passage analysis essay structure

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Literature: Guide to Passage Analysis

Tuesday 15th, May 2018

In this article, Emily takes us through the intricacies of Literature’s passage analysis. For more Lit resources, check this out .

Arguably one of the most important tasks in the VCE Literature curriculum is ‘passage analysis.’ This task is one you will all soon be facing in your SACs, but additionally, in your final exam. Many students struggle with the style of writing that is expected, and understanding what the actual task is. The following is a guide to some of the most important elements required to achieve highly in this form of assessment.

There are two central things that you need to work on in preparation for your close analysis SAC – let’s consider them individually.

Understanding of the text as a whole.

This part is arguably the most simple, and most of this step will occur in class. You must be able to engage with and understand the key themes and ideas within your text. It is useful to identify 3 or 4 of these key ideas that you believe you would be able to pull out of any passage that you are presented with. It is useful to read your text a few times, because that way you will be very familiar with all of its intricacies and know what themes are universal, and which ones are only relevant to particular sections.

Practise under timed conditions.

Many students do not write practice essays beforehand, and their grades suffer. Why is this? Because like anything, passage analysis is a skill that will take practice. Even if you only complete ONE timed practice essay, with 3 random passages from your text to work with, you will get a good idea of your strengths and your weaknesses. Prior to my SACs, I would complete at least 4 timed practice essays. This made the SAC far less intimidating.

Explore the dimensions of one key element

What do you feel is the central theme for the text? What resonated with you? What was the author trying to convey? Try to come up with a premise that applies across the text, which will also help you to tie your essay together. This is important, as you should never treat your passages in isolation. You need to find running themes between them. The passages provided have been given for a reason – find that reason! What you will be ultimately aiming to do is find 3 (or 4) different ways that the element you have selected is being presented in the passages you are given. Consider the following example:

Antony and Cleopatra

Key element: Power.

3 facets: Feminine power, power of love or ‘lust’, and power seeking/its consequences.

Have a structure

Unlike English, you do not need to follow a traditional essay structure in Literature. However, this is not to say that you don’t need any structure. Ensure your arguments/paragraphs build on one another, and that you are only dealing with one idea per paragraph. This will enhance the overall quality of your essay.

Using the above examples, you may begin with Shakespeare’s discussion of feminine power, namely in Cleopatra’s use of her femininity to manipulate characters. Building upon this, you can move into the power of ‘lust.’ Finally, you can move into outlining Shakespeare’s castigation of power seeking. Do you see how these ideas are interlinked and how they build upon one another? This is what you should always be aiming for in your structure.

I am constantly asked by my students if they need an introduction and a conclusion. The simple answer to that question is ‘no.’ You do not need either. However, a sentence summing up your central contention at the beginning and end will help to tie your essay together and make it neater and easier to follow. The marks are not coming from these areas, but they may make it easier for the examiner to understand the points you make in the body of your essay, which could ultimately improve your mark!

This brings us to the body of your essay: analysing! This is where the bulk of your marks are coming from. Firstly, ensure you that are dealing with the passages you have been given . A pre-prepared essay that doesn’t look at the intricacies of the specific passages will never succeed. It is best to take the ‘zoom out/zoom in/zoom out’ approach. Begin your paragraph with a broad statement regarding your argument, then ‘zoom in’ on your evidence, and ‘zoom out’ again as you explain the relevance of your evidence. You may do this a few times in your paragraph. Now, the ‘zoom out’ is what we are all familiar with from our years as students. It is the ‘zoom in’ that many students struggle with, as it involves an in-depth type of analysis that you are not expected to conduct in English.

The best way to ensure that you are analysing on this higher level is to unpack the individual words within every quote you reference. You may treat every language choice as intentional, and the more you play with these ideas and get creative the better! Picking out individual words and considering what their connotations are adds a new dimension to your work that many students miss. Often, advice provided by teachers will be along the lines of “more detail!” and “go deeper!” As frustrating and vague as these seem, it is this type of analysis that they are after. This exercise may help you develop this skill. Consider the follow quote:

“Our dungy earth alike feeds beast as man.” – Shakespeare, Antony and Cleopatra.

Firstly, pick out the key words of the quote. What strikes you?

Next, consider what images are roused by those words. Consider what connotations are associated with them, what double meanings they hold. Consider what this could mean in the context of the text. What do you see when you read the word ‘beast’? What about ‘feed’?

Finally, consider how these connotations link to the overall argument that you are making. Putting it all together, you will have a highly detailed examination of a quote.

“In passage 2, Antony’s passionate effusion “our dungy earth alike feeds beast as man” illuminates Shakespeare’s castigation of power seeking. ‘Feeds’ seems to convey a sense of greed, and when partnered with ‘beast’ illustrates the animalistic, aggressive conduct of a ‘man’ who is consumed by his desire for conquest. Secondly, ‘dungy’ holds a connotation of decay, which may be likened to the destruction of Antony’s morality through his involvement in corrupt politics.”

Once you have picked apart these elements, you may zoom out again to a broad point surrounding the meaning of the quote, which you can use to reinforce your contention. Whenever you choose to include a full quote in your work, ensure you are doing this. Many students tend to skip this step and move into their conclusion about what the quote means instantly, losing valuable opportunities for a much deeper, richer analysis.

Getting your feedback (and learning from it!)

If your initial results don’t meet your expectations, it can be very disheartening. However, it is important not to give up, because the style of writing that is expected in VCE Literature can take a lot effort to master. Be in constant communication with your teacher about what they want from your work. If some of the advice they provide in your SAC feedback doesn’t make sense, start a conversation with them about it. Ask for examples. Ask if you can sit down with your teacher at some point to go through your SAC. Take careful note of what they liked about your work, and where the deficiencies were, and most importantly – try again! Write essay after essay using random passages out of your text. Get someone to mark those papers, be it your teacher, a tutor or even a friend – and try again! You will thank yourself later!

Emily Lamb, VCE Literature, Legal Studies and Global Politics Tutor.

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Literary Analysis Guide

In writing about literature or any specific text, you will strengthen your discussion if you offer specific passages from the text as evidence. Rather than simply dropping in quotations and expecting their significance and relevance to your argument to be self-evident, you need to provide sufficient analysis of the passage. Remember that your over-riding goal of analysis writing is to demonstrate some new understanding of the text.

How to analyze a text?

• Read or reread the text with specific questions in mind.
• Marshal basic ideas, events and names. Depending on the complexity of book, this requires additional review of the text.
• Think through your personal reaction to the book: identification, enjoyment, significance, application.
• Identify and consider most important ideas (importance will depend on context of class, assignment, study guide).
• Return to the text to locate specific evidence and passages related to the major ideas.
• Use your knowledge following the principles of analyzing a passage described below: test, essay, research, presentation, discussion, enjoyment.

Principles of analyzing a passage

• Offer a thesis or topic sentence indicating a basic observation or assertion about the text or passage.
• Offer a context for the passage without offering too much summary.
• Cite the passage (using correct format).
• Discuss what happens in the passage and why it is significant to the work as a whole.
• Consider what is said, particularly subtleties of the imagery and the ideas expressed.
• Assess how it is said, considering how the word choice, the ordering of ideas, sentence structure, etc., contribute to the meaning of the passage.
• Explain what it means, tying your analysis of the passage back to the significance of the text as a whole.
• Repeat the process of context, quotation and analysis with additional support for your thesis or topic sentence.

Sample analysis paragraphs

From james mcbride’s the color of water.

An important difference between James and his mother is their method of dealing with the pain they experience. While James turns inward, his mother Ruth turns outward, starting a new relationship, moving to a different place, keeping herself busy. Ruth herself describes that, even as a young girl, she had an urge to run, to feel the freedom and the movement of her legs pumping as fast as they can (42). As an adult, Ruth still feels the urge to run. Following her second husband’s death, James points out that, “while she weebled and wobbled and leaned, she did not fall. She responded with speed and motion. She would not stop moving” (163). As she biked, walked, rode the bus all over the city, “she kept moving as if her life depended on it, which in some ways it did. She ran, as she had done most of her life, but this time she was running for her own sanity” (164). Ruth’s motion is a pattern of responding to the tragedy in her life. As a girl, she did not sit and think about her abusive father and her trapped life in the Suffolk store. Instead she just left home, moved on, tried something different. She did not analyze the connections between pain and understanding, between action and response, even though she seems to understand them. As an adult, she continues this pattern, although her running is modified by her responsibilities to her children and home.

The image of running that McBride uses here and elsewhere supports his understanding of his mother as someone who does not stop and consider what is happening in her life yet is able to move ahead. Movement provides the solution, although a temporary one, and preserves her sanity. Discrete moments of action preserve her sense of her own strength and offer her new alternatives for the future. Even McBride’s sentence structure in the paragraph about his mother’s running supports the effectiveness of her spurts of action without reflection. Although varying in length, each of the last seven sentences of the paragraph begins with the subject “She” and an active verb such as “rode,” “walked,” “took,” “grasp” and “ran.” The section is choppy, repetitive and yet clear, as if to reinforce Ruth’s unconscious insistence on movement as a means of coping with the difficulties of her life.

from Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye

#1 The negative effect the environment can have on the individual is shown in Morrison’s comparison of marigolds in the ground to people in the environment. Early in the novel, Claudia and Frieda are concerned that the marigold seeds they planted that spring never sprouted. At the end of the novel, Claudia reflects on the connection to Pecola’s failure:

I talk about how I did not plant the seeds too deeply, how it was the fault of the earth, our land, our town. I even think now that the land of the entire country was hostile to marigolds that year. This soil is bad for certain kinds of flowers. Certain seeds it will not nurture, certain fruit it will not bear, and when the land kills of its own volition, we acquiesce and say the victim had no right to live. (206)

Morrison obviously views the environment as a powerful influence on the individual when she suggests that the earth itself is hostile to the growth of the marigold seeds. In a similar way, people cannot thrive in a hostile environment. Pecola Breedlove is a seed planted in the hostile environment, and, when she is not nurtured in any way, she cannot thrive.

#2 One effect of the belief that white skin, blonde hair and blue eyes are the most beautiful is evident in the characters who admire white film stars. Morrison shows an example of the destructive effect of this beauty standard on the character Pecola. When Pecola lives with Claudia and Frieda, the two sisters try to please their guest by giving her milk in a Shirley Temple mug. Claudia recalls, “She was a long time with the milk, and gazed fondly at the silhouette of Shirley Temple’s face” (19). This picture of two young African-American girls admiring the beauty of a white American film star is impossible for Claudia to comprehend. Another character who admires white beauty is Maureen Peale. As Pecola and the girls walk past a movie theater on their way home with Maureen, Maureen asks if the others “just love” Betty Grable, who smiles from a movie poster. When she later tells the others she is cute and they are ugly, Maureen reveals her belief that she is superior because she looks more like a Betty Grable image than the blacker girls do. Pecola’s and Maureen’s fascination with popular images is preceded by Pauline’s own belief in the possibility of movie images. She describes doing her hair like Jean Harlow’s and eating candy at a movie. Rather than being transported into the romantic heaven of Hollywood, she loses a tooth and ends in despair. “Everything went then. Look like I just didn’t care no more after that. I let my hair go back, plaited it up, and settled down to just being ugly” (123). Admiring beauty in another is one thing; transferring a sense of self-hatred when a person doesn’t measure is another. At that point, the power of white beauty standards becomes very destructive.

Tsitsi Dangarembga’s Nervous Conditions

Although Tambu recognizes the injustices she and Nyasha endure as females, she hesitates to act on her suspicion because of fear. First of all, she is afraid that she might not recognize and feel comfortable with herself in a critical role. She hesitates to pursue her critique, noting to herself, “I was beginning to suspect that I was not the person I was expected to be, and took it as evidence that somewhere I had taken a wrong turning” (116). Using other people’s perceptions rather than her own, she judges her thoughts to be wrong. Although she senses that her behavior as the “grateful poor female relative” was insincere, she admitted it felt more comfortable. “It mapped clearly the ways I could or could not go, and by keeping within those boundaries I was able to avoid the mazes of self-confrontation” (116). While she is somewhat embarrassed that she lacks the intensity she had when fighting against Nhamo and her father over the maize, she is reluctant to lose Babamakuru’s protection and fears experiencing the same kind of trauma Nyasha does in her struggle. Although she says she feels “wise to be preserving [her] energy, unlike [her] cousin, who was burning herself out,” she reveals that she fears losing a familiar sense of herself in order to battle injustices.

Why study English at Goshen College?

School of Modern Languages and Cultures

Writing a literary commentary: guidelines, what is a commentary.

• First and foremost, a literary commentary is NOT an essay. The passage in front of you is not, therefore, an invitation to write a general essay about the work from which it has been taken.
• A commentary is an analysis of the given passage, its function and its characteristics. It should examine the key themes and stylistic devices of the passage, showing how the language works to convey (or at times undermine) its content.
• A commentary should relate the passage to the rest of the work (novel, collection of poems, etc.), but remain focused in the main on the details of the passage itself.
• Make sure that your commentary covers the whole passage. For instance, if you are given a poem with five stanzas, you should try to say something about each stanza.
• Use line numbers (in both poetry and prose) in your commentary, rather than wasting time by quoting at length.
• When you do quote, make sure that your comments don't simply repeat what the quotation already says: 'In the line "Il pleut dehors", the poet tells us that it is raining outside ...'
• Avoid verbosity or inaccurate terminology. Clarity and precision are top priorities, and polysyllabic words do not improve a commentary.
• Don't use words like 'effective', 'atmospheric', or 'beautiful' unless you are also explaining what the effect, atmosphere or beauty of the passage are, and how they are achieved. 

How should I write my commentary?

There are no fixed rules for writing a commentary, but a general structure will be suggested. You should always PLAN your commentary before you start writing it, following these guidelines where appropriate.

1 Introduction

• Put the passage into context , and summarise its arguments briefly (in a few sentences): do not spend too much time discussing matters outside of the passage.
• You should assume that your reader has read the work from which the passage has been taken.
• You may want to point out the passage's most important thematic and structural aspects in your introduction.
• Introduce the main themes and structural aspects of the passage.
• What kind of passage is it (description/dialogue/free indirect speech), and what is its function (in the rest of the work)?
• What is its overall structure (repetitious/circuIar/leitmotifs/develops to a climax)?
• What is the narrative point of view (first-person/third-person/omniscient or not)?
• What are the register (high/low) and tone (comic/surreal) of the passage?

3 Detailed Analysis

This is the most substantial part of the commentary. It should not be simple description or paraphrase, but an analysis of how the language of the passage functions. The following are aspects of the text that you should look for:

• Sentence structure
• Tense usage
• Word order (balance or lack thereof, harmony, repetition, parallels)
• Figurative language (imagery, metaphors, similes, symbolism, allegory, personification, myth, antithesis, irony, paradox)
• Characterisation (or lack thereof)
• Narrative technique/point of view (first/third person, limited point of view, stream of consciousness)
• Punctuation
• Alliteration, assonance, rhyme (poetry and prose)

Remember that no text is likely to have instances of all of these elements, and that it is best to concentrate on those that are most relevant to the passage in question. Also, you should avoid simply commenting on the appearance of a particular technique: make sure you say why this is worth noticing. Ideally, your comments should cohere to explain how the various linguistic devices combine to produce the overall effect intended by the author.

