Lecture 1 Literary Text Analysis in Modern Literary Theory

The Methodological Basis for Literary Text Analysis

literary history views literature as part of historical processes.
literary theory , or poetics, describes the principles of literature, its genres,
techniques and functions.
literary criticism studies and analyses works and their authors, often from specific
theoretical approaches such as Marxist or feminist.

Approaches to literary text analysis

TEXT-ORIENTED APPROACH is primarily concerned with questions of language
and style, and the formal structure of literary works.
CONTEXT-ORIENTED APPROACH tries to place literary texts against the
background of historical, social, or political developments at the same time
attempting to classify texts according to genres as well as historical periods.
AUTHOR-ORIENTED APPROACH tries to establish connections between the work
of art and the biography of its creator
READER-ORIENTED APPROACH focuses on the reception of texts and the texts’
general impact on their audiences.

Literary text categories:

1. category of segmentation manifests itself through the literary text

division into parts, chapters, paragraphs that are characterized by formal
and compositional autonomy;

2. category of connectedness is realized through cohesion (formal

connectedness) and coherence (content connectedness);

3. category of prospection is associated with plot development which can

be prospective or cataphoric (looking towards the future; realized by
means of flash-forwards);

4. category of retrospection is associated with plot development which can

be retrospective or anaphoric (looking towards the past) realized by means
of flashbacks;
 5. category of anthropocentricity is reflected through the subordination of
the text to the task of person characterization;

6. category of local-temporal reference is expressed through the system of

tenses and lexical time markers as well as place descriptions;

7. category of conceptuality accounts for the embodiment of social, moral,

aesthetic ideas of a literary work which constitute its concept;

8. category of informativity is responsible for information stratification

into: factual, conceptual and implicit (or subtext);

9. category of systemic character is attributed to the literary text because

its macro- and microelements and functions integrate in a closed system
that serves a specific purpose;

10. category of integrity and completeness differentiates a text from a non-

text;

11. category of modality is the result of the author’s subjective

interpretation of reality;

12. category of pragmatic orientation consists in stimulating the reader’s

feedback – intellectual and emotional reactions.

LECTURE # 2 Literary Text Analysis in Terms of Genres

Subgenres of fiction
Prose prose writing that is a product of imagination and is not necessarily based
on fact.
Poetry rhythmic writing with imagery that evokes emotional response;
Drama stories composed in verse or prose, usually for theatrical performance,
where conflicts and emotions are expressed through dialogue and action ;
Folklore stories based on unsubstantiated beliefs that were handed down
through the oral tradition

Poetry
Free verse poetry that doesn’t use any strict meter or rhyme scheme
Formal verse poetry that uses both a strict meter and rhyme scheme, e.g. a
sonnet;
Structured poems poetry that follows a specific pattern but doesn’t necessarily
use any strict meter or rhyme scheme.
Narrative poetry that tells stories with clearly developed, structured plots, e.g.
epic long poem, the romance, and the ballad;
Lyric poetry that is mainly concerned with one event, impression, or idea
Blank verse poetry with a strict meter but no rhyme scheme;

Prose Fiction is based on impact of potential science, actual or imagined, dealing

with aliens, the future, advanced technology;
Fantasy Science forms mental images with strange otherworldly settings or
characters;
fiction Mystery involves suspense, the solution of a crime or the unraveling of
secrets with clues typically given throughout the story.
Realistic fiction a story that could have happened and is true to real life; set
nowadays, includes present day problems and events;
Historical fiction a story with fictional characters and events in a historically
accurate setting;

