Learn the steps to evaluate literature critically.

1. LITERARY ANALYSIS RESEARCH
Approaches| Topics | Theories

2. Why Do We Read?
We read stories for pleasure; they entertain us.
And we read them for profit; they enlighten us.
Stories draw us into their imaginative worlds and
engage us with the power of their invention. We
read stories for pleasure; they entertain us. And
we read them for profit; they enlighten us. Stories
draw us into their imaginative worlds and engage
us with the power of their invention.
DiYanni, Robert (1997) Literature: Reading Fiction, Poetry, Drama and the Essay, McGraw-HilDiYanni,
Robert (1997) Literature: Reading Fiction, Poetry, Drama and the Essay, McGraw-Hil

3. Why Do Literary Analysis?
By Tom Palumbo from New York, NY, USA (Jack Kerouac) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
An analysis offers you an
opportunity to deepen
and broaden your
understanding of the
work, identify how the
meaning is conveyed
through literary elements,
and better understand
the works’ significance.

4. Literary Approaches
Formalist | Biographical |
Historical | Gender |
Psychological | Sociological |
Mythological | Reader-
Response | Deconstructionist

5. Structural Analysis
Elements of Fiction & Drama
Plot | Character | Setting | Theme
| Structure | Point of view |
Conflict | Diction | Foreshadowing

6. Content Analysis
Ask these questions:
What sort of person are the main characters?
Who tells the story?
How do you learn about the characters? Their
actions, speech, thoughts?
What are the sounds, rhythms, and language of
the work?
How do patters of imagery contribute to the
tone and theme?

7. How to approach a literary
analysis assignment.
1) Take a position about the work.
2) Find expert and reliable support
for the position.
3) Argue the position using
evidence from the work.

8. FIND EXPERT SUPPORT!
You can usually find literature
criticism articles in two places: in
library databases and in books.
Try searching databases and the
library catalog using keywords such
as the name of the theory or the
name of a literary work

9. WHAT MORE WOULD YOU LIKE
TO KNOW !
Contact Julie Kent, Hons. B.A.,
M.L.I.S., Instructional and Research
Librarian, jkent@cotr.bc.ca
Or speak with staff at the Library
Reference Desk!