4 Conclusion

• Summarise your findings, drawing together the different aspects of the text that you have discussed in your commentary.
• Assess briefly the achievements and significance of the passage, both in itself and in relation to the work from which it is taken.

  Some useful aids to commentary-writing  

• Nurse, P. (ed.), The Art of Criticism: Essays in French Literary Analysis (Edinburgh, 1969) (sample commentaries of French literary texts)  
• Biard, J. D., Lexique pour I 'explication de texte (Exeter, 1980)  
• Benac, H., Vocabulaire de la dissertation (Paris, 1949)

  (Binac and Biard provide lists of technical terms used in close analysis of a literary text in French, and give explanations and examples of usage)  

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Close Reading

Close reading as analysis.

Close reading is the technique of carefully analyzing a passage’s language, content, structure, and patterns in order to understand what a passage means, what it suggests, and how it connects to the larger work. A close reading delves into what a passage means beyond a superficial level, then links what that passage suggests outward to its broader context. One goal of close reading is to help readers to see facets of the text that they may not have noticed before. To this end, close reading entails “reading out of” a text rather than “reading into” it. Let the text lead, and listen to it.

The goal of close reading is to notice, describe, and interpret details of the text that are already there, rather than to impose your own point of view. As a general rule of thumb, every claim you make should be directly supported by evidence in the text. As the name suggests this technique is best applied to a specific passage or passages rather than a longer piece, almost like a case study.

Use close reading to learn:  

• what the passage says
• what the passage implies
• how the passage connects to its context

Why Close Reading?

Close reading is a fundamental skill for the analysis of any sort of text or discourse, whether it is literary, political, or commercial. It enables you to analyze how a text functions, and it helps you to understand a text’s explicit and implicit goals. The structure, vocabulary, language, imagery, and metaphors used in a text are all crucial to the way it achieves its purpose, and they are therefore all targets for close reading. Practicing close reading will train you to be an intelligent and critical reader of all kinds of writing, from political speeches to television advertisements and from popular novels to classic works of literature.

Wondering how to do a close reading? Click on our Where to Begin section to find out more!

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8.15: Sample Student Literary Analysis Essays

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• Heather Ringo & Athena Kashyap
• City College of San Francisco via ASCCC Open Educational Resources Initiative

The following examples are essays where student writers focused on close-reading a literary work.

While reading these examples, ask yourself the following questions:

• What is the essay's thesis statement, and how do you know it is the thesis statement?
• What is the main idea or topic sentence of each body paragraph, and how does it relate back to the thesis statement?
• Where and how does each essay use evidence (quotes or paraphrase from the literature)?
• What are some of the literary devices or structures the essays analyze or discuss?
• How does each author structure their conclusion, and how does their conclusion differ from their introduction?

Example 1: Poetry

Victoria Morillo

Instructor Heather Ringo

3 August 2022

How Nguyen’s Structure Solidifies the Impact of Sexual Violence in “The Study”

Stripped of innocence, your body taken from you. No matter how much you try to block out the instance in which these two things occurred, memories surface and come back to haunt you. How does a person, a young boy , cope with an event that forever changes his life? Hieu Minh Nguyen deconstructs this very way in which an act of sexual violence affects a survivor. In his poem, “The Study,” the poem's speaker recounts the year in which his molestation took place, describing how his memory filters in and out. Throughout the poem, Nguyen writes in free verse, permitting a structural liberation to become the foundation for his message to shine through. While he moves the readers with this poignant narrative, Nguyen effectively conveys the resulting internal struggles of feeling alone and unseen.

The speaker recalls his experience with such painful memory through the use of specific punctuation choices. Just by looking at the poem, we see that the first period doesn’t appear until line 14. It finally comes after the speaker reveals to his readers the possible, central purpose for writing this poem: the speaker's molestation. In the first half, the poem makes use of commas, em dashes, and colons, which lends itself to the idea of the speaker stringing along all of these details to make sense of this time in his life. If reading the poem following the conventions of punctuation, a sense of urgency is present here, as well. This is exemplified by the lack of periods to finalize a thought; and instead, Nguyen uses other punctuation marks to connect them. Serving as another connector of thoughts, the two em dashes give emphasis to the role memory plays when the speaker discusses how “no one [had] a face” during that time (Nguyen 9-11). He speaks in this urgent manner until the 14th line, and when he finally gets it off his chest, the pace of the poem changes, as does the more frequent use of the period. This stream-of-consciousness-like section when juxtaposed with the latter half of the poem, causes readers to slow down and pay attention to the details. It also splits the poem in two: a section that talks of the fogginess of memory then transitions into one that remembers it all.

In tandem with the fluctuating nature of memory, the utilization of line breaks and word choice help reflect the damage the molestation has had. Within the first couple of lines of the poem, the poem demands the readers’ attention when the line breaks from “floating” to “dead” as the speaker describes his memory of Little Billy (Nguyen 1-4). This line break averts the readers’ expectation of the direction of the narrative and immediately shifts the tone of the poem. The break also speaks to the effect his trauma has ingrained in him and how “[f]or the longest time,” his only memory of that year revolves around an image of a boy’s death. In a way, the speaker sees himself in Little Billy; or perhaps, he’s representative of the tragic death of his boyhood, how the speaker felt so “dead” after enduring such a traumatic experience, even referring to himself as a “ghost” that he tries to evict from his conscience (Nguyen 24). The feeling that a part of him has died is solidified at the very end of the poem when the speaker describes himself as a nine-year-old boy who’s been “fossilized,” forever changed by this act (Nguyen 29). By choosing words associated with permanence and death, the speaker tries to recreate the atmosphere (for which he felt trapped in) in order for readers to understand the loneliness that came as a result of his trauma. With the assistance of line breaks, more attention is drawn to the speaker's words, intensifying their importance, and demanding to be felt by the readers.

Most importantly, the speaker expresses eloquently, and so heartbreakingly, about the effect sexual violence has on a person. Perhaps what seems to be the most frustrating are the people who fail to believe survivors of these types of crimes. This is evident when he describes “how angry” the tenants were when they filled the pool with cement (Nguyen 4). They seem to represent how people in the speaker's life were dismissive of his assault and who viewed his tragedy as a nuisance of some sorts. This sentiment is bookended when he says, “They say, give us details , so I give them my body. / They say, give us proof , so I give them my body,” (Nguyen 25-26). The repetition of these two lines reinforces the feeling many feel in these scenarios, as they’re often left to deal with trying to make people believe them, or to even see them.

It’s important to recognize how the structure of this poem gives the speaker space to express the pain he’s had to carry for so long. As a characteristic of free verse, the poem doesn’t follow any structured rhyme scheme or meter; which in turn, allows him to not have any constraints in telling his story the way he wants to. The speaker has the freedom to display his experience in a way that evades predictability and engenders authenticity of a story very personal to him. As readers, we abandon anticipating the next rhyme, and instead focus our attention to the other ways, like his punctuation or word choice, in which he effectively tells his story. The speaker recognizes that some part of him no longer belongs to himself, but by writing “The Study,” he shows other survivors that they’re not alone and encourages hope that eventually, they will be freed from the shackles of sexual violence.

Works Cited

Nguyen, Hieu Minh. “The Study” Poets.Org. Academy of American Poets, Coffee House Press, 2018, https://poets.org/poem/study-0 .

Example 2: Fiction

Todd Goodwin

Professor Stan Matyshak

Advanced Expository Writing

Sept. 17, 20—

Poe’s “Usher”: A Mirror of the Fall of the House of Humanity

Right from the outset of the grim story, “The Fall of the House of Usher,” Edgar Allan Poe enmeshes us in a dark, gloomy, hopeless world, alienating his characters and the reader from any sort of physical or psychological norm where such values as hope and happiness could possibly exist. He fatalistically tells the story of how a man (the narrator) comes from the outside world of hope, religion, and everyday society and tries to bring some kind of redeeming happiness to his boyhood friend, Roderick Usher, who not only has physically and psychologically wasted away but is entrapped in a dilapidated house of ever-looming terror with an emaciated and deranged twin sister. Roderick Usher embodies the wasting away of what once was vibrant and alive, and his house of “insufferable gloom” (273), which contains his morbid sister, seems to mirror or reflect this fear of death and annihilation that he most horribly endures. A close reading of the story reveals that Poe uses mirror images, or reflections, to contribute to the fatalistic theme of “Usher”: each reflection serves to intensify an already prevalent tone of hopelessness, darkness, and fatalism.

It could be argued that the house of Roderick Usher is a “house of mirrors,” whose unpleasant and grim reflections create a dark and hopeless setting. For example, the narrator first approaches “the melancholy house of Usher on a dark and soundless day,” and finds a building which causes him a “sense of insufferable gloom,” which “pervades his spirit and causes an iciness, a sinking, a sickening of the heart, an undiscerned dreariness of thought” (273). The narrator then optimistically states: “I reflected that a mere different arrangement of the scene, of the details of the picture, would be sufficient to modify, or perhaps annihilate its capacity for sorrowful impression” (274). But the narrator then sees the reflection of the house in the tarn and experiences a “shudder even more thrilling than before” (274). Thus the reader begins to realize that the narrator cannot change or stop the impending doom that will befall the house of Usher, and maybe humanity. The story cleverly plays with the word reflection : the narrator sees a physical reflection that leads him to a mental reflection about Usher’s surroundings.

The narrator’s disillusionment by such grim reflection continues in the story. For example, he describes Roderick Usher’s face as distinct with signs of old strength but lost vigor: the remains of what used to be. He describes the house as a once happy and vibrant place, which, like Roderick, lost its vitality. Also, the narrator describes Usher’s hair as growing wild on his rather obtrusive head, which directly mirrors the eerie moss and straw covering the outside of the house. The narrator continually longs to see these bleak reflections as a dream, for he states: “Shaking off from my spirit what must have been a dream, I scanned more narrowly the real aspect of the building” (276). He does not want to face the reality that Usher and his home are doomed to fall, regardless of what he does.

Although there are almost countless examples of these mirror images, two others stand out as important. First, Roderick and his sister, Madeline, are twins. The narrator aptly states just as he and Roderick are entombing Madeline that there is “a striking similitude between brother and sister” (288). Indeed, they are mirror images of each other. Madeline is fading away psychologically and physically, and Roderick is not too far behind! The reflection of “doom” that these two share helps intensify and symbolize the hopelessness of the entire situation; thus, they further develop the fatalistic theme. Second, in the climactic scene where Madeline has been mistakenly entombed alive, there is a pairing of images and sounds as the narrator tries to calm Roderick by reading him a romance story. Events in the story simultaneously unfold with events of the sister escaping her tomb. In the story, the hero breaks out of the coffin. Then, in the story, the dragon’s shriek as he is slain parallels Madeline’s shriek. Finally, the story tells of the clangor of a shield, matched by the sister’s clanging along a metal passageway. As the suspense reaches its climax, Roderick shrieks his last words to his “friend,” the narrator: “Madman! I tell you that she now stands without the door” (296).

Roderick, who slowly falls into insanity, ironically calls the narrator the “Madman.” We are left to reflect on what Poe means by this ironic twist. Poe’s bleak and dark imagery, and his use of mirror reflections, seem only to intensify the hopelessness of “Usher.” We can plausibly conclude that, indeed, the narrator is the “Madman,” for he comes from everyday society, which is a place where hope and faith exist. Poe would probably argue that such a place is opposite to the world of Usher because a world where death is inevitable could not possibly hold such positive values. Therefore, just as Roderick mirrors his sister, the reflection in the tarn mirrors the dilapidation of the house, and the story mirrors the final actions before the death of Usher. “The Fall of the House of Usher” reflects Poe’s view that humanity is hopelessly doomed.

Poe, Edgar Allan. “The Fall of the House of Usher.” 1839. Electronic Text Center, University of Virginia Library . 1995. Web. 1 July 2012. < http://etext.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/PoeFall.html >.

Example 3: Poetry

Amy Chisnell

Professor Laura Neary

Writing and Literature

April 17, 20—

Don’t Listen to the Egg!: A Close Reading of Lewis Carroll’s “Jabberwocky”

“You seem very clever at explaining words, Sir,” said Alice. “Would you kindly tell me the meaning of the poem called ‘Jabberwocky’?”

“Let’s hear it,” said Humpty Dumpty. “I can explain all the poems that ever were invented—and a good many that haven’t been invented just yet.” (Carroll 164)

In Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking-Glass , Humpty Dumpty confidently translates (to a not so confident Alice) the complicated language of the poem “Jabberwocky.” The words of the poem, though nonsense, aptly tell the story of the slaying of the Jabberwock. Upon finding “Jabberwocky” on a table in the looking-glass room, Alice is confused by the strange words. She is quite certain that “ somebody killed something ,” but she does not understand much more than that. When later she encounters Humpty Dumpty, she seizes the opportunity at having the knowledgeable egg interpret—or translate—the poem. Since Humpty Dumpty professes to be able to “make a word work” for him, he is quick to agree. Thus he acts like a New Critic who interprets the poem by performing a close reading of it. Through Humpty’s interpretation of the first stanza, however, we see the poem’s deeper comment concerning the practice of interpreting poetry and literature in general—that strict analytical translation destroys the beauty of a poem. In fact, Humpty Dumpty commits the “heresy of paraphrase,” for he fails to understand that meaning cannot be separated from the form or structure of the literary work.

Of the 71 words found in “Jabberwocky,” 43 have no known meaning. They are simply nonsense. Yet through this nonsensical language, the poem manages not only to tell a story but also gives the reader a sense of setting and characterization. One feels, rather than concretely knows, that the setting is dark, wooded, and frightening. The characters, such as the Jubjub bird, the Bandersnatch, and the doomed Jabberwock, also appear in the reader’s head, even though they will not be found in the local zoo. Even though most of the words are not real, the reader is able to understand what goes on because he or she is given free license to imagine what the words denote and connote. Simply, the poem’s nonsense words are the meaning.

Therefore, when Humpty interprets “Jabberwocky” for Alice, he is not doing her any favors, for he actually misreads the poem. Although the poem in its original is constructed from nonsense words, by the time Humpty is done interpreting it, it truly does not make any sense. The first stanza of the original poem is as follows:

’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves

Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;

All mimsy were the borogroves,

An the mome raths outgrabe. (Carroll 164)

If we replace, however, the nonsense words of “Jabberwocky” with Humpty’s translated words, the effect would be something like this:

’Twas four o’clock in the afternoon, and the lithe and slimy badger-lizard-corkscrew creatures

Did go round and round and make holes in the grass-plot round the sun-dial:

All flimsy and miserable were the shabby-looking birds

with mop feathers,

And the lost green pigs bellowed-sneezed-whistled.

