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A literary analysis is a critical analysis of a work of literature such as a poem, a play, a short story or a novel. A literary analysis starts with careful reading and examination of certain parts of the story in order to understand the whole story better.
The below example demonstrates the steps taken before beginning to write a literary analysis paper. Our example is taken from Shel Silverstein’s “The Giving Tree”. The author’s purpose is identified before moving on to pulling out and analyzing the key elements in the book: plot, setting, characters, point of view, style,
- Step 1: Reading The Text and Identifying Literary Devices
- Step 2: Coming Up with A Thesis
- Step 4: Writing The Body of The Essay
- Step 5: Writing A Conclusion
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The first step is to carefully read the text(s) and take initial notes. As you read, pay attention to the things that are most intriguing, surprising, or even confusing in the writing—these are things you can dig into in your analysis. Your goal in literary analysis is not simply to explain the events described in the text, but to analyze the writi...
Your thesis in a literary analysis essay is the point you want to make about the text. It’s the core argument that gives your essay direction and prevents it from just being a collection of random observations about a text. If you’re given a prompt for your essay, your thesis must answer or relate to the prompt. For example: Your thesis statementsh...
The body of your essay is everything between the introduction and conclusion. It contains your arguments and the textual evidence that supports them.
Theconclusionof your analysis shouldn’t introduce any new quotations or arguments. Instead, it’s about wrapping up the essay. Here, you summarize your key points and try to emphasize their significance to the reader. A good way to approach this is to briefly summarize your key arguments, and then stress the conclusion they’ve led you to, highlighti...
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The purpose of a literary analysis essay is to carefully examine and sometimes evaluate a work of literature or an aspect of a work of literature. As with any analysis, this requires you to break the subject down into its component parts.
To improve creative writing skills, students should read diverse literary works, practice regular writing, explore different language styles, use writing prompts, and accept feedback from friends...
The purpose of a literary analysis is to demonstrate why the author used specific ideas, word choices, or writing structures to convey his or her message. How to Create a Literary Analysis: Read the text closely several times. Focus on the ideas that are being presented. Think about the characters’ development and the author’s writing technique.
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What is a literary analysis?
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How do you analyze a piece of literature?
Literary analysis involves examining all the parts of a novel, play, short story, or poem—elements such as character, setting, tone, and imagery—and thinking about how the author uses those elements to create certain effects.
