Elementary Guide To Efficient Literary Analysis

Literary analysis is one of the most frequently occurring nightmares for the Literature Students worldwide. Long staring contest with the computer screen do not result in a critical analysis coveted by the professors, which might fetch good grades. The following course of action might motivate one to stop with the above mentioned staring match and get started on the long overdue analysis and who knows one might develop an interest in the process as well.

What is a literary analysis?

It is often misconstrued that the literary analysis is the plot summary, which is centred on an overarching scheme. No, it is not a mere reinterpretation of what is already given in a particular work of literature. The questioning of our essay shifts from ‘what’ to ‘why’, i.e., the main purpose of writing an analysis is not to merely state facts but to question the why behind the facts, application of certain previously formed theories or/and to contest some notions. It means to break down the given text into its fundamental components and put them under a microscope for observation, interpretation and analysation. A good critical analysis ensures that the fellow academia can understand an individual’s take on what the author might want to say and what the underlying purpose of the text, its characters, plot, story line, narrative etcetera is.

Step by step approach towards writing a literary analysis.

Getting acquainted with the text and the author

It goes without saying that reading a text is a pre-requisite for any literature student, but a single reading does not suffice the purpose of writing a decent analysis. One has to go through the text again and again, to familiarise oneself with the narration, plot, characters and the author. In addition to that one must gather and hunt through various background materials by various critically acclaimed writers. For example: A student writing a paper on Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte, would never miss the preliminary read of The Mad woman In The Attic by Sandra M. Gilbert and Susan Gubar. A thorough background search is the first and foremost for formulating and initiating a thought process.

 A working thesis

A thesis is an integral part of an analysis. It is basically the theme or topic, which is the backbone of our analysis around which the essay revolves. A well thought out thesis is the key to a successful essay. As one goes through the text or background material, one must keep brainstorming for the topic that will be under discussion. One must keep in mind three things while searching for a central idea. Firstly, the thesis must be an efficient carrier of our central theme. Secondly, the central idea must be articulated very creatively, in a way that guarantees a worthwhile read. Thirdly, each paragraph of our analysis must contribute to the main argument.

A working thesis allows space for contesting and is not a mere re-stating of facts. A thesis provides room for anti-thesis. It allows the readers to think for themselves and come to their own conclusions, without being dictative in nature. One might say that,

 “Basola (Duchess of Malfi, by John Webster) portrays a negative character, who later turns into an avenger for the death of the duchess.”

 But this is a fact and does not account for a good thesis statement. On the other hand, stating that,

“Basola in Duchess of Malfi is an impersonation of a true “Machiavellian villain”. He is a malcontent and has had his hands bloodied on numerous occasions, but at the same time he holds true to the Machiavellian principles and starts on the path of redeeming himself.”

This statement has a leg room for arguments. It deals with the dual traits of Bosola as a Machiavellian villain, but lets the reader decide for themselves if they want to believe it or not.

A thesis statement is ideally introduced at the end of the introduction.

A Bubble Map

A lot of ideas go through our brains while researching on a topic and one tries to inculcate all and sundry in their essay. A bubble map provides a visual representation of the ideas in a pictoral form. One should jot down all that comes to one’s mind and make flow charts or pictographs to give a physical representation to everything that comes to mind. This process helps in imbibing certain things in the essay and forgoing certain things by the method of elimination.

After this, one gets the basic visual aid for what their analysis would look like. Hereafter, one should prepare a basic outline, where all the ideas are formulated as a rough draft. One does not need worry about structuring and errors at this point in the process. This step is just to make sure that all the points are relevant to our thesis statement.

The above process forms the critical reading part of the “critically analysing” process, now comes the critical writing.

Writing an analysis

Introduction

Introduction is the start of the essay and what makes or breaks the reader’s interest. It should be ensured that the introduction to the essay is captivating and intriguing enough for the readers to keep reading forward. It is advisable to start with a riveting quote, a succinct anecdote or a thought provoking question. Inclusion of the author’s and name of the literary work in the introduction itself is imperative. A good introduction leads to the central theme and ends with the thesis statement.

Main Body

An ideal body of the analysis consists of about two to three paragraphs in an essay with the word limit of 500-700 words. Each paragraph must contribute to the central theme. There is a topic sentence which supports the theme, which is elucidated with supporting evidence from the text, direct quotes and specific details which bolster our essay. The topic sentence has dual purpose of supporting the thesis and at the same time facilitating the flow of the essay.

Conclusion

The conclusion marks the end of our analysis. It is the result drawn from the main body and should hold true to the main concern of the analysis. It should not spark a new argument and should have a sense of finality in it, but at the same time it should permit the readers to formulate their own thoughts regarding the topic.

Bibliography or referencing is of utmost importance in a critical essay. For proper citations and referencing, a style manual is recommended to be consulted.

Proofread

Not enough emphasize can be laid on the linguistic proficiency with which the essay is written. A well written literary analysis is grammatically correct and is free of errors, with proper punctuations and spellings. Sentence structuring should not be repetitive and should maintain a flow. A critical essay is quintessentially written in the third person and the first person usage is usually scorned upon. In addition to that the draft must be read out aloud and in presence of a few critics, so that few addition or deductions can be made and the final draft is more refined before the final submission.

A well acknowledged analysis is a well formulated thought process. The beauty of literature is that it is open to interpretation, because each person has a different idea and each reader has a different point of view. Writing a literature paper is akin to peeking into a world different than yours and then providing your understanding of what is observed.

References

Barnet, S., Berman, M., Burto, W., & Stubbs, M. (Eds.). (1988). Literature for composition: Essays, fiction, poetry, and drama. Scott, Foresman/Little, Brown College Divion, Scott, Foresman.