By translating the poem in such a way, Humpty removes the charm or essence—and the beauty, grace, and rhythm—from the poem. The poetry is sacrificed for meaning. Humpty Dumpty commits the heresy of paraphrase. As Cleanth Brooks argues, “The structure of a poem resembles that of a ballet or musical composition. It is a pattern of resolutions and balances and harmonizations” (203). When the poem is left as nonsense, the reader can easily imagine what a “slithy tove” might be, but when Humpty tells us what it is, he takes that imaginative license away from the reader. The beauty (if that is the proper word) of “Jabberwocky” is in not knowing what the words mean, and yet understanding. By translating the poem, Humpty takes that privilege from the reader. In addition, Humpty fails to recognize that meaning cannot be separated from the structure itself: the nonsense poem reflects this literally—it means “nothing” and achieves this meaning by using “nonsense” words.

Furthermore, the nonsense words Carroll chooses to use in “Jabberwocky” have a magical effect upon the reader; the shadowy sound of the words create the atmosphere, which may be described as a trance-like mood. When Alice first reads the poem, she says it seems to fill her head “with ideas.” The strange-sounding words in the original poem do give one ideas. Why is this? Even though the reader has never heard these words before, he or she is instantly aware of the murky, mysterious mood they set. In other words, diction operates not on the denotative level (the dictionary meaning) but on the connotative level (the emotion(s) they evoke). Thus “Jabberwocky” creates a shadowy mood, and the nonsense words are instrumental in creating this mood. Carroll could not have simply used any nonsense words.

For example, let us change the “dark,” “ominous” words of the first stanza to “lighter,” more “comic” words:

’Twas mearly, and the churly pells

Did bimble and ringle in the tink;

All timpy were the brimbledimps,

And the bip plips outlink.

Shifting the sounds of the words from dark to light merely takes a shift in thought. To create a specific mood using nonsense words, one must create new words from old words that convey the desired mood. In “Jabberwocky,” Carroll mixes “slimy,” a grim idea, “lithe,” a pliable image, to get a new adjective: “slithy” (a portmanteau word). In this translation, brighter words were used to get a lighter effect. “Mearly” is a combination of “morning” and “early,” and “ringle” is a blend of “ring” and "dingle.” The point is that “Jabberwocky’s” nonsense words are created specifically to convey this shadowy or mysterious mood and are integral to the “meaning.”

Consequently, Humpty’s rendering of the poem leaves the reader with a completely different feeling than does the original poem, which provided us with a sense of ethereal mystery, of a dark and foreign land with exotic creatures and fantastic settings. The mysteriousness is destroyed by Humpty’s literal paraphrase of the creatures and the setting; by doing so, he has taken the beauty away from the poem in his attempt to understand it. He has committed the heresy of paraphrase: “If we allow ourselves to be misled by it [this heresy], we distort the relation of the poem to its ‘truth’… we split the poem between its ‘form’ and its ‘content’” (Brooks 201). Humpty Dumpty’s ultimate demise might be seen to symbolize the heretical split between form and content: as a literary creation, Humpty Dumpty is an egg, a well-wrought urn of nonsense. His fall from the wall cracks him and separates the contents from the container, and not even all the King’s men can put the scrambled egg back together again!

Through the odd characters of a little girl and a foolish egg, “Jabberwocky” suggests a bit of sage advice about reading poetry, advice that the New Critics built their theories on. The importance lies not solely within strict analytical translation or interpretation, but in the overall effect of the imagery and word choice that evokes a meaning inseparable from those literary devices. As Archibald MacLeish so aptly writes: “A poem should not mean / But be.” Sometimes it takes a little nonsense to show us the sense in something.

Brooks, Cleanth. The Well-Wrought Urn: Studies in the Structure of Poetry . 1942. San Diego: Harcourt Brace, 1956. Print.

Carroll, Lewis. Through the Looking-Glass. Alice in Wonderland . 2nd ed. Ed. Donald J. Gray. New York: Norton, 1992. Print.

MacLeish, Archibald. “Ars Poetica.” The Oxford Book of American Poetry . Ed. David Lehman. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2006. 385–86. Print.

Attribution

• Sample Essay 1 received permission from Victoria Morillo to publish, licensed Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International ( CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 )
• Sample Essays 2 and 3 adapted from Cordell, Ryan and John Pennington. "2.5: Student Sample Papers" from Creating Literary Analysis. 2012. Licensed Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported ( CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 )

How To Approach A Close Passage Analysis Essay

One of the biggest shocks students faces when they begin the study of Literature is the moment when they are first handed three passages from a text and told to write an essay. Faced with a wall of text, and what seems like very vague instructions, this task can often seem daunting, or even overwhelming.

In a passage analysis essay, you will be expected to respond to three passages of writing from your selected text. This might be a passage from act one, two and three of a play, three passages from a novel, three poems from a collection or three passages from different short stories in a collection. Your essay will need to engage in close reading of the selected passages, while also advancing an overall interpretation of the novel, play or poetry collection.

Therefore, you are not only expected to engage in close reading and analysis of each individual passage, but you will also be expected to find links between the passages which reflect either the style of the author, their thematic concerns or their views and values.

These links will become the foundation of your paragraphs, with each paragraph looking at the passages through a different ‘lens’ or thematic concern. However, it is important to remember to draw your interpretation and ideas from the passages themselves, and the implications of the passages selected. Do not attempt to impose an interpretation on a passage because it makes for a neat paragraph.

This is a simple step-by-step guide you can use if you are struggling with getting started on a passage analysis:

• Annotate each individual passage . It is important to always start with close-reading, and stay open-minded about what the passages are telling you about the text. If you move onto thinking about links too early, you might miss crucial details within the passages themselves which might have a created a more complex and sophisticated analysis. At this stage, you are still using the principles of FEAR+C (Features/Elements/Author’s Views and Values/Reader Response + Context) and remaining open to the potential of the passages.
• Identify links between the passages . The links can be stylistic, thematic or views, values, and contexts. So long as you can confidently discuss how the link operates across passages, and what this reveals about the wider text. This can include supporting your analysis of a thematic concern in one passage with evidence from another passage, juxtaposing two passages to show character growth from the beginning to the end of a novel or to complicate an author’s position an issue.
• Think about how you will build your paragraphs . It is important that you discuss at least two out of the three passages in each paragraph. There are several ways you can go about this. Each passage does not need to be weighted equally, and you can refer to passages either as an equal contrast, a supporting passage or as a reference. Remember to include references to the wider text, as in, quoting sections of the text not included in the passages to demonstrate how the passages reflect the whole text.
• Determine your overall interpretation of both the passages and the text . While you are being assessed on your ability to analyse your selected passages, your interpretation must reflect an interpretation of the overall text. It is so important to make wider text references within your essay, as this implies that while your close analysis is situated around these specific three passages, your interpretation remains applicable to the text as a unified object of study. At this stage, you need to decide what this overall interpretation is.

Students often ask how to balance close analysis of the set passages with making wider text references. It is essential that you strike a balance between the two, as your close analysis of the passages illustrates your depth of understanding, while your wider text references underscore your breadth of understanding. This is across all types of texts, from plays to novels to poetry. As a rule of thumb, you should aim for between 80-85% of your essay focusing on a close analysis of the set passages, while around 15-20% of your essay should include wider text references (preferably substantiated by quotes). The wider text references should only be used as references to support your close analysis of the set passages. This means they should not be the star of the show! Avoid falling into the trap where you avoid analysing passages you are struggling with by using wider text references to excessively jump to parts of the text outside of the passages which you feel you can develop a stronger analysis around. Much the same as essay prompts, always go with the implications of the passages, not what you wish they were about!

Now, all you need to do is open your book, select three passages and get to work!

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Literary Focus

Roundtables

—Style Analysis—

When we refer to a writer's style, we mean the way authors or playwrights use various literary techniques to establish tone and convey theme.  To make this process as simple as possible for students, we limit our discussion to what we call the "four pillars" of style analysis:  diction, imagery, language, and syntax.  We'll look at each of these pillars individually in the sections below.

I.  Diction

To understand the significance of diction, or word choice, students first must differentiate between the denotation of a word and its connotation.  By denotation we mean the definition found in the dictionary; by connotation we mean the attitude or feelings associated with the word.  To make this difference clear to students, we provide three pairs of words that have similar denotations but very different connotations:

In the first example, if we refer to a dog as a "mutt," there is an element of disrespect in that designation, implying that the dog is of an inferior type.  In the second example, two groups could be engaged in the exact same behavior that shows they find something funny, but the group described as "giggling" seems young and immature compared to a group that is "laughing."  Boys and girls "giggle," whereas men and women "laugh."  In the final example, if a teacher is described as "strict," it implies that she maintains order and discipline in the classroom.  Even though a "strict" teacher may not be as much fun for students, the adjective carries an element of respect.  If a teacher is described as "rigid," however, she may be so disciplined in her approach that she is seen as closed-minded and inflexible, which are obviously negative attributes.

Once students have been introduced to the concept of diction, we analyze a short passage from a literary work they are reading.  For instance, in the opening description of Billy Pilgrim in Kurt Vonnegut's  Slaughterhouse-Five , the narrator tells us that "Billy has come unstuck in time."  When we ask students if the word "unstuck" has a positive or negative connotation, there is usually a pause.  On one hand, being "unstuck" implies liberation and freedom, words that have positive connotations, but to be "unstuck in time" also implies a helplessness and lack of control, which is reinforced by the word "spastic" in the following excerpt.

Similar to our interpretation of AP prompts, we encourage students to look at words as not necessarily positive  or negative, but as sometimes positive and  negative.  For Billy, becoming "unstuck in time" is a coping mechanism that helps him deal with the traumatic experiences in his life.  By taking a passive, fatalistic approach to life, Billy protects himself from feeling pain in any particular moment.  With that "freedom," however, comes a corresponding lack of control and disconnectedness from the reality of his own experience.  Moments are seen as transitory and impermanent, and the result is that Billy suffers from perpetual anxiety, or "stage fright," since he has no idea "what part of his life he is going to have to act in next."

The purpose of identifying tone is to determine a narrator's attitude towards a subject. So how does the narrator feel about Billy's being "spastic in time"?  As a temporary coping mechanism, it appears to be a successful strategy; as a way to live one's life, however, it appears to be an abject failure.  To be "spastic" is to lack control and agency over one's own life.  While we understand why Billy responds to trauma in this particular way, we should recognize that Vonnegut does not want us emulating Billy.  Our job over the course of the novel is to determine what we can learn from Billy's experience and find a better way to deal with life's difficulties on our own.

II.  Imagery

When we refer to an author or playwright's use of imagery, we mean descriptions that include any of the five senses:  sight, sound, smell,  touch, and taste.  Sensory details not only make the reader experience a scene more vividly, but they also serve to establish the narrator's tone, or attitude, towards the subject. 

In Leslie Marmon Silko's  Ceremony , we are introduced to Tayo, another character who suffers from traumatic experiences in World War II.  Silko uses imagery to immerse us in the opening scene so that we can vicariously see, hear, and feel what is going on inside Tayo's head as he lies sleeplessly on his bed after returning to the Laguna Pueblo reservation:

Visually, we can see the "old iron bed" that Tayo "tossed" restlessly upon, but the more dominant sensory detail is the "coiled springs" underneath the mattress that "kept squeaking even after he lay still again."  In many ways Tayo is like those "coiled springs" under constant tension.  The incessant squeaking triggers "humid dreams of black night," which combines a visual darkness with a tactile humidity that reminds him of the Pacific jungles that still haunt him.  From out of the darkness comes a series of "loud voices" that are figuratively "rollling him over and over again" as if he were "debris caught in a flood."  Silko makes us experience Tayo's hellish dreamscape through her use of vivid imagery—a disorienting combination of sight, sound, and touch that makes us intimately aware of Tayo's inner distress.  Tayo cannot control the shifts that occur inside his mind that combine his present reality with his traumatic past.  We know from Silko's use of imagery in the opening description that Tayo's life is in the balance, for he is currently helpless in confronting the confusion and despair that threaten to engulf him.

III.  Language

When the AP refers to language in its prompts, they mean figurative language.  To simplify this concept for students, we focus only on the three types of figurative language most often used in literature:  metaphors, symbols, and allusions.

When authors or playwrights use metaphoric language, they are comparing one thing in terms of another.  Similes are metaphors using "like" or "as" to make the comparison more explicit; personification is giving a non-human entity human characteristics.  An element in a literary work may be symbolic if it represents something larger than the element itself.  Allusions are indirect references to something outside the literary work for the purpose of comparison.  The four most common types of allusions that we discuss with students are literary, mythological, historical, and biblical.

In the final soliloquy of Macbeth , William Shakespeare uses all three types of figurative language to show Macbeth's hopelessness and despair after receiving word that Lady Macbeth has died,  most likely by suicide.  As Macbeth faces his own imminent death as he prepares to defend Dunsinane against his fellow countrymen who have rebelled against his tyrannous rule, he contemplates the absurdity and meaninglessness of life:

When Macbeth says, "Out, out, brief candle," he seems to welcome the thought of his own death, comparing life to a symbolic candle that burns itself down into nothingness.  Shakespeare has Macbeth follow this line by stating, "Life's but a walking shadow," which seems to be an allusion to Psalms 23:4 in the Old Testament:

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

The irony of this biblical allusion is that instead of being comforted by the presence of God in the face of death, Macbeth finds himself utterly alone and in despair.  Macbeth's only solace is that perhaps there is no God nor any purpose in life.  Instead of a life of goodness and faith, Macbeth has embraced evil and a belief in "nothing."  The final metaphor that Macbeth uses is one of a "poor player," or actor, who "struts and frets his hour upon the stage / And then is heard no more."  By having Macbeth equate life to acting upon a stage, Shakespeare seems to imply that we all play roles in life, some that may not reflect who we really are.  In this final soliloquy, Shakespeare perhaps wants us to remember that Macbeth was once admired and respected for his courage and virtue.  Shakespeare suggests that Macbeth's life is a tragedy because he was once capable of goodness.  By seeing himself as an actor upon a stage, we imagine that the real Macbeth could have been someone far different from the villain he portrayed.  

IV.  Syntax

For most students, the most daunting and least utilized pillar of style analysis is syntax, which refers to the way that words are structured and organized in a text.  When we refer to syntax, we think of how sentences and paragraphs are built — which includes everything from word order and arrangement to verb tenses and punctuation.

An examination of a writer's syntax requires a subtle and nuanced reading of the text, so we advise students not to put too much pressure on themselves to include a syntactical analysis in their essays.  If they focus only on diction, imagery, and language, they should have plenty to discuss.  That being said, if they can include elements of syntax in their analysis, it will be impressive to the reader because it is so rarely done.  

The first thing we tell students when analyzing the syntax of a passage is to look for any structural elements that seem unusual or interesting.  For instance, in the final chapter of Julie Otsuka's  When the Emperor Was Divine , the narration shifts from the third-person limited perspective of the mother and her children that was used in the previous chapters to the first-person narration of the father in the final chapter. 

