happens. For example, an author can “trigger” the beginning of the conflict with a sudden occurrence, or, more often, a character’s memory can be “triggered” by his or her environment, resulting in a flashback.
Narrate(s): the act of telling a story. We usually say an author “narrates” when he or she is simply describing the action of the plot.
Comment(s): to make remarks upon the action of a story—typically we say the author interrupts or breaks from the narrating or narration to comment, such as O. Henry does in “Gift of the Magi” when he talks directly to the reader.
Employ(s): This is a good word to use when talking about how an author uses irony. For example, we say that O. Henry employs dramatic irony when Della thinks that her husband Jim thinks she’s ugly when he stares speechlessly at her when she sells her beautiful hair to buy him a watch chain; however, we (the reader and audience) know that he is really staring because he has sold his watch to buy her the gift of new combs.
Move(s): Placement from one place in the story to another, whether in time or in point of view.
Foreshadow(s): To warn or hint at with symbolic or mood-based clues. The characters may or may not be a part of this, and we may not be aware of the foreshadowing until a second reading of a text—however, foreshadowing helps pace the story and adds to a story’s mood. Example: In John Gardner’s Grendel, the unresponsive ram in Chapter 1 foreshadows the unresponsive humans and their stupidity. The Biblical allusion to the curse of Cain foreshadows the charm of the dragon and the Christian imagery that surrounds Beowulf. The dark presence that Grendel feels in the woods and the snake he mistakes for a vine foreshadow his meeting with the dragon; the onset of winter foreshadows Grendel’s death.
Reveal(s): Authors can reveal information in any way—characters’ dialogue and background and flashbacks being two major ways.
Try these words out:
An author ______a story’s theme by showing that theme played out dramatically and allowing the protagonist to have epiphanies or realizations.
Near the end of Prisoner of Azkaban Dumbledore says "You think the dead we loved ever truly leave us?" This statement ______his own death and how he came back to help Harry.

Typically, an author ______the plot more quickly during the climax and falling action than in the exposition and rising action.
When two friends come across hostile soldiers stringing up fish and frying them and later end up killed themselves and thrown into the river, we may say this is an example of an author ______.

An author ______a plot through introduction first of setting and characters, then
conflict and action that ______suspense through pacing, mood, and the
emotional state of the characters.
Some stories ______from an ominiscient point of view (outside of the character) into a character’s head (a sympathetic point of view), thus creating sympathetic characters. An author can also ______to another scene just as something interesting is about to happen, creating interest, suspense, or mystery.
In Prisoner of Azkabanthe presence of Dementors ______flashbacks in which Harry Potter remembers parts of the night of his parent’s death.
At the end of “Masque of the Red Death” Poe’s point of view ______from within the castle to without, surveying the plague’s horrible effects on the entire land.
Index: Major Literary Terms To Use When Writing:
Connotation - implied meaning of word. BEWARE! Connotations can change over time.
Mouse: something small, lacking courage, or annoying

Denotation - dictionary definition of a word
Mouse: a small rodent
Diction - word choice that both conveys and emphasizes the meaning or theme of a poem through distinctions in sound, look, rhythm, syllable, letters, and definition.
Example of simple, direct diction: “He put his hand in the water. The water was ice cold.”
Example of elevated, complex diction: “He extended his hand into the liquid blue. The water
affronted his senses with its sublime frigidity.”
Ephiphany: When a character has a sudden, large realization about himself or the situation—also called a ‘revelation” and is typically connected to the outcome of the conflict in a story. Characters who have epiphanies are considered dynamic characters.
Figurative language - the use of words to express meaning beyond the literal meaning of the words themselves

  • Metaphor - contrasting to seemingly unalike things to enhance the meaning of a situation or theme without using like or as
  • You are the sunshine of my life.
  • Simile - contrasting to seemingly unalike things to enhance the meaning of a situation or theme using like or as
  • What happens to a dream deferred, does it dry up like a raisin in the sun
  • Hyperbole - exaggeration
  • I have a million things to do today.
  • Personification - giving non-human objects human characteristics
  • America has thrown her hat into the ring, and will be joining forces with the British.

Imagery - the author’s attempt to create a mental picture (or reference point) in the mind of the reader. Remember, though the most immediate forms of imagery are visual, strong and effective imagery can be used to invoke an emotional, sensational (taste, touch, smell etc) or even physical response.

Meter - measure or structuring of rhythm in a poem

Plot - the arrangement of ideas and/or incidents that make up a story

  • Foreshadowing - When the writer clues the reader in to something that will eventually occur in the story; it may be explicit (obvious) or implied (disguised).
  • Suspense - The tension that the author uses to create a feeling of discomfort about the unknown
  • Conflict - Struggle between opposing forces.
  • Exposition - Background information regarding the setting, characters, plot.
  • Rising Action - The process the story follows as it builds to its main conflict
  • Crisis - A significant turning point in the story that determines how it must end
  • Resolution/Denouement - The way the story turns out.

Point of View - pertains to who tells the story and how it is told. The point of view of a story can sometimes indirectly establish the author's intentions.

  • Narrator - The person telling the story who may or may not be a character in the story.
  • First-person - Narrator participates in action but sometimes has limited knowledge/vision.
  • Second person - Narrator addresses the reader directly as though she is part of the story. (i.e. “You walk into your bedroom. You see clutter everywhere and…”)
  • Third Person (Objective) - Narrator is unnamed/unidentified (a detached observer). Does not assume character's perspective and is not a character in the story. The narrator reports on events and lets the reader supply the meaning.
  • Omniscient - All-knowing narrator (multiple perspectives). The narrator knows what each character is thinking and feeling, not just what they are doing throughout the story. This type of narrator usually jumps around within the text, following one character for a few pages or chapters, and then switching to another character for a few pages, chapters, etc. Omniscient narrators also sometimes step out of a particular character’s mind to evaluate him or her in some meaningful way.

Recognition: When a character realizes the irony of his or her situation, or when a character suddenly becomes aware of important information concerning the conflict. We often use the phrase “shock of recognition” because this recognition often occurs in the climax of the story when things hidden are revealed.
Rhythm - often thought of as a poem’s timing. Rhythm is the juxtaposition of stressed and unstressed beats in a poem, and is often used to give the reader a lens through which to move through the work. (See meter and foot)

Speaker - the person delivering the poem. Remember, a poem does not have to have a speaker, and the speaker and the poet are not necessarily one in the same.

Structure (fiction) - The way that the writer arranges the plot of a story.
Look for: Repeated elements in action, gesture, dialogue, description, as well as shifts in direction, focus, time, place, etc.