Reading a book, novel or any other literary work for the sake of enjoyment, refreshment and pleasure is not new to all of us. But for the act of reading for catching up the exact meaning of the text, getting inspiration and motivation from a motivational story, or grabbing the meaning that an author tries to convey, you need a little more technical approach.
Most probably, ways of reading a book are not less than the type of books in the world. On the same ground, reading literary work such as reviews, textbooks, thesis, poems, plays, and stories asks students to use a different approach, such as literary analysis.
This analysis includes the division of a long text into short, more understandable parts to know the exact meaning. This article will talk about literary analysis so students can better understand its components and writing tips. After getting aware of this type of analysis, reading a text to know its meaning will be relatively easier for all.
Literary Analysis: A Brief Introduction
Basically, an analysis of a literary work is a thorough study of a text to interpret its exact meaning instead of making decisions based on superficial understanding. It also includes the possible reasons behind the choice of an author regarding literacy devices.
The texts that can be analysed using this method include short poems, stories, plays, novels, and other forms of literary writing. This type of analysis is not rhetorical analysis, simple summary, and review of a literary text; rather, it is an argumentative essay.
This argumentative analysis discusses elements such as language, the structure of a text and authors’ perspectives on a matter of discussion. It explains ways in which an author uses literary devices in order to create effects and convey messages more effectively.
The main task in performing this type of analysis is to identify certain elements such as setting, tone, character and imagery to judge how the author uses these elements to create effects in a story, book, piece of literature, and many more. Getting best assignment writing service from experts can be much helpful in this regard.
Components Of Literary Analysis:
The main components that need to be identified and analysed in the literary analysis include the plot, conflict, setting, theme, and characters. After that, the next task is to judge how these components are used, focused and connected to support or oppose a claim. The following is a brief description of these five important components:
- Plot: The plot is the event’s pattern that makes up the whole story.
- Conflict: Conflict is meant for the struggle between the two contrasting ideas and opposing forces, typically named antagonist and protagonist.
- Setting: The location, place and venue of happening of the event are called setting.
- Characters: The subjects included in a play, such as people or players, are called characters of a story. Characters are ones that react and take action in a story.
- Theme: A literary theme is the main point of discussion, the main idea, and the underlying meaning beyond facts an author aims to explore throughout a literary work.
Steps To Writing Literature Analysis:
Reviewing the literature and conducting an analysis are not among the intrinsic properties of a student; a few things need to be known in order to achieve excellence in this field. Well-developed thinking as well as decisive power are required to master the literature reviewing and analysis process.
However, taking a step-by-step approach or following a detailed guide is effective in gaining mastery. Thus, the following are some steps that can help even a novice reader to conduct the literary analysis:
Ask Questions:
The first step in the analysis of a literary work is to keenly observe questionable points in the literature. The more carefully you read a text, the more reasonable questions you may be able to formulate. Some general questions that may help you in starting the analysis include:
- Is the evidence strong enough to validate the author’s point of view?
- Is anything left unexplained?
- Is the argument biased or not?
- Do you disagree with any point of an author on the basis of logic?
Search For Evidence:
Questions formulated in the first step aim to lead the foundation of the whole analysis. Thus, if, after reading a text, you got ‘Yes’ as an answer to the above-mentioned questions, you should surely collect evidence for it. The evidence from the original text in your analysis can help the audience understand your point.
Make A Thesis:
The thesis in the analysis of literary work is the point that you want to discuss from the text under review. It is the core argument that aims to give direction to the analysis based on facts instead of randomly picking the observation. The thesis statement in this analysis, like all other types of essays, aims to logically connect different points of discussion, so it must be placed in the introductory part.
Develop A Well-Organised Argument:
The evidence, supporting details and points that need to be provided in your analysis collectively make an argument that must be placed in the body paragraph. The reasons, examples and proof collected to support a claim are the major contributors to a well-developed argument. Moreover, the claim may be decided on the basis of the element that surprises, confuses, or excites you.
Start Writing After Knowing The Structural Elements:
The last part of the analysis is to pen down what you have noticed and analysed after reading a text. To properly deal with the drafting phase, the full content of the analysis can be divided into three parts: introduction, body and conclusion. As explained earlier, the introduction must focus on the theme of analysis and thesis statement. The body of the essay must include evidence, examples and reasons. The conclusion must converge the widely scattered points of discussion into a single point in order to support the thesis.
Final Thoughts:Â Â Â Â
All in all, literary analysis is the method of taking into account different components of a literary work in order to better understand an author’s perspectives. Plots, characters, setting, themes, and conflicts are its essential components. However, its writing process starts with reading to make logical questions, passes by searching for evidence to develop arguments and ends by describing the extract of the whole analysis.