From what we know about the mild-mannered father from the previous chapters, we understand that he is in no way guilty of any of the crimes to which he now confesses.  In fact, the seemingly never-ending laundry list of supposed crimes he has committed embodies all the accusations that were made against Japanese-Americans in World War II.  By shifting to first-person narration, Otsuka gives us an opportunity to enter into the psyche of the falsely accused.  The short, terse sentences reveal the pain and bitterness of being considered disloyal simply because of one's racial identity.  Furthermore, by having the first-person narrator address the abstract "you" in this final chapter, Otsuka makes all Americans who failed to intervene on behalf of Japanese-Americans complicit in the crime of their internment.  Otsuka's shift in style also represents a shift in tone.  The readers being addressed as "you" are now put in a defensive position, feeling attacked for things for which we may not feel personally responsible.  Now we know, Otsuka seems to suggest, how it feels to be falsely accused.  The father also reveals his anger and frustration when he sarcastically repeats, "You were right.  You were always right."  Despite his innocence, the father knows that he will always be viewed as suspicious, regardless of what he says or does.

When first introducing the "four pillars" of style analysis to students, we focus on one element at a time so as not to overwhelm them.  Once students are comfortable, however, we have them work in small groups to work on all four elements at once, as they do when analyzing the following passage from our unit on Margaret Atwood's  The Handmaid's Tale :

Once students understand the fundamentals of style analysis and how diction, imagery, language, and syntax help authors establish tone and convey theme, they are ready to write an AP Passage Analysis essay, which is the ultimate assessment of a student's ability to read a passage closely to determine the author's intent.

We aspire to be an active, engaged professional development community.  Please submit your questions, comments, or suggestions to join the conversation!

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• Knowledge Base
• How to write an essay outline | Guidelines & examples

How to Write an Essay Outline | Guidelines & Examples

Published on August 14, 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on July 23, 2023.

An essay outline is a way of planning the structure of your essay before you start writing. It involves writing quick summary sentences or phrases for every point you will cover in each paragraph , giving you a picture of how your argument will unfold.

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Table of contents

Organizing your material, presentation of the outline, examples of essay outlines, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about essay outlines.

At the stage where you’re writing an essay outline, your ideas are probably still not fully formed. You should know your topic  and have already done some preliminary research to find relevant sources , but now you need to shape your ideas into a structured argument.

Creating categories

Look over any information, quotes and ideas you’ve noted down from your research and consider the central point you want to make in the essay—this will be the basis of your thesis statement . Once you have an idea of your overall argument, you can begin to organize your material in a way that serves that argument.

Try to arrange your material into categories related to different aspects of your argument. If you’re writing about a literary text, you might group your ideas into themes; in a history essay, it might be several key trends or turning points from the period you’re discussing.

Three main themes or subjects is a common structure for essays. Depending on the length of the essay, you could split the themes into three body paragraphs, or three longer sections with several paragraphs covering each theme.

As you create the outline, look critically at your categories and points: Are any of them irrelevant or redundant? Make sure every topic you cover is clearly related to your thesis statement.

Order of information

When you have your material organized into several categories, consider what order they should appear in.

Your essay will always begin and end with an introduction and conclusion , but the organization of the body is up to you.

Consider these questions to order your material:

• Is there an obvious starting point for your argument?
• Is there one subject that provides an easy transition into another?
• Do some points need to be set up by discussing other points first?

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Within each paragraph, you’ll discuss a single idea related to your overall topic or argument, using several points of evidence or analysis to do so.

In your outline, you present these points as a few short numbered sentences or phrases.They can be split into sub-points when more detail is needed.

The template below shows how you might structure an outline for a five-paragraph essay.

• Thesis statement
• First piece of evidence
• Second piece of evidence
• Summary/synthesis
• Importance of topic
• Strong closing statement

You can choose whether to write your outline in full sentences or short phrases. Be consistent in your choice; don’t randomly write some points as full sentences and others as short phrases.

Examples of outlines for different types of essays are presented below: an argumentative, expository, and literary analysis essay.

Argumentative essay outline

This outline is for a short argumentative essay evaluating the internet’s impact on education. It uses short phrases to summarize each point.

Its body is split into three paragraphs, each presenting arguments about a different aspect of the internet’s effects on education.

• Importance of the internet
• Concerns about internet use
• Thesis statement: Internet use a net positive
• Data exploring this effect
• Analysis indicating it is overstated
• Students’ reading levels over time
• Why this data is questionable
• Video media
• Interactive media
• Speed and simplicity of online research
• Questions about reliability (transitioning into next topic)
• Evidence indicating its ubiquity
• Claims that it discourages engagement with academic writing
• Evidence that Wikipedia warns students not to cite it
• Argument that it introduces students to citation
• Summary of key points
• Value of digital education for students
• Need for optimism to embrace advantages of the internet

Expository essay outline

This is the outline for an expository essay describing how the invention of the printing press affected life and politics in Europe.

The paragraphs are still summarized in short phrases here, but individual points are described with full sentences.

• Claim that the printing press marks the end of the Middle Ages.
• Provide background on the low levels of literacy before the printing press.
• Present the thesis statement: The invention of the printing press increased circulation of information in Europe, paving the way for the Reformation.
• Discuss the very high levels of illiteracy in medieval Europe.
• Describe how literacy and thus knowledge and education were mainly the domain of religious and political elites.
• Indicate how this discouraged political and religious change.
• Describe the invention of the printing press in 1440 by Johannes Gutenberg.
• Show the implications of the new technology for book production.
• Describe the rapid spread of the technology and the printing of the Gutenberg Bible.
• Link to the Reformation.
• Discuss the trend for translating the Bible into vernacular languages during the years following the printing press’s invention.
• Describe Luther’s own translation of the Bible during the Reformation.
• Sketch out the large-scale effects the Reformation would have on religion and politics.
• Summarize the history described.
• Stress the significance of the printing press to the events of this period.

Literary analysis essay outline

The literary analysis essay outlined below discusses the role of theater in Jane Austen’s novel Mansfield Park .

The body of the essay is divided into three different themes, each of which is explored through examples from the book.

• Describe the theatricality of Austen’s works
• Outline the role theater plays in Mansfield Park
• Introduce the research question : How does Austen use theater to express the characters’ morality in Mansfield Park ?
• Discuss Austen’s depiction of the performance at the end of the first volume
• Discuss how Sir Bertram reacts to the acting scheme
• Introduce Austen’s use of stage direction–like details during dialogue
• Explore how these are deployed to show the characters’ self-absorption
• Discuss Austen’s description of Maria and Julia’s relationship as polite but affectionless
• Compare Mrs. Norris’s self-conceit as charitable despite her idleness
• Summarize the three themes: The acting scheme, stage directions, and the performance of morals
• Answer the research question
• Indicate areas for further study

If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

• Ad hominem fallacy
• Post hoc fallacy
• Appeal to authority fallacy
• False cause fallacy
• Sunk cost fallacy

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You will sometimes be asked to hand in an essay outline before you start writing your essay . Your supervisor wants to see that you have a clear idea of your structure so that writing will go smoothly.

Even when you do not have to hand it in, writing an essay outline is an important part of the writing process . It’s a good idea to write one (as informally as you like) to clarify your structure for yourself whenever you are working on an essay.

If you have to hand in your essay outline , you may be given specific guidelines stating whether you have to use full sentences. If you’re not sure, ask your supervisor.

When writing an essay outline for yourself, the choice is yours. Some students find it helpful to write out their ideas in full sentences, while others prefer to summarize them in short phrases.

You should try to follow your outline as you write your essay . However, if your ideas change or it becomes clear that your structure could be better, it’s okay to depart from your essay outline . Just make sure you know why you’re doing so.

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A Pocket Guide to Argument Analysis

An Overview of Section C 

The argument analysis component of the VCE English Exam is asking you to demonstrate that you can understand what an author is trying to get across, and how they have designed their writing to convince their audience. On a more granular level, each piece of analysis in these kinds of essays needs to examine three things:

• What persuasive technique is being used 
• How is it trying to make the audience feel/think 
• What is the desired outcome (i.e. what should the audience do in response) 

The latter should link back to the author’s contention, because whatever the author wants the audience to do will align with how they believe the world should look. 

Note: In the SAC, and potentially on the exam, an article will be provided alongside another argumentative source, like another article, responding comments, or a letter to the editor on the same issue. These ‘comparative’ argument analyses are asking for the same three steps – just that there is an extra step, to compare along the way the differences in the two arguments and techniques. 

Essay Structure 

Just like a text response, the classic format for an argument analysis essay is an introduction, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion. For a comparative argument analysis, the approach which (in my opinion) will provide the most robust analysis is one where each paragraph is based on an argument of one article. This first article functions as the base for the analytical piece, and the other article is brought in only for notes of comparison with the first. Within those paragraphs, centred around one author’s arguments, you can then compare the contention, intention, techniques and tone of both authors. 

Why is this the best approach?

• It forces analysis of the arguments of each article 
• It still allows for analysis of the comparative techniques of each author within those paragraphs, not just the arguments being used 
• It is adaptable to many formats – for example, a blog post and responding comments, the latter of which may not contain enough material and techniques to sustain half your essay 

Comparison 

There are two argument analysis essays you will need to write this year. The first, the SAC, will ask you to compare the two pieces. The second, in the final exam, does not have any requirement for comparison – however, if provided with the opportunity, it strengthens your analysis (and therefore boosts your mark) to demonstrate an ability to draw connections. 

How should you compare the two articles? 

• By contention and argument. The most important aspect is to demonstrate an understanding of where the two presented viewpoints clash – at its most basic level, what do they disagree on, and why? 
• By construction and technique . The articles are likely making different points in different ways – playing on different emotions, appealing to different audiences, utilising different persuasive techniques. Comparing these more granular components will lead to much richer analysis of argument and argumentative style. 

Introductions

The introduction to an argument analysis essay needs to demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the piece’s context. The following elements should all be mentioned in an introduction:

• Core argument 

Audience: Who is the author targeting with their arguments? Narrow it down to a more specific group than ‘the general public’. Consider the actions the author is advocating for – who is most able to take those? Sometimes, a piece can be addressing more than one group of people with different arguments – make note of this in your introduction, and expand on it in your body paragraphs. 

Author: Make sure to name the author, the same way you would in a text response essay. This just demonstrates basic understanding of what you’ve read and are responding to. 

Contention: What is the piece mainly arguing? This will often be advocating for a certain policy. Essentially, it is a broad statement of opinion about what should be done. 

e.g. An article discussing environmental policy might have the contention that a carbon tax should be implemented in Australia. 

Core argument: The author will give several arguments which explain why the contention is true. Often one reason in particular will dominate the author’s reasoning, and this should be noted. 

Form: What kind of piece is being given for analysis? Most of the time, it is an opinionative article. However, different kinds of media can be given, such as letters to the editor, online forums/blogs, editorials, posters, speech transcripts, and many more. 

Intention: How does the author want the audience to act? Think of this as the mechanism by which the contention should become true. These are more specific actions which, according to the author, the audience should take, rather than a viewpoint with which they should agree. 

e.g. If the contention of an article is that a carbon tax should be implemented in Australia, the intention might be for the audience to vote for that policy, attend protests or events which drum up support, or directly pressure their local representative. 

Tone: The tone of the article refers to the style of the author, and the emotions they exhibit while explaining their point of view. Is he condemnatory, or admiring? Outraged, or reserved? A piece can be candid, enthusiastic, colloquial, derisive – the list is truly endless, and there are lots of glossaries online with descriptors, which are worth flicking through to build up a familiarity with precise descriptions. 

Note also that an author can shift in tone throughout a piece, and this is worth exploring. It invariably has some persuasive purpose, aligning with a certain argument or piece of reasoning. Flagging this in the introduction, and analysing it later, will add sophistication and cohesion to your essay. 

Topic: Often, particular events will spark an argumentative discussion. To demonstrate knowledge of broader context, it is worth noting the issue to which the author is responding. To continue the previous example, an article about a carbon tax is likely responding to the issue of climate change, and a current discussion of environmental policy. 

When writing on more than one piece, these elements must be covered for both texts. Concision is key, because there is a lot of information to get across, and you don’t want to waste too much time writing on just your introduction. One thing which can condense the writing time and improve your analysis is to take the opportunity to compare wherever you can; shorter phrases like “addresses this audience, unlike x” and “adopts this tone, whereas y”, instead of writing out both aspects separately, will combine sentences – saving time and demonstrating a solid grasp of the content. 

Sample Introduction:

The presentation of the big-splash volunteering award prompted a discussion about the support of volunteers in Australia. Laudatory of volunteers, yet critical of wider society Stephanie Bennett contends that volunteers deserve greater recognition for their work from wider society to elevate for their bigsplash’s recognition of volunteers – prompting greater interest from conscious users of financial products. Conversely, Matthey Nguyen’s humbled acceptance speech postulates that the joy in volunteering is borne from aiding those in need to increase volunteer participation from prospective volunteers.

Written by a past student at Lindsey's VCE Tutoring (RAW 47)

Persuasive techniques 

Analysing persuasive techniques is much easier, faster, and more impressive if the technique is accurately identified. Building up a knowledge of these techniques can be difficult, but there are lots of resources you can take advantage of – online glossaries, sample essays, and even the work of your peers can expand your knowledge of these devices. The next step, which is equally important as learning the names and meanings, is actually remembering them and thinking of them instinctively – and the easiest way to make a technique ‘stick’ is to use it in your own writing. 

Examples of persuasive techniques: 

• Connotations
• Rhetorical questions 
• Statistics 
• Inclusive language 
• Repetition 

Techniques can be entire sentences (a long anecdote can even be a whole paragraph!), or as small as a punctuation mark. Look out for the way words are arranged, and pay attention to the sound of words too – something like alliteration can be used to tie concepts together, or make an idea sound more appealing. The whole of the text is a construction, and every piece – from the beams of wood to the hidden nails – counts. 

Once you know these techniques (and many more!), it becomes less about finding techniques to analyse, and more about selecting the best techniques to analyse. Here are some considerations which ensure your selection is the right one: 

• First of all, decide what the arguments are that will frame your essay. There is no point delving into techniques if they are not directly linked to the arguments the author is trying to prove. Only once you know what the key arguments are can you investigate how those arguments are being constructed. 
• Make sure you have a variety of techniques in your essay. Repeating a persuasive technique is not only boring, it looks like you were scraping for material. 
• Think about what the technique will allow you to talk about. Maybe most techniques in a piece elicit fear, but one particular sentence appeals more to a sense of parental pride – allowing you to bring in new analysis. If it addresses a different audience, expands on the argument, or demonstrates a different tone – any difference is actively adding to the strength of your essay, 
• Ask yourself: what was the most persuasive to you? Whatever jumps out at you as a reader is probably on purpose – follow your instincts, because if the technique captured you, it’s probably easier to explain its persuasive value. 

As a final note, if multiple techniques are being used together, mention this layering. The compounding evidence allows you to mention multiple techniques and link them to the same analysis, increasing the density and strength of your analysis. As an added bonus, it conveys that you know what you're doing! 

Sample Analysis:

“School used to be lauded as the best days of our lives — but those in Year 12 feel more like they’re in a relentless competition that only the strongest can survive.

I’ve worked in education all my career and my daughter is doing her HSC this year. When I talk to teens about how they feel about their final years of schooling, I can’t help but think something, somewhere, has gone terribly wrong.

