...Write a Critical Literary Analysis Essay When writing a literary analysis essay, your main objective is not to write a simple summary. Rather, your goal is to write an essay that discusses your interpretation and critique of the literature. There are a few general guidelines you should keep in mind when writing a literary analysis essay. Remember, there often is no right or wrong answer – what really matters is proving your thesis with evidence! One tip you should keep in mind while writing a literary analysis essay is that you should always write in the present tense and never in the past tense. For example, you might write “In George Orwell’s ‘Animal Farm,’ the animals take over the farm and develop their own independent society” rather than “In George Orwell’s ‘Animal Farm,’ the animals took over the farm and developed their own independent society.” Another tip is you should also avoid putting yourself into the literary analysis. This means you should write in the third person and never use the words “I” or “you.” There may be exceptions to this rule, however, depending upon your instructor. In fact, some will request a more informal literary analysis that will include the usage of these words. When in doubt, however, it is safer to use the third person. Since literary analysis essays are not meant to simply be a book review or summary of the book, you should not retell the story in your essay. Rather, you need to form a thesis about the piece of literature and then...
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...that every time we are facing a problem, we should really pay attention and take the message of it. There will always be sort of a lesson in every single difficulty. Not only shall we find in our daily lives, but we could also find it while reading literary works, watching movies and suchlike. Reading literary works has interesting adventure in which an extra attention is needed to figure it out. For some people, reading novel or short story is more than just about looking for the beautiful story or the greatnesses of the story. Yet, there are some people who only read novel without a deep understanding. Usually the readers will be facing some questions which have something to do with the author’s intention making story. Common question coming out automatically after reading novel or short story is such what is the author trying to tell us in the story or what the moral lessons of the story is. According to Nurgiyantoro (1995:66) to know of what the author feels like to convey in the story is the main task of reading fiction work, it is either Novel or Short story. As a matter of fact, there are a lot of advantages gained by reading fiction. According to Nurgiyantoro (1995:3) Fiction talks about various problems of life in terms of interaction with environment, ourselves, and our interaction with god. Fiction is the result of dialogue, contemplation, and author reactions of environment and life. Although it is fictitious, it is not true if fiction considered as the...
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...Literary Theory and Schools of Criticism Introduction A very basic way of thinking about literary theory is that these ideas act as different lenses critics use to view and talk about art, literature, and even culture. These different lenses allow critics to consider works of art based on certain assumptions within that school of theory. The different lenses also allow critics to focus on particular aspects of a work they consider important. For example, if a critic is working with certain Marxist theories, s/he might focus on how the characters in a story interact based on their economic situation. If a critic is working with post-colonial theories, s/he might consider the same story but look at how characters from colonial powers (Britain, France, and even America) treat characters from, say, Africa or the Caribbean. Hopefully, after reading through and working with the resources in this area of the OWL, literary theory will become a little easier to understand and use. Disclaimer Please note that the schools of literary criticism and their explanations included here are by no means the only ways of distinguishing these separate areas of theory. Indeed, many critics use tools from two or more schools in their work. Some would define differently or greatly expand the (very) general statements given here. Our explanations are meant only as starting places for your own investigation into literary theory. We encourage you to use the list of scholars and works provided for each...
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...life. FS differ not only by the possibility or impossibility of using some elements but also due to the frequency of their usage. For example, some terms can appear in the colloquial style but the possibility of its appearance is quite different form the possibility to meet it in an example of scientific style. The classification of FS is a very complicated problem, that is why we will consider ideas of I.V.Arnold and I.R. Galperin, bearing in mind that Galperin treats functional styles as patterns of the written variety of language thus excluding colloquial FS. Both scholars agree that each FS can be recognized by one or more leading features. But Galperin pays more attention to the coordination of language means and stylistic devices whereas Arnold connects the specific features of each FS with its peculiarities in the sphere of communication. According to I.R. Galperin, a functional style of language is a system of interrelated language means which serves a definite aim in communication. A functional style should be regarded as the product of a certain concrete task set by the sender of the message. Functional styles appear mainly in the literary standard of the language. These represent varieties of the abstract invariant and can deviate from the invariant, even breaking away with it. Each FS is a relatively stable system at the given stage in the development of the literary language, but it changes, and sometimes considerably, from one period to...
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...story illustrates the effectiveness of the plot, particularly one that has a surprise ending such as, “The Gift of the Magi”. In this story of Jim and Della, they are approaching Christmas and have very little money to spend on one another. They each want to surprise the other one with a marvelous gift for Christmas but they have little money and Della only has $1.87. Della ends up cutting her hair for the money while Jim sells his cherished watch. Through selfless acts done for love, they each end up giving one another a Christmas gift they will always remember and cherish. It didn’t matter to either of them what they had to do in order to provide the gift. The theme was portrayed by the literary elements within the story. Plot, point of view and symbolism are just a few of the literary elements which helped developed the theme of the story. The story I read and critiqued was, “The gift of the Magi”. In order to find the theme of this short story, I had to look beyond the plot, which tells the reader what happened in the story (Clugston, 2010, section 5.5). The theme of this story I believe would be “selfless love”. Other readers, who read the same short story as I did, might have an entirely different theme. This is actually to be expected and is even common. This is because every reader has a different relationship to literature due to each individual’s different experience throughout life. The theme of selfless love, I chose due to I feel like the writer chose selfless love...
