Answered By: Elaine M. Patton Last Updated: Feb 01, 2022 Views: 16
What Is A Literary Analysis
The key word is "analysis" -- it's very easy (usually) to just summarize a work. A literary analysis seeks to extract and apply greater contextual meaning -- arguing a particular interpretation of a work, usually fiction of some kind. (It's not to be confused with a literature review, for the record, which is more widely research-based.)
To illustrate,
| Summary: just describes the characters and events as they happened in the book. |
In The Great Gatsby, the narrator Nick attends a party hosted by his neighbor Jay Gatsby. While trying to track down the man himself, he wanders into the library and encounters another partygoer who excitedly talks about how the books on the shelves are real and not cardboard fakes. Nick finally meets Gatsby near midnight after unknowingly chatting with him. (Fitzgerald) ... See also: Wikipedia plot summary |
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| Analysis: digs deeper into the work. What does a plot event tell us about the author or society? |
The Great Gatsby explores the hollow meaninglessness under the glamor of the Jazz Age. Jay Gatsby throws lavish parties attended by dozens of people, but the narrator Nick's interactions with other guests show them to be strangers to Gatsby. One partygoer is impressed by Gatsby's library being stocked by real books, but their pages are uncut and so the books are almost as unreadable as fakes would be. (Fitzgerald) Either way, the image of an intelligent library is more important than the reality of actually reading and pondering the ideas in the books. And yet, the partygoer is still impressed by this image since it wasn't as shallow as the literary images presented at other mansions. This also reveals how committed Gatsby is to projecting a particular image compared to his peers, suggesting a small degree of authenticity beyond other wealthy party hosts in the area offer. ... See also: Wikipedia major themes |
What does the text say, and how does it say it? Does it lead you to think or feel a certain way (and how does it do that)? How does it fit into a historical context or cultural or genre or....?
How to Tackle
The Norton Field Guide to Literature provides a guide to writing literary analyses, and TWO of the steps both are "read the text" -- more than once, and carefully. (Bullock and Groggin 217-23)
- Choose a method for analysis -- the writing of the text itself, or your response as a reader, or some contextual framework.
- Read and re-read the work looking for places where your analysis shines through. If analyzing the text's imagery, maybe you'd be highlighting or copying down all the metaphors and similes and symbolism used. The more you re-read, the more your brain can pay attention to how the plot is accomplish instead of what the plot is.
- Develop a thesis of what you're going to argue in your analysis of the work.
- Read the text carefully again to locate passages that support your argument.
- Organize those passages according to the major points of your thesis: you're building the roadmap for your paper.
- Write. Edit. Revise. Be sure you have citations for your quotes and paraphrases from the text!
Work Cited:
Bullock, Richard, and Maureen Daly Groggin. The Norton Field Guide to Writing with Readings. 5th ed., Lone Star College-University Park ed., Norton, 2019.
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