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Файл:Academic English Theoretical and Practical Training of Graduate Students. Учебное пособие по практикуму английского языка для студентов 4 курса
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events though his eyes or though … The author sympathizes/not with the character
/remains aloof/detached.
IV. Characters
Main and minor. Who are they? What are they like: in appearance, habits of
speech, behavior, social position, profession etc.? What is the relationship between
the characters and how is it shown?
1. There are … characters in the text.
2. Round – they are complex and develop or change in the course of the action.
Stereotyped or individual, credible, act consistently. They come alive.
Flat –one-sided (why?), around one feature + characterization
3. The author resorts both to direct (age, appearance, clothes, profession) and
indirect (attitudes, actions, thoughts) methods of characterization ……
V. Conflicts
1. External – between characters, against society, values, stereotypes.
Protagonist/antagonist
2. Internal – within the character, problems he faces, the character is torn between
opposing features of his personality.
VI. Setting
Where and when does the story take place?Does the setting matter to the story or
could it have taken place in another place or at a different time?Sometimes the
term includes the psychological or spiritual atmosphere in which the action takes
place. E.g. the psychological setting of Poe’s “Raven” is one of mournful, never-
ending remembrance.
1. Details about time (season, day, date).
2. Details about place, landscape, weather, conditions, colours, sounds, other
details.
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3. Function: it can provide a realistic background; it makes the story credible;
it can evoke the necessary atmosphere; it can help describe the characters
indirectly.
VII. Tone\mood
In what mood is the story written? How is this mood achieved? Does it change? If
so, what is the prevailing, dominant mood? How can you prove it? What are minor
moods?
Amusement, anger, affection, sorrow, contempt, melancholy, humour…+
prove by the words from the text.
VIII. Main idea
Title of the story. Other themes or subthemes.
IX. Personal opinion.
Some Issues and Tips on Writing Text Analysis
Before writing the analysis of the text you are to read it several times and
translate it carefully, looking up the words in the dictionary and writing out the ir
lexical meanings.
The mood. Single out one key mood of the story and prove it by the phrases
from the text. Usually the key mood helps to disclose the main idea of the text.
There can be several minor moods, which depend on your perception of the text.
You should also prove it by the text. The mood may be:
- epic - typical of the description of the events that have been completed in
the past and are viewed by the narrator in retrospect; dramatic - emotional or
elevated mood created through the expression of agitation (exclamatory sentences,
emotive words, many stylistic devices);
- lyrical - the text contains the expression of the author’s feelings, his
emotive attitude to life, his thoughts, the language is elevated, there are many
poetic words and stylistic devices;
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- humorous - reflects the comical aspect of life, points out some
contradictions, discrepancy between form and contents, always causes laughter, is
intended to improve slight imperfections, its object - a funny incident or an
oddfeature of human character, which we laugh at good-naturedly;
- ironical - unlike humour, indicates mockery of smth. or smb, the essential
feature is indirect presentation of a contradiction between an action or expression
and the context in which it occurs. The emphases is laid on the opposition between
the literal and the intended meaning of a statement: one thing is said and the
opposite is implied, the function of irony is to produce a feeling of irritation, pity,
regret, diapleasure;
- satirical- is aimed at exposing grave moral or social vices or shortcomings
by means of derision, burlesque or other method of intensifying incongruities,
usually with an intent to provoke amendment.
- sarcastic - expresses contempt on occasion of some offence or
shortcoming; related to ironical mood but differs from it by the absence of
transferred or hidden meaning; sarcasm is always cutting while irony may be
sometimes gentle.
The Characters. Describe the characters using direct and indirect methods
of characterization in the text. Prove each feature by the text. The structure of the
characterization can be as follows: physical appearance, background information
(age, education, job, family), personality revealed though: work, attitude to people
around, view on life, behaviour. Remember that we can feel the author’s attitude
to his character as well.
The main idea is the subject matter of the extract, something that a writer
wants to communicate in his work through the characters and their behaviour, the
physical and emotional background or sometimes through his own generalizing
statements. Ask yourself “What is the story about?” Give its subject in a short
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phrase. To make the main idea clear and understandable you have to learn how to
write the gist.
Gist is commonly understood as the essence or main point (of an article,
paragraph or argument), also as the essential part of a story, novel, or play that
helps to understand the main idea.
A summary is a clear concise orderly retelling of the contents of a passage
or a text and is ordinarily about 1/3 or 1/4 as long as the original.
