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Writing about Literature

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For students outside of the English major, literary writing can be a new experience. Personal narrative is almost non-existent, there are few argumentative essays or informational reports, and traditional research papers are less common. Literature classes focus almost exclusively on some form of literary analysis with some personal reflection or in-class writing thrown in as well. On the other hand, literary writing is not that different from other papers students write. It requires students to formulate an idea, write a draft, edit for grammar and typos, format their paper in a common formatting style and cite outside sources, both from literary texts and from outside research. Because literature classes usually have a prerequisite, most students also take either one or two writing-intensive Composition classes before taking a literature class. For this reason, most literature classes forgo extensive in-class writing support in favor of literary discussions under the assumption that students have had enough writing skills to complete assignments on their own.

For students who are unfamiliar with literary writing, there are some general suggestions that might make the paper writing process clearer:

Objective vs. Subjective Writing

Literary analysis is usually argumentative and text-focused. Though your opinions will be apparent in your argument and how you structure your paper, you should use very little ‘I’ voice in your paper and focus your writing on your argument over yourself. Consider the following:

“When I read Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour”, I think it’s about freedom. To me, I think she is saying that Mrs. Mallard chose death instead of an unhappy marriage” compared to “In Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour”, the theme of the story is freedom. Mrs. Mallard’s death means that she would rather die than be in an unhappy marriage.”

Both have the same basic meaning, but the first is informal, personal and writer-focused, whereas the second is formal, impersonal and text-focused. Unless your instructor says otherwise, assume that all literary analysis is written like the latter of the two examples.

Writing about Literature

When writing about literature, always write about stories and novels in the present tense, regardless of the age of the work. Your reading process, class discussions and writing are happening in the present, so even though John Cheever’s short story “Reunion” was published in 1962, you should write, “In John Cheever’s “Reunion”, the main character says…” instead of “...the main character said...”. Even though the story is 60 or so years old and Cheever is long since deceased, we read, discuss and write about it in the present tense.

Referring to Names of Texts

When naming literary texts in writing, short stories titles are put in “quotes”, and novel titles are italicized. For example, Ralph Ellison’s short story “A Party Down at the Square” is written in quotation marks because it was published as a single story in a larger collection, Flying Home: and Other Stories. His novel The Invisible Man is italicized because the novel was published as a standalone work. All literary titles (short stories, novels, poems, plays, etc.) are capitalized.

Refer to Author Names

When naming an author for the first time in writing, use their full name. Doing so is a way of being accurate about the author and is a sign of respect. After fully naming them once, use their last name only. For example: Shadow and light imagery are both prevalent throughout Ernest Hemingway’s short story “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place.” Early in the story, Hemingway writes, “it was late and every one had left the café except an old man who sat in the shadow the leaves of the tree made against the electric light.” Later, he also writes, “it was only that and light was all it needed and a certain cleanness and order.”

If referring to the author’s last name gets repetitive, you can always refer to them as he/she or “the author” as well. Never refer to an author by their first name only (e.g. “Ernest writes”). First name references are less formal, suggest a personal relationship and are generally less professional and respectful. If you’re writing about multiple authors and stories in a single paper, it’s doubly important to keep names and titles clear and properly formatted.

Distinguish between Author and Narrator

It’s important to understand the difference between the author and the narrator of a story. The author is the real-world person who wrote the story, but most narration in the text is attributed to either a specific character or the narrator (who may or may not be named, depending on the story). Assuming the author and the narrator are the same person makes many often erroneous biographical and artistic assumptions and blurs the line between art and reality. This is an easy difference to notice in fantastical stories. For example, in Ursula Le Guin’s “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas,” most readers can see that Omelas is fictional and it's obvious that the narrator is not literally Le Guin. Even if the story is heavily autobiographical, we still distinguish between the two. For instance: “In Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper”, the narrator says…”

If Gilman wanted her short story to be about her, she would have written it as a memoir or an exposé. Instead, she chose to create a work of fiction, and so we distinguish between Gilman as the author and the distinctly different narrator speaking in the story, however similar the story may be to Gilman's  actual life experiences. Keeping author and narrator separate can be especially tricky when some authors consciously separate themselves from their work or when other authors view their work as an extension of themselves, so there might be exceptions. In general, keeping the two separate makes your writing clearer for readers and shows that you have closely read and thought about both author and work.

