1. Analyzing
Literature

2. Close Reading involves . . .
- making connections
- creating inferences (filling gaps)
- drawing conclusions
Literary Analysis requires you to read closely,
not just recreationally like we do poolside in
the summer.

3. Anatomy of Analysis ~
Comprehension
- Tackle literature by reading it once for
comprehension (the bare bones of the story
- setting, plot, character)
- who, what, where, when, why, how

4. Anatomy of Analysis ~ Interpretation
Read the book again - this time, filling in the
pieces with your own inferences about what
the author doesn’t directly state. (the
muscle, strong points of your analysis:
character motivation, why author used a
particular setting, etc)

5. Anatomy of Analysis ~ Make a
Statement
Pull all the information together to make a statement about
the work as a whole.
Be bold, be brave, be loud and proud about your
interpretation. 💪👍👏👏
Maybe you see something no one has seen before when
reading the novel!! 👀
Keep in mind, if you can make an argument for a pattern
being there, you articulate it and use it.

6. Some things to look for in your book:
The use of repetition, the type of dialect,
characterization, the organization, common
themes and other rhetorical choices the
author makes that makes the story unique.
(rhetorical = elements of effective
writing/speaking)

7. One
example
from our
class,
focusing
on author’s
use of
language
to reveal
character
thoughts

8. This
analysis
focuses on
symbolism
to help
illustrate
characters.

9. Here, your
peer is
making
predictions
about how
the story
will
continue to
unfold:

10. Work under the assumption that the author makes
deliberate decisions for everything in the novel. The
choices support the overall goal of delivering a
specific message.

11. Literary Analysis a.k.a. Literary Criticism
- More of a review than a critique
- Your analysis is your own. You will use
sources to ‘back up’ what you are saying
about the book.