Conventions of Literary Analysis

What to Do (and What Not to Do)On Your Analytical Essay

Quote Integration

QUESTION:Open your copy of The Odyssey to page 449. If you wanted to quote lines 336-339 in your essay, how would you write and cite the quotation?

Quote IntegrationANSWER:After Leodes begs Odysseus to spare his life, claiming to have been merely a prophet to the suitors, Odysseus shows no mercy: “A killing look, and the wry soldier answered, / ‘Only a priest, a prophet for this mob, you say? / How hard you must have prayed in my own house / that the heady day of my return would never dawn…’” (Homer 22.336-339). Odysseus’s sarcastic reply shows that he rejects all excuses for the traitor’s behavior and will stop at nothing to get revenge.

Quick Review: T-E-A-C-UP

• T: topic sentence• E: evidence• A: analysis• C-UP: close it up

Present Tense• When we write (or speak) about literature, we

use the present tense to describe the characters and their actions.– E.g.: Odysseus wants revenge, no matter the cost.– NOT: Odysseus wanted revenge, no matter the cost.

• This applies even to characters who die during the story.– E.g.: Antinous dies when Odysseus’s arrow travels

clean through his neck.– NOT: Antinous died when Odysseus’s arrow travels

clean through his neck.

Present TenseDo these sentences properly use the present tense?• Even though Athena was a goddess, Homer

portrayed her as masculine through her aggressive and rugged actions: “She seized the rugged spear tipped with a bronze point-- / weighted, heavy, the massive shaft she wields to break the lines / of heroes the mighty Father’s daughter storms against” (1.116-118).

• Athena also often disguised herself as a man.

Present TenseDo these sentences properly use the present tense?• Athena does possess certain feminine characteristics,

including bright eyes and “supple sandals, / ever-glowing gold” (1.113-114).

• However, Athena typically masked her beauty instead of flaunting it or using it to lure in male victims.

• She used her strengths for good instead of evil, placing her on par with the male heroes of the poem.

• This combination of masculine heroism and female beauty is what makes Athena break the archetype of women as dangerous vixens.

Active Voice

• In literary analysis essays, you want to be straightforward and authoritative. One way to accomplish this is to use the active voice instead of the passive voice.– Active voice the subject acts– Passive voice the subject is acted upon

• Example:– Active voice: The dog bit the boy.– Passive voice: The boy was bitten by the dog.

Active Voice

• Why is the active voice more effective?• Can you think of any situations in which you

would prefer to use the passive voice?• Do these sentences properly use the active

voice?– On the third strike, the catcher dropped the ball.– On the third strike, the ball was dropped by the

catcher.– On the third strike, the ball was dropped.

Active Voice

• Do these sentences properly use the active voice?– Frank has told me that his favorite book is Dwayne

Wade’s autobiography.– Nicole and Savannah are enamored with One

Direction.– Ben is taking a trip to Mexico in two weeks.– Liam and Burke were told by Ms. Gallin to stop

doing parkour in the classroom.

Third-Person Point of View

• When we write literary essays in school, we try to leave ourselves out of the picture. Refrain from using “I,” “me,” or “you.”– Example: Odysseus is a heroic man.– NOT: I think that Odysseus is a heroic man.

• You don’t have to explain that your opinion or interpretation is what you think—that’s obvious. Unless you really need to clarify what’s fact from what’s opinion, we know that this is an argument paper; everything in here is your opinion.

• With that said, make sure you back up all of your opinions with textual evidence.

Third-Person Point of View

Do these sentences properly use the third-person point of view?• It’s hard to say whether The Odyssey is a good

book, but, if you ask me, it’s worth reading purely because it’s so famous.

• Telemachus becomes a man only when he leaves Ithaca and ventures out on his own.

• Telemachus is braver than I would be in that situation.

Third-Person Point of View

Do these sentences properly use the third-person point of view?• For those of us interested in Greek mythology,

The Odyssey is a treasure trove of fascinating legends.

• While some believe The Odyssey is not realistic, they are missing the bigger picture.

• If you want an exciting story filled with adventure, monsters, battles, and romance, read The Odyssey!

No Contractions• In everyday language, we contract our words all

the time.– Examples: don’t, we’ll, I’d, it’s, they’re, wouldn’t

• In formal writing, such as analytical essays, avoid using these words to sound more professional.– Examples: do not, we will, I would, it is, they are,

would not• That’s not to say you can never use apostrophes.

Don’t forget that you’ll use them for possession.– Example: Athena’s wings

No Slang or Abbreviations

• Like contractions, slang and abbreviations are a common part of our everyday language. – Examples: ’cuz, b/c, w/o, OMG, YOLO

• However, we want to be formal, not informal, in analytical essays, so – for this assignment – slang is out!

No Slang or Abbreviations

What formal words can you use in place of these informal ones?• Stuff• Crazy• Stupid/Dumb• Awesome• Cool• Blah