Writing Literary Analyses

Writing Literary Analyses

Open Ended

What's the point of a literary analysis essay? What does one communicate?

A Literary Analysis Essay Will...

• Explain how YOU interpret a poem/novel/story/etc.

• Examine a text for theme and meaning

• Illustrate how a text comments on particular issues

• It's not about what a story IS, but what it DOES

Getting Started

• Read the text MULTIPLE TIMES

• Annotate your text

• Search for patterns and literary devices

Developing a Main Idea / Thesis Statement

• What stands out to you most in the text?

• What do you remember about the text after you've stopped reading it?

• What's the most interesting idea present in the text?

• What are the most interesting literary devices used by the author?

• Answering these questions will help you figure out your thesis statement!

But a thesis is more than just what you liked about a text

• What effect is achieved by the author's writing?

• What do you think the author is trying to say?

• Why does this text matter outside the classroom?

Let's look at some examples...

In The Crucible, the setting of a Puritan society critiques the forced conformity of the McCarthy Era, revealing that

people are often afraid of things or people who are different from them.

In The Great Gatsby, the repeated symbol of the eyes of Dr. T.J. Ecklesburg represents a God figure who is watching over the action of the novel, proposing the belief that events and actions are not random or chaotic; there is a pattern to the events in the world around us.

Open Ended

You try: Look back at Emily Dickinson's "Because I Could Not Stop for Death" on page 872. Pretend you are writing an essay about Dickinson's attitude toward death. What would your thesis statement be?

Homework

• Read Phillip Larkin's "Church Going" on page 942

• Read the sample essay on page 947