This passage provides guidance on how to write a commentary for a literary work. It defines a commentary as an analysis of a given passage that examines its themes, language use, and relationship to the larger work. The passage recommends introducing the context, overviewing main ideas, and then providing a detailed analysis of literary elements like imagery, characterization and narrative technique. It emphasizes using citations, clarity over flowery language, and relating all observations back to demonstrating how the passage conveys its content and meaning. Sample commentary sections are also included to model the structure and analytical approach.

1. WRITE A GOOD COMMENTARY
AT SOME POINT IN YOUR LIFE, YOU'LL PROBABLY HAVE TO WRITE
A COMMENTARY. WHETHER YOU'RE A TEACHER, EDITOR,
STUDENT, OR AMATEUR CRITIC, KNOWING HOW TO
CONSTRUCTIVELY ANALYZE SOMEONE'S WORK IS A USEFUL
SKILL.
THERE ISN'T A MAGICAL FORMULA FOR WRITING A
COMMENTARY. THE COMMENTARY YOU WRITE DEPENDS UPON
WHAT YOU'RE REVIEWING, WHY YOU'RE GIVING FEEDBACK, AND
WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT THE WORK. NO MATTER WHAT YOU’RE
WORKING ON, HAVING A CLEAR GOAL AND STRONG WRITING
WILL HELP MAKE YOUR COMMENTARY SUCCESSFUL.

2. Writing a Literary Commentary

3. WHAT IS A COMMENTARY?
• First and foremost, a literary commentary is NOT an essay. The passage in front of you is not,
therefore, an invitation to write a general essay about the work from which it has been taken.
• A commentary is an analysis of the given passage, its function and its characteristics. It should
examine the key themes and stylistic devices of the passage, showing how the language works to
convey (or at times undermine) its content.
• A commentary should relate the passage to the rest of the work (novel, collection of poems, etc.),
but remain focused in the main on the details of the passage itself.
• Make sure that your commentary covers the whole passage. For instance, if you are given a poem
with five stanzas, you should try to say something about each stanza.

4. • Use line numbers (in both poetry and prose) in your commentary, rather than wasting time by
quoting at length.
• When you do quote, make sure that your comments don't simply repeat what the quotation
already says: 'In the line "Il pleut dehors", the poet tells us that it is raining outside ...’
• Avoid verbosity or inaccurate terminology. Clarity and precision are top priorities, and
polysyllabic words do not improve a commentary.
• Don't use words like 'effective', 'atmospheric', or 'beautiful' unless you are also explaining what
the effect, atmosphere or beauty of the passage are, and how they are achieved.
WHAT IS A COMMENTARY?

5. How should I write my commentary?
There are no fixed rules for writing a commentary, but a general structure will be suggested. You
should always PLAN your commentary before you start writing it, following these guidelines
where appropriate.
WHAT IS A COMMENTARY?

6. HOW TO WRITE A COMMENTARY?
1 Introduction
• Put the passage into context, and summarise its arguments briefly (in a few sentences): do not
spend too much time discussing matters outside of the passage.
• You should assume that your reader has read the work from which the passage has been taken.
• You may want to point out the passage's most important thematic and structural aspects in your
your introduction.

7. 2 Overview
• Introduce the main themes and structural aspects of the passage.
• What kind of passage is it (description/dialogue/free indirect speech), and what is its function (in
HOW TO WRITE A COMMENTARY?

8. 3 Detailed Analysis
This is the most substantial part of the commentary. It should not be simple description or paraphrase, but an analysis
analysis of how the language of the passage functions. The following are aspects of the text that you should look for:
• Sentence structure
• Tense usage
• Word order (balance or lack thereof, harmony, repetition, parallels)
• Figurative language (imagery, metaphors, similes, symbolism, allegory, personification, myth, antithesis, irony,
paradox)
• Characterisation (or lack thereof)
• Narrative technique/point of view (first/third person, limited point of view, stream of consciousness)
• Punctuation
• Vocabulary
• Alliteration, assonance, rhyme (poetry and prose)
HOW TO WRITE A COMMENTARY?

9. 4 Conclusion
• Summarise your findings, drawing together the different aspects of the text that you have
discussed in your commentary.
• Assess briefly the achievements and significance of the passage, both in itself and in relation to
the work from which it is taken.
HOW TO WRITE A COMMENTARY?

10. SAMPLE COMMENTARY
"When You're Old" by
William Butler Yeats
When you are old and grey and full of sleep,
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;
How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with love false or true,
But one man loved the pilgrim Soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face;
And bending down beside the glowing bars,
Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled
And paced upon the mountains overhead
And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.

