Analysis Guide
Choose literary elements that are doing real work, the ones that have the
biggest impact in this particular piece of literature.
Setting where + when
 Discuss the Place and talk about why you think the author
chose that place for this story
 Discuss the time period, season, or time of day that matters
most in the story
 Discuss the mood created by the setting and how it relates
to the protagonist, the antagonist, and the conflict
 Describe the effect on reader, effect on characters, effect on
plot, author’s reason for using this time and place
Plot what + who + why
 Discuss the main Pattern(s) of Conflict: Man vs:
Self, Man, Society, Nature, or Machine
 Discuss the inciting incident (why did author set off
conflict with that?)
 Discuss suspense (why that “what will happen?”)
 Discuss climax (why suspense ended that way)
 Discuss the resolution (why is that how conflict is resolved)
 Discuss the dénoument (“the unraveling,” why?)
 Comedy? MC sees his own problem in time to change
 Tragedy? MC sees the problem too late, sad ending
 Describe the effect on reader, effect on characters, effect on
plot, the author’s reason for using it
Character who + what + why
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Discuss Protagonist’s (MC’s) conflicts (man vs ___)
Discuss MC’s strengths & weaknesses
Discuss MC’s reactions
Discuss MC’s motives (reasons for actions)
Discuss MC’s relationships
Discuss MC’s point of view or bias
Discuss MC’s main “flaw” or downfall
Discuss MC’s major change (overcome his/her flaw?)
Discuss Antagonist’s strengths & weaknesses
Discuss Antagonist’s reactions
Discuss Antagonist’s motives (reasons for actions)
Discuss Antagonist’s relationships
Discuss the effect on reader, effect on characters, effect on
plot, the author’s reason for using it
Theme ...and your point is?
Discuss the “moral of the story” or a lesson learned
Discuss the author’s purpose & audience
Identify metaphors and symbolism
Discuss the “universal significance” or how it relates to us
and to any people in any place or time.
 Discuss how theme would have been different if setting,
plot, conflict, or characters had been slightly different
 Discuss the different levels of meaning... what does the
story mean literally? What else could it mean figuratively?
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Technique & Style
 Identify special strategies used: propaganda, promises,
flattery, dares, threats/fears, intrigue, mystery, use of
opinion vs fact, etc.
 Discuss literary devices: foreshadowing, flashback, etc.
 Discuss use of personification, if any, and why
 How did the author direct reader’s bias with prot/antag?
 How did the author put in clues about his/her tone?
 Was Protagonist good guy or bad guy?
 Discuss the effect on reader, effect on characters, effect on
plot, the author’s reason for using it
 Language choices, some examples (choose and discuss):
friendly, bossy, threatening, inviting, common/everyday or casual,
formal, etc.
 Categorize the kinds of words the author uses
 Give examples of hyperbole, alliteration, etc.
 Analyze the way the author puts the words together to
create a certain mood and pace
 Give examples of situational or verbal irony
 Discuss the effect on reader, effect on characters, effect on
plot, the author’s reason for using it
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P.O.V. (Point of View)
POV is all about who told the story…
Ø First Person POV
is told by a person who was involved
(“I, we…”)
Ø Third Person POV
is told by a witness or “third party”
(“He, she, they…”)
3rd Person, Limited = narrator only knows what he saw/felt/thought
3rd Person, Omniscient = “all-seeing,” narrator knows what everybody saw/felt/thought
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 What does P.O.V. tell you about the pattern of conflict?
 What bias does it give the story?
 How does it affect the “truth” in the story?
 Discuss the effect on reader, effect on characters, effect on
plot, the author’s reason for using it
A
F e w
1st Person POV
2nd Person POV
3rd Person POV
3rd Person POV, Limited
3rd Person POV, Omniscient
alliteration
allusion
analogy
assonance
autobiography
biography
char., Antagonist
char., Protagonist
character
character, Dynamic
character, Static
climax
comedy
conflict
connotative
denotative
dénoument
explicit
exposition
fiction
figurative/symbolic
flashback
foreshadowing
Freytag’s Pyramid
genre
hyperbole
illusion
imagery
implicit
inference
irony
literal meaning
main character (MC)
memoir
metaphor
non-fiction
onomatopoeia
oxymoron
paradox
patterns of Conflict
personification
plot
poetry
point of View (POV)
problem
prose
resolution
rhythm
rhyme
simile
sense-details
setting
stanza
suspense
symbolic/figurative
tragedy
universal
L i t e r a r y
E l e m e n t s
D e f i n e d
Told by subject/ MC (I walked away.)
Told to subject/MC (you walk away)
Told by a witness (He walked away.)
Told by a witness who is limited to knowing what he or she actually saw/thought
Told by a witness who is all-seeing (tells you what everybody saw/thought)
repeating consonant sound
always refers to something OUTSIDE the story, usually well-known or famous
comparison using patterns of relationship
repeating vowel sound
life story, by subject/self
life story, by somebody else
who/what is against (anti) the M.C. (second side of the “man vs __”)
Main Character or MC (first side of the “man vs__”)
who + why + how (“people” of the story, including their motives & methods)
Changes by the end (protagonist should be one)
Never changes
the answer/end to the suspense (big “BAM!”)
Good ending: protagonist sees flaw & changes in time to avoid bad ending
Meet the problem (5 patterns, all are Protagonist vs Antagonist)
implied or inferred meaning
literal, stated meaning
(French ‘unknot’); at the end, where puzzles are solved, answers are given, all is clear
clearly spelled-out, very specific, no deep or double meanings
Meet the setting, the M.C.
not true
deeper or metaphorical meaning
a clue from the past, vivid image from past
a clue about the future
simple diagram showing the outline of a story plot
A category, may refer to content (tragedy, comedy, etc.) or form (poetry, novel,drama, etc.), subexaggeration to make a point
not what it appears to be
description using vivid sense details
implied or inferred, not specifically stated
good guess based on evidence
ends up opposite of all expectations and intentions
basic, surface meaning, explicit meaning, no deep or double meanings
who the story is about
true story, based on personal memory
a comparison using symbolism
true, factual
a sound-effects word
wordswhich appear to be in contradiction
appears to be contradictory but contains a truth "To have peace, we prepare for war"
man vs ... 5 choices: self, man, society, nature, machine (man-made things)
making a non-person seem like a person
what + why + how (the main action of the story, including motives & methods)
writing arranged in lines and stanzas, also called “verse”
storyteller’s relationship to MC
specific conflict for M.C.
writing arranged in sentences and paragraphs
fallout/aftermath of climax, new info is revealed, problem has been resolved
pattern of accented and unaccented syllables, the poem’s beat or cadence
repeated word-ending sound
a comparison using “like” or “as” (or “as though”)
details for the 5 senses, things you can see, hear, smell, touch, taste
where + when the story happened
A paragraph of poetry
When you wonder, “what will happen?”
one thing stands for something else, something deeper, metaphorical, like dove = peace
Sad ending, protagonist doesn’t see or sees, but doesn’t change in time
Ideas that are found all over the world & throughout history (all characters, all settings)