Approaches to Literature

English II

Ms. Reimer

I. ELEMENTS

There are 5 key elements of any piece of written work:

A. Setting B. Characters C. Action D. Point of View E. Language

A. Setting 1. Context: Place and time

of story. How do these affect the action of the story? Do they give information, or ensure surprise? What role does history play?

2. Atmosphere: Is there symbolism in the mood set by atmosphere?

3. Milieu: social context and its effect on characters’ behavior. How does history play a role?

B. Characters 1. Wants/Fears. What does a

character desire? What is he/she afraid of? How does this affect his/her actions?

2. Assets/Liabilities. What can a character lose or gain in a situation? What does he/she already have or have at stake?

3. Relation to other characters/Function. What relationships do characters have? Who acts as a protagonist, antagonist, ally, foil, etc.

C. Action

1. Situation/Occasion 2. Conflict, crisis,

resolution 3. Tension/release (eg.

epiphany)

D. Point of View 1. Angle of narration and its effect. How does the

POV of the narrator bias or reveal information? 2. Attitude toward universals (theme). How does

the POV present a theme? With a positive or negative attitude? How does this affect your reading?

3. Attitude toward reader, subject, self (tone). How does the tone of the POV speak to the reader and how does that make you feel? Is it harsh? Inviting? With what tone is the subject of the work addressed?

E. Language

1. Symbols and figures of speech. How literal or figurative is the language?

2. Style: Is the language ornate? Simple? Dense?

II. TYPES OF LITERATURE

There are 4 subdivisions of literature you should consider when reading:

A. Literary Forms B. Genres C. Archetypal themes D. Archetypal characters

A. Literary Forms What are literary

forms? We have story, poem, play, diary, etc. Each of these forms has different features that characterize it and distinguish it from another form. What are some characteristics of each?

B. Genres The genre a piece belongs

to, like its form, also characterizes a piece. Tragedies have certain features that comedies don’t, satire has features that non-fiction does not, and so on. Genres can get tricky because they can almost always be subdivided. (A comedy can be either a dark comedy, or a romantic comedy, etc.)

C. Archetypal Themes

An archetype is the original mold of an idea, object, etc. Think of an archetype as the master key; all copies have the same characteristics because they mimic the qualities of the original.

The idea here is universality. “Coming of Age” is considered an archetypal theme. Can you name some others?

D. Archetypal Characters What is an archetype again? An archetypal character models

an original; it is a pattern. The hero, the fool, and the orphan are examples.

When we meet these characters, we recognize them as ones we have seen before and we understand certain qualities about them, or automatically assume they have qualities associated with ALL heroes, fools, or orphans.

Protagonists and antagonists are nearly always archetypes.

III. EXPRESSION OF THE AUTHOR’S LIFE AND TIMES Everyone is, to some extent, a product of his or her time.

We are affected by the events and attitudes in current society. The same is true for authors when they write. We should think about how the events and attitudes of a particular piece of history may have influenced a literary work.

Things to consider in an author’s life: historical background, biography and (Get ready to learn a fun word!) zeitgeist. Zeitgeist is the general “spirit” of an era—its intellectual, moral, and cultural climate.

REMEMBER: Read facts into work, not work into life!!! We cannot assume that an author is speaking in his voice or modeling himself through a character!

IV. WRITER’S INFLUENCE AND READER’S RESPONSE These take the most work to understand

because they require (1) research and (2) examination of ourselves. Two items we should consider here:

A. Historic reception/famous responses B. Personal taste and bias

A. Historic reception and Famous responses How did the people of the

time react to this work? Were they offended? Did they embrace and celebrate it? (This question is always SOOO interesting to ask when a book is banned!)

Did “famous” individuals speak about this work? Did they advocate or denounce it?

B. Personal taste and bias We are human and therefore

are thinking and analytical creatures. We have likes and dislikes, and are inevitably biased when we encounter a text.

Some of us like poetry, others prefer drama; some of us like ornate language, others like simple prose. We should keep in mind how our personal preferences and values influence how we respond to what we read!

ARE WE DONE YET??? I know, I know; a TON of information. Much of

this we do subconsciously as we read, so we don’t even realize what active readers we truly are. However, it is always helpful to take a step back and analyze how and why we process information. It will tell us much about ourselves as readers, give us insights into characters, and grow an appreciation for the written word.

You can be SURE that when any of these elements are very difficult to identify or are missing, then that is a flaw on the writer’s part, not yours!