Analyzing and Interpreting Literature

To analyze literature, a reader needs to determine how each part of a work (for example, narrator, characters, plot,
symbol, theme) relates to every other part, and to the work as a whole. But analysis also involves considering the
influence of the era in which a work was written. Seventeenth-century English Puritans, for example, wrote works
affected not only by the Reformation, but also by aspects of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Then, too, the
events of an author's life may have special bearing on the work. Or perhaps one poem an author has written may seem
atypical. Did a particular event evoke it?
So, how can a student go about analyzing a literary work?
First, as you read the work, identify who is talking to whom, and under what circumstances. Do you see a basic
conflict that is being described? What is it? (When reading a poem, look closely at the first 10-30 lines). All these
questions help you define the dramatic situation.
Second, try to paraphrase the work (explain what it is saying in your own words). (Paraphrase a poem sentence by
sentence, in prose [not line by line, since the thought may run over -- be enjambed -- from line to line].) Make your
paraphrase as literal as possible; provide the dictionary definition (denotative meaning) of each word. (For a poem, the
paraphrase will probably be longer and not sound as good.)
Consider the imagery, and connotative (emotional) meaning of words throughout the work. Is an extended metaphor
used (the same image controls the entire work), or are various images used? Consider the way appropriate
connotations of words amplify meaning.
Note allusions to other works, times, or events. Do these allusions explain or support the events, characters, or
emotions described? Are they ironic? Satirical?
Note the form of the work. For poetry, this is especially important. You might ask: How many stanzas are there? How
many lines in the work? In a stanza? What's the meter and rhyme scheme? Is a traditional form used? How does form
complement content in the poem? (For example, does the thought conform to the 8/6 line break in the rhyme scheme
of the Petrarchan sonnet? Is a simple ballad form, that is perfectly regular, belied in its promise of order and simplicity
by a topic that is bitter and negative?)
Now you're ready to interpret the work, on the basis of the analysis that you've done. When you interpret, you decide
on the meaning and significance of the work, based on a close analysis, like the one above. Once you have analyzed
and interpreted a text, you are ready to talk or write about it.
In writing about literature, you generally begin with an introductory paragraph or two that assert your central idea (an
interpretation or view you have of a particular issue). This opening establishes the focus of your paper. You need to
define your terms clearly, whether at the beginning, or along the way.
In the body of the paper, you defend your central idea, point by point, using evidence that you analyze for the reader's
benefit. Your goal is to persuade the reader that your central idea is correct, or at least defensible. Your essay should
conclude by summarizing your conclusions, and by providing some added insight.

Glossary of Literary Terms and Concepts

Allegory: an extended narrative comparison in which objects, actions, and people are equated with abstract ideas
which lie outside the narrative itself. Allegory often teaches a moral lesson.
Atmosphere: the emotional aura in a story or lyric, established particularly by setting or landscape.
Characterization: creating images of imaginary people so credible that they seem real within the limits of the fiction.

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Image: (In literature)A sensory impression (using sight, hearing, smell, touch, or taste) that stands for something else.
Irony: a figure of speech in which the actual intent is expressed in words which carry the opposite meaning. Actions as
well as words may be considered ironic when they result in the reverse of the expected.
Point of view: the vantage point from which a story is told.
Plot: the series of interrelated actions leading to a climax in a work of literature.
Style: the way an author chooses and arranges words to express ideas and emotions.
Symbolism: using an object or event which is itself, but which also stands for or suggests something else.
Theme: the central idea of a literary work.
Tone: the attitude implied toward the subject matter and the audience.

Ways to Classify Course Readings

Historically
Anglo-Saxon
Beowulf
Caedmons Hymn
Dream of the Rood
Medieval
Chaucer
Sir Gawain
Piers Plowman
Lyrics
Margery Kempe
*Ballads
*John Skelton

Renaissance
*John Skelton
*Ballads
Wyatt, Surrey
Sidney, Spencer
Marlowe, Shakespeare
Donne, Jonson, Marvell
Herrick, Herbert, *Milton

Restoration/18th Century
*Milton, Dryden, Gray
Pope, S. Johnson
Astell, Finch, Swift, Montagu

Poetic Type
Epic: Beowulf, Faerie Queene, Paradise Lost
Sonnets (major): Wyatt, Sidney, Surrey, Spencer, Shakespeare
Lyrics: (the sonneteers above, plus), Skelton, Marlowe, Ralegh, Donne, Herrick, Herbert, Marvell, Gray, Astell,
ballads
Narrative: Chaucer, Sir Gawain, Piers Plowman, Spencer, Milton, Dryden, Pope*
Romance: Sir Gawain
Genre and Mode
Satire: *Donne, Ralegh, *Skelton, Dryden, Pope, Swift, Chaucer, Piers Plowman
Prose: Margery Kempe, Swift, Johnson
Drama: Shakespeare (history); Marlowe (tragedy); Everyman (allegory)
Allegory: Piers Plowman, Everyman, Faerie Queene
* indicates questionable or ambiguous classification

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