The Literary Analysis: An Introduction
What is a literary analysis?
You would write a literary analysis when you read a piece of literature and you infer something about the text that is not explicitly stated and that most other people would not notice. You state your inference in a thesis and prove that your inference is true through the use of textual evidence and scholarly sources.
What does a literary analysis look like?
The literary analysis is comprised of an introduction with a thesis and at least three subtopics supported in multiple paragraphs. Sometimes essays will only be four paragraphs, and there will be other times when it takes more than one paragraph to discuss each subtopic of your thesis. You should refer to your rubric to be certain of how many paragraphs you are supposed to write for any given assignment.
What does a literary analysis introduction look like?
An introduction should have three elements: a Hook (H), an Interchange (I), and a Thesis (T). Just because there are three letters in the acronym for an intro doesn’t mean there are three simple sentences. You can use a variety of sentence types and coordination techniques to discuss multiple ideas in your introduction while still only being a H.I.T.
The introduction must catch the reader’s interest and convince him or her to keep reading. You use a “Hook” that begins talking about the essay’s topic in a general way. Then, after the reader is “hooked,” youconnect the reader to the essay’s topic with an “Interchange” sentence that bridges the gap between the “Hook” and the “Thesis”. Finally, you state clearly and directly the main point of the essay: the thesis. Below are several examples of Hooks, Interchanges, and Theses for Fahrenheit 451.
Question
What happens when a person risks everything for what he believes in? Ray Bradbury answers this question in his famous novel Fahrenheit 451when the protagonist begins a journey that changes his life. In the novel, the author uses diction and imagery to create various moods for the reader as Montaggoes on a journey to make his world a better place.
Description
The smell of kerosene permeates the air as firemen don’t come to save the day. The society In Fahrenheit 451 cannot rely on America’s heroes to protect them as the government clenches its fist of control around unique individuals who do not believe in conformity; consequently, Montag, the protagonist, and other rebels experience the unpredictable life of a rebel as they try to change the world. In Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, the author uses diction and imagery to take the reader on the same emotional ride the characters are onas a society’s future hangs in the balance.
Quotation
“All of them [are] running about, putting out the stars and extinguishing the sun…com[ing] away lost” (Bradbury 62). Montag, a fireman living in what Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 imagines a futuristic society to be, struggles with the harsh reality that people are losing their identities for the sake of governmental control; people want to feel safe, and an all-powerful government is what they believe they need to attain this security. However, Montag realizes that this is not the case, and as he ventures on a journey to change his world, the readers ride along and experience multiple emotions through Bradbury’s use of diction and imagery.
A List
A world literally on fire. A lonely idealist excluded from the world because of his uniqueness. A man who risks his reputation, family, and life to change the world one book at a time.In Fahrenheit 451,Ray Bradbury introduces readers to a postmodern world where governmental power has usurped people’s freedoms, and the protagonist decides he can no longer live in intellectual darkness. As the protagonist, Guy Montag, ventures on his quest to change his society, readers go along on this emotional journey through the author’s creative use of diction and imagery.
How do you write your thesis?
Your thesis is directly derived from the essay question/prompt you are addressing. First, you should highlight or circle the key words and phrases in your essay question. Then, circle the question or phrase that focuses on the inference you are to make. Next, use the words and phrases you highlighted to form a declarative sentence that also includes the title and author of the text on which you are focusing. Like the examples above, if the “Interchange” sentence mentions the title and author, it is not necessary to do so again in your thesis. The inference portion of the thesis is the idea you are trying to prove. Use the example below as a guide. In the thesis sentence below, the inference is underlined.
Prompt: How does Ray Bradbury create mood in Fahrenheit 451?
Thesis: As the protagonist Guy Montag ventures on his quest to change his society, readers go along on this emotional journey through the author’s creative use of diction and imagery.
* Notice how you can use complex sentence structure to add context and style to your thesis. However, revision such as this should only occur once the heart of the thesis is written. The example above is from the “List” introduction seen earlier. Because the title and author are mentioned in the “Interchange,” they are not repeated in the thesis.
How do you support your thesis?
First of all, you must read the text very carefully and very critically, meaning that you read it more than once. For a longer text, you should annotate it with post-it notes as you read, so you can isolate sections of the text that you will refer back to once you start writing. You should read with the essay question you are seeking to answer in mind, so your annotations will be focused on supporting evidence for your thesis. These annotations will serve as your required textual evidence that will be incorporated into the body of your essay.
Additionally, your inference should easily be able to be discussed in three subtopics. For example, the thesis above could be further analyzed by looking at diction and imagery used when Montag is at work, when he is at home, and when he is finally an outlaw.
What does a body paragraph look like?
Writing a literary analysis paragraph is different than writing a summary. The main distinction is that instead of retelling the story, you are using small portions of the story to prove the inference you stated in your thesis. For our purposes, we will use the acronym T.I.D.I.D.E. to write paragraphs.
T = This Is your topic sentence. It is the first sentence of the paragraph, and it must be inferentially based, which means you are NOT saying anything in this sentence that you can point your finger to in the text. This sentence should specifically focus on one of the three ways you have broken down your thesis. It is imperative that you mention the subtopic of this paragraph in the topic sentence. The subtopic is emboldened, and the inference is underlined in the example below.
EX: Although various moods are created throughout the novel, Bradbury’s use of diction when Montagis working as a fireman establishes a phantasmagoric atmosphere for the reader.
I = This letter stands for information from the text or textual evidence. This sentence contains embedded, word-for-word quotations that prove the inference made in the topic sentence for the paragraph. All quotations must be cited using MLA format for parenthetical citation at the end of the sentence regardless of where the quote falls within the sentence. As a general rule, the quotation should be less than four words total. Please refer to the “Embedding Evidence” notes on the website for rules on how to write this sentence correctly.
EX. As the reader opens the first page of the novel, words like “blackened…burning…[and] ruins” leap off the page (Bradbury 3).
D = Details/Commentary. This sentence explains how the textual evidence in the “I” sentence works to prove the inference you made in your “T” sentence. In other words, it tells your reader the connection between your inference and the example you have provided. This sentence should contain synonyms or direct references for/to the inference you are proving so that your connection is strongly made. The synonym/direct reference is underlined in the example below.
EX. As the connotation of these words conjures fear, darkness, and turmoil, the reader feels nightmarish on the opening page.
TRANS = Even though this is not part of the acronym, between each “I/D” pair, you should include a transitional word or phrase (you have been provided with a list of these, and additional copies are available on the class website). This transition is technically part of your next “I” sentence, but it is important that you remember this important step in your writing.
I = Another word-for-word quote that further proves your inference.
D = Another details/commentary sentence explaining your second piece of textual evidence.
E = This sentence Ends your paragraph by reiterating (not repeating) your inference and summarizing how the examples you have provided thoroughly prove your topic sentence. The reiterations are underlined in the example below.
EX. Through the previous examples, it is easy to see that Bradbury wishes to create a sense of terror and doomforthereader, highlighting the tense and unfavorableworkingconditions the protagonist must endure while trying to change his life.
Note: You can have up to 4 “I/D” pairs in your paragraph, and you can also play with the order in which the sentence types appear. Such as TIDtransDItransIDtransIDE. Just make sure you use transitions between each I/D pair regardless of how they are arranged in your paragraph.
What does an entire essay look like?
Your essay should be composed of at least THREE of the paragraphs explained above. It is important to note that balance is key; if you are going to write two paragraphs on one subtopic, you should also write two paragraphs for each of the other subtopics, so your essay is evenly and thoroughly developed.