A General Scheme of Analysis

Optional Information

a) about the author; b) about the book; c) about the historical and cultural context/ literary trend/ etc

I. General Text Interpretation

1) The title (informative, evaluative or constructive)

2) The theme (the “what” of a story/ extract/ etc)

ünominating chains üone-theme/ multiple-theme story übasic and rival themes (or by-themes)

3) The idea (≠ moral, ≠ common truths, old formulas) ü explicit/ implicit (implied) idea

II. Text Analysis as Such: Text Aspects*

*NB! The order of considering the following text aspects is a thing of personal choice, the only but urgent requirement being to preserve the ensuing interdependence of the phenomena described.

Literary Text Aspect

1) Genre [ʒɔŋrə] (üpsychological, üsocial, ühistorical, üadventure, üscience fiction, üdetective, üGothic fiction, üfantasy, üfairy tale, ücreative nonfiction, etc.)

2) Composition, Narrative Composition Forms:

ünarration proper (scenic/panoramic)

üdescription (of nature, premises, appearances, characters, etc) üdynamic description

üdialogue üinterior monologue

üargumentation or digression (critical, philosophical, lyrical, etc.)

3) Point of View (the opposition author – narrator)

üоmniscient ülimited omniscient üobjective (ïall of these are 3^rd person)

ü1^st person (by a major or minor character)

4) Plot, Conflict and Plot Structure

Conflict: ü single/ multiple üexternal/ internal

üphysical/ mental/ emotional/ moral/ etc

üman against man/ üman against himself/ üman against society/ nature/ fate/ etc.

üprotagonist (sympathetic/ unsympathetic) – antagonist(s): human, natural, internal (traits of his own character)

Plot structure: Exposition (natural or manufactured setting, elements of actualisation)

Story including beginning, development, climax and dénouement

Ending (surprise, happy, undetermined, etc)

Plot Structure Pattern: üopen/ closed

1. straight line narrative presentation

2. complex narrative presentation (flashbacks and/or flashforwards)

3. circular pattern 4. frame structure (a story in a story)

5) Characters and Character Drawing

Character presentation: direct (author’s presentation or direct self-disclosure)/ indirect (shown in action)

Characters: üflat/ round üstatic/ dynamic üstock

Linguistic Stylistic Text Aspect

6) General Tone of the Text (emotional, unemotional, calm, satirical, sarcastic, ironic, humorous, matter-of-fact, elevated, pathetic, etc.)
ü varying with the parts of the text or the same throughout the whole text

7) Syntactical Text Pattern: ülength and grammatical peculiarities of sentences
üSyntactical (& Lexico-Syntactical) Stylistic Devices

8) Lexical Text Pattern: üthe choice of words (neutral, colloquial or bookish vocabulary)
üLexical (& Lexico-Syntactical) Stylistic Devices

9) Phono-Graphical Text Pattern: ügraphical form
ü the prevailing intonation patterns and their presentation
üPhonetic, Phono-Graphical & Graphical SDs and Expressive Means

Text-Formation Aspect

3 Main Principles of Text Formation (Accentuation, Analogy, Contrast)
ü usual and occasional means of their realization ü their interrelation and interaction

CONCLUSION

üThe prevailing Text Formation Principle, üprevalent SDs, ümost interesting and important peculiarities of the author’s style, üthe way the author conveys his message to the reader

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The Basics of Literary Analysis: REFERENCE NOTE[1]

LITERARY STYLISTIC ASPECT

TITLE. There exist three types of the title: informative – gives information about the characters described, the events, the time or place (e.g. “Incident on a Street Corner”); evaluative – bears the author’s evaluative information (e.g. “Life as I Find It”); constructive – performs mainly the integrating function combining pieces of the text into one work. Usually this type goes together with the two mentioned above (e.g. “War and Peace”; “The Forsite Saga”).

THEME. The theme of a literary work is the interpreted aspect of life. As fiction commonly has human characters for its subject of description, the theme of a story may be viewed as an interaction of human characters under various circumstances, such as some social or psychological conflict.

Within a single work the basic theme may alternate with rival themes and their relationship may be very complex. Thus, for instance, the basic theme of “The Forsyte Saga” may be defined as the life of the English middle class at the end of and after the Victorian epoch. The by-themes in this trilogy are numerous: the Boer and the First World War, the first Labour government, the post-war generation, the general strike, the art and artists, etc.

IDEA. The idea of a piece of fiction is its controlling or central insight. It is the unifying generalization about life stated or implied by the story. To derive the idea of the story we must ask what its central purpose is: what view of life it supports or what insight into life it reveals.

Not all stories have idea. The purpose of a horror story may be simply to scare the reader and give him gooseflesh. Idea exists only when the author has seriously attempted to record life accurately or to reveal some truth about it. The idea may be equivalent to the revelation of human character. It may be stated very briefly or at great length. It is what gives a story its unity. (E.g. “Othello” – Jealousy exacts a terrible cost, it does not cover the range and depth of the play).

The writer does not state the idea but verifies it. He delivers it not only to our intellect but also to our emotions, senses and imagination. Sometimes it is explicitly stated by the author or some characters. More often the idea is implied.

GENRE. A story or a novel may belong to one of the following types of genre: social – studies the effect of social conditions at a given time and place upon human life and conduct; psychological – is concerned mainly with the mental and emotional lives of the characters; historical – the events and characters are drawn from the past; detective – a specific problem (usually murder) is solved; science fiction – deals with advances in science and technology and their influence on human beings.

POINT OF VIEW. There are many ways of telling a story: it may be told by 1) the author; 2) one of the characters; 3) recording the thoughts of some characters. The point of view of a story is determined by the question “Who tells the story?”, “How much is he allowed to know?”, “To what extent does the author look inside his characters and report their thoughts and feelings?”.

The basic points of view are as follows:

1) Omniscient – is told by the author using the third person. He knows all and he can tell us as much or as little as he pleases.

It is the most flexible point of view and permits the widest scope. But it offers constant danger that the author may come between the reader and the story.

2) Limited omniscient – the author tells the story in the 3^rd person but from the point of view of one character in the story. He tells us what the character sees and hears and what he thinks and feels, but he shows no knowledge of what other characters are thinking and feeling or doing except for what his chosen character knows or can infer. The chosen character may be either major or minor, a participant or an observer.

The limited omniscient point of view is closer to conditions of reality and has a unifying element – the experience of one person. But it offers limited observation. So the character has to listen at keyholes, overhear important conversations or be present when important events take place.

3) The first person point of view – the author disappears into one of his characters who tells the story in the first person. He may be protagonist or a minor character, and observer. It offers a gain in immediacy and reality, the author being eliminated. But there is opportunity for direct interpretation by the author.

4) Objective – the author disappears into a kind of roving sound camera which records only what is seen or heard. It can not comment, interpret or enter a character’s mind. The reader is placed in the position of a spectator at a movie or a play. Such stories may be written entirely in dialogue or give external action. The reader is to make his own interpretations.

Date: 2015-01-11; view: 1721