Literary Analysis and Interpretation

 

 

 

Slovak:	Analýza a interpretácia textu (AIT)
Credits:	3 (Compulsory - 2nd Semester)
Lecture(s):	None
Seminar(s):	2 hours
Prerequisite:	Introduction to Literature
Teacher(s):	Mgr.Dagmar Dermeková

Course Aims and Description:

• To acquire essential skills needed for literary analysis and interpretation.
• To use basic literary terms in practice.
• To develop literary competence and critical thinking of students in approaching literary texts.
• To provide an insight into basic and additional critical approaches to literature.

Credit Scheme:

1.       class participation 20%       

            this includes in-class activity and attendance (according to the department policy, 3 or more absences result in a grade of F)

2.       preparation 10%       

            a one-page write-up (notes on analysis and interpretation of the assigned homework) handed in at the beginning of seminar; not graded, but failure to submit results in a loss of the preparation percentage

3.       practice tests 20%  

            (10% each; #1 = critical approaches; #2 = literary terms)

4.       seminar leading on an assigned topic 10%  

5.       poem analysis 10%

            short analysis and interpretation  (500 words) of a chosen poem to be handed in week 10

6.       final essay 30%

            analysis (following the elements of either fiction or drama) and interpretation of a chosen literary text (using critical approaches) handed in 3 weeks after the end of term the latest (1500 words; texts to be chosen from Norton Introduction …)

GRADING:            91-100% = 3 credits; 81-90% = 2 credits; 70-80% = 1 credit.

(Students who fail the requirement of achieving a total of at least 70% out of 100%, CAN take an extra-final test, if they achieve a minimum of 10 points out of 20 for the final essay.)

Course Outline:

Week	Lesson Content		Homework
1.	Introduction	Course Outline Reading and Responding to Literature	TRADITIONAL APPROACH (Guerin: 21-7).   MYTHOLOGICAL AND ARCHETYPAL APPROACH (Abrams: 201-3; Guerin: 149-55).   PSYCHOLOGICAL APPROACH (Abrams: 227-31).
2.	Critical Approaches	Traditional Approach Mythological and Archetypal Approach Psychological Approach	FORMALISTIC APPROACH (Abrams: 223-4; 235-7).   STRUCTURALISM AND POSTSTRUCTURALISM (Abrams: 241-5; 203-7).    FEMINIST APPROACHES (Abrams: 207-12).
3.		Formalistic Approach Structuralism and Poststructuralism Feminist Approaches	D. Lessing: Our Friend Judith   R. Carver: What We Talk About When We Talk About Love
4.	Fiction	Practice Test #1 Stories and Meanings: Plot, Character, Theme D. Lessing: Our Friend Judith R. Carver: What We Talk About When We Talk About Love	K. Chopin: The Story of an Hour (The Dream of an Hour) (Norton: 377-9) http://www.underthesun.cc/Chopin/storyofit/   J. Updike: A & P http://www.mrbauld.com/updikeap.html
5.		Narrative Point of View K. Chopin: The Story of an Hour (The Dream of an Hour)    J. Updike: A & P	S. Jackson: Lottery http://www.underthesun.cc/Classics/Jackson/lottery/   E.Welty: A Worn Path http://xroads.virginia.edu/~DRBR/ew_path.html
6.		Allegory and Symbolism S. Jackson: Lottery E.Welty: A Worn Path	J.Clare: Song’s Eternity http://plagiarist.com/poetry/?wid=6017    W.Shakespeare: Sonnet 55 http://www.william-shakespeare.info/william-shakespeare-sonnet-55.htm
7.	Poetry	Figurative Language, Rhythm and Verse J.Clare: Song’s Eternity W.Shakespeare: Sonnet 55	E.Dickinson: I’m Nobody! Who Are You? http://www.emule.com/poetry/?page=poem&poem=538   L.Hughes: Dream Boogie http://cai.ucdavis.edu/uccp/hughesdreamboogie.html   T. Hardy: The Man He Killed http://eir.library.utoronto.ca/rpo/display/poem923.html
8.		Tone of Voice, Irony E.Dickinson: I’m Nobody! Who Are You? L.Hughes: Dream Boogie T. Hardy: The Man He Killed	W. Blake: The Sick Rose http://eir.library.utoronto.ca/rpo/display/poem193.html   J.Morrison: Ode to L.A. http://www.geocities.com/Nashville/Ranch/2033/poema06.html   J.Keats: The Eve of St.Agnes http://www.theotherpages.org/poems/keats02.html
9.		Imagery and Symbolism W. Blake: The Sick Rose J.Morrison: Ode to L.A. J.Keats: The Eve of St.Agnes	E. O’Neill: Before Breakfast http://www.eoneill.com/texts/bb/contents.htm
10.	Drama	Poem Analysis Due Some Elements of Drama E. O’Neill: Before Breakfast	W. Wasserstein: The Man in a Case   A.Brenner: Survival
11.		Theatrical Genres W.Wasserstein: The Man in a Case A.Brenner: Survival	T. Williams: Glass Menagerie E. Albee: The Sandbox. (Double Act: 181-9)
12.		Realistic and Nonrealistic Drama T. Williams: Glass Menagerie E. Albee: The Sandbox.
13.		Practice Test #2

