What is Critical Analysis?

Discussion 1: Summarizing Material

Provide a summary of one of the assigned stories. Make sure your summary addresses the following questions.



Setting: where and when does the story takes place?



Characterization: who are the main characters? Who is the protagonist, antagonist, supporting characters?



Narration: who is telling the story? Is it a third person omniscient narrator or is it a character narrator?



Plot: What is the central issue in the story? What is the conflict? How is it resolved?

Make sure the summary provides a topic sentence that establishes a context for your reader. Keep the summary brief – no more than 5-6 sentences. Then respond to two other students’ summaries. Does it adequately address the story? Is it missing an element? Does it provide too much information that is irrelevant for a summary?

Discussion 2: What is Critical Analysis?

Literary criticism implies close reading more than evaluative judgment about a work of literature. Read in

The Norton Introduction to Literature about different critical approaches in analyzing literature, pp. 1228-1332.

Look up the term online and see what you can come up with as an understanding of what you are to do in writing a critical analysis of a piece of literature.

Readings

The Norton Introduction to Literature

:

 “Fiction: Reading, Responding, Writing” pp. 12-57

 Poe, “The Cask of Amontillado” p. 107

 Melville, “Bartleby the Scrivener,” p. 372

 “Critical Approaches,” pp. 1228-1332

Handbook



“Research Strategy.” Section 50-55 (pp. 347-412). Information on the research process.

 “Reading and Writing about Literature.” Section 56 (415-422

Last Completed Projects