Citing Textual Evidence

Literary analysis is based on close reading of texts. Important lines are cited in your paper in the same way that research from outside sources is cited in traditional research papers. Several citation considerations might be applicable:

  • When citing from print or digital versions of a literary text that include page numbers, include parenthetical citations with author last name and/or page numbers, depending on the format of the text, and generally follow standard MLA citation guidelines. For example: Margaret Atwood writes, “John and Mary fall in love and get married” (309). or (Atwood 309).
  • Increasingly, students are using eBooks and audiobooks for literature classes, especially for novels. Because eBooks have variable page numbers based on the sizes of the screen and font, including page numbers in parenthetical citations isn’t always possible. If set page numbers are not available, cite chapter and paragraph number (McCarthy, ch. 2, para. 3). For audiobooks, include timestamps (McCarthy 1:15:45).
  • Sometimes, if students are quoting from a common text or an online source without page numbers, instructors won’t require parenthetical citations at all. For example: Margaret Atwood writes, “John and Mary fall in love and get married.” The source is known to the class and the student has quoted and attributed the author, which is sometimes enough.
  • Regardless of the citation style, it’s important to introduce an idea or observation in your own words before citing these direct quotes and spend some time analyzing them after. Your analysis of the quote is where you explore and expand on your critical thinking about the text. A good rule of thumb to make sure you have a good balance of original thinking and supporting citations is that your analysis of the direct quote should be at least as long as the quote itself.
  • Finally, Works Cited pages are usually required for papers. Some instructors don’t require them if all students are citing from the same text but will require works cited pages if students are citing from a variety of stories or from outside sources.

Students with specific questions about literary citations should check with their instructor about preferred citations styles. MLA style is almost always used in a literature course, though there may be exceptions. Seek out additional citation resources as well if needed (the MLA Formatting and Style Guide, Purdue OWL and others).

Include Your Own Ideas

While you will include a fair amount of citations from the story, remember that YOUR ideas should be guide the paper. Sections of your paper should start with your analysis, interpretation or argument about the story, citations should be included in support of your ideas and citations should be followed with more discussion in your own words. Your paper shouldn’t be composed of 100% parenthetical citations from the story, nor should it be 100% personal opinion. Instead, it should be a back-and-forth mix of your analytical ideas with citations from the text as support. For example:

In “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” Ursula Le Guin creates a story in which the narrator directly asks the reader to participate. For example, narrator says, “How is one to tell about joy? How describe the citizens of Omelas?” and later, “Do you believe? Do you accept the festival, the city, the joy? No?” The narrator’s questioning of the reader changes the meaning of the story by actively asking readers to either believe or disbelieve the details of Omelas. Le Guin ultimately wants readers to participate in the story, to be the citizens of Omelas and to decide if we would stay or leave. Le Guin’s story is extremely relevant to how Americans currently deal with materialism, ethics, politics and more.

The bolded text is a student idea that introduces the topic of the paragraph, the unbolded quotes from Le Guin provide relevant examples of the student’s idea from the story, and the bolded text that follows is the student further expanding on their initial idea. Some paragraphs will have more or less emphasis on citations from the text depending on the assignment, but literary analysis usually includes both to some degree.

Polish

Literature courses are usually taken by mid- to upper-level college students who have experience with college-level writing from previous English and non-English classes. Make use of those skills. Think about the strengths and weaknesses of your personal writing process, do your brainstorming, pre-writing and planning, write a good, clear paper, re-read and thoroughly edit your work, and get additional support from your classmates, your instructor or your campus Writing Center as needed.

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Literary analysis might be a new experience for many students, especially non-English majors, but the emphasis on open-ended original thinking, high-level critical thinking, argumentation, and close interaction with a text are all important skills. They are valuable in and outside of an English class and literary analysis can be an entertaining and rewarding experience, just like the stories themselves.