There are teens who tell me they often think about dropping out — not only of school, but of life. Others who tell me they ask to be excused in class so they can lock themselves in the school toilets and cry. There are those who were made to give up sports and hobbies they loved (one girl was made to sell her beloved horse) so they’d have more time to spend on studying.

For now, I’ll hug my daughter often. Try to be patient when she procrastinates for days watching Gilmore Girls. And I’ll help her realise she can never be defined by a mark.”

Danielle Miller laments the current state of the education system, and how it has impacted the mental health of Year 12 students. She commences by juxtaposing the “best days of our lives” with the “relentless competition” that students now face, appealing to parental concern. This immediately establishes the disproportionate pressure experienced by students, and condemns the distortion of education. Her description of education as ”relentless” is compounded with references to the negative impacts that the education system has had on the mental health of students. Anecdotal references to the ways in which students are forced to “drop out”, “cry” and “sell her beloved horse” elicits concern and sympathy towards the plight of these students. Miller also uses the pronoun “we” to include readers in her experience, and to create a sense of solidarity amongst parents. Setting herself as an exemplary mother who will “hug” her daughter and ’try to be patient”, Miller concludes by placing herself above other parents who place excessive pressure on their children and appeals to sentimental values. Accordingly, she promotes the importance of empathy in working with senior students and undermines the importance of assessment and academic performance.

Image Analysis 

The examination specifications emphasise that Section C is an analysis of written and visual language – in essence, you must examine the image/s provided in order to score well. And besides, an image provides so much persuasive material, your essay is better for it regardless. 

Elements to consider when analysing an image: 

• What or who is in the image? Are there any obvious omissions?
• What are the sizes of different elements? 
• How are elements positioned relative to each other? Are certain things more in the foreground, or placed above others? 
• Overall, consider the creation of both focus and hierarchy 
• Colour – how is it used, what does it draw your attention to?
• Symbols – are there any, what do they signify, and what is the purpose of their presence? 
• What kind of image is it? Why would the author have selected this type of image ? 
• Any text , in the image or in a caption 

Essentially, ask yourself, what is the image trying to make me think? And, if not immediately obvious, go through the process of annotating elements, and ask yourself what arguments it could relate to. At the end of the day, the image should be treated like any other technique – explain what it is trying to convey, and how it attempts to persuade the audience of that. 

And, as a final note: annotate the hell out of your articles. Happy writing! 

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VCE Literature Close Analysis: Introduction

August 31, 2015

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Updated 23/09/2020.

‍ One of the most prominent questions I receive from students  is this: “do I need to write an introduction?”. This is usually followed with “how do I write an introduction?”.

Firstly, yes,  I believe all students should be writing introductions  as they are an excellent way to showcase your ability to provide an insight into your personal “reading” of the text, interpret the passages and allow you an avenue through which to begin your discussion of the material. In this guide, I will be explaining two of the key elements to be utilised to create a strong introduction.

When constructing introductions, it is important to note that the VCAA Literature Exam Criteria is as follows:

• understanding of the text demonstrated in a relevant and plausible interpretation
• ability to write expressively and coherently to present an interpretation
• understanding of how views and values may be suggested in the text
• analysis of how key passages and/or moments in the text contribute to an interpretation
• analysis of the features of a text and how they contribute to an interpretation
• analysis and close reading of textual details to support a coherent and detailed interpretation of the text

What you need to include in your Close Analysis introduction

Considering these points, your introduction should feature these 2 elements:  your personal reading  of the text and  your interpretation  of the passages.

Your personal reading  is simply your perception of the text. Though the key facets of the text such as the plot and the characters are generally viewed by the majority in a similar fashion, each student will have their own opinions of the text. This can range from resonating with particular scenes or placing a greater emphasis on a certain concept or relationship.

Your interpretation of the passages  is the way in which you view the excerpts given to you. Akin to your personal reading, the core aspects of the passages will likely be viewed similarly by most students, however your point of difference will come from how you perceive  the passages suggest views and values  and  how features and moments contribute to an interpretation  (factors coming from the criteria).

In terms of structure, try to begin with a sentence or two explaining  your personal reading of the text.  The key to doing so in a manner befitting Close Analysis however, is to utilise  quotes from the passages  to supplement your assertion.

Here is a sample written about George Bernard Shaw’s “Pygmalion”:

George Bernard Shaw’s “Pygmalion” contrasts the absence of morality in the titled upper class of 19th century England who dehumanise common citizens as “pebbles on the beach” and the under privileged but morally conscious lower class, “intimidated” by the socio-economic chasm, but living with “middle class morality”.

This  highlights my personal reading  of Pygmalion as a whole, supported by quotes from the passages I was provided.

To build on this, proceed by writing a sentence or two that demonstrates  your interpretation of the passages  and how they discuss views and values and create meaning.

Though Shaw implies that one can ascend the ranks through Doolittle’s “lecturing them blue in the face” and Eliza’s gradual self-actualisation, ultimately Shaw quashes any prospect of one permanently invading the upper class by deploying the repetitive “I will” catchphrase throughout Eliza’s ventures. The indefatigable delivery ironically conveys the notion that in spite of Eliza’s effort, she “won’t” achieve.

In these sentences I have commented briefly on the events within the passages and utilised them to exemplify how they are utilised to delve into views and values and create meaning in the overall context of the text. These factors encompass  my interpretation of the passages .

Introductions which contain these two key features will score well as they  directly target numerous parts of the assessment criteria . This allows students to explicitly outline their overall reading of the text in a style which will efficiently show off your writing skills. Here's the introduction altogether:

Sample A+ Introduction

George Bernard Shaw’s “Pygmalion” contrasts the absence of morality in the titled upper class of 19th century England who dehumanise common citizens as “pebbles on the beach” and the under privileged but morally conscious lower class, “intimidated” by the socio-economic chasm, but living with “middle class morality”. Though Shaw implies that one can ascend the ranks through Doolittle’s “lecturing them blue in the face” and Eliza’s gradual self-actualisation, ultimately Shaw quashes any prospect of one permanently invading the upper class by deploying the repetitive “I will” catchphrase throughout Eliza’s ventures. The indefatigable delivery ironically conveys the notion that in spite of Eliza’s effort, she “won’t” achieve.

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• Focused on Developing Interpretations and Close Analysis , both of which you need for your exam
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If you’ve been studying John Donne’s metaphysical poetry, you’ve probably noticed that his works are riddled with different symbols and motifs. Embedded throughout his poetry, these literary devices may seem slightly abstruse to the reader. You may find yourself asking: What do they mean? And in relation to what? Even Donne’s contemporaries failed to appreciate his poetry. The neoclassical poet John Dryden rejected Donne’s works because it “affects the metaphysics” and “perplexes the minds of the fair sex with nice speculations of philosophy, when he should engage their hearts, and entertain them with the softnesses of love”.

One thing that you should understand about Donne’s romantic poetry, is that while his stark images of compasses and spheres may seem foreign to you, they were also alien to his predecessors too. So, if you’re struggling to comprehend his enigmatic poetry, not to fear! Because John Donne’s poetic peers didn’t initially get it either.

The reason for this is because Donne refused to conform to the poetic conventions of the time. The poet emerged as an idiosyncratic in the Elizabethan era, the Renaissance. Unlike his contemporaries, he didn’t employ elaborate descriptions of symbol natural landscapes, classical myths and female beauty. The reason for this was because Donne did not believe in the one-sided love and emotional frustrations that his contemporaries tried so hard to convey in such imagery.

Donne’s poetry was so different because he rejected and even openly mocked the idea of such a high-minded religious worship in literary romance. In “A Valediction Forbidding Mourning,” Donne criticises the “tear-floods” and “sigh-tempests” of the “dull sublunary lovers.”. In a similar vein, Donne satirises the “sighs” and “tears” (The Canonisation) so prevalent in Petrarchan works.

Instead, Donne advocated for a different kind of love. He espoused a love that comprised of the Body and the Soul, which was a dominant intellectual issue in the literary treatment of love in the 1590s. More specifically, Donne embraced the balance between Platonic love and the Ovidian love.

Platonic: Platonic love is essentially love that surpasses the mere sensual and physical. It is a very spiritual concept and is based on reason, affection, respect, intellect and compatibility.

Ovidian: Ovidian love

The idea of balance derived from discoveries being made about the human body during the Elizabethan era. The Renaissance was fundamentally a time of discovery (particularly in the area of science). Elizabethans believed that elements in the body needed to be balanced,

Top Tip: When you’re analysing John Donne’s poetry and writing essays, be aware of Donne’s overarching message in his romantic poetry. Most explanations about his use transcendent relationship with his lover is thus determined by obtaining a balance between the spiritual and earthly pleasures. Most examination questions will leave room for to discuss the connection between the material and the divine world! Make sure to understand this, because this is a huge component to his poetry.

How Genre Works

We’re not supposed to judge a book based on its cover, but for some reason, we just can’t help it. Sure, we may not be able to tell if we’re going to enjoy the book, nor can we tell what exactly it’s about, but we can tell the tone, set our expectations, and most importantly, guess at the genre. Look at these three book covers and note how they perfectly show their genres - Sci-Fi, Horror and Life Drama, respectively. 

Genre is a way of categorising media. We split books, film and music into genres in order to better talk about them and because humans have a strange desire to sort and categorise things. Within whatever medium, genres display certain structures, characters and tropes that audiences expect from that genre . Audiences like to be able to tell the genre of a text because it’s comfortable. If I go to see a superhero movie I expect wacky costumes, cliche dialogue and a final battle scene that the heroes win - were these expectations not to be met, I would likely be a little bit peeved off. 

But why should you care about genre in VCE Literature? It’s not on the study design?  

Well, not explicitly. In each AoS of the study design, you must engage with ‘the ways the literary forms, features and language of texts affect the making of meaning’ , and/or ‘the ideas of a text and the ways in which they are presented’ . Genres are a feature of texts and are one of the ways that a text will present its ideas. Horror is the most notable example of a genre that uses its tropes to send a message - It Follows is a horror where the monster stands in for sexually transmitted disease, Carrie uses horror to show the horrors of high school, Frankenstein is a criticism of those who would ‘play god’. In the Literature study design, the horror genre is represented by Bram Stoker’s 1897 masterpiece, Dracula.  

For an overview of the Literature study design, check out The Ultimate Guide to VCE Literature . 

Dracula + The Gothic

I invite you to think hard about the horror films you’ve seen and to try to place Dracula into our modern view of horror. It’s hard to put Stoker’s vampire on the same stage as the Babadook , Annabelle or even the ‘70s slasher craze. This gives us an incredible opportunity to consider how audiences engaged and continue to engage with genres. In order to analyse genre, it is essential to recognise what the audience’s expectations were of a genre, and how the author has utilised those expectations for their own ends. Let’s consider Dracula in context .

‍ Dracula is a horror novel. But, we usually don’t think about those uptight Victorians reading texts that were designed expressly to scare. The Victorian era was actually one of the golden ages of horror literature though. But, it is distinctly different from our modern understandings of horror as defined by trailblazers like Stephen King. So, why is it different? It is here we must consider the sub-genre. If you have read anything about Dracula , you’ll note that it is referred to as a ‘gothic horror’ . The gothic genre of literature encapsulates some of the 19th century and certainly the Victorian period’s (1837-1901) best literature. Dracula of course belongs to this group, but it blows up around 1818 with Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein . Edgar Allen Poe, with his short stories and poetry, is widely lauded as the ‘Father of American Gothic’, with ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’ published in 1839. Note the dates here. Stoker published Dracula in 1897, a good 79 years after Frankenstein began haunting readers. Which means he had an established and large genre to work with. So, how did Stoker use the gothic in Dracula?

Tropes of the Gothic

1) the gothic monster.

The vampire myth used by Stoker is turned into the quintessential gothic monster. Dracula existed in the Victorian mind alongside Frankestein’s monster, Mr. Hyde, and Poe’s mixture of humans made monstrous and surreal monsters like that in ‘The Masque of the Red Death’. The defining feature of the gothic monster is its role in the story as a representation of something wrong with society, whether it’s increasingly amoral medicinal science, human greed or perverted desire. 

2) The Creepy Castle

The creepy castle doesn’t have to be a castle. It can be a mansion, a university or the graveyards of London. The important thing is that the setting of the gothic novel should always be - by default - terrifying and evoke a sense of danger. You can never get comfortable in Dracula’s castle, nor in Seward’s asylum, and neither can the characters. 

3) Damsel/s in Distress

For sure an outdated trope, but a constant in the gothic. It’s a quick and simple way to show that the innocence of young women is threatened by a malignant force. In Dracula , look to Mina, Lucy and Mrs. Westenra. But what happens when the damsel saves herself?

4) Omens, Portents, Visions

Visions in dreams? Random wild animals escaping from ships? Ships docking with a completely dead crew? Random changes in the weather? You might be dealing with a gothic villain, or going mad. In either case, Renfield, Dracula, Mina and Jonothan all deal with portents and visions. 

And This Is Important Because…

Stoker has followed the predominant tropes of the gothic horror genre. Why is this important for our analysis of Dracula ? The ways in which authors use genre and other stylistic elements like form, voice or plot relate directly to their intentions. If we investigate the particular aspects of Stoker’s use of the gothic, we may better understand the views and values that he is promoting. For instance, let’s take Dracula as the gothic monster. Since the gothic monster is always a way to reflect society back onto itself, how is Stoker doing that? A feminist analysis might take Dracula as a reflection of sexual deviancy, which then ties into his constant threat towards women. A post-colonial analysis might question the foreignness of Dracula, and view him as a part of the intrusiveness of foreigners in English society. Either way, you’re touching on a view or value presented by Stoker, and tying it to an aspect of the gothic genre in a way that conveniently also touches on characterisation. 

Let’s complicate things a little more. The ‘Damsel in Distress’ trope is clearly evident in Dracula , but what view or value is Stoker commenting on by its inclusion? The simplest answer is that, by showing that women cannot save themselves, Stoker is saying that women are inherently weak and need to be saved by men. But this answer isn’t sufficient for a number of reasons. Firstly, what are the women weak to? Is it a physical mismatch between the women and Dracula, keeping in mind that Dracula is also stronger than the novel’s men? Or is it a symbolic weakness to some aspect of Dracula’s character, be it sexuality or magic? Secondly, and more importantly, are all the women victimised by Dracula the same? Well, obviously not. 