Folklore
Tall tale A story usually set in the American frontier where the main character has
extremely exaggerated strengths, skills, or size doing the impossible with an air of
nonchalance. The tone of the author is humorous.
Myth a story often based on historical events that reveals human behavior and
natural phenomena by symbolism; often pertaining to the actions of the gods;
Fable a very short story about supernatural or extraordinary people, talking
animals with human characteristics, which has a moral, teaches a lesson or
demonstrates a useful truth
Fairy tale a story with magical elements, usually for children
Legend a story of a national or folk hero partly based on fact but also including
imaginative material, with the character traits of the hero typically exaggerated;
Lecture 3 Literary Text as a Poetic Structure
the verbal layer of the literary text - The words of a literary text combine into
phrases, phrases into sentences, sentences into paragraphs, paragraphs making
up larger passages, chapters, sections, parts.
the supraverbal (poetic) layer - Word sequences represent a series of events,
conflicts and circumstances in which characters of a literary work find themselves.
These word sequences make up genre, style, theme, composition, plot
Principles of the literary text structure cohesion
1. The principle of incomplete representation In recreating an object or
phenomenon of reality the author selects out of an infinity of features pertaining
to the object only those which are most characteristic.
2. The principle of analogy and contrast is based on establishing a relationship of
similarities or differences between two concepts or ideas. • represents a way of
imaginative cognition. The author in this way reveals the good and the evil, the
beautiful and the ugly, the just and the unjust in life. • permeates all components
of the text, characters, event representation, imagery, underlie quite a number of
tropes and figures of speech.
3. The principle of recurrence certain elements which have already occurred in
the literary text appear again at definite intervals.

Lecture 4
 Macro components of the literary text structure:
 Theme and idea
 Elements of the plot
 Characters
 Point of view
 Setting
 Micro components of the literary text structure.
The ___idea_________ of a literary work is the underlying thought and emotional
attitude transmitted to the reader by the whole poetic structure of the literary
text.
The ___Theme_________ of a literary work is the represented aspect of life: war
and peace, race discrimination, a clash of ideologies.

1. Resolution ____________is the final section of the plot

with the outcome of the conflict.
2. Exposition____________ is the beginning section in
which the author provides the necessary
background information, sets the scene,
introduces the characters.
3. Climax____________ is the moment of greatest
emotional intensity; the turning point of
the plot.
4. Falling action____________ is the stage when the tension
subsides and the plot moves toward its
end.
5. Rising Action____________ breaks the existing balance
and introduces the conflict, which is then
developed gradually and intensified.

Character’s relationship to the plot:

The _protagonist______ is the essential character without whom there would be
no plot. It is their fate on which the attention of the reader is focused.
The central character is called the _ protagonist ______; his opponent, the
character against whom he struggles, is the __ antagonist) _____.
Most stories also have __ minor _____ characters that provide support and
highlight the protagonist.

Character’s degree of development:

Flat characters represent a single characteristic, trait, or idea, or a very limited
number of such qualities. They are also referred to as type characters, as one-
dimensional characters.
Round characters embody a number of qualities and traits, and are complex
multidimensional characters of considerable intellectual and emotional depth.

Character’s degree of change

static characters leave the plot as they entered it, largely untouched by the
events that have taken place. Although they tend to be minor ones, this is not
always the case.
Dynamic characters exhibit a capacity to change. The degree of character change
varies: in some works it is so subtle that it may go almost unnoticed; in others, it
is sufficiently profound to cause a reorganization of the character's personality or
system of values.
Points of view types
3 rd person point of view can be omniscient (unspecified narrator presents the
action from an allknowing, God-like perspective) or limited (the story from the
__3rd____ person with a knowledge of what the main character thinks);
1 st person point of view represents observations of a character who narrates the
story,
2 nd person point of view is used when a reader is / seems to be addressed.
 Short Story Analysis
Return to Paradise by Eliza Riley
1. Characterise the genre briefly;
Genre: Love story
A love story features a romantic relationship between a man and a woman.
Often, the romantic lovers must overcome obstacles before they can find their
happy ending.
2. Specify the rhetorical modes of discourse: narration, description,
argumentation.
The purpose of narration is to tell a story. Narration in Back to Paradise by Eliza
Riley is an especially useful tool for sequencing and putting details and
information about events that occur in the couple’s life into some kind of
logically- chronological order.
The purpose of description in the short story by Eliza Riley is to re-create, invent,
and visually present people, place, event, and action so that the reader can
picture that which is being described:

Lisa gazed out over the Caribbean Sea, feeling the faint breeze against her face - eyes shut, the
white sand warm between her bare toes. The place was beautiful beyond belief, but it was still
unable to ease the grief she felt as she remembered the last time she had been here.
 His dark hair slightly ruffled and his eyes full of adoration as his looked at his bride to be.
 He couldn't take his eyes of the darkhaired woman he saw standing at the water's edge, gazing
out to sea as though she was waiting for something - or someone. She was beautiful, with her
slim figure dressed in a loose flowing cotton dress, her crazy hair and bright blue eyes not far off
the colour of the sea itself.

The point of argumentation here is to convince the reader with logic. The author
used sound reasoning to thoroughly convince the reader.

2. Identify the setting (type and function).

The setting in this story plays an important role. The characters are located
on a beautiful island. They had been married at this place 3 years earlier.
However, after a long time their relationship broke down due to underlying
problems. Now, 3 years after their marriage, they reunite in the same
place. The reason they come together here is the divorce, but in the end it
 turns out that in this place they make up for everything and decide to
continue together.
3. Determine the point of view.
The story is written in the personal narrative situation. But emphasis is
placed on the feelings and events in Lisa's life.
4. Outline the characters and methods of characterization.
The main character in this story is Lisa. She feels lonely because her
relationship with James has ended. She is a self confused woman. Lisa once
had a miscarriage and was very sorry about this, she felt that James wasn't
paying much attention to it and because of these underlying feelings things
went wrong between them. She is a dynamic character because she
changes by switching her point of view and forgiving
James is Lisa's husband – a let-down man and regretful husband. James
used to travel very often and work as a freelance photographer. He is a
static character, because he doesn’t change throughout the story – feels
sorry from the beginning till the end.
5. Analyse the plot and delineate plot structure.
Introduction: The story begins with Lisa standing on the beach of a
Caribbean island in the Dominican Republic, the place where she married
James three years earlier, the man she once thought she would spend the
rest of her life with. However, now she has returned to divorce. She thinks
back to how happy she was with James then, and how they planned their
future together.

Rising action: While Lisa is thinking back to her broken past, a stranger is
looking at her. The writer suggests that the man is a stranger to Lisa, and
she sees a new love in him.

Climax: Lisa tells the man about her past, the relationship with James and
the miscarriage that had hit her so much and James seemed to do nothing.
For the first time in a long time, Lisa feels understood.

Resolution: the truth is revealed; the "strange" man turns out to be James.
The conversation they had makes them call off the divorce and decide to
start over together.
6. Comment on the theme(s) and the main idea(s) conveyed by the author.
1. The story has a theme of new beginnings. (A couple returns to the same
place they began their marriage in order to give their marriage another
go).
 2. Theme of love. The story shows the good and the bad sides of love. How
people can get together and be happy together, how relationships can
break down and also how this can work out again.
Idea: To forget the past and forgive the people you truly love (Liza
comes to understand that James does have the same pain she does. She
realizes that finally she isn't alone, she forgets how he hurt and
remembers what he means to her.)
8. Define the prevailing imagery. Give a detailed analysis of diction: tropes and
rhetorical figures.
Tropes:
Tropes get used again and again because they speak to us on some deep level and
connect with our experiences, fears, and hopes.
1. Metaphor (faint breeze, The justice of the peace had read their vows,
drive a wedge)
2. Personification: miniature white roses attempting to tame her long dark
curls, sigh that was filled with pain and regret, intensity that lured him
3. Epithet (her crazy hair and bright blue eyes, unbearable burden)
4. Periphrasis (lost her baby)