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...Some definitions of literary devices, techniques and style from searching via http://www.ferretsoft.com/ LITERARY DEVICES http://mrbraiman.home.att.net/lit.htm Literary devices refers to any specific aspect of literature, or a particular work, which we can recognize, identify, interpret and/or analyze. Both literary elements and literary techniques can rightly be called literary devices. Literary elements refers to aspects or characteristics of a whole text. They are not “used,” per se, by authors; we derive what they are from reading the text. Most literary elements can be derived from any and all texts; for example, every story has a theme, every story has a setting, every story has a conflict, every story is written from a particular point-of-view, etc. In order to be discussed legitimately, literary elements must be specifically identified for that text. Literary techniques refers to any specific, deliberate constructions of language which an author uses to convey meaning. An author’s use of a literary technique usually occurs with a single word or phrase, or a particular group of words or phrases, at one single point in a text. Unlike literary elements, literary techniques are not necessarily present in every text. Literary terms refers to the words themselves with which we identify and describe literary elements and techniques. They are not found in literature and they are not “used” by authors. Allegory:...
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...life. FS differ not only by the possibility or impossibility of using some elements but also due to the frequency of their usage. For example, some terms can appear in the colloquial style but the possibility of its appearance is quite different form the possibility to meet it in an example of scientific style. The classification of FS is a very complicated problem, that is why we will consider ideas of I.V.Arnold and I.R. Galperin, bearing in mind that Galperin treats functional styles as patterns of the written variety of language thus excluding colloquial FS. Both scholars agree that each FS can be recognized by one or more leading features. But Galperin pays more attention to the coordination of language means and stylistic devices whereas Arnold connects the specific features of each FS with its peculiarities in the sphere of communication. According to I.R. Galperin, a functional style of language is a system of interrelated language means which serves a definite aim in communication. A functional style should be regarded as the product of a certain concrete task set by the sender of the message. Functional styles appear mainly in the literary standard of the language. These represent varieties of the abstract invariant and can deviate from the invariant, even breaking away with it. Each FS is a relatively stable system at the given stage in the development of the literary language, but it changes, and sometimes considerably, from one period to...
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...Narrative A narrative is a sequence of events that a narrator tells in story form. A narrator is a storyteller of any kind, whether the authorial voice in a novel or a friend telling you about last night’s party. Point of View The point of view is the perspective that a narrative takes toward the events it describes. First-person narration: A narrative in which the narrator tells the story from his/her own point of view and refers to him/herself as “I.” The narrator may be an active participant in the story or just an observer. When the point of view represented is specifically the author’s, and not a fictional narrator’s, the story is autobiographical and may be nonfictional (see Common Literary Forms and Genres below). Third-person narration: The narrator remains outside the story and describes the characters in the story using proper names and the third-person pronouns “he,” “she,” “it,” and “they.” • Omniscient narration: The narrator knows all of the actions, feelings, and motivations of all of the characters. For example, the narrator of Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina seems to know everything about all the characters and events in the story. • Limited omniscient narration: The narrator knows the actions, feelings, and motivations of only one or a handful of characters. For example, the narrator of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland has full knowledge of only Alice. • Free indirect discourse: The narrator conveys a character’s inner thoughts...
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...polemical issues in the application of literary theories to the field of literature and literary criticism. Out of the several modern approaches to literary criticism as employed by the critics, four literary theories are strategically chosen for analysis in this paper; Formalism, Structuralism, Post-structuralism/Deconstruction and Marxism. This work is objectively carried out by consulting articles, journals and books written on the literary theories. The opportunity of information technology via the internet is also utilized. It is established in the course of writing this paper that literary theories are indispensable tools for literature to achieve its goal of sensitizing its audience towards literary awareness. The application of literary theories to literature, that enhance better and detail insight into text or literary works, would continue to be relevant and make literature more enjoyable and meaningful to its readers and users. Further research and enquiry into the relationship between the two (literature and literary theory) is open and should further be exploited. Keywords: literary theory, literary criticism, Marxism, Formalism, Structuralism, Post-structuralism Introduction Literary criticism is the study, evaluation and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often informed by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of its methods and goals. Though the two activities are closely related, literary critics are not always, and have...