It could very well be argued that Stoker is subverting the ‘Damsel in Distress’ trope by actually giving us a woman who is able to be her own saviour (which is actually becoming a trope in itself nowadays!). The dichotomy between Lucy and Mina is a crucial aspect of the text, and the way that Mina’s character doesn’t quite fit into the ‘Damsel in Distress’ archetype is a major interpretative dilemma. By considering the genre tropes, Lucy is clearly a ‘Damsel in Distress’ who cannot save herself and is unduly victimised by Dracula. It can be argued that her implicit promiscuousness is punished through her murder, but in whatever case, she is distressed and must be saved. Mina, however, has an entirely different view of her distresses. Not only does Mina take on a caring role towards Jonothan - in which Jonothan becomes a ‘Master in Distress’ - she actively supports the attempts to save her and kill Dracula. By compiling the journals, letters and newspaper clippings into the epistolary that we the audience are reading, and using herself as a window into Dracula’s mind through their psychic connection, Mina proves to be a means by which to save herself from her distress. So, the question of what Stoker actually thinks about women is still quite open: Lucy is seemingly punished for her character flaws, which indicates a misogynist view of women’s sexuality, but Mina is praised for her use of masculine qualities like leadership and stoicism. Is Stoker saying women should be more masculine? Less masculine and more traditionally feminine? This entire discussion revolves around how and why the ‘Damsel in Distress’ trope is being followed or subverted. 

Using Genre in VCE

Whilst a genre-based analysis (or a structural analysis) can be a fantastic way to open up discussion and leads to important questions about views and values , the way I have presented it may appear to be another useless and long-winded thing you have to try to shove into an essay when you already have to balance so much in Literature! Fear not, because there are a couple of really easy ways to fit genre into essays without taking up loads of space.

Option one is to use a genre trope as the basis of a paragraph. If your essay contention is that…

‍ ‘Stoker presents the dangers of foreign immigration to England at the height of its colonial empire’

…then you can easily write a paragraph discussing that…

‍ ‘Stoker employs the gothic trope of a supernatural monster in Dracula, using this vampire as a stand-in for foreigners in England’.

This paragraph would discuss Dracula’s characterisation, and the settings of Transylvania and London, whilst investigating Stoker’s views on England’s colonialism and race. In a Developing Interpretations or Close Analysis essay, you’ve just touched on several key criteria, including the author’s views and values , your own credible interpretation of the text and how the text presents its messaging (through characterisation and setting). You can do all these things without mentioning genre, but by explicitly using the language of genre analysis you are likely separating yourself from the student next to you - who had a similar idea but described it in a less interesting way. This is the utility of understanding genre, it gives you the words and concepts necessary to improve your writing and interpretation. The ‘Gothic monster’ is an easy way to describe an otherwise GIANT concept.

Another way is to add it to other analyses in passing. Instead of saying “ Dracula presents Lucy and Mina as foils to demonstrate the ways in which modern women’s promiscuity is ultimately harmful”, you can say “the presentation of Lucy and Mina as two ‘damsels in distress’ in dichotomy with each other demonstrates the differing ways in which Victorian women could doom or save themselves” . The latter sentence has not significantly changed the content of the first, still referring to the women’s opposition to each other, but by phrasing it with ‘damsels in distress’ I leave open the possibility of discussing not just Lucy’s promiscuity, but also Mina’s conservative womanhood. 

Finally, you need not even mention genre or its tropes in the essay, just use it as a thinking tool. If you go back through the previous section of this blog, you’ll see just how many questions I am asking about the tropes and ideas I am discussing. By using the trope as a jumping-off point for a series of questions, I can develop a nuanced understanding of multiple views and values and the ways in which they interconnect. Take a trope like the ‘creepy castle’ and ask:

“Why would Stoker put Dracula manor in the text?”

“Because it sets up the ‘otherness’ of Dracula.”

“Why do we need to know that Dracula is the other?” 

“Because he represents a supernatural foreignness that we need to be scared of.”

“Okay, but why is it right at the start, why is it from Jonothan’s perspective?” 

All of these questions offer ways of breaking down the text and they will naturally lead to questions about structure, characterisation and views and values. In doing this, you can start to come up with ways to turn those questions, or the order of those questions into an essay structure. Moreso, this type of questioning is what your teacher, tutors and top-tier Literature students are doing. It is a constant process of asking, answering, reconsidering, reasking and synthesising. And genre is an easy way to start the process. 

Literature is probably one of your hardest VCE subjects. If it’s not, then go you! (please tell me your secrets).

However, if you’re anything like me, then you probably look a bit like this when you begin considering the overall meaning of a text, the author’s views and values, and how any three passages in the text create the meaning.

When I became awash with confusion, like our old pal Ryan Renolds, the first thing I did (after eating a whole block of chocolate), was ensure I understood the context of the text. Without a clear understanding of the context of your text, you cannot fully comprehend the views and values of the author, nor the overall meaning of a text (it’s also part of the criteria for literary perspectives)!

So if you want to be feeling like this after you write a piece for literature:

Consider the following:

AUTHOR’S CONTEXT VS. READER’S CONTEXT 

Austen was hunched over her small writing desk in the village of Chawton during England’s Georgian era as she wrote  Persuasion.  You are more likely reading it in a cozy bed, listening to Taylor Swift and half considering what you’re going to watch on Netflix later. Remember, your current social and cultural context can have a great influence on how you read a text, so it’s always important to imagine the author’s own context – whether this be very similar, or very different from the context of their text. It’s as easy as a Google search!

For a more in-depth look into how authorial intent and context is important in VCE English, read Context and Authorial Intention in VCE English .

SOCIAL CONTEXT

The social context of a text is the way in which the features of the society it is set in impact on its meaning. There are two aspects to social context: the kind of society in which the characters live, and the one in which the author’s text was produced.

Charlotte Brontë’s  Jane Eyre  was set in the same social context she herself lived in. It was one in which women were seen as the lesser sex, there was a great divide between the wealthy and lower class, and strict class boundaries were enforced. All of these societal features are key in determining Brontë’s views on the importance of social inclusion, and her championing of the strength of women. Or just listen to Phoebe:

HISTORICAL CONTEXTS

The historical context of a text is entangled with its social context, as underlying norms and convention are historically specific. The historical context is important to note especially when large changes have occurred between the time the work was produced, and our current day, so it is not assessed by our own concerns alone.

Aeschylus’ Agamemnon was first performed in 458BC, in Ancient Greece, a time vastly different from our own. Therefore, it is important to be aware of how the play was delivered, at the festival of Dionysus as part of a trilogy. Also have an understanding of the myths surrounding the Trojan War as well as those surrounding Agamemnon, Cassandra and Clytemnestra.

CULTURAL CONTEXTS

Culture refers to a particular ‘way of life’, involving religion, race and nationality, as well as things like food, dress code and manners. Furthermore, culture can relate to art, music, writing and literature itself. Cultural context, which is similarly linked with social, historical and ideological context, is especially important to note if the author is attempting to make a comment on an aspect of culture, or the clash of two cultures.

Cross cultural contact between an Indigenous tribe in Western Australia, and the British colonizers of this land, is explored by Kim Scott in his novel  That Deadman Dance.  He reveals aspects of culture largely unknown to current members of Australian society, as well as explores whether assimilation can be seen as a harmonious sign of friendship, or an intrusive loss of culture. The evolution, damage and protection of culture is an important context in this novel, and has a large bearing on the overall meaning of the text, as well as Scott’s views and values.

IDEOLOGICAL CONTEXTS

Ideology refers to the systems of beliefs and ideas that underpin our attitudes and behavior. Such ideology may be valued by society as a whole, or be the basis of conflict. Ideology is a context that is in many ways ‘invisible’. This is because our own is largely internalized and normalized, we act accordingly to our assumptions and social norms.

Many texts explore ideological context, either challenging or championing it. In his play  Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?  Edward Albee challenged perceptions at the time of the family unit, portraying a couple that symbolizes the immense dissatisfaction caused by idealistic portrayals of marriage, and the fallacies of the American Dream. He illuminates how George and Martha escape from meaningless by creating fantasies and illusions, but how these eventually lead to the breakdown of their mental health.

So next time you’re struggling to get started on a literature piece, remember to think deeply about the different aspects of your text’s context!

“Once upon a time…”

The fairy tale of Cinderella is a well-known, well-loved and well-ingrained story that was always told to me as a bedtime story. Who could forget the mean-spirited stepsisters who punished and ruined Cinderella’s life to no end? According to the dark Brothers Grimm version, the stepsisters mutilated their feet by cutting off their heels and toes to fit into the infamous shoe, and their eyes were pecked away by birds until they were blinded! It’s definitely one way to send a message to children… don’t be bullies or you’ll be punished. Which is exactly what the Brothers Grimm’s views and values were. Their construction of their fairy tale to send a message of what they viewed as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ is simplistically shown through the writers’ choice in determining the characters’ fate. The evil stepsisters are punished, while Cinderella receives happiness and riches because she remained kind and pure. A clear and very simple example of how texts reflect the beliefs, world views and ethics of the author, which is essentially the author’s views and values!

What are the views and values of a text?

Writers use literature to criticise or endorse social conditions, expressing their own opinions and viewpoints of the world they live in. It is important to remember that each piece of literature is a deliberate construction. Every decision a writer makes reflects their views and values about their culture, morality, politics, gender, class, history or religion. This is implicit within the style and content of the text, rather than in overt statements. This means that the writer’s views and values are always open to interpretation, and possibly even controversial. This is what you (as an astute literature student) must do – interpret the relationship between your text and the ideas it explores and examines, endorses or challenges in the writer’s society.

How do I start?

Consider the following tips:

• What does the writer question and critique with their own society? What does this say about the writer’s own views and the values that uphold?
• For example,  “Jane Austen in Persuasion recognises the binding social conventions of the 19th century as superficial, where they value wealth and status of the utmost priority. She satirises such frivolous values through the microcosmic analysis of the Elliot family.”
• The writer’s affirming or critical treatment of individual characters can be a significant clue to what values they approve or disapprove of. What fate do the characters have? Who does the writer punish or reward by the end of the text?
• Which characters challenge and critique the social conventions of the day?
• Look at the writer’s use of language:
• Characterisation
• Plot structure
• Description
• In other words …what are the possible meanings generated by the writer’s choices?
• Recognition and use of metalanguage for literary techniques is crucial because you are responding to a work of literature. Within literature ideas, views and values and issues do not exist in a vacuum. They arise out of the writer’s style and create  meaning .
• How do the writer’s choices make meaning?
• How are the writer’s choices intended to affect the reader’s perception of social values?
• Weave views and values throughout your close analysis essays, rather than superficially adding a few lines at the conclusion of the essay to indicate the writer’s concerns.
• Using the writer’s name frequently will also assist in creating a mindset of analysing the writer’s commentary on society.

Below are some examples from an examiner report of successful and  insightful  responses reflecting the views and values of the writer:

(Another tip is to go through examiner’s reports and take note of high quality responses, even if they are not the text you’re studying)

When contrasted with the stark, blunt tone of Caesar throughout the play ‘You may see, Lepidus, and henceforth know...’ the richness of Shakespeare’s poetry with regard to his ‘couple so famous’  denotes how the playwright himself ultimately values the heroic age  to which his protagonists belong over the machinations of the rising imperial Rome.

It is the word ‘natural’ here through which Mansfield crafts a sharp irony that invites us to rate Edna’s obsession with her own performance.... It is this satiric impulse that also leaps to the fore through the image of Edna, ‘clasping the black book in her fingers as though it were a missal’...the  poignant economy of Mansfield’s characteristic style explores her views on the fragility of the human condition .   

‘In Cold Blood’ provides a challenging exploration of the value placed on human life. The seemingly pointless murders undermine every concept of morality that reigns in Middle America, the ‘Bible Belt’, as well as the wider community.  Capote insinuates his personal abhorrence of the death penalty and the disregard of mental illness in the justice system .

Why are views and values important in literature, and especially for close analysis?

Every year, the examiner reports emphasise how the best close analysis responses were ones that “showed how the text endorsed and reflected the views and values of the writer and were able to weave an understanding of these through the essay” (2013 VCAA Lit examiner report). By analysing HOW the text critiques, challenges or endorses the accepted values of the society in the text, you are demonstrating an understanding of the social and cultural context of the text, thus acknowledging the multifaceted layers that exist within literature. You are identifying the writer’s commentary of humanity through your own interpretation. Bring some insight into your essays!

With the Literary Perspectives essay can come mild confusion regarding its structure, extent (as well as form) of analysis and differentiability from your standard English text response - which is why I’m here to tell you that this confusion, while inevitable, is easily overcome! A text like Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is rife with complexities in both its narrative features and literary devices, all prime for discussion in your own essay. ‍

Consider the following prompt: “ Discuss the proposition that ‘ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof’ is a condemnation of 1950’s American society.”

Don’t let this prompt’s simple exterior fool you. What it leaves room for - and what the assessor will ultimately be looking for - is the development of your own complex ideas. It is this metamorphosis from the simple to complex that, when evident in your own writing, allows your essay to truly shine. This is obviously applicable to English as well, but where a clear fork in the road lies is in the act of grouping those complex ideas under the umbrella of a specific critical lens (or multiple!).  

For instance, this specific prompt is great in how a diverse range of literary perspectives can be applied to it due to its main subject being 1950s American society. These can include: feminist, psychoanalytical, queer, New Historicist, Marxist, and I’m sure many others!

When faced with a number of critical lenses you can choose from, it’s important to keep in mind the fact that focusing your essay on mainly two or three lenses will ensure it’s more streamlined and therefore easier to both write and read. I know incorporating more lenses as a means of adding variety within your essay is quite tempting, but this is sure to both hinder the depth of your analysis/discussion - which is where marks are ultimately rewarded - and run the risk of disrupting any form of cohesion in your writing. The lenses you choose will ultimately be dependent on the extent of their applicability to the prompt and how comfortable you are with using them (i.e don’t use a Marxist lens if you don’t know how to extensively discuss social classes). The combination of lenses you choose, coupled with your own interpretation, help to inform the development of your unique perspective of the text.

For this prompt, I personally chose to focus on using the critical lenses of New Historicism, psychoanalysis and queer theory. From here, I’m able to ask myself questions catered to each perspective such as “What specific cultural values are examined in COAHTR and how does Williams present them?” and, relating this to the prompt at hand by also asking: “Is this presentation condemnatory?”. The lenses you choose should be interlinked with your arguments and thus your analyses, enabling you to show the assessor you understand that this isn’t an English text response! ‍

Introduction

A frequently asked question regarding the intro of a literary perspectives essay is whether or not to state the critical lens/es you are using. The answer to this is that it’s ultimately up to you! Some important points to consider however are:

• Am I able to include this statement without it sounding janky and disruptive of flow?
• If I were not to include it, am I able to make it clear enough to the assessor from the get-go what perspective/s I am using?

Outside of that, a literary perspectives intro is pretty similar to that of any other essay.  One thing to remember however, especially with COAHTR, is to briefly explain certain significant concepts you choose to mention. A good example of this is the American Dream - demonstrating that you understand what it is at its core via a brief explanation in your intro is going to leave a far better impression on the assessor than not elaborating on it at all.

See mine below:

“Defined by its moral incongruity against socially upheld conservative values, Tennessee Williams’ play Cat on a Hot Tin Roof illuminates the debilitative effects of subscription to a belief system entrenched in immorality. By highlighting the ways in which values such as heteronormativity and the American Dream — deemed synonymous with “equal opportunity” — serve only as obstructions to genuine human connection, Williams underpins both his condemnation of such mores and, therefore, the eminent human struggle to attain true happiness."

As you can see, I personally chose not to explicitly state what critical lenses I was using in my essay. However, I did make sure to include certain words and phrases commonly associated with the critical lenses they represent.

