1. Answer the following questions:

1. What was Mr. Nilson's social status? 2. Why did Mr. Nilson decide to take a turn in the Gardens before breakfast? 3. How did Mr. Nilson try to explain the peculiar sensation affecting him? 4. What was Mr. Nilson's reaction at seeing the little tree in blossom? 5. What made the little tree look so alive? 6. What did Mr. Nilson know about Japanese quince? 7. Why was Mr. Nilson taken aback at finding out that he was not alone in the-Gardens? 8. How are the characters of the two neighbours related to each other? 9. Why did Mr. Tandram suddenly seem a little foolish to his neighbour? 10. What could Mr. Tandram have suddenly noticed about Mr. Nilson? 11. Why did Mr. Nilson try to avoid arriving home at the same time as his neighbour? 12. What made the two neighbours look and act so much alike? 13. How does the fact that the two neighbours present an exact replica of one another bear on the interpretation of the story? 14. What role does the little tree play in the story? 15. What is the author's attitude toward what he tells? 16. What kind of emotions and thoughts does the story evoke in the reader?

2. Give your observations as to:

a) the type (genre) of the story; b) the theme of the story; c) the means by which artistic effect is achieved; d) the details that help to create the atmosphere of an early spring morning; e) the symbolic character of the situation described; f) analyze the use of micro-components and dwell on their stylistic effect.

A sample plan of literary text analysis

• Title of the Text. Some Words about the Author (Specify Time Period. Literary Trend.)

• Theme

• Plot and Its Structure.

• System of Images (Character Images. Landscape Images. Event Images [if applicable].)

• Composition (Narration Technique. Forms of Narration.)

• Principles of Poetic Structure Cohesion

• Literary Time

• Micro-images (Stylistic Devices and Expressive Means.)

• Idea

Useful words and word combinations

• The passage is an extract from...

• The major theme is...

• We can distinguish the following by-themes...

• The basic theme of... may be defined as the life of...at the end of/after the... epoch.

• This basic theme is disclosed mainly in the representation of...

• The character of... is a brilliant example of the author's biting irony.

• The ironical treatment of the subject is seen from the very first lines.

• The metaphor is sustained through the whole passage.

• The behavior is revealed through the metaphor which is prolonged involving relevant details.

• The description of ... is done through a prolonged metaphor.

• The text can be divided into...logically complete parts out of which the first serves as an introduction.

• The introduction is absent, the introductory information is scattered throughout the the whole text.

• The first paragraph introduces...

• In the second paragraph one should note a peculiar use of the word...

• In the third paragraph the same image is further developed and enhanced through the use o f ...

• The choice of ... employed by the author to describe... reveals his attitude to...

• The character's inner qualities are in full harmony with his/her appearance.

• One should note the syntactical arrangement of this paragraph.

• The next paragraph begins with the topical sentence...

• The author dwells on the character’s approach to life.

• Summing up the analysis of the character which is the subject-matter of the chapter one should say that the author brilliantly uses imagery, mostly metaphors prolonged and developed throughout the passage, which help to reveal the character’s nature.

• All expressive means and stylistic devices are employed by the author to the purpose of exposing the character.

• One should note the unity of thought and the coherence in the development of each paragraph of the passage, the apt use of...

• The text presents a piece of narration with the elements of description.

• The text contains the elements of a dialogue.

• The principles of poetic structure cohesion are revealed through...

• The analogy/contrast becomes evident in...

• The recurrent elements are as follows...

• The poetic detail helps to...

• ...becomes the major poetic detail.

• The climax point of the narration can be distinguished in...

• ...serves as a climax point of the narration.

• The time of the narration is compressed.

• The author resorts to flash-backs in order to...

• The main idea of the story is...