Literary Tools

This semester we are looking at literary works as constructs: structures deliberately crafted to communicate a deliberate message. Literary works do not “just happen,” despite what the cultural mythos tells you. Literary works are not “magical,” despite what the cultural mythos tells you. Literary works are not “the result of a really good drug high,” despite what the cultural mythos tells you.

Motif Any object, phrase, or idea repeated throughout a work.

Setting Ask: Where is the story set? When is the story set? How does the author make the setting clear? If the story took place at another time or place, how would the meaning be different? How does the setting of the story influence the overall meaning or message?

Setting TimePlaceSetting

Time Year Time of day Place LocaleWeather

Allegory Allegory: A symbolic story that corresponds to a set of moral, philosophical, political, or religious situations

Metaphor/Symbol Metaphors and symbols are both tropes or figures of speech.

Metaphor/Symbol Metaphors and symbols are both tropes or figures of speech. Think of a trope like an equation: My love is a red rose love = rose

Metaphor/Symbol A metaphor will give both sides of the equation: My love is a red rose love = rose

Metaphor/Symbol A symbol will only give you the end result: A rose falls to the ground. You, the reader, have to determine what that rose symbolizes: A rose falls to the ground tells us ______

Sample Thesis = Missing Overall Meaning It might seem as if the scholarly realm of literary theory could have nothing to do with a children’s book such as The Cat in the Hat. However, by applying formalist criticism to Dr. Seuss’s story, the reader can see how elements of punctuation, meter, rhyme, and repetition work together to create a sense of constant action and spontaneity.

Sample Thesis = Missing Literary Tool It might seem as if the scholarly realm of literary theory could have nothing to do with a children’s book such as The Cat in the Hat. However, it becomes clear that The Cat in the Hat is not just a simple tale for children. Rather, it is a story which presents the playful Cat’s revolt against authority and subversion of traditional societal values and subtly affirms that insurrection.

Sample Thesis = Missing HOW It might seem as if the scholarly realm of literary theory could have nothing to do with a children’s book such as The Cat in the Hat. However, by applying formalist criticism to Dr. Seuss’s story, the reader can see how elements of punctuation, meter, rhyme, and repetition work together to create a sense of constant action and spontaneity, paralleling the events of the story and the unpredictable character of the Cat himself. Secondly, when Seuss's story is viewed through the lens of archetypal criticism, it becomes clear that The Cat in the Hat is not just a simple tale for children. Rather, it is a story which presents the playful Cat’s revolt against authority and subversion of traditional societal values and subtly affirms that insurrection.

Sample Thesis = Missing HOW It might seem as if the scholarly realm of literary theory could have nothing to do with a children’s book such as The Cat in the Hat. However, by applying formalist criticism to Dr. Seuss’s story, the reader can see how elements of punctuation, meter, rhyme, and repetition work together to create a sense of constant action and spontaneity, paralleling the events of the story and the unpredictable character of the Cat himself. Secondly, when Seuss's story is viewed through the lens of archetypal criticism, it becomes clear that The Cat in the Hat is not just a simple tale for children. Rather, it is a story which presents the playful Cat’s revolt against authority and subversion of traditional societal values and subtly affirms that insurrection.

Sample Thesis = Missing HOW It might seem as if the scholarly realm of literary theory could have nothing to do with a children’s book such as The Cat in the Hat. However, in Dr. Seuss’s story, the reader can see how elements of punctuation, meter, rhyme, and repetition work together to create a sense of constant action and spontaneity. This action and spontaneity is a direct counterpoint to the figures of authority in the story, the parents. This contrast presents the playful Cat’s revolt against authority and subversion of traditional societal values and subtly affirms that insurrection.