For example:

• New Historicism: “socially upheld conservative values”, “belief system”, “values such as heteronormativity and the American Dream”
• Psychoanalytical: “moral incongruity”, “human connection/struggle to attain true happiness”
• Queer theory: “heteronormativity”

This allows me to inform the assessor of what lenses I'm using in spite of an absent explicit statement. It’s also far more efficient in this case than having to use the janky phrase “Under the critical lenses of New Historicism, psychoanalysis and queer theory…”.

Body paragraphs:

As I'm sure you already know by now, Literature grants you a lot more freedom than English in terms of structure - and this is especially applicable to the body of your essay! It's important however to find a balance between what structure you’re most comfortable writing with and what’s going to impress the assessor (as opposed to abusing this freedom and floundering about with zero cohesion).

What I personally tend to be comfortable doing is loosely following a TEEL structure, while spicing it up a little by switching around the order here and there.  This is especially evident in my first body paragraph below for the aforementioned prompt, in which I begin with some passage analysis rather than your typical topic sentence:

“Positioning the audience within an American plantation home’s “bed-sitting-room”, Williams immediately envelops the play’s moral foreground in domesticity and the conservative mores of 1950s American society that serve to define such an atmosphere. It being the bedroom of heterosexual couple Brick and Maggie evinces the nature of their exchanges as demonstrative of the morally debilitating effects of the values upheld by the society in which they live — illuminating Williams’ intention to present social mores as obstructive of genuine human connection. Such an intention is foregrounded by the disparity that exists between the external and internal; that is, the socially upheld status of Brick and Maggie’s heterosexual relationship — exempt from subjection to social “disgust” — and the “mendacious” reality of their marriage in its failure to provide either individual with the same sense of primordial wholeness Brick finds in his “clean”, “pure” and “true” homosocial relationship with Skipper. From the outset of the play, heteronormative values are debased as Williams subverts the domestically epitomised dynamic between husband and wife into an embodiment of the inhumane. Maggie is likened to a “priest delivering a liturgical chant”, her lines interspersed with “wordless singing” — alluding to her overly performative nature that compromises the genuineness of human connection. Brick’s visual absence during the play’s opening and his “masked indifference”, too, further undermine the social perception of heterosexuality as the pinnacle of love as it is this reticence that exemplifies the absence of happiness found in their marriage. This sense of disconnection, wherein “living with someone you love can be lonelier — than living entirely alone”, forces Maggie to navigate their relationship through the reductive mode of a “game” wherein it is only by detecting “a sign of nerves in a player on the defensive” that she can attempt to derive genuine emotion from her husband. To reduce human connection to a set of manoeuvrable tactics punctuated only by “the click of mallets” is an act portrayed by Williams as propagative of immorality, vehemently contrasting the reconciliation of the divided self afforded to Brick by the “one, great true thing” in his life: friendship with Skipper. By making the audience privy to the inhumanity lying at the helm of 1950s American social mores, Williams thus presents his scathing critique of such a system, reflecting its capacity for obstructing human connection and therefore the futility of conforming to its standards.”

A key feature of this paragraph is the nature of my analysis - it is, essentially, very similar to what you’d find in a passage analysis essay. It’s important to note that the skills you’ve learnt for the latter can be easily implemented in a literary perspectives essay and is often what allows it to truly stand out! It also forces you to frequently reference the text with quotes in the same way you would in a passage analysis essay, which is glorious in any assessor’s eyes.

With “zooming in” on certain passages in the text (think analysing literary devices, setting, syntax, etc.) however must also follow “zooming out” and evaluating their overall meaning, especially in relation to their significance to the prompt.

A concise example of “zooming in and out” from the previous paragraph can be seen below:

“ Maggie is likened to a “priest delivering a liturgical chant”, her lines interspersed with “wordless singing” — alluding to her overly performative nature that compromises the genuineness of human connection. ”

Below is another example from a different body paragraph for the same essay:

“ Hateful figures transformed into animalistic grotesques, the children of Mae and Gooper are depicted as “no-neck monsters” with “dawg’s names”, with the “fat old body” of Big Mama herself alternating in appearance from “an old bulldog” to a “charging rhino”. Here the moral degradation of a society so heavily reliant on the atomisation of its individuals is made most conspicuous, with Big Daddy’s semblance to a large animal who “pants and wheezes and sniffs” serving as a further testament to such a notion.”

Conclusion:

This is yet another portion of your essay granted freedom by the nature of VCE Literature, so whether or not you choose to intertwine it with your last body paragraph or separate it completely is entirely up to you. What you choose to emphasise in your conclusion is also very similar to that of any other essay as the main focus is to hammer home your interpretation of the text in relation to the prompt!

See my example below:

“Williams, by presenting 1950’s American society as both propagative of atomisation and obstructive of innate morality, ultimately highlights the futility that lies in assimilating to such a belief system as a means of attaining true happiness. The pressure to subscribe to morally reductive values wherein any remnants of the innate are wholly ignored only further shrouds the possibility of happiness at all, and it is here where Williams’ portrayal of the human struggle to attain this ideal is made most conspicuous.”

The big trap students doing both English and Literature fall into is the habit of writing Close Readings like a Language Analysis essay. In essence, the two of these essays must tick the same boxes. But, here’s why analysing texts in Literature is a whole different ball game – in English, you want to be focusing on the methods that the author utilises to get their message across, whereas Literature is all about finding your own message in the writing.

In a  Language Analysis  essay, the chances are that most students will interpret the contention of the writer in a similar fashion and that will usually be stated in the introduction of the essay. Whereas in Literature, it is the formulation of your interpretation of the author’s message that is what really counts. In a typical Language Analysis essay, the introduction is almost like a summary of what’s going to be talked about in the next few paragraphs whereas in a close reading, it is the fresh ideas beyond the introduction that the markers are interested in.

For this reason, every Close Reading that you do in Literature will be unique. The overarching themes of the text you are writing from may be recurring, but for every passage from the text that you are given, what you derive from that will be specific to it.

From my experience, this is what stumps a lot of students because of the tendency is to pick up on the first few poetic techniques used in the passages and create the basis for the essay from that. This usually means that the student will pick up on alliteration (or another technique that they find easy to identify) used by the author and then try and match it to an idea that they have discussed in class. Whilst this can be an effective way to structure paragraphs, many students aren’t consciously utilising this approach and instead are doing it ‘by accident’ under time pressure, or a lack of understanding of other ways to get a point across.

In general, there are two main approaches that can be followed for body paragraphs in a literature close reading analysis:

1. Start wide and narrow down.

What does this mean? So, as I mentioned before, each of your close readings should be very specific to the passages in front of you and not rehearsed. However, it’s inevitable that you are going to find some ideas coming back more often. So, after reading through the passage, you will usually get a general understanding of the tone that the author has utilised. This will indicate whether the author is criticising or commending a certain character or social idea. Using this general overview to start your paragraph, you can then move closer and closer into the passage until you have developed your general statement into a very unique and clear opinion of the author’s message (with the support of textual evidence of course).

This is the essay approach that is generally preferred by students but is often used poorly, as without practice and under the pressure of writing essays in exam conditions, many students revert back to the old technique of finding a literary device that they are comfortable with and pushing forth with that.

The good thing about this approach is that when you understand the general themes that the author covers, you will become better and better at using that lens to identify the most impactful parts of the passage to unpack as you scrutinise the subtle nuances of the writer’s tone.

2. Start narrow and go wide.

You guessed it - it’s basically the opposite of the approach above. However, this is a more refined way of setting out your exploration of the author’s message as opposed to what was discussed earlier (finding random literary devices and trying to go from there). Using this approach does not mean that you have no direction of where your paragraph might end, it just means that you think the subtle ideas of the author can be used in culmination to prove their wider opinion. For example, if you get a passage where the author describes a character in great detail (Charlotte Brontë students, you might be familiar!) and you think there is a lot of underlying hints that the author is getting at through such an intricate use of words, then you might want to begin your paragraphs with these examples and then move wider to state how this affects the total persona built around this character and then maybe even a step further to describe how the writer’s attitude towards this character is actually a representation of how they feel towards the social ideas that the character represents.

The benefit of this approach is that if you are a student that finds that when you try and specify on a couple of key points within a large theme, you end up getting muddled up with the potential number of avenues you could be writing about, this style gives a bit of direction to your writing. This approach is also helpful when you are trying to link your broader themes together.

The main thing to remember in the structure of your body paragraphs – the link between your examples and the broader themes that you bring up should be very much evident to the marker. They should not have to work to find the link between the examples you are bringing up and the points that you are making. Remember, a Close Reading is all about the passage that is right in front of you and its relation in the context of the whole text and the writer’s message. Be clear about your opinion, it matters!

Happy writing!

1. Don't focus just on ideas and avoid language engagement.

Language engagement is every bit as important as ideas. Sometimes, when you get stuck in philosophical musings, you might find yourself in a place where you're spouting on and on about solipsism or the intrinsic desire for independence in the 19th century Norwegian working class. Literature essays are all about finding balance, and here, that balance means language engagement. Whether you are writing about literary criticism or a passage analysis, you have to be able to support your interpretations with textual evidence.

Often, this requires some creative thinking. You can have a lot of fun with it and the examiners like you to pick up on small details and connect it to a grander scope.

Here's an example from Jane Eyre.

“my eyes seemed as if they had beheld the fount of fruition, and borrowed beams from the lustrous ripple.”

“I was not surprised...to feel...the breathing of a fresh and fragrant breeze...The rooks cawed, and blither birds sang; but nothing was so merry or so musical as my own rejoicing heart.”

In this passage, Jane is rejoicing over her marriage proposal, but readers are led to understand that this may be a false, idealistic dream of hers. Note the patterns of alliteration – the fricative 'f' shifting to the plosive 'b' in “fount of fruition” and “borrowed beams” then again from “fresh and fragrant breeze” to “blither birds”. What could it possibly mean?

Fricatives tend to indicate freedom, whereas plosives tend to indicate an abruptness – a harsh change. Perhaps, Jane's wild, free joy is immediately followed by plosive alliteration so as to illustrate how her happiness is cut short and her dream is a false one – she will attempt to achieve freedom through this romance, but she will be abruptly and unceremoniously prevented from attaining it.

Regardless, in any passage, there are always things to talk about and little language quirks to exploit to figure out an interpretation. Start from these little details, and build out and out until you tackle your big ideas. All of these ideas should be rooted in language.

2. Don't prioritise complicated language over ideas.

Often, when you think that expressive, complicated writing takes priority over ideas in Literature, you tend to end up with flowery material that becomes more convoluted than it is effective. If you are one of those people (I know it's hard) but kill your darlings. Focus on coming up with original ideas, and express them clearly. Cut out redundancies. Be expressive in a way that is natural and in a way where you know that first and foremost, your language is accurate. Don't go around using metaphors purely for the sake of sounding intellectual when you can express something equally eloquently and beautifully with simpler, fluent text.

Remember: this is not to say that you shouldn't be expressive in Literature. In fact, writing style and the ability to write well is a fundamental component to doing well in this subject. It is just vital that you strike the right balance. This is a good lesson to learn sooner rather than later - and you'll be steering into prime territory for the exam.

3. Don't treat Literature like an English essay. Be free!

Good Literature essays generally tend to be more lively and expressive than English essays. Why? Because Literature just doesn't operate under the same criteria, and it shouldn't be treated as such. 

Don't feel like putting in an introduction/conclusion? No need! Don't feel like sticking to a TEEL structure? No problem!

Your focus is creating writing that moves along at a natural, expressive pace, moving through textual evidence to broader ideas. You don't have a structure. You don't have a paragraph quota. You have free reign over a lot of how you write your Literature essays – so find out what works for you.

4. Come up with original interpretations and don't stick with popular readings.

Literature is one of very few subjects in the entirety of VCE that rewards original thinking. You don't need to go with the crowd consensus on how to read your text: as long as you have the evidence to support your reading! The examiners will reward complex, creative, and unique ideas. Every passage analysis you write should be approached with a fresh perspective – base your interpretation around the text in front of you, and not a dogmatic set of ideas that you bring with you.

5. Let the text before you provide you with the ideas, don't force your ideas into the text.

By reading literary criticism and expanding the scope of your ideas, you can apply original readings to each set of passages you have. Your essays stand out when they cover new, uncharted territory.

Literature is all about balance. If you can find it in you to balance language engagement, interpretation, and writing style, I'd say you have yourself a pretty good essay.

Remember not to fall into any of the common traps of the subject, and you'll have put yourself on solid footing to become a true literati.

Updated for the new 2023-2027 Study Design!

AoS 1: Adaptations and Transformations

Aos 2: developing interpretations.

• AoS 1: Creative Responses to Texts

AoS 2: Close Analysis

This is your ultimate guide to everything you need to know to get started with VCE Literature. We will be covering all the sections within Units 3 and 4, and have included resources that will help improve your skills and make you stand out from the rest of your cohort!

Scope of Study

Here's what the VCAA study design states...

'The study of VCE Literature fosters students’ enjoyment and appreciation of the artistic and aesthetic merits of stories and storytelling, and enables students to participate more fully in the cultural conversations that take place around them. By reading and exploring a diverse range of established and emerging literary works, students become increasingly empowered to discuss texts. As both readers and writers, students extend their creativity and high-order thinking to express and develop their critical and creative voices.'

'Throughout this study, students deepen their awareness of the historical, social and cultural influences that shape texts and their understanding of themselves as readers. Students expand their frameworks for exploring literature by considering literary forms and features, engaging with language, and refining their insight into authorial choices. Students immerse themselves in challenging fiction and non-fiction texts , discovering and experimenting with a variety of interpretations in order to develop their own responses.'

...but don't worry if the above is vague, we'll take you through exactly what you need to know for Year 12 Literature! Let's get into it! ‍ ‍

In Unit 3, students consider how meaning is created through form, and how different interpretations may be developed out of a singular text. First, students understand how writers adapt and transform texts, and how their interpretation of the text impacts this transformation into a different form. Secondly, students use another text to develop their own interpretations of a text with regard to its context , and views and values . Unit 3 School-Assessed Coursework is worth 25 per cent of your total study score!

This task is designed for you to critically analyse and actively engage with the text, understanding its nuances inside and out in order to decipher its meaning. Be individual in comparing and contrasting the two texts – avoid the obvious similarities/differences everyone in your class will also notice. It is the insightful analysis of the subtleties of how meaning is altered that will help you stand out!

Here are some important aspects to consider and questions to ask yourself while tackling this SAC:

• Identify the unique conventions in the construction of the original text
• Now do Step 1 with the adapted/transformed text
• How do the two text forms differ ? How are they the same ? The most crucial step is what meaning can be derived from the similarities and differences? How does the meaning change? ‍
• Note additions and omissions (and even silences) ‍
• Historical context and setting ‍
• How does the change in form impact you as the reader/viewer ?
• Incorporate pertinent quotations from both forms of text to substantiate and support your ideas and key points.

Most importantly, share your original interpretation of what meaning and significance you can extract from the text, and how you believe it changes once the form alters.

