an introduction to literary analysis ap style 1. literary analysis starts with close reading when...
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AN INTRODUCTION TO LITERARY ANALYSIS
AP Style
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Literary analysis starts with close reading
When we read closely, we observe facts and details about the text and how the author uses language.
Our aim is to notice the striking features of a text, including resources of language, narrative techniques, structural elements, cultural references, and allusions – to name a few!
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How to begin a close readingALWAYS read with a pencil (or pen) in
hand and ALWAYS annotate the text.
Annotating means underlining or highlighting key words and phrases as well as making margin notations that explain your thinking.
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How do I know what to annotate? Annotate those things that strike
you as surprising, significant, or that raise questions as you read.
Be on the look out for the elements of analysis: resources of language and narrative techniques.
Look for patterns in the things you’ve noticed – look for repetitions, contradictions, similarities.
Ask questions about those patterns – especially how and why they occur.
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Analysis depends on close reading
One follows the other – we can’t analyze without first reading closely.
When we read this way, paying attention to the literary evidence in a text, we ask questions that lead us toward an interpretation of that text.
Doing so allows us to reason toward our own ideas about a piece of literature.
As a result, we move away from well-dressed plot summary (masquerading as analysis) toward well-developed and supported literary analysis.
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The AP way!
Analyzing Fiction
Narrative Techniques Resources of Language
Plot Character Setting Point of view Tone
Diction Syntax Imagery (auditory,
visual, tactile) Figurative Language
(simile, metaphor, personification)
Symbolism Allusion
Prose Analysis: composed of various elements that fall into two categories
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Plot Characterization
Examining a story’s main conflict helps to reveal:
Characters Meaning of the
work
Examining character allows us to consider:
How did the author create the character(s)?
Why did the author create such a character?
How is the character’s growth or lack of growth significant?
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Narrative Techniques
Setting Point of View
Examining a story’s setting allows us to consider:
What relationship is there between setting and meaning?
How does the sensuous world of the work, the time of the action, the social environment, and the atmosphere matter?
Examining POV leads us to consider:
Why did the author use one rather than the other?
Did the choice emphasize one character over another? Why?
Can and should we trust the narrator?
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Narrative Techniques
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Narrative Techniques : ToneDefined as: The writer’s or speaker’s attitude toward
his/her subject
Tone is so important that…
…to misinterpret tone is to misinterpret meaning.
Diction Syntax
Examining word choice involves:
Looking at individual words
Considering their connotative and denotative qualities
Noting patterns Considering effect on
meaning
Working with syntax involves:
Looking at and identifying sentence structures used by the author
Noting patterns Considering effect
on meaning
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Resources of Language
Figurative Language Symbolism
An analysis that includes figurative language must:
Correctly identify simile, metaphor, personification
Note the pattern of usage
Connect to meaning
Before our analysis, we must know…
That a symbol means what it is and something more (a rose, for example)
That a symbol is likely to be repeated or given some other importance
Then we can ask: What is the object’s
symbolic meaning? How does it connect to
meaning?
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Resources of Language
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Resources of language
Working with imagery involves:
Recognizing different kinds of imagery besides visual
Noting patterns Connecting image
and pattern of images to meaning
Definition: Allusions are hints or references to other works of literature, such as the Bible, or to history, used by the author to enhance meaning.
Allusions are a kind of literary short hand, and recognizing them vastly increases a reader’s understanding of the work.
Here too, we should identify, note patterns, and connect to meaning.
Imagery Allusion
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Analyzing literature – it’s a lot to think about!
Noting the author’s use of techniques and resources is only the first step.
These devices are always used in pursuit of creating meaning!
Our task is to connect the two.
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Narrative Techniques and Resources of Language create patterns that lead to accurate analysis.
Patterns we may note: Contrast Repetition Similarities Cause-Effect
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These patterns create theme.
Theme moves from the concrete situations in the work…
to generalizations about people and their behaviors…
to comments about the human condition.
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THEME
Makes the work relevant Allows literature to become a form
of philosophy Provides universal wisdom about
the nature of reality
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Themes tend to deal with 4 areas of human experience…
The nature of humanity The nature of society The nature of humankind’s
relationship to the world The nature of our ethical
responsibilities
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On a practical note: Subject vs. Theme
A subject is usually one word or a simple phrase: love, revenge, the impetuousness of youth
A theme is what the author has to say about the subject: Shakespeare suggests in Romeo and Juliet that young people, without the guidance of responsible adults, will often behave impetuously with disastrous consequences.
