So you've been given an assignment to write a literary analysis paper or maybe You've been given a close reading assignment where you need to analyze a piece of literature Well today's lesson is just for you because we're going to look at how to critically analyze literature This lesson is a little bit longer than the lessons I usually present on my channel But it's a much more in-depth topic It's a topic for high schoolers or even college students taking their first Literature classes as you view this lesson you may very well want to take notes And if there's anything that comes to mind that you wonder about further Please make a comment in the section below the video, and I'll respond back to you now I know some of these topics are kind of glossed over because it's florid of an introductory lesson when I taught this lesson To my 8th grade advanced accelerated students who are really studying 9th and 10th grade content We had already learned about each one of these components that go into critically analyzing literature Before we put it all together to do a complete analysis But whatever your need is I hope you'll stick around to the end of the PowerPoint will kind of bring it all back together Because I want you to never stop learning So today, we're looking at how to critically analyze literature dig deeper through close reading of text So it is critical analysis well Analysis is basically taking something apart in order to understand it better by considering its Component parts separately as well as together Looking all the different parts of something and considering those parts all individually Now the definition of critical is as being used in critically analyzing literature as Expressing or involving an analysis of the merits and faults of a work of literature music or art synonyms for this word include evaluative analytical interpretive expository explanatory Notice it's not Critical as in I'm very critical of you like I'm trying to find out what's wrong with you Critical analysis of literature is not looking for what's wrong with the piece of literature It's just looking closely at each different aspect of it So considering those definitions a critical analysis explains the work of fiction poetry or drama That's the meaning of the kind of literature. We're looking at when we're critically analyzing literature by means of Interpretations the goal of a literary analysis which is a paper you might have to write or a talk you might have to give Is to broaden and deepen your understanding of that work of literature? Not just to find out what's wrong with it, or what's right with it But what are all the different aspects that can be considered about any piece of literature and how does that apply to the? particular piece of literature that you're looking at So we're going to consider each of these components separately But basically when you're critically analyzing a piece of literature you are examining its structure the archetypes in a figurative language that occurs and reoccurs throughout the piece the tone the diction of the author in a symbolism that there might be and Influences on the author in his or her writing of the piece to begin with Now structure includes these three elements point of view Organization of the text as a whole and the elements of plot a Story can be told from multiple points of view and we see this quite often in One chapter is told by one character the next chapter is told that another character That's multiple points of view a story can also be totaled in first-person That's where the narrator goes ahead and include himself in this story might even be a character in this story he uses words like I or we or us or me when he is narrating the story a Story could also be told in second person point of view and that's where the author is speaking directly to the reader saying You must understand this or a story could be told in Third person narration, this is where the narrator is Probably not a character in the story but is just like an overarching narrator an omniscient narrator knows all the thoughts of all the characters a Limited narrator either doesn't know any of the thoughts of any of the characters This limited narrator is just reporting on what is said. What is done, or it could be a Limited narrator who knows the thoughts maybe of the main character, but not of any of the other characters There are different ways that plots are organized some plots are linear their chronological They start at one place And they end at another place in the future From where it started there are also non linear plot structures where you might have flashbacks? or you might have Glimpses into the future. It's told in a nonlinear way not chronological You also have circular plots that's basically where the story ends up at the same place that it started and You can also read stories with parallel plots That's where there's two main plots basically happening at the same time sometimes those plots interact with each other Sometimes they're just parallel plots two stories happening at the same time And there's really not a lot of interaction between the two plots So a linear plot Would start with the exposition go onto rising action have a climax falling action and a resolution? The series of events that happen are in chronological order on the other hand a non-linear story even though it has characters and events just like a linear plot would have a Nonlinear story jumps around maybe it doesn't start at the beginning maybe it starts somewhere in the begin in the middle or it near the end of the story and Flashbacks are used to fill the reader in on the rest of the story I think particularly of the story holes by Luis Acker the Stanley Yelnats story is in the present, but it's constantly going back in the past and Telling the the history of how the holes got there in the first place Now the hero's journey is an example of a circular plot And you can just look around the circle here the hero starts with this call to adventure There's supernatural aid and so on transformation atonement then the return and Then we're back to the hero at square one He's probably changed, but he's ready perhaps for another call to adventure My favorite example of parallel plots comes from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream there's one plot line that runs for the royalty Theseus Lysander Hermia Demetrius, Helena Hippolyta and EGS and then there's another plot line this running with the fairies and With the players who actually put on the acting troupe, so these plots are all happening happening simultaneously But the characters don't always interact with each other sometimes they do But each of these groups of people has their own Plot line. They're all rising action their own climax, and they're