Also ask yourself these questions:

• ‍ What makes the text in its original form interesting or unique?
• Is that quality captured in its adaptation/transformation?

‍ For more detailed explanations on these 7 aspects, you might want to check out Adaptations and Transformations Lit SAC: A How To Guide.

Developing interpretations is an AoS that focuses on investigating the meaning and messages in texts, as evidenced by the text itself, it’s author and their context . As per the study design:

'Students first develop their own interpretations of a set text, analysing how ideas, views and values are presented in a text, and the ways these are endorsed, challenged and/or marginalised through literary forms, features and language. These student interpretations should consider the historical, social and cultural context in which a text is written and set. Students also consider their own views and values as readers.'

Following this, you investigate a supplementary reading which will offer another interpretation of the text, which may enrich or challenge your interpretation by agreeing or disagreeing with your interpretation. Using this supplementary reading, you reconsider your initial interpretation and apply your new understanding of the text to key moments. 

The SAC for Developing Interpretations is a little bit weird. It’s worth 50% of unit 3 (or 25% of your total study score), but is split into two parts:

• Part A: An initial interpretation of the text’s views and values within its historical, social and cultural context.
• Part B: A written response that compares/interweaves and analyses an initial interpretation with a subsequent interpretation, using a key moment from the text.

Your teacher might do the two parts together, or separately. In any case, Part B will include the use of a passage from the set text that you must engage with. How does the passage help you to interpret the text, and how does that interpretation agree or disagree with the interpretation presented in the supplementary reading? 

The most difficult part of the SAC for this AoS is balancing your interpretation, the textual evidence, and the alternative interpretation of the supplementary reading. It is vital that if you are doing Literature this year, that you know your 3.2 text like the back of your hand, and that you practice writing loads and loads. It is also worth trying to make your interpretation incredibly specific, so that you can go in-depth into one idea, rather than simply skimming over 3 or 4 big ideas. 

For more on Developing Interpretations, you might want to check out VCE Literature Study Design (2023-2027): A Guide to Developing Interpretations which explains in detail what the new AoS is about and what you need to do.

And, if you're studying Alias Grace you'll find our Developing Interpretations SAC Guide on interpreting Alias Grace especially helpful.

‍ Unit 4: Interpreting Texts

Aos 1: creative response & reflective commentary.

The most important part of this task is that you must have a highly convincing connection between the original text and your creative response .

There must be a tangible relationship present, through an in-depth understanding of the original text’s features. These features include characterisation (what motivates these characters), setting, context, narrative structure, tone and writing/film style.

You can establish this relationship by: ‍

• Adopting or resisting the same genre as the original text
• Adopting or resisting the author’s writing/language style
• Adopting or resisting the text’s point of view
• Adopting or resisting the original setting, narrative structure or tone
• Writing through a peripheral character’s perspective
• Developing a prologue, epilogue or another chapter/scene
• Rewriting a key event/scene from another character’s point of view: Does this highlight how important narrative perspective is?
• Recontextualising the original text

For detailed explanations on how to establish these relationships, read "Creative Response To Text" Ideas .

The VCAA Literature Study Design also determines that students must submit a ‘close analysis of a key passage’. This aspect of the assessment counts for 20 of the 60 marks available for the Create Response outcome. The study design elaborates that students must produce:

‘A close analysis of a key passage from the original text, which includes reflections on connections between the creative response and the original text.’

In short, VCAA wants you to not only analyse the original text and use it as the basis for your Creative Response, they want you to be able to closely analyse a section of the original text, and link it to and reflect upon your creative response. This is different from previous years and the same task in English, the Reflective Commentary. You must use the skills of close analysis in this task. To include these things, look to the key knowledge and skills outlined in the study design. 

Key Knowledge:

• Understanding of the point of view, context and form of the original text
• The ways the literary form, features and language convey the ideas of the original text
• Techniques used to create, recreate or adapt a text and how they represent particular views and values

Key Skills:

• Discuss elements of construction, context, point of view and form particular to the text, and apply understanding of these in a creative response
• Analyse closely the literary form, features and language of a text
• Reflect on how language choices and literary features from the original text are used in their adaptation

As you write, ensure you are discussing how the author uses point of view, context, form, elements of construction and stylistic features in their text. It is imperative that you describe how you have similarly used such device in your creative response. Ensure that you also discuss how you are involving the ideas and themes of the text in your creative piece, and how you are discussing them further, or exploring them in greater depth. Obviously only talk about those that are relevant to your creative response!

To read a sample Reflective Commentary, check out Elly's blog post on how to Score 10/10 On The Reflective Commentary ‍

From the VCAA study design:

'In this area of study students focus on a detailed scrutiny of the language, style, concerns and construction of texts. Students attend closely to textual details to examine the ways specific passages in a text contribute to their overall understanding of the whole text. Students consider literary forms, features and language, and the views and values of the text. They write expressively to develop a close analysis, using detailed references to the text.'

In plain words, your teacher (and eventually examiner in the end of year exam) will give you 3 passages from your text. You'll be asked to read each of these passages, identify key ideas or themes present in each of the passages, and write an essay in response.

Writing the Introduction

Introductions are an excellent way to showcase your ability to provide an insight into your personal “reading” of the text, interpret the passages and allow you an avenue through which to begin your discussion of the material.

When constructing introductions, it is important to note that the VCAA Literature Exam Criteria is as follows: ‍

Understanding of the text demonstrated in a relevant and plausible interpretation

Ability to write expressively and coherently to present an interpretation

Understanding of how views and values may be suggested in the text

Analysis of how key passages and/or moments in the text contribute to an interpretation

Analysis of the features of a text and how they contribute to an interpretation

Analysis and close reading of textual details to support a coherent and detailed interpretation of the text

• Considering these points, your introduction should feature these 2 elements: your personal reading of the text and your interpretation of the passages.
• In terms of structure, try to begin with a sentence or two explaining your personal reading of the text. The key to doing so in a manner befitting Close Analysis however, is to utilise quotes from the passages to supplement your assertion.

Head over to Jarrod's blog to read a sample introduction: VCE Literature Close Analysis: Introduction ‍ ‍

Extra Resources

Views and Values

VCE Literature Essay Approaches - Not a Language Analysis

What is Authorial Intent in VCE English and Why Is It Important?

The Importance of Context in Literature ‍

Study Techniques: How To Approach a Text That You Hate

Why Genre Matters in VCE Literature: An Analysis of Dracula

Developing Interpretations SAC Guide: Interpreting Alias Grace

Once you have finished all your Literature SACs for the year, all that is left is a 2 hour and 15 minute exam that will play a major part in determining your end of year study score. It seems extremely daunting, and because many of the SACs differ from the exam task, you may be feeling a bit nervous or confused about what exactly the exam entails.

In describing the task, the exam paper states:

For each of your selected texts, you must use one or more of the passages as the basis for a discussion of that text.

In your pieces of writing, refer in detail to the passage or passages and the texts. You may include minor references to other texts.

Therefore, you must write two close analysis pieces on the exam, one on each of your chosen texts. You must use the three passages included on the exam to explore and analyse the text as a whole. Most of your piece should be analysis of what is in front of you in the exam, but you must also use evidence from outside the passages, to demonstrate your knowledge and connection with the text.

The exam will be marked against a criterion that differs from any of your SACs (although it is quite similar to your close analysis SAC). Therefore it is imperative to understand the criteria you will be marked on before beginning to study for the Literature exam, and especially before you try some practice exams. They are as follows, and can be found on the VCAA Literature exam page.

This criteria relates to your ability to show your comprehension of the text. The examiner will be noting whether the concepts, ideas and themes in the text are understood. They will assess your interpretation of the text, and whether it is relevant and fair in relation to the meaning in the text

Literature is a writing subject, therefore this criteria asks that you write with fluency, an expressive vocabulary and clarity. Your piece must also be a coherent, unified work that clearly articulates your discussion and interpretation of the passages and text as a whole. This criteria can also relate to your use of grammar, punctuation and spelling as the clarity of your piece can be threatened if these are not used correctly.

You must demonstrate an ability to identify, discuss and analyze the views and values within the text. You must be able to support your discussion with evidence from the text

Your ability to analyse the three passages, as well as the text as a whole, and draw an interpretation from them. Examiners will be looking to see that you can use set material and the whole text as a basis for discussion.  

This criteria determines that you must identify factors including metalanguage, specific language and authorial techniques, and discuss how they create meaning. Remember that this is literature, so discussing the different elements used to construct a text (character, plot, setting, motifs, symbols” is imperative.

This criteria determines that you need to use evidence from the text (including quotes) in order to aid a logical and comprehensive interpretation of the text. Examiners will be looking at your ability to look deeply into smaller authorial choices, and how they create meaning.

Best of luck!

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An Easy Passage Summary & Analysis by Julia Copus

• Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis
• Poetic Devices
• Vocabulary & References
• Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme
• Line-by-Line Explanations

Julia Copus's "An Easy Passage" won the 2010 Forward Prize and was later published in her 2012 collection, The World's Two Smallest Humans. The poem follows a young girl who is trying to climb back into her house through an open window after sneaking out. It contrasts the intense joys and difficulties of adolescence with the more mundane routines of adulthood, and suggests that the transition from innocence to maturity is far from "an easy passage."

• Read the full text of “An Easy Passage”

The Full Text of “An Easy Passage”

“an easy passage” summary, “an easy passage” themes.

Adolescence vs. Adulthood

Line-by-line explanation & analysis of “an easy passage”.

Once she is ... ... family's house, trembling,

she knows that ... ... somewhere beneath her,

keep her mind ... ... of the house.

Lines 13-17

But first she ... ... on her thighs.

Lines 17-22

What can she ... ... of the street,

Lines 23-28

who does not ... ... looks up now

Lines 29-33

from the stirring ... ... a pale calf,

Lines 34-38

a silver anklet ... ... of the house.

“An Easy Passage” Symbols

The Passage

• Lines 1-2: “Once she is halfway up there, crouched in her bikini / on the porch roof of her family's house, trembling,”
• Line 38: “dropping gracefully into the shade of the house.”

• Line 2: “the porch roof of her family's house”
• Lines 4-5: “the narrow windowsill, the sharp / drop of the stairwell”
• Lines 9-13: “the open window, / the flimsy, hole-punched, aluminium lever / towards which in a moment she will reach / with the length of her whole body, leaning in / to the warm flank of the house.”
• Lines 14-16: “the grains of the asphalt / hot beneath her toes and fingertips, / a square of petrified beach.”
• Line 38: “the shade of the house.”

“An Easy Passage” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

• Lines 19-22
• Lines 28-38
• Lines 19-20: “For now both girls seem / lit, as if from within,”
• Lines 20-21: “ their hair and the gold stud / earrings in the first one's ears;”
• Lines 34-37: “the five neat  / shimmering- / oyster / -painted toenails of an outstretched foot / which catch the sunlight briefly like the / flash of armaments”
• Lines 13-16: “But first she / steadies herself, still crouching, the grains of the asphalt / hot beneath her toes and fingertips, / a square of petrified beach.”
• Lines 21-22: “the long, grey / eye of the street”

Juxtaposition

• Lines 16-19
• Lines 24-26
• Lines 26-38

Rhetorical Question

• Lines 17-19: “What can she know / of the way the world admits us less and less / the more we grow?”

Alliteration

• Line 3: “thing,” “think”
• Line 6: “whom,” “half”
• Line 7: “who”
• Line 17: “What”
• Line 18: “way,” “world”
• Line 22: “far,” “from”
• Line 26: “far,” “far,” “from,” “flush,” “faced”
• Line 27: “full”
• Line 28: “to take,” “trip”
• Line 31: “next,” “nothing”
• Line 1: “crouched,” “bikini”
• Line 2: “porch roof,” “family's”
• Line 4: “narrow windowsill”
• Lines 4-5: “sharp / drop”
• Line 5: “stairwell”
• Lines 7-8: “blond / gravel”
• Line 8: “beneath”
• Line 10: “flimsy, hole-punched, aluminium lever”
• Line 11: “towards which”
• Lines 11-12: “will reach / with”
• Line 12: “length,” “whole,” “leaning in”
• Line 13: “warm flank”
• Line 15: “toes,” “fingertips”
• Line 16: “petrified beach”
• Lines 16-17: “tiny breasts / rest lightly”
• Line 18: “way,” “world,” “admits us less,” “less”
• Line 21: “earrings,” “ears”
• Line 26: “far,” “far,” “from,” “flush-faced secretary”
• Line 29: “stirring,” “astrology”
• Line 30: “standing”
• Line 34: “silver anklet”
• Lines 35-35: “oyster / -painted toenails”
• Line 35: “outstretched foot”
• Line 36: “catch”
• Line 37: “flash”
• Line 9: “open,” “window”
• Line 11: “which in,” “will,” “reach”
• Line 12: “with”
• Line 16: “breasts”
• Line 17: “rest,” “lightly,” “thighs,” “know”
• Line 19: “grow”
• Line 20: “lit,” “if,” “within”
• Line 23: “does,” “trust”
• Line 25: “over,” “road”
• Line 29: “astrology,” “column”
• Line 38: “gracefully,” “shade”
• Lines 1-2: “bikini / on”
• Lines 3-4: “think / of”
• Lines 5-6: “mind / on”
• Lines 6-7: “love / and”
• Lines 8-9: “mind / on”
• Lines 10-11: “lever / towards”
• Lines 11-12: “reach / with”
• Lines 12-13: “in / to”
• Lines 13-14: “she / steadies”
• Lines 14-15: “asphalt / hot”
• Lines 16-17: “breasts / rest”
• Lines 17-18: “know / of”
• Lines 18-19: “less / the”
• Lines 19-20: “seem / lit”
• Lines 20-21: “stud / earrings”
• Lines 21-22: “grey / eye”
• Lines 22-23: “mother / who”
• Lines 24-25: “drab / electroplating”
• Lines 26-27: “secretary / who”
• Lines 27-28: “class / she”
• Lines 28-29: “now / from”
• Lines 29-30: “column / at”
• Lines 30-31: “standing / in”
• Lines 32-33: “one / shielding”
• Lines 34-35: “shimmering- / oyster / -painted”
• Lines 35-36: “foot / which”
• Lines 36-37: “the / flash”
• Lines 37-38: “before / dropping”
• Line 18: “less and less”
• Line 26: “far,” “far”

“An Easy Passage” Vocabulary

Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.

• Electroplating
• Flush-faced
• Shimmering-oyster-painted
• (Location in poem: Line 10: “the flimsy, hole-punched, aluminium lever”)

Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “An Easy Passage”

Rhyme scheme, “an easy passage” speaker, “an easy passage” setting, literary and historical context of “an easy passage”, more “an easy passage” resources, external resources.

Copus on Writing — Listen to Copus talk about what brought her to writing. 

More About the Poet — An introduction to Copus's life and work from the Poetry Archive.

The World's Two Smallest Humans — Read a review of the collection in which "An Easy Passage" was published.

An Interview with Copus — Watch clips from a 2014 interview with the poet for The Bloodaxe Archive Project.

Everything you need for every book you read.