IntroductionThis chapter discusses how to write a specific type of literature paper often referred to as a "critical analysis" or "interpretive analysis" of literature. This type of paper is different from merely analyzing or examining literature using the elements of literature. It also is different from an interpretive or argumentative thesis on a literary work.---DefinitionA critical analysis is one of the two most common types of research papers in literature, the arts, and the other humanities. (See also the other most common type, an interpretive thesis.) It is common in both introductory literature courses and in intermediate and advanced ones requiring research writing. To analyze means “to break into parts and examine the components.” To interpret means "to offer possible meanings." The phrase "close reading" also is sometimes used to describe this kind of writing, as it requires close examination--detailed, careful reading sentence by sentence--of one or several small parts, sometimes as little as a line (in poetry), a paragraph (in short stories and essays, or a page or two (in books) to critically (thoughtfully and carefully) explain a work of literature. In literature and the other humanities, to interpret or critically analyze means to break a subject (such as a a segment of a work of art or, in other fields, a culture, person, or event) into its constituent parts, examine these components, and offer a meaning--or alternative meanings--about each. Usually such a paper starts with an interpretive question, such as "What is a major turning point in the work of literature." Other interpretive questions might, instead, be used, such as "What is the relationship of Romeo to his father," "What did the one ring symbolize to the dwarves in Lord of the Rings," or "How does the element of chance control the fortunes of two different male characters in The Color Purple?"---Return to top. Writer's Goal or Assignment The goal of writing a literary analysis is to thoroughly take apart and look at some important or interesting segment of a literary work. To do so, you should choose an important turning point, or a scene, character, activity, or some other segment of a literary work, break it into parts, and analyze it part by part. You can examine each part thoroughly using the elements of literature to help explain its meanings, compare/contrast each part to others in the literary work, or apply a literary theory or other point of view to each part. The structure you use is that of a logical, balanced essay, with a brief introduction, a series of body sections explaining each part, and a brief conclusion. If your instructor suggests or allows it, you also may have a brief first body section, after the introduction, that summarizes the main elements of the work (if your instructor is unacquainted with it) or reports biographical, historical, or other background. In your introduction and conclusion and throughout the body paragraphs of your paper, you should consistently quote and paraphrase the literary work that is your subject as you analyze parts and their possible meanings. These quotations and paraphrases help you support what you are saying by showing clearly just what the author of the work has written. If you are writing a research paper, you also must add quotations, paraphrases, or other references from additional sources--whether other literary works, professional critics, or other interpretive resources--using these additional resources to add more analysis and interpretation. You also will need a full MLA bibliography. Here are examples that include not only literature but also other arts and humanities disciplines:What is one of the major turning points--within a page or two--of the story (plot), a major character, a major symbol, or a major event in J.RR. Tolkien's The Hobbit.Is the character Tiny Tim in Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol a fully three-dimensional character or only a two-dimensional caricature? (Example for art:) How do bulls in other Picasso paintings help explain the symbolic meaning of his prominent bull in his famous Guernica? (Example for history, philosophy, or the humanities:) How can Plato’s Cave Metaphor be found in the treatment he recommends for the unenlightened masses in his book The Republic? (Example for sociology or history:) How does classic Marxism explain twentieth-century Brazilian voudoun?
To start, whether a research question is given to you or you invent one yourself, you should not treat it like a multiple-choice question, selecting the one that seems the most “right.” Rather, you should seek to redefine the question so that you can work with it more easily and completely. This means choosing
(1): what you find interesting, (2) what you can easily research, (3) what no other published author has argued, and (4) what you can narrow to make the best research question.
