1. Creating Literary commentary
Objective:
Improving the IOC and
“Hamlet” scene projects

2. PowerPoint advice
The text should be visible from the back of the room for a student that has trouble seeing—BIGGER IS BETTER
Use words and images to share your thinking

3. identify and explore all significant aspects of the extract.
These include:
Situating the extract as precisely as possible in the context of the play from which it has been taken (or in the body of work, in the case of a complete poem)
Commenting on the effectiveness of the writer’s techniques, including the use of stylistic devices and their effect(s) on the reader.

4. commentary should…
Focus on the extract itself, relating it to the whole poem (or body of work when a complete poem is used). It should not be used as a springboard for a discussion of everything the student knows about the work in question.
Be sustained and well organized. It should neither be delivered as a series of unconnected points nor take the form of a narration or a line-by-line paraphrase of the passage or poem.

5. 2 common approaches: Linear (can be OK) Conceptual (usually better)
Commentary Structure
2 common approaches:
Linear (can be OK)
Conceptual (usually better)

6. Linear: Moves sequentially
PROS:
Can work well when an extract has a clear sense of development
Topic statements (1st sentences) can focus on points of transition
CONS:
Danger of falling into retelling

7. Conceptual analysis of “hamlet”
Sample Outline Format: (do not go line by line to explain)
PASSAGE’S DOMINANT EFFECT Primary intellectual effect plus the primary emotional effect
Key aspects to prove the DE: what is most essential?
Setting
Form
Narrator/Speaker/POV
Contrasts/Shifts
Sounds v. Images
Symbolic or metaphorical motifs
Family Dynamics
Tone/Mood
Themes
*These are just suggestions about how to avoid going line by line and listing techniques.

8. Conceptual PROS: More holistic
Allows you to show more control over your thesis, and develop your ideas more coherently

9. Remember… No formula guarantees success
Careful thinking for yourself about the best way to structure your commentary is key