English Composition

English Composition Study Guide

Chapter 4: Analyzing Literature Objectives 1. To identify literary devices. 2. To analyze why literary devices are used in writing. 3. To determine how tone, mood, conflict, and characterization add to the theme of a text. 4.1 Why Literature is Analyzed The term “literature” includes many different types of writing. Typically, literature is classified as either prose or poetry. Prose uses traditional paragraphs to tell a story. Poetry uses stanzas to create a work that is more free-flowing and less structured than prose. When looking at any piece of literature it is important to consider the choices the author made when creating the work. Word choice, organization, structure, and literary devices all work together to convey meaning to the reader. When analyzing literature, readers need to review the work multiple times, each time looking deeper within the text for additional meaning. Each piece of literature is carefully constructed by the author to convey a message to the reader. Often times the period in which a piece is written will help provide clues to the purpose and meaning of the work. Authors frequently follow stylistic trends of a time period. Historical context can also help understand the meaning of a piece of writing since political and social commentary is frequently seen in writings. Authors work hard to carefully construct works of literature. These works have multiple themes meant to provide meaning to the reader in several ways. Sometimes the meaning is clear and simple, while other times the author uses literary devices and other writing techniques to convey meaning. Literature is carefully analyzed so that each stylistic choice of the author can be appreciated, leaving the reader with a new insight on some aspect of life or the human experience. 4.2 Literary Devices The English Composition exam tests a students’ ability to recognize and analyze literary devices in prose and poetry. Literary devices are sometimes referred to as figures of speech, rhetorical devices, or figurative language. Literary devices are used in works of literature to convey meaning. Students must be able to analyze the way in which these devices are used. Literary devices have multiple purposes. They are used for the following reasons: • To improve the reader’s emotional understanding of an idea by making it more meaningful. • To clarify an idea by making it more concrete or abstract, depending on the intention of the author.

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