The Scheme For Analysis

1. Introduce the author.

Give bibliographical information about the author, his literary career.

Which literary trend do his works belong to? Say some words about the history of development of this trend.

Give names of its main representatives. What genre does/did he work in? Characterize this genre.

Speak about the author’s main works and their problems: the time and the place of the action, social and

political background, the main characters, etc.

2 Speak about the history of creation of the work Identify the type of the work, its genre and functional style (e.g. the belles-letters style, publicistic style, newspaper style, scientific prose style, the style of the official documents).

3. Speak about Structural Division of the work. – architectonics

How many pages, chapters, prefase, etc. does the work have?

4. State the situation of the work, or summarize the contents of the work in bare bones.

4. Analyze the title.

What does the title suggest is likely to happen in this work?

Is the title appropriate, do you think? Does the title indicate anything about the theme?

4. Analyze setting.

What is the work's setting in space and time? How many hours, days, years, etc does it cover?

How does the author go about establishing setting? Does the author want the reader to see or feel the setting; or

does he want the reader both to see and feel it? What details of the setting does the author isolate and describe?

Is the setting important? If so, what is its function? Is it used to reveal, reinforce, or influence character, plot, or

theme? Does it provide a realistic background ? What atmosphere does it evoke?

Is the particular setting essential or could the story have happened anywhere at any time?

Is the action fast or slow moving? Is the setting an appropriate one?

4. Analyze Theme

Does the work have a theme? Is it stated or implied?

What generalization(s) or statement(s) about life or human experience does the work make?

What elements of the work contribute most heavily to the formulation of the theme?

Does the theme emerge organically and naturally, or does the author seem to force the theme upon the work?

What is the value or significance of the work's theme? Is it topical or universal in its application?

8. Analyze Point of View.

What is the point of view, who talks to the reader? (It may be: first-person point of view, omniscient point of

view, limited omniscient point of view, stream of consciousness, dramatic point of view)

Is the point of view consistent throughout the work or does it shift in some way?

Where does the narrator stand in relation to the work? Where does the reader stand?

To what sources of knowledge or information does the point of view give reader access? What sources of knowledge or information does it serve to conceal?

If the work is told from the point of view of one of the characters, is the narrator reliable? Can we trust his judgments? Does his or her personality, character, or intellect affect an ability to interpret the events or the other characters correctly?

Given the author’s purposes, is the chosen point of view an appropriate and effective one?

How would the work be different it told from another point of view?

Does the author speak in his own voice or does he present the events from the point of view of one of the characters? Does the narrator sympathize with the characters?

Is there any change in the point of view? What effect does this change have?