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...a historical construct, Foucault argues, the author can also be deconstructed. His essay calls for putting an end to this figure altogether and for establishing a new and different way of dealing with literary texts. At least some of the shocking questionability of this view is only superficial. Foucault does not argue that one day we discovered that literature is composed by individuals. Rather, he claims that only at a specific time did literary writers come to be treated as authors. The difference is essential. All texts have writers, but only some have authors. To treat writers as authors, therefore, is to take a particular attitude toward their texts: it is to ask of them a certain type of question and to expect a certain type of answer. This attitude, Foucault claims, consists in trying to establish what the author of a text meant by it. We study literary texts in order to determine this constant and philosophical intention and subsequently to recapture the state of mind that led to their production. “Author” is a fairly loose term used to refer to anyone who uses communication. An author could be one person or many people. An author could be someone who uses writing (like in a book), speech (like in a debate), visual elements (like in a TV commercial), audio elements (like in a radio broadcast), or even tactile...
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...schools of literary criticism: *1* Formalism: الشكلية It is a school of literary criticism and literary theory. It has only to do with the structural purposes of a text. These features include not only grammar and syntax but also literary device such as meter. The formalistic approach reduces the importance of a text’s historical biographical and cultural context. Formalism rose the literary attention in the early 20th century as a reaction to Romanist theory of literature, which centre on the artist and individual creative genius and instead placed the text itself back into the spotlight, to show how the text was indebted to forms and other works that had preceded it. Two schools of formalism developed. “Russian formalism and New criticism”. *2* New Criticism: النقد الجديد An approach to literature made popular between 1940 and 1960 that evolved out of formalism criticism. New critics suggested that detailed analysis of the language of a literary text can uncover important logics of meaning in that work. New criticism consciously down plays the historical influences, authorial intentions, and contexts that surround text in order to focus on explication extremity close textual and analysis critics such as John Crowe Ranson, I.A.Richard and Robert Penn are commonly associated with New Criticism *3* structuralism: البنوية It is a critical theory that emphasizes the fact that all the elements of culture must be understood in terms of their relationship...
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...intriguing literary piece presented in The New Census is “Coon Songs Must Go! Coon Songs Must Go on” by Tyehimba Jess. The second poem that wasn’t as engaging as “Coon Songs Must Go! Coon Songs Must Go on” but still possess interesting elements is “Tin Man” by Jericho Brown. Unlike “Tin Man,” the speaker of “Coon Songs Must Go! Coon Songs Must Go...
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...The book Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, has many literary terms within the story. No story, book, essay, or short story can be written without literary terms. This book uses irony, tone, symbolism, and theme. Each one is explained differently and put in so that the readers could have different perspectives. This allows readers to understand a certain book better. Theme, tone, irony, and symbolism all have different meanings to the each reader. Theme is a central meaning or dominant idea in a literary work. It provides a unifying point around which the plot, characters, setting, point of view, symbols, and other elements of work. Zora Neale Hurston writes the theme in many different ways. The one that stands out to me...
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... * A writer of a feminist analysis intends to closely examine how male dominance and female powerlessness manifest themselves in specific aspects of society through a text. Format of Feminist Analysis * General tension and thesis： * Tension will stem from some aspect of patriarchy in the text * Thesis: what is author saying about tension? * Resolve/lack of resolve? Character transgress/submit? * Body: Integrate feminist theory with literary devices * Organize paragraphs by literary device/chronology/order of thesis * Weave in feminist theory as you go along, defining terms as you delve into each device. * Use feminist jargon appropriately and in context * Conclusion <Marxism>: Gender studies： Marxist Literary Theory： * Focuses on the representation of class distinctions and class conflict in literature * Focuses more on social and political elements than artistic and visual (aesthetic) elements of a text Key Terms: Proletariat；Bourgeoisie；Capitalism；Materialism; Classism Commodification Format of Marxism Analysis * General tension and thesis： * Expose class conflict...
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...A Research about The Traditional and The New Criticism What is Literary Criticism? Literary criticism or literary analysis can be defined as, “An informed analysis and evaluation of a piece of literature”. Or A written study, evaluation and interpretation of a work of literature”. * The study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature * A theory founded upon the term “critique” (an analysis of written or oral discourse) * Literary Criticism is usually in the form of a critical essay (though book reviews may sometimes be considered literary criticism) The literary criticism is a concept, formed on the basis of critical analysis and primarily estimates the value and merit of literary works for the presence or quality of certain parameters of literary characteristics. Literary Analysis on the Basis of Literary Theory The literary theory is a boarder concept incorporating various strict senses and merits for the systematic study of the nature of literature and provides a complete set of methods for analyzing literature. * There are several "schools" of criticism which I will begin to examine Traditional Criticism The traditional criticism approach examines you examine how the author’s life, his/her biographical information, contemporary times and effect of his life circumstances on his inspiration and their reflection in his works.It Connects an author’s life events with the ideas presented in a text * Believes that authors use their own life experiences to craft...
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