1. The Art of Literary Analysis
COMMENTARY
The Art of Literary Analysis

2. Commentary includes: Analysis of text Personal response Content Theme
Style
Structure
Language
Personal response

3. Close Reading
The art of paying attention to the details of language

4. Skills You Will Need to Develop
To read and make sense of a text
To recognize important features quickly
To apply your own literary understanding rather than ideas you have read or been taught

5. To know about “how writers write” in terms of style and structure
To understand how writers use language to create different effects according to audience and purpose
To organize your ideas

6. Strategy for Analysis What is the text about? (subject or theme)
Whose voice do you hear? (speaker)
Is it written in third person or first person?
Is it the voice of the author?
To whom is the text addressed?
What is the situation?

7. What is the structure of the piece?
What ideas are embedded “below the surface” of the text?
Author’s aims and purposes?
Signs of irony or satire?
What is the writer’s tone of voice?
Is there an atmosphere or feeling which pervades the piece?

8. What kinds of visual images or “word-pictures” does the text present
Simile; Metaphor
What individual words and phrases does the author use? (diction)
What sound effects are present? (rhyme, rhythm)
Are sentences flowing or jerky? (long or short)
Does the rhythm change?
What is the effect?

9. Conclusion--An overview of the the text
How do all the effects and details come together to create a whole piece of writing?
Do content and style complement each other?
What has your reading contributed to your understanding of the subject?
Does it offer a way of looking at things which you had not considered before?

10. Planning Strategies Read the text through several times
Underline key words and phrases
Look for underlying meanings
Annotate the text
Note your responses to the effects created by specific words and phrases
List key points
Organize them in a logical order

11. Embedding quotations State the point you wish to make
Follow with your quotation
Make sure the context of quotation is clear
Briefly explain the situation or who is speaking to whom
Follow with the page number in parenthesis (89)
Analyze the quotation in detail
Comment on individual words or phrases
Explain how and why used and with what effect

12. Steps
Give the context and overall impression
Cite the passage
Analyze the passage in detail
Conclusion relating overall impression to theme