a resolution But it's all happening in one story And those elements apply the exposition of a story is where the reader learns about the characters and finds out about the setting for the story the rising action begins with the inciting force that very first glimpse of the conflict and the conflict develops until some sort of crisis occurs There may even be more than one crisis that that occurs before the climax of the story Then there's the falling action and the resolution realize that the shorter the story such as a short story or novella the shorter the falling action a Short story may have the crisis falling action and resolution occurring Even in the same paragraph the last paragraph of the story, but in a novel a longer piece the climax may occur two-thirds of the way through the story leaving the last third of the story or so for the falling action and the resolution You'll often see a plot depicted on this type of a graphic organizer Okay, so we've looked at structure. Let's take a look at archetypes It is often helpful to look at the etymology of a word in order to help understand it and Archetypes is not a word we see every day the term archetype has its origins in ancient Greek the root words are cane which means original or old and typos which means pattern modeler type combined meaning is Original pattern of which all similar persons objects concepts are derived copied modeled or emulated archetypes Most main characters and stories can be associated with Particular character archetypes there are many more than what you see here But let's just say thinking back to our slide about the hero's journey That our character is a hero in archetype He would have characteristics that other heroes have So in critical analysis two things that we've already talked about that can be analyzed and a piece of literature are its structure and Archetypes included in that story now. Let's take a look at figurative language, and how we can use that to help us critically analyze literature Use of figurative language is something that definitely needs to be analyzed in a piece of literature figurative language uses the figures of speech to be more effective or persuasive and more impactful to Touch the reader in ways that just literal language Cannot do figures of speech include metaphors similes and allusions, they go beyond the literal meanings of the words, and they give the readers new insights a Simile makes a direct comparison showing similarities between two different things It uses the words like or as Here's an example. He sings like a bird his singing sounds like a bird singing Her hands were cold as ice Her hands are cold ice is cold direct comparison Metaphors and similes are often mixed up but once you learn the trick of telling the difference you'll be able to figure it out a metaphor makes an implicit implied or hidden comparison between two things that are unrelated but which share some common characteristic in other words sort of a resemblance between two very different objects based on just one single common characteristics He drowned in a sea of grief This is our example here He's drowning in this grief that seems to surround him like the sea Here's another example the flashlight cut through the curtain of darkness Well, there's now really a curtain of darkness out there, but the darkness is so dark It's like there's a curtain up in front of this person with the flashlight who has to use The flashlight is some sort of saber to slash his way through the curtain Personification is another often used type of figurative language in personification an idea or an animal is given human attributes the nonhuman objects are Shown in such a way that we feel they have the ability to act like humans for example We might say the sky weeps when it rains Instead of tears falling from the sky though of course. It's actually raindrops, so we say that the sky has been personified Okay, so we've looked at structure archetypes and figurative language. Let's move on to tone The means of creating or conveying an attitude by means of the author's diction that is the author's word choices and Telling the story is referred to as tone by looking carefully at the choices and author makes in Characters incident setting the work's stylistic choices in diction etcetera and imagery formal or informal language use of dialogue Sentence structure careful readers often can isolate the tone of a work in infer from at the underlying attitudes That control and color the story or poem as a whole imagery is often used to set the tone in a piece of literature I Think it's easiest to understand tone by looking at examples here's an example from the short story the black cat by Edgar Allan Poe the Quote is this from my infancy I was noted for all the de Sciglio and humanity of my disposition my tenderness of heart was even so Conspicuous as to make me the jest of my companions I was especially fond of animals and was indulged by my parents with a great variety of pets with the size most of my time and never was so happy as when feeding and Caressing them now if you take a look at the words. I've highlighted you can see that all of these words together Sets a gentle Nostalgic tone for the beginning of the story and of course if you've read the story, you know the tone changes quite often Throughout the rest of the narrative Yep so that tone does change here's another quote from the very same story I grew day by day more moody more irritable more regardless of the feelings of others I suffered myself to use intemperate language to my wife at length I even offered her personal violence Now the tone is changing here. It's becoming more negative Concerned even worried on the part of the author, and you can tell because these words moody irritable Regardless of the feelings of others suffering intemperate those are all words with a negative connotation Both word choice and imagery can affect tone in a piece Here's another quote from the very same short story the black cat by Edgar Allan Poe Beneath the pressure of torment such as these the female remnant of the good within me succumbed Evil thoughts became my sole intimates the darkest and most evil of thoughts The moodiness of my usual temper increased to hatred of all things and of all mankind while from the sudden frequent and uncover noble outbursts of a fury So here Poe is appealing to the readers senses and Conveying a tone of struggle in this particular quote from the story in addition to analyzing Structure archetypes figurative language in tone the analysis of symbolism can create lis aid you and trying to? critically analyze a piece of literature So what makes symbolism distinct from say simile or metaphor Well a symbol typically encompasses both a literal and a figurative meaning unlike