Choose 1 play. Explain how 3 literary elements are present in the story and help develop the action and a major theme. (The Play is Trifles)
Either way, you MUST look at how 3 literary elements - conflict, symbolism, personification, theme, imagery, setting, characterization, etc - are present in the text(s). This sort of focus will help you go BEYOND PLOT SUMMARY.
- Emphasis in the literary analysis essay is on interpreting one or two of our works. It should do just that-- expand, not just recycle/rehash what you've already done. Consider comparing an additional reading of ours or, in the case of a deeper analysis of a short story, bringing in a discussion of an additional character or plot element. Regardless, emphasis is on analysis and interpretation, close reading of the text, and reference to literary terms. So consider this:
NO OUTSIDE RESEARCH-- just you, your brain, and the poem(s)/play(s) you're writing about (include an end citation of those texts) This means NO SPARKNOTES, SHMOOP, or other external sites. This is your time to show off what you can do.
Avoid plot summary. Use plot details as support for the meaning you're finding in the text(s)
Develop a specific thesis to focus and organize your points and thoughts.
Quote the text directly (and cite when you do) as support, looking at the exact wording and how it shapes the meaning, characterization, conflict, tension, etc.
Refer to specific literary terms such as imagery, irony, symbolism, metaphor, personification, etc. Use your book to define these in addition to a look through the Review Literary Terms and Elements presentation-- it is meant as a reference tool!
Use a formal academic voice. This doesn't mean you need to be stuffy. It's about objectivity and discussion as you unpack the meaning in a literary work. Emphasis is also on a good range of vocabulary and a closer look at words, thoughts, ideas, and what they invoke.
Additionally, thesis has to be used in the paper and the main points that women were oppressed back in those times and that Mrs Hale and Mrs Peterson were justified