11. SAMPLE COMMENTARY
In the poem "When You Are Old" (1895) by William Butler Yeats, the central theme is love. This is evidenced through the use of language and literary
images. These two elements combine to create a work that represents the nostalgia and depression that a lost love generates. (Thesis: language and
literary images).
The poem begins by presenting the image of an old woman "old and gray, and sleepy", who sits near the fire remembering "the soft look" that her eyes
once had. This woman takes the book with Yeats's poem and reminisces about how beautiful she once was. This scene gives strength to the poem,
because it sets the tone and the atmosphere that will reign in the rest of the work: old age, lost love and memories. (Inclusion of citations).
In addition, Yeats uses a series of symbols to convey the message. One of the first symbols he uses is the fire in the fireplace. Fire is bright and full of
life but, in the end, it will burn out and end in ashes. The hidden meaning behind this is that nothing lasts forever. As with fire, the woman will also
eventually disappear. (Development of the thesis).
The fact that the woman sadly whispers how the love left indicates that she rejected this love, so the fire can also represent the desire to revive this
passion that has already ended. Other symbols present in the poem are the high mountains and the stars in the sky. These two elements reaffirm the
unattainable quality of the old woman's love. This lady can hold a Yeats book and remember how it felt to love but her love object is no longer within her
reach. (Development of the thesis).
Language plays a very important role. The poem is written in the second person singular, which gives it a touch of intimacy and sadness as well, as if the
narrating voice knew the consequences that this woman's decisions would entail and hoped that she would have acted differently. (Development of the
thesis)
The use of verbs in the imperative ("take this book and read it dreaming of the soft look your eyes had") establishes a link between Yeats and the old
lady, which lasts through the passage of time. (Development of the thesis, inclusion of citations)
This poem by Yeats is a sample of how to integrate images and languages ​​to convey strong emotions in readers. The use of suggestive figures (symbols)
instead of more direct messages gives the work a cryptic quality that is pleasing. (Reaffirmation of the thesis)

12. COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS
- A commentary is basically where your arguments are focused on literary devices, like 3
literature devices (character, conflict and imagery) that reveal a main theme. You would
talk about these literature devices and how they reveal the theme in the passage. You
focus on the passage in itself and not really the whole work.
- For analysis of a key passage, it's more of why this particular passage is essential to
the work as a whole. You focus on the whole work, how this passage creates tension,
heightens suspense, drives the plot, reveals something about the characters, etc.

13. SAMPLE ANALYSIS
The Old Man and the Sea contains many of the themes that preoccupied Hemingway as a writer and as a
man. The routines of life in a Cuban fishing village are evoked in the opening pages with a characteristic
economy of language. The stripped-down existence of the fisherman Santiago is crafted in a spare,
elemental style that is as eloquently dismissive as a shrug of the old man’s powerful shoulders. With age
and luck now against him, Santiago knows he must row out “beyond all people,” away from land and
into the Gulf Stream, where one last drama would be played out, in an empty arena of sea and sky.
Hemingway was famously fascinated with ideas of men proving their worth by facing and overcoming
the challenges of nature. When the old man hooks a marlin longer than his boat, he is tested to the limits
as he works the line with bleeding hands in an effort to bring it close enough to harpoon. Through his
struggle, Santiago demonstrates the ability of the human spirit to endure hardship and suffering in order
to win. It is also his deep love and knowledge of the sea, in its impassive cruelty and beneficence, that
allows him to prevail. The essential physicality of the story—the smells of tar and salt and fish blood, the
cramp and nausea and blind exhaustion of the old man, the terrifying death spasms of the great fish—is
set against the ethereal qualities of dazzling light and water, isolation, and the swelling motion of the
sea. And through it all, the narrative is constantly tugging, unreeling a little more, and then pulling
again, all in tandem with the old man’s struggle. It is a story that demands to be read in a single sitting.
The Old Man and the Sea was an immediate success and came to be regarded as one of Hemingway’s
finest works. It was cited when he won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954. A hugely popular
film adaptation starring Spencer Tracy was released in 1958.

14. SAMPLE SUMMARY
The Old Man and the Sea, short heroic novel by Ernest Hemingway, published in 1952 and awarded
the 1953 Pulitzer Prize for fiction. It was his last major work of fiction. The story centres on an aging
fisherman who engages in an epic battle to catch a giant marlin.
The central character is an old Cuban fisherman named Santiago, who has not caught a fish for 84
days. The family of his apprentice, Manolin, has forced the boy to leave the old fisherman, though
Manolin continues to support him with food and bait. Santiago is a mentor to the boy, who cherishes
the old man and the life lessons he imparts. Convinced that his luck must change, Santiago takes his
skiff far out into the deep waters of the Gulf Stream, where he soon hooks a giant marlin. With all his
great experience and strength, he struggles with the fish for three days, admiring its strength, dignity,
and faithfulness to its identity; its destiny is as true as Santiago’s as a fisherman. He finally reels the
marlin in and lashes it to his boat.
However, Santiago’s exhausting effort goes for naught. Sharks are drawn to the tethered marlin, and,
although Santiago manages to kill a few, the sharks eat the fish, leaving behind only its skeleton. After
returning to the harbour, the discouraged Santiago goes to his home to sleep. In the meantime, others
see the skeleton tied to his boat and are amazed. A concerned Manolin is relieved to find Santiago
alive, and the two agree to go fishing together.

15. KHI TUỔI XUÂN EM TÀN PHAI – Nguyễn Cang
phỏng dịch