Skip to Main Content

English Composition

What type of paper have you been asked to write? These are the major types of academic writing you will be likely to come across in your studies at CNC. Each type of writing has different requirements and produces different outcomes.

Literary Analysis

A literary analysis is not a summary of a literary work. Instead, it is an argument of your interpretation of aspects of the text. There are two main types of literary analysis - literary analysis of elements and devices (see below) and Contextual Criticism (see Literary Lenses page). 

Literary Analysis of Elements and Devices (Formalist Criticism)

An argument about how and why you think the author used literary elements and devices (see handout: Literary Elements and Devices).

Preliminary Steps for Creating an Analysis Paper

Close Reading

Before you start your first draft of your essay, read the literary work carefully, taking notes on key details, symbols, characters, setting, plot points, etc. Look for deeper layers of meaning and elements and devices that seem important.

Development of Thesis Statement

Next, develop a clear thesis statement. The thesis statement lays the groundwork for your entire literary analysis. It should make an arguable claim that you can develop and support with evidence from the text. A good thesis statement is concise and specific, focuses on just one or two elements of the work, and offers a new or interesting way to understand the text.

For example, "The recurring symbolism of water throughout the story reinforces the narrator's feelings of helplessness and powerlessness."

The above example relates the literary device – symbolism (water) – to the literary element – theme (helplessness).

Building Essay Outline

Next, build your outline based on your thesis and the key ideas you plan to discuss. Each body paragraph should explore one main idea that supports your thesis using quotes and examples from the text as evidence.

Example Thesis Statement Patterns for Literary Analysis Papers

The thesis statement should make a focused, specific, arguable claim about a literary element and/or device you will analyze in the body paragraphs.

Example Literary Analysis of Elements and Devices

  1. In (title of work), (author) (illustrates, shows) (element) (theme).

In “Barn Burning,” William Faulkner shows the characters Sardie and Abner Snopes struggling for their identity.

  1. In (title of work), (author) uses (device) to (define, strengthen, illustrate, convey) the (element).

In “Youth,” Joseph Conrad uses foreshadowing to strengthen the plot.

  1. In (title of work), (author) uses (device) as a unifying device for (one element), (another element), and (another element).

In “Youth,” Joseph Conrad uses the sea as a unifying device for setting, structure and theme.

  1. In (title of work), (author) uses (device) to (accomplish, develop, illustrate, strengthen) (element).

In “The Masque of the Red Death,” Poe uses the symbolism of the stranger, the clock, and the seventh room to develop the theme of death.

  1. (Author) (shows, develops, illustrates) the theme of __________ in the (play, poem, story).

Flannery O’Connor illustrates the theme of the effect of the selfishness of the grandmother upon the family in “A Good Man is Hard to Find.”

  1. In (title of work), (Author) (shows, illustrates) how (theme).

In “The Tragedy of Mariam,” Cary shows how misogyny can take root in a culture in the name of religion.

 

(Modified from UTA Libraries)