 

How to Make a Good Presentation:

Before you actually come to the class ...

·         be aware of the fact that you are doing the presentation in advance

·         don’t study the text the night before your presentation; do it at least one or two weeks before 

·         skim through the text: get a general idea of what the text is about

·         close-read the text and underline words or phrases that you think are crucial in the text (a kind of key words or topic sentences); use a dictionary any time it’s necessary

·         if there are some passages you don’t understand, put a question mark on the margin: during later close-reading stages and thus better understanding of the text you can go back to them and find answers yourself

·         make notes (portfolio): when you give the text a kind of comprehensible structure on a piece of paper, you can understand the text better which ends up in better “explanation” to your classmates

·         explain the text aloud to yourself: how does it sound? does it make sense? could your classmates understand?

·         your time limit is only 20-25 minutes so that remember: your classmates do not want the sauce and the quantity is not important – the thing that matters is quality

What to analyse in a literary text...

·         FICTION: plot and structure; setting; characters; point of view; style; tone; subjects and theme(s); symbols, allusions, myth; + summary (paraphrase). 

·         POETRY: characters; setting; words (style); imagery; rhetorical figures; tone; symbols, allusions, myth; subjects and theme(s); form; prosody; + summary (paraphrase). 

·         DRAMA: plot and structure; setting; characters; point of view; style; tone; subjects and theme(s); symbols, allusions, myth; genre (realistic/non-realistic); stage properties, scenery; stage business; asides, soliloquy + summary (paraphrase). 

For quick reference and checklist please visit CRITICAL READING: A GUIDE and for further details read Recommended Literature:

 

For the final essay please use the following format:

Page size	A4
Font	Arial
Size	12 points
Line spacing	1
Paragraph spacing	6 points before paragraph

 

Your essay of Literary Analysis should be 1500 words. Place the separate Works Cited page at the end of your Literary Analysis Paper. For the formatting of quotations please refer to the Diploma Guidelines chapter 3.2.Documenting Sources. You can find further hints on the approach to writing your essay at  this link.

 

 

Recommended Literature:

• Abrams, M.H. 1988. A Glossary of Literary Terms. 5^th edition. New York: Rinehart and Winston, Inc.
• *Beaty, J. – Hunter, J.P. 1998. The Norton Introduction to Literature. 7^th edition. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. 
• *Cuddon, J.A. 1991. The Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory. London: Penguin Books.
• *Fabianová, Z. 2002. Practical Criticism I: Close Reading Sterne’s Tristram Shandy. Nitra: FF UKF. (Introductory parts of chapters – fiction)
• *Franko, Š. 1994. Theory of Anglophonic Literatures. Prešov: Slovacontact. (Genres, types, tropes)
• Guerin, W.L. et al. 1992. A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature. New York: Oxford University Press, Inc.
• *Montgomery, M. et al. 1992. Ways of Reading. Advanced reading skills for students of English Literature. London: Routledge.
• Roberts, V. & E.J. Jacobs. 1989. Literature. An Introduction to Reading and Writing. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, Inc.

* books are in the department library

 

Recommended Links:

·         Critical Reading: A Guide

·         John Lye’s Course and Source Page

·         Voice of the Shuttle

·         Myšlení o literatuře 20. století

·         Sparknotes

·         Modern Literary Theory

Miscellaneous:

·         This is a working syllabus and therefore subject to change.

·         Keep a copy of all work submitted.

·         I encourage you to e-mail me if you have any questions or concerns. Please don't wait until the last few weeks of the course to voice concerns—discuss them with me while we can take steps to make this course useful and relevant to you.