Flash-back is an interruption of the chronological sequence of an event of
earlier occurrence, a part of a story in which the author turns back to earlier
experiences in order to deepen the meaning of present experiences. By using
flashbacks, writers allow their readers to gain insight into a character’s motivation
and provide a background to a current conflict. Dream sequences and memories
are methods used to present flashbacks. For example: “When I went out of the
drawing room, first thing that came into view in the open corridor way was the
picture of my brother. I just got the point why my mother used to see that portrait
hours after he was killed in the WWII, and she left only when she saw any one of
us coming to her. I just heard steps and when I looked back, there was nothing that
I could see. It was just a feeling of the past”. Sentence enclosed in brackets is a
flashback. It has interrupted the current event in form of a sudden thought giving
us an insight into the past of the narrator.
Foreshadowing or guessing ahead is a literary device by which an author
hints what is to come. Foreshadowing is a dramatic device in which an important
plot-point is mentioned early in the story and will return in a more significant way.
It is used to avoid disappointment. It is also sometimes used to arouse the reader.
There are various ways of creating a foreshadowing. A writer may use dialogues
of characters to hint at what may occur in future. In addition, any event or action
in the story may throw a hint to the readers about future events or action. Even a
title of a work or a chapter title can act as a clue that suggests what is going to
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happen. Foreshadowing in fiction creates an atmosphere of suspense in a story so
that the readers are interested to know more. For example, in John Steinbeck’s
novel “Of Mice and Men”, George killing Candy’s dog foreshadows George
killing Lennie because Lennie is identical to the dog. Even the nature of the death
of the dog was the same as Lennie’s as both were shot in the back of the head. He
chooses to kill Lennie himself in order to save him from being killed by a stranger.
Another example can be found in “Romeo and Juliet” by W. Shakewspeare, Act
2, Scene 2: “Life were better ended by their hate, Than death prorogued, wanting
of thy love”. In the balcony scene, Juliet is concerned about Romeo’s safety as she
fears her kinsmen may catch him. Romeo says, in the above lines, that he would
rather have her love and die sooner than not obtain her love and die later.
Eventually, he gets her love and dies for her love, too.
Red-Herring - a misleading clue that distracts readers by giving them
wrong hints about future events. For example, the character of “Bishop
Aringarosa” in “Da Vinci Code” by Dan Brown is shown to act in such a
suspicious way that the readers are bound to suspect him to be the mastermind of
the whole conspiracy in the church. His mysterious actions seemingly foreshadow
the exposure of his crime in a later part of the narrative but later it was revealed
that he was innocent and not involved in any secret action. Characters like Bishop
Aringarosa contribute to the mystery and suspense of the novel.
The function of foreshadowing is to build anticipation in the minds of
readers about what might happen next and thus adding dramatic tension to a story.
It is deliberately employed to create suspense in mystery novels, usually by giving
false clues or “red herrings” to distract readers. Moreover, foreshadowing can
make extraordinary and bizarre events appear credible as the events are predicted
beforehand, so that readers are mentally prepared for them.
The student who is in the habit of searching for the main points,
understanding them, learning them, and reviewing them is educating himself. The
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ability to get at the essence of a matter is important. The first and most important
step in making a summary is reading the passage thoroughly. After it write out
clearly in your own words the main points of the selection. Subordinate or
eliminate minor points. Retain the paragraphing of the original, unless the
summary is extremely short. Preserve the proportion of the original.
Change direct narration to indirect whenever it is possible, use words
instead of word combinations and word combinations instead of sentences. Omit
figures of speech, repetitions, and most examples. Don’t use personal pronouns,
use proper names.
Do not introduce any extra material by way of opinion, interpretation or
appreciation.
Read the selection again and revise your words. Remember the rules of
academic writing.
List of Word Combinations and Phrases for Text Interpretation
• on the one hand, the author’s purpose is to entertain the reader, on the other-
he raises a very important problem...
• to draw, to portray the character truthfully with convincing strokes (life like
representation, depiction)
• the character is merely sketched
• a vivid description
• the story is set in…; the scene is laid in…
• to expose the ills (evils, faults)
• as the story unfolds...
• smb.’s uneducated speech represents all kinds of deviation from standard
English: phonetics, graphic...
• to accentuate certain significant details
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• the fact that this phrase is repeated several times makes these details more
significant
• the reader inevitably associates smb. with smb.
• a peculiar use of the word...
• the idea (image) is further developed and enhanced through the use of
(metaphors, epithets)
• the choice of … used by the author to describe smth. reveals his
ironic/sarcastic/humorous attitude to...
• the... qualities of smb. are enhanced through the use of …
• smb.’ inner qualities are in harmony with his appearance
• the use of repetition is used to attract the reader’s attention and bring home
to him the idea of...
• smb.’s attitude is revealed through ...
• the phrase/his words/ the deeds expose(s) him as a ... .person
• … gives an impact into smb.’s state of mind
• the idea is not expressed in a straightforward categorical manner
• some qualities are made more palpable and concrete by means of...