a metaphor a symbol is not necessarily a statement a Single word can evoke meaning and become a symbol Being aware of common symbols and novels any short stories any fiction will increase your ability to read the work critically Here are some examples of symbols from this short story a black cat by Edgar Allan Poe first off this penknife that the narrator carries around with him is Symbolic of his imagined power over the cat. It is a knife that Performs like a knife you can cut with it, but it also symbolizes This power that the narrator thinks he has over the cat There's also a white region on the breast of the cat and Though this is a patch in the cat's fur literally it symbolizes the purity in the cat's heart and Then finally I'm skipping over a few of them, but you can look those over There's a false chimney built into the basement where the narrator lives And it's symbolic of the narrator's false sense of security while it serves the purpose of being a false chimney apparently to Trick someone into thinking there's a chimney built there it Also is a symbol that represents this narrator's false sense of security every symbol must have both a literal and a symbolic meaning in the story to qualify to be a symbol so The key to realizing that something is a symbol is that it must be present literally in the text Something that a character could touch or move Or see and that literal something in the text must represent something other than its original literal meaning the deeper and Longer the reader Ponder's the text the more symbols You are going to be able to uncover. They might even be symbols that the author never thought of So the key to recognizing symbolism in fiction is realizing that cymbal must be present literally in the text something a character could see or Feel or pick up and that literal something in the text must represent something other than its literal meaning The deeper and the longer reader Ponder's in the text the more symbols You are going to be able to uncover it They may even be symbols that the author had not considered because they're symbols that's based on Your own background knowledge as a reader So we've looked at structure archetypes figurative language tone and symbolism as Components of a piece of literature that would help you critically Analyze the piece as a whole let's now look at influences There are many things that can influence an author in his or her writing of a piece of fiction for every writer Some others authors work appeals to him or her on some level whether it's in the lessons learned the style used are the conclusions Reached in the story try to discover who has influenced the author of the work. You are trying to critically analyze Consider the author's time in history so looking at current events in that time other authors. Whether they have been Contemporary to that particular author or have come before them and Literary movements as well as influences from the author's personal life sometimes We are stuck just looking at the author's personal life as an influence But there's really so much more to influences upon the author than just their own experiences if you can trace an influence your critical approach is going to be Much more nuanced that is it will have more facets to it more details more different points of view brought to that critical analysis Okay, and a quick note here Taking a look at influences on an author is Going to require Investigation outside the text itself it will require you to do a little bit of research Beyond just the text now sometimes short stories in textbooks Have a short little to three paragraph introduction about an author But it's usually pretty limited and often just limited to discussing the author's personal influences Sometimes in a novel that's published you can look at the back cover of the book or the inside flap of the Jacket cover or maybe even in an introduction or a dedication to get some idea of influences on the author but if you're truly going to Delve into this aspect of the critical analysis of a piece of literature. You will have to actually do some outside research Here's an example of one influence on Edgar Allan Poe that I am sure influenced his writing of the black cat Pole often wrote about the supernatural his girlfriend Sarah Whitman was interested in Spiritualism which was a huge movement during the mid 19th century and other metaphysical? sciences that were popular in that time period so Here's an example from the story the cat. Especially the second cat that appears in the story Seems to have supernatural powers and also The narrator does mention in the story that his wife was superstitious, so this is probably an outcome of the influence of the supernatural Interest that Poe had during this time in history and Though it's not from the black cat when I was researching Influences on Poe I found out that he got the idea for the shrinking chamber in his short story the pit in the pendulum from William Mugford story the iron shrouds often Authors are influenced by reading other authors work Here's another influence on Poe the American Romanticism literary movement, which includes romantic Gothic literature Began in about 1820 and most of pols works can be considered romantic Gothic now, if you want to find out more about romantic gothic or American Romanticism You may research that on your own. We don't have time for it in this video on critical analysis Sometimes you can infer about Influences on the author just by looking at details from the author's own personal life Edgar Allen Poe was a proponent of slavery maybe I'm thinking that influenced his apparent disregard for human lives as as shown in the story the black cat and many of the other short stories that Paul wrote Also the color red and blood appear in many of his stories perhaps This is because he saw so many of his loved ones coughing up blood before their own deaths Many of them had the disease that was called consumption back during that time and Poe was heavily influenced by that Because so many people in his family his loved ones and other people that he knew had died of that So we've seen how structure archetypes figurative language tone in symbolism as well as influences on a particular author Can become part of a critical analysis of a piece of literature I? Will link to these many resources I've used in preparation of This lesson in the description of the video down below so that you can check out these resources as well I hope you found this lesson helpful. I know it's a little longer than the content I usually put up but it's a more sophisticated topic so it deserved a little bit more time Please consider subscribing if you haven't already Give us a thumbs up if you liked the video Because we want you to never stop learning You