•Human vs. Society

•Human vs. Nature

•Human vs. Supernatural

•Human vs. Machine / Technology

Plot plus conflict comprise the theme of the narrative. The theme of the story is its central idea or message. This message is usually about life, society, or human nature.

Themes often explore timeless and universal ideas. Most themes are implied rather than explicitly stated. The theme is different from the superficial outlay of the text; it is normally the meaning of the text on a more abstract level.

While speaking about the characters or the objects, you should not forget about the tone.

The tone shows the attitudes toward the subject and toward the audience implied in a literary work.

Tone may be formal, informal, intimate, solemn, somber, playful, serious, ironic, condescending, or many other possible attitudes.

Another characteristic of the narrative is its mood. The mood is the dominant impression the story makes on you. It can be gloom, sad, optimistic, pathetic, cheerful, melancholic and so on.

Mood like tone may be revealed through the choice of words, figures of speech, dialogues, short or long sentences and even phonetic devices.

2. THE BASICS OF ANALYSIS

When analysing a text it is necessary to follow a certain plan.

The main goal in the analysis of the text is to understand its main idea, and to characterize the stylistic devices the author uses in order to address the reader.

At first you should be able to answer the following simple questions:

•Who is the story about?

•What can you say about the main characters?

•What is positive and negative about them?

•What do you imagine while reading the story?

•Do you like the story?

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After answering these questions you can continue with the analysis of the text, using the following plan:

1.Give information about the author and the book.

2.Give a summary of the extract (story) under consideration.

4.Give a general definition of the text.

5.Define the prevailing mood of the text.

6.Characterize the structure of the text.

6.Give a detailed analysis of every part of the text. Dwell upon the contents of the part and then comment of the stylistic devices used

7.Give the main idea of the story.

8.Express your attitude towards the things described.

QUESTIONS TO LECTURE #9

1.What is the plot?

2.What is the exposition?

3.What is the climax?

4.What is the denouement?

5.What is a closed plot structure?

6.What is the conflict?

7.What types of conflict in literary works do you know?

8.What is the theme of the story?

9.What is the tone of the story?

10.What is the mood of the narration?

11.What is the main goal of the stylistic analysis of the text?

12.What are the main questions you should answer before analyzing the text?

13.What plan is it recommended to use for a stylistic analysis of the text?

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EXERCISES TO LECTURE #9

Exercise 1. Study the following plan for stylistic analysis of the text. 1. Give information about the author and the book.

We've read a very unusual / thrilling / exaggerated / exciting story by ... .

The story is about / deals with / is concerned with / outlines / discusses ... .

The story is written in a form of... (the author's recollections, the dialogue, narration, autobiography).

The scene is laid in ...

2. Give a summary of the extract (story) under consideration.

The action takes place in … .

The story touches upon (deals with) the problems of ... .

The main characters of the story are ... .

The main idea of the story is ... .

4. Give a general definition of the text.

The text is a 1st (3d) person narrative.

The narration is interlaced with descriptive passages and dialogues of the personages.

The narration is broken by digressions.

5. Define the prevailing mood of the text.

The mood of the story is lyrical / dramatic / tragic / optimistic / pessimistic / melodramatic / sentimental / unemotional / emotional / pathetic / dry and matter -of-fact / gloomy / bitter / sarcastic / cheerful.

The story gives food for thought.

The author reveals the nature of his characters through (actions, details, dialogues, etc.)...

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6. Characterize the structure of the text.

The plot of the story is complicated (intricate, tangled up, trite, commonplace, simple).

The text has an open plot structure ... .

The text has a closed plot structure and can be divided into the following parts:

•exposition;

•story;

•climax;

•denouement.

7.Give a detailed analysis of every part of the text. Dwell upon the contents of the part and then comment of the stylistic devices used

The plot of the story centres round … .

The narration begins with ... .

In the exposition the author communicates the idea that ... .

The story reaches its climax when ... .

In the denouement ... .

In order to convey the main idea of the passage the author uses the following stylistic devices ... .

The choice of vocabulary and stylistic devices is admirable.

The following stylistic devices contribute to the expressiveness of the passage.

The author makes extensive use of ... to render the story more vivid, convincing, more real and emotional.

The enumeration shows the author's striving for an exhaustive and fully detailed presentation of the phenomenon dealt with.

8. Give the main idea of the story.

Summing it up, ... .

The idea conveyed in the story is ... .

This problem relates to ... .

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