What is a literary analysis?

Writing a literary analysis can help you get a better understanding of a work of literature. Regardless of the subject text’s theme, a literary analysis is likely to offer more depth and context regarding its plot, events, characters and any other relevant elements of the piece.

Writing a solid literary analysis is a useful skill, but it requires practice and theoretical knowledge. In this article, we explain how to write a literary analysis and examine how you should structure it.

What is a literary analysis?
A literary analysis is an essay that aims to examine and evaluate a particular aspect of a work of literature or the work in its entirety. It typically analyzes elements like character development, plot twists, the sequence of events and the piece’s setting to offer the reader more insight regarding the author’s intent and the quality of its execution. Knowing how to write a literary analysis is in essence knowing how to read and think critically.

Unlike literary summaries and reviews, the goal of the literary analysis is not to create a synopsis of the whole work or offer an opinion on it, but rather to discuss relevant elements within the text to figure out how the piece of literature works.

How To Write a Literary Analysis Step by Step

Writing a literary analysis can help you get a better understanding of a work of literature. Regardless of the subject text's theme, a literary analysis is likely to offer more depth and context regarding its plot, events, characters and any other relevant elements of the piece.

Writing a solid literary analysis is a useful skill, but it requires practice and theoretical knowledge. In this article, we explain how to write a literary analysis and examine how you should structure it.

What is a literary analysis?

A literary analysis is an essay that aims to examine and evaluate a particular aspect of a work of literature or the work in its entirety. It typically analyzes elements like character development, plot twists, the sequence of events and the piece's setting to offer the reader more insight regarding the author's intent and the quality of its execution. Knowing how to write a literary analysis is in essence knowing how to read and think critically.
Unlike literary summaries and reviews, the goal of the literary analysis is not to create a synopsis of the whole work or offer an opinion on it, but rather to discuss relevant elements within the text to figure out how the piece of literature works.
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What to include in a literary analysis

There is no single definitive list of elements that need to be included in literary analysis. What to focus on typically depends on the nature of the piece of literature to be analyzed. However, there are some common elements that usually are helpful and insightful when included in an analysis, regardless of the particularities of the text in question. These are:

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  The genre and type of the analyzed piece of literature
  
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  A thorough examination of the main characters
  
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  An outline of the work's plot and the main ideas present in the piece
  
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  A review of the overall theme of the analyzed text
  
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  A description of the symbolism identified in the piece
  
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  An inspection of the work's structure and the writing style used to create it
  

Common types of literary analysis

Literary analysis involves deep immersion into the piece under consideration and a clear idea of what elements need to be analyzed. There is no single way to go about it — the ideas and interests that sparked your analysis are the only guiding lights you need to follow. However, there are five general approaches that could help you write a literary analysis:

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  Theoretical: This type of analysis typically focuses on mapping onto the piece one or more theories related to it and fleshing out the relationships between them. In a theoretical literary analysis, you’d review the author's arguments through the lens of these theories.
  
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  Close reading: Close reading is based on a thorough look into the literary work to discover nuances and details that appear minor but offer significance. This analysis can offer you a deeper insight into the author's choices regarding the language, certain elements of specific scenes and other details that may get overlooked in a superficial reading.
  
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  Applied: An applied analysis is a highly subjective essay that explores how various elements of the work under consideration relate to your personal experiences.
  
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  Comparative or synergistic: A comparative analysis puts the literary work in a broader context by directly comparing it to similar writings or other works by the same author.
  
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  Contextual or historical: A contextual literary analysis aims to focus on external elements related to the piece, such as the historical framework or the social peculiarities of the time and place in which the story occurs.