Some Notes On Literary Analysis

Some notes
on literary analysis
Francisco Javier Castillo
What’s a literary commentary?
A detailed examination of a piece of literature

What’s a literary commentary?
A commentary is an exercise in the close
reading of a text, involving detailed analysis
and appreciation of its significance and form,
and a linguistic and stylistic exploration of how
it achieves its effects on a reader or listener.
A good commentary will always explain, rather

than merely summarise, paraphrase, or list
effects.
Get an answer to questions like
• What is the text about?

• How was it written?
• Why was it written?
The commentary is a didactic technique
• It is used to develop the ability of
comprehension
• It is also used to develop the ability of
interpretation
• It is used so see in a practical way the
theoretical aspects introduced before
• It is used to illustrate the existence of the
literary devices
Used as a part of the assessment
With the commentary, students are assessed on their

ability to:
• show they understand the prose passage or poem
through well-supported interpretation
• identify language usage, structure, technique and style
used by the author
• discuss the effects that arise from the author’s choices
• use language appropriate to literary discussion, and this
will usually include accurate reference to commonly
used literary terms.
• present their ideas in a formally organized and
coherently developed piece of writing.
There is no one right way to do it
Not everyone will interpret the same text in
the same way.
There is no commentary that is a formulaic

“correct” commentary and students are
encouraged to explore their own ideas and
insights—but also to support these with
textual evidence so that they are not merely
guesses.
How to analyze
a literary text?
1. Read the text or passage
you are given a few times
Read it once through to get an idea of what the speaker is saying. Write
down your initial and personal reactions to certain parts of the text
(identification, enjoyment, significance…) so you can refer to them when
you are writing. When you have finished, go back and read it again, this
time underlining key words and phrases and making notes to yourself in the
margins.
You need to provide sufficient analysis of the passage.
Analyzing a literary text takes time. Read the passage no less than four
times. Spend as much time with the text before you begin to write your
commentary. If you don’t know the text, then you won’t know how to
structure your analysis.
Now welcome night, thou night so long expected,
That long daies labour doest at last defray,
And all my cares, which cruell love collected,
Hast sumd in one, and cancelled for aye:
Spread thy broad wing over my love and me,
That no man may us see,
And in thy sable mantle us enwrap,
From feare of perrill and foule horror free.
Let no false treason seeke us to entrap,
Nor any dread disquiet once annoy
The safety of our joy:
But let the night be calme and quietsome,
Without tempestuous storms or sad afray:
Lyke as when Jove with fayre Alcmena lay,
When he begot the great Tirynthian groome:
Or lyke as when he with thy selfe did lie,
And begot Majesty.
And let the mayds and yongmen cease to sing:
Ne let the woods them answer, nor theyr eccho ring.
2. Plan your commentary
The commentary must be organized following a plan or

a structure. Make a list of the key points that you
want to cover. Arrange them in a logical order so that
your commentary does not sound jumpy. Find
quotations from the text for each point you make as
these specific evidences related to the major ideas is
going to strengthen your analysis.
You should comment on all of the following points,
though not necessarily in this order:
Key points
Topic- Subject: What is the point of the text. There may be many
themes, but try and find one or two key ones to discuss.
Voice. Who is speaking? Address whether the text is in the 1st or 3rd
person. If the former, is it the voice of the author or of someone
else? To whom is the text addressed?
Form-Structure. Determine the form (fiction/nonfiction, essay,

journal, travel writing…) of this passage. Look for obvious ways to
divide the passage into sections. Determine how the chosen
structure and form affect the meaning or message of the text
Message-Purpose. Determine the aims and purpose of the writer. Is

the text persuasive, informative, descriptive? Address any irony or
satire present.
Key points
Tone-Atmosphere. Discuss the tone of the piece. Is there a strong
mood or feeling present throughout the piece? Talk about how the
writer created this effect. What about the setting and its effect on
the tone and mood?
Sensory details. Talk about how the senses are used to present a more
vivid scene to the reader. Imagery is one of the most important
sensory details. Are there any visual images presented by the text?
Talk about metaphors and similes.
Diction. Talk about the lexical field. Make observations as to the kind
of words used by the writer. Is there a theme (happiness, worry,
loneliness…) that reoccurs in the word choice? Are there words that
seem out of place?
Rhyme-Rhythm-Sound effects. Talk about the rhyming scheme, if

there is one. What effect does it have on the overall theme?
If you have done your work properly, at his
point you have got a lot of information:
what happens in the passage;

what is said in it, particularly the ideas
expressed;
how it is said: the word choice, the ordering of
ideas, sentence structure…
3. Write your commentary
Now that you have this information and a clear

idea of what you want to say, begin to write your
commentary.
Remember that you have to present your ideas in
a formally organized and coherently developed
piece of writing.
Your commentary is yours, but bear in mind not
to project anything onto the text that is not
already there.
4. Write a conclusion
This conclusion should sum up the

information presented in an interesting way
without introducing any new ideas

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Some notes

A detailed examination of a piece of literature

A good commentary will always explain, rather

• What is the text about?

With the commentary, students are assessed on their

There is no commentary that is a formulaic

You need to provide sufficient analysis of the passage.

The commentary must be organized following a plan or

Form-Structure. Determine the form (fiction/nonfiction, essay,

Message-Purpose. Determine the aims and purpose of the writer. Is

Rhyme-Rhythm-Sound effects. Talk about the rhyming scheme, if

what happens in the passage;

Now that you have this information and a clear

This conclusion should sum up the

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