This document provides tools and terms for analyzing fiction texts such as short stories, novels, and poems. It discusses 7 key elements to examine: 1) the setting which establishes the physical and contextual world of the story, 2) the plot which summarizes the sequence of events, 3) the mood or atmosphere created, 4) the main and subsidiary characters, 5) the central theme(s), 6) the narrative structure including point of view and chronology, and 7) the literary style and forms used. Analytical questions are provided for each element to help guide close reading and examination of the text.

1. English Literature

3. Analysing your text
 When you are reading and analysing short stories, novels, plays and poems
(fiction), it can be helpful to have some tools and terms to help you.
 1. Setting
 The setting is the world, created by the author, in which the characters of the
book live. It does not only include the physical world, but also the historical,
religious or psychological scenes.
 Example: Harry Potter is set in England, contemporary time, in both a fictional
wizard world and the world as we know it.
 Analytical questions to ask:
 When and where does the action take place?
 What is the environment?
 How important is the setting for the story?

4. The Plot
2. The plot is when you sum up what happens in the
text: What happens in the story, when and why it
happens.
 Questions to ask:
 What, briefly, is the main plot (intrig)?
 Are there more than one plot? So called subsidiary
plots (underordnade intriger).
 Did you notice any coincidences or surprising events?
 How important is the plot for the story?

5. The Mood
3. The mood of the text creates the atmosphere for
the story.
 Questions to ask:
 What atmosphere is the writer trying to create?
 How important is the mood for the story? For an
example, take Emily Brontë’s book Wuthering
Heights. The dark and sometimes creepy mood
creates the perfect background to the story.

6. Main Characters
4.
 Questions to ask:
 Who are the main characters, who play the leading roles?
 Who play the most interesting subsidiary characters?
 Can you describe them?
 Are there a protagonist (huvudperson) and an antagonist
(motståndare) in the story? Think Batman (protagonist)
and the Joker (antagonist).
 Are the characters developing?

7. Themes
5. The theme is the central thought or message of the
text.
 Which is the main theme of the text? (Love,
brotherhood etc.)
 Is there more than one theme?

8. Structure
6. The structure of the story includes the form and
narrative technique.
 Questions to ask:
 Who is the narrator?
 What point of view is used? -First-person view (I),
Third person (he/she), Omniscient (allvetande)
• Is it hronologically structured? Or in
retrospective? Or is it a dialogue?

9. What style and forms are
used?
• 7. There can be different style and forms
• Questions to ask:
• What style is it written in? Poetry, Letters, Natural
description, Personal description
 What symbols are used?
 What types of language and vocabulary are used?
 What genre?