Writing a Literary Analysis Ms. Stutts 10 th Grade English

Literary Analysis  Like other essays it includes:  Introduction  Body  Conclusion  BUT, the construction of an analysis is different from the persuasive essays you are used to writing.

Introduction  Full name of author & title of the work  “Short Story”  Novel  Use last name throughout the rest of the paper.  Make an assertion or claim as a controlling idea for your paper aka THESIS.  Thesis - explains your interpretation about theme of work you’re analyzing (overall meaning of story)

Body  The body is not a plot summary.  Exclude personal pronouns and personal statement.  Example- I think… OR In my opinion…  The body of a literary analysis has three parts to each paragraph:  CLAIM  EVIDENCE  COMMENTARY

CLAIM Support thesis by asserting a claim, which connects thesis to one or more literary techniques. Claim= topic sentence Literary Techniques= symbolism, point of view, characterization, etc.

EVIDENCE Provide evidence from work Quote short phrases directly or paraphrasing examples from work in your own words

COMMENTARY Include commentary Commentary- statement that links claim to evidence Each claim with evidence should have at least two sentences serving as commentary.

Conclusion  Summarize your main evidence  Leads logically to a conclusion where you can expand upon your thesis.  Similar to persuasive essay; you are restating your information to show that you have backed up your thesis.

Now to break it down a little further…

Paragraph One: Introduction/Main Idea What is the THESIS of your paper? The thesis should include a theme. Write a thesis that includes the overall meaning from the story.

Paragraph Two: Element Body Paragraph  1) CLAIM sentence- Author uses characterization to…  2) Textual EVIDENCE- Directly quote element example from text.  3) COMMENTARY- How does the evidence support thesis? Use your own words.  Literary Elements: plot, setting, characterization, tone, mood, theme etc.

Paragraph Three: Device Body Paragraph  1) CLAIM sentence- Author uses alliteration to…  2) Textual EVIDENCE- Directly quote device example from text.  3) COMMENTARY- How does the evidence support thesis? Use your own words.  Literary Devices: alliteration, simile, metaphor, personification, imagery, etc.

Paragraph Four: Conclusion Restate your thesis in a different way. Discuss your element, your device, and how they both support the overall meaning that the author shows.

Assignment  Use what you have learned from reading “The Masque of the Red Death” by Edgar Allan Poe and from viewing The Masque of the Red Death with Vincent Price to write an essay analyzing which approach was more successful at portraying the red death and the black room as an ominous and unstoppable force.

Our First Step  Develop your Thesis :  Accusation (Thesis)- The Masque of the Red Death staring Vincent Price was more successful at portraying, through imagery and symbolism, the red death and the black room as an ominous and unstoppable force.  OR  Accusation (Thesis)- “The Masque of the Red Death” by Edgar Allan Poe was more successful at portraying, through imagery and symbolism, the red death and the black room as an ominous and unstoppable force.

Next Step  Develop a Claim for first body paragraph:  Claim: Vincent Price uses (imagery/symbolism) to show how the red death and the black room are ominous and unstoppable.  OR  Claim: Edgar Poe uses (imagery/symbolism) to show how the red death and the black room are ominous and unstoppable.

Final Two Steps  Provide Evidence : This could be quotes from the book or scenes from the movie that prove your claim is correct.  Share Commentary : This is where you will connect the evidence back to the claim. You explain how the evidence proves your point.

Disclaimer  This is only just the beginning of writing a complete literary analysis. We have worked through the skeleton part of an introduction paragraph (thesis) and the first body paragraph (CEC). There would still be another body paragraph and a conclusion paragraph to complete the literary analysis. But, we are going to start basic and move up.