• a slight ironical (dramatic) tinge
• the next paragraph adds some more details to the reader’s knowledge of the
character
• the extract presents narration interwoven and interlaced with dialogues
• to contribute to the effect of...
• a culmination point of the text is …
• the crucial point of the story is …
• the author’s power of observation ...
• the author keeps us in suspense …
• the author gives enough information to show the characters in flesh and
blood
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• the author sympathizes with the character; we feel it because he uses such
words of positive colouring as...
• a personage is characterized through his speech
• literary words may be used to produce a humorous effect
• the author avoids using common neutral words and uses emotionally
charged words
• the vocabulary is elaborate
• some words may be repeated throughout the text representing the leitmotif
of the text
• meticulous registration of every step in the development of events
• the text is abundant in...
• the abundant use of colloquial expressions and idioms serves to make
(sound) the dialogue natural
• another point worth mentioning is...
• to make smth. more vivid and concrete the author resorts to …
• discrepancy between the subject matter and the manner of narration
(description) may serve the purpose of the writer to create ironic or humorous
effect
• the incongruity of the expression and the expressed the function of which is
to create a humorous effect
• the ironical treatment of the subject is seen from the very first lines
• digressions from the thread of narration express the author’s views on...
• the author resorts to graphic means (to render the effect of the character’s
intonation and thus to stress the emotional colouring of the utterance
• to serve the purpose of giving the reader a deep insight into the situation and
the characters
• the syntax participates in conveying the atmosphere of...
• the idea of … is intensified by the introduction of …
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• the impression of... can be derived from...
• to emphasize, to underlinesmth.
• to mold a portrait of...
• to prompt smth.
Basic Terms for Text Interprtation
Antagonist – is a character or a group of characters which stand in
opposition to the protagonist or the main character. It is common to refer to an
antagonist as a villain (the bad guy) against whom a hero (the good guy) fights in
order to relieve himself or others. In some cases, an antagonist may exist within
the protagonist that causes an inner conflict or a moral conflict inside his mind.
Generally, an antagonist appears as a foil to the main character embodying
qualities that are in contrast with the qualities of the main character.
Climax – an arrangement of sentences which secures a gradual increase in
significance, importance and emotional tension in the utterance.
Composition – the interrelation between different components of a literary
text.
Exposition – the necessary preliminaries to the action of any literary
composition in which the theme or subject is presented or opened out. It casts
light on circumstances influencing the development of the characters, or on the
setting and time of action preceding the conflict.
Genre – a kind, a category of literary works distinguished with respect to
purpose, form, style, etc. In describing the kinds of literary compositions the
following traditional G. Are usually mentioned: the lyric (a lyric poem, ballad,
ode, elegy, epitaph, epithalamium), the epic (novel, romance, story, short story,
fable, fairy tale), the dramatic (tragedy, drama, comedy).
Plot – an arrangement of meaningful events.
Protagonist – the chief character in a literary composition, in whom the
action centres.
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Represented speech – the representation of the thoughts and feelings of
the character. It is neither direct speech, which reproduces the speaker’s exact
words, nor indirect speech. R. S. differs from both direct and indirect speech in
that it is a purely literary phenomenon never appearing in oral style. Usually it
renders the character’s thoughts which were not uttered aloud. It is a powerful
stylistic device commonly used in modern literature to reveal the character’s
psychology or temporary mental state. Though R. S. is neither direct nor indirect
speech, it has some traits in common with both of them. Like indirect speech R.S.
is characterized by a) the use of the 3rd person of pronouns instead of the 1st
person; b) the observance of the rule of Sequence of Tenses in independent
sentences. Like direct speech it is characterized by a) the use of exclamatory,
interrogative, and one-member sentences, the use of interjections and the words
«yes» or «по», b) the use of words and expressions typical of the character’s
speech; c) the use of elliptical sentences.
Unuttered represented speech or inner speech or inner (interior)
monologue of the character is a powerful stylistic device used to reveal the
character’s psychology or his mental state. It gives the writer the opportunity to
disclose the character’s outlook, helps without resorting to the author’s speech, to
portray the character’s innermost feelings not expressed openly in direct speech.
Uttered represented speech – the representation of the utterance through
the author’s language.
Half-reported speech – the style of narration whereby a speech or
conversation is related not in absolute reproduction of the words used by the
speaker, but by means of joining together the author’s speech and that of the
character. Thus it is a description of the events from the point of view of this
character The characteristics of this style are: the use of the 3rd person for the 1st;
observance of the rule of Sequence of Tenses, absence of quotation marks;
frequent usage of colloquialisms alongside of words and phrases characteristic of
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