Literary analysis - Revision history

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Literary Analysis moved to Literary analysis: cap

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	* writing and rhetoric		* writing and rhetoric
	* authorial intent, perspective, identity (see [[deconstructionism]], [[auteur]])		* authorial intent, perspective, identity (see [[deconstructionism]], [[auteur]])
	* audience reception (see [[Audience theory)]]		* audience reception (see [[Audience theory]]
	* situating & evaluating the work within related bodies of work (e.g., related by time, genre, theme, culture)		* situating & evaluating the work within related bodies of work (e.g., related by time, genre, theme, culture)
	* references, homages, influences on the work		* references, homages, influences on the work

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	* writing and rhetoric		* writing and rhetoric
	* authorial intent, perspective, identity (see [[deconstructionism]], [[auteur]])		* authorial intent, perspective, identity (see [[deconstructionism]], [[auteur]])
	* audience reception (see [[Audience ~~Theory\|audience~~ theory)]]		* audience reception (see [[Audience theory)]]
	* situating & evaluating the work within related bodies of work (e.g., related by time, genre, theme, culture)		* situating & evaluating the work within related bodies of work (e.g., related by time, genre, theme, culture)
	* references, homages, influences on the work		* references, homages, influences on the work

141.155.142.238: genre convention

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genre convention

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'''Literary analysis''' is the process of examining a work of literature; sometimes used more broadly to apply to analysis of non-literary works of art.

Axes of literary analysis include:
* plot and structure
* characterization
* writing and rhetoric
* authorial intent, perspective, identity (see [[deconstructionism]], [[auteur]])
* audience reception (see [[Audience Theory|audience theory)]]
* situating & evaluating the work within related bodies of work (e.g., related by time, genre, theme, culture)
* references, homages, influences on the work
* references, homages, influences of the work
* [[genre studies]]

Literary analysis often stems from a particularly mode of critical theory, such as '''feminist criticism''', deconstructionism, or '''Marxist criticism'''.

Aiming at a few useful distinctions:
* archetype - sometimes used synonymously with stereotype; more specifically, a mythic model of a character that carries meaning to the story; echoes universal themes
* characterization - the creation of a fictional person or entity, with motivation, background, culture, beliefs, actions, etc.
* genre - in literature, a classification of a work, often according to plot, writing style or mode
* genre convention - a trope popularly used within a genre; permits shortcutting of explanation, world-building, characterization, and so on; e.g., "hyperspace" in science fiction, a way to travel great distances in space without having to describe an actual technology and physics.
* cliché - something used so often that it has lost its original meaning or emotional resonance
* mode - a way of writing that significantly shapes and permeates the work; often used to refer to the poetry / prose distinction and to the realistic, speculative, fantastic spectrum.
* motif - a recurring element, a pattern, with symbolic significance
* plot - the narrative structure of the work; the action
* plot device (narrative device) - triggering moment, event, person, or thing in the plot; aspect of plot that moves the plot forward
* stereotype - a characterization based on one or only a few attributes; need not be logically consistent or make sense, and need not have a "grain of truth" behind it; e.g., "women are pure and sexless" and "women are sexually voracious" are two conflicting stereotypes about women. Stereotypes in literature are a shortcut to characterization, and may play on social stereotypes with class and power implications, such as racist stereotypes, sexist stereotypes, etc.
* theme - most broadly, an underlying idea played out in a work, often with mythic implications--the "moral of the story"; more narrowly, sometimes used synonymously for plot device or other characterizations
* trope - a familiar and repeated character, plot device, theme, or motif. Within a given genre, tropes may work as a genre convention.

[[Category:Theory]]
[[Category:Criticism]]

[[Category:Theory]]