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- Allegory. An allegory is a story that is used to represent a more general message about real-life (historical) issues and/or events. It is typically an entire book, novel, play, etc.
- Alliteration. Alliteration is a series of words or phrases that all (or almost all) start with the same sound. These sounds are typically consonants to give more stress to that syllable.
- Allusion. Allusion is when an author makes an indirect reference to a figure, place, event, or idea originating from outside the text. Many allusions make reference to previous works of literature or art.
- Anachronism. An anachronism occurs when there is an (intentional) error in the chronology or timeline of a text. This could be a character who appears in a different time period than when he actually lived, or a technology that appears before it was invented.
- Juxtaposition
- Malapropism
- Metaphor
- Mood
- Oxymoron
- Paradox
- Personification
- Repetition
- Satire
- Simile
What is it: Ideas, people, images, ideas, or object placed next to one another to highlight their differences. Example: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness,...
What is it: An incorrect word intentionally or unintentionally used in place of a similar-sounding one, sometimes used for humorous effect. Example: “Our watch, sir, have indeed comprehended two auspicious persons.” —William Shakespeare, Much Ado Without Nothing,Act 3, scene 5 The malapropisms, in this case, are the misuse of “comprehended” in plac...
What is it: A comparison of two ideas, events, objects, or people that does not use “like” or “as.” An extended metaphoris a lengthy metaphor that continues the comparison for several sentences, paragraphs, or even pages. Example: “But soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the East, and Juliet is the sun! Arise, fair sun, and kill th...
What is it: The general feeling the speaker evokes in the reader through the atmosphere, descriptions, and other features. Example: “Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing, Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before” —Edgar Allen Poe, The Raven Poe evokes an air of mystery in the opening lines of ...
What is it:A pairing of seemingly contradictory terms used to convey emphasis or tension. Example: “A fine mess”:this is an oxymoronic characterization because “fine” is typically associated with beauty and order, while “mess” is the opposite.
What is it: An apparent contradiction that, upon further unraveling, may contain truth, used for effect on the reader. Example: Hamlet: “I must be cruel to be kind.” —William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act 3, Scene 4 In this instance, Hamlet must, in fact, act in a seemingly cruel way in order to ultimately be kind.
What is it:Lending descriptions generally applied to human beings to nonhumans. This term differs from anthropomorphism in that the nonhuman entities are not thought to behave in human-like ways but are merely described in these terms. Example: The shadows danced on the wall. Shadows do not actually dance, but the lending of the human action person...
What is it: Multiple instances of a word or phrase, often in succession, used for emphasis. Example: “The woods are lovely, dark, and deep, But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep. —Robert Frost’s Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening The repetition emphasizes the length of the speaker’s journey.
What is it: A phrase or entire work that uses irony to critique behaviors, events, people, or vices. Example: Animal Farmis a work of satire, critiquing Stalinism and the politics Soviet Union.
What is it: A comparison between objects, events, or people that uses “like” or “as.” Example: “I wandered lonely as a cloud that floats on high o’er vales and hills.” —William Wordsworth, Daffodils “Lonely as a cloud” is a simile, comparing the states of isolation.
Jun 24, 2020 · Sample Literary Analysis Essay for Middle School or High School. At the middle school level, a literary analysis essay can be as short as one page. For high schoolers, the essay may become much longer as they progress.
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- Reading the text and identifying literary devices. The first step is to carefully read the text(s) and take initial notes. As you read, pay attention to the things that are most intriguing, surprising, or even confusing in the writing—these are things you can dig into in your analysis.
- Coming up with a thesis. Your thesis in a literary analysis essay is the point you want to make about the text. It’s the core argument that gives your essay direction and prevents it from just being a collection of random observations about a text.
- Writing a title and introduction. To start your literary analysis paper, you’ll need two things: a good title, and an introduction. The title. Your title should clearly indicate what your analysis will focus on.
- Writing the body of the essay. The body of your essay is everything between the introduction and conclusion. It contains your arguments and the textual evidence that supports them.
- Ask Questions. When you’re assigned a literary essay in class, your teacher will often provide you with a list of writing prompts. Lucky you! Now all you have to do is choose one.
- Collect Evidence. Once you know what question you want to answer, it’s time to scour the book for things that will help you answer the question. Don’t worry if you don’t know what you want to say yet—right now you’re just collecting ideas and material and letting it all percolate.
- Construct a Thesis. When you’ve examined all the evidence you’ve collected and know how you want to answer the question, it’s time to write your thesis statement.
- Develop and Organize Arguments. The reasons and examples that support your thesis will form the middle paragraphs of your essay. Since you can’t really write your thesis statement until you know how you’ll structure your argument, you’ll probably end up working on steps 3 and 4 at the same time.
N. O. P. Q. R. S. T. U. V. W. X. Y. Z. Acrostic. An acrostic is a piece of writing in which a particular set of letters—typically the first letter of each line, word, or paragraph—spells out a word or phrase with special significance to the text. Acrostics... (read full acrostic explanation with examples) Allegory.
4 days ago · Example 1: Poetry. Example 2: Fiction. Example 3: Poetry. Attribution. The following examples are essays where student writers focused on close-reading a literary work. While reading these examples, ask yourself the following questions: What is the essay's thesis statement, and how do you know it is the thesis statement?
