literary devices in thesis statement

Literary Devices

Literary devices, terms, and elements, definition of thesis.

A thesis is a statement or central idea that a writer puts forward at the beginning of an argument , and will support throughout the following text. The thesis is a premise that the author believes to be true, and will give evidence for by way of facts or situations that reinforce this central idea. Thesis statements are most often found in academic writing, and have a subtler yet analogous role in fiction.

The word “thesis” comes from Greek, in which it means “something put forth.” The definition of thesis developed from this reference to an proposition for which the author wants to argue the validity.

Common Examples of Thesis

We generally do not use formal thesis examples in ordinary life. It is possible, however, to state a main idea and back this idea up with evidence. Someone could say, for example, “We’re destined to be together,” and give reasons why this is the case. The lyrics of the popular song “Ho Hey” by the Lumineers illustrates this concept:

1, 2, 3 I belong with you, you belong with me, you’re my sweetheart I belong with you, you belong with me, you’re my sweet (Ho!) So show me family (Hey!) All the blood that I would bleed (Ho!) I don’t know where I belong (Hey!) I don’t know where I went wrong (Ho!) But I can write a song (Hey!)

Bob Dylan’s song “The Hurricane” also puts forward a thesis statement—Rubin Carter “The Hurricane was innocent of a crime he was charged with—and supports it with evidence of the story:

Pistols shots ring out in the barroom night Enter Patty Valentine from the upper hall She sees the bartender in a pool of blood Cries out “My God they killed them all” Here comes the story of the Hurricane The man the authorities came to blame For something that he never done Put him in a prison cell but one time he could-a been The champion of the world.

There are also countless examples of theses in academia; everyone who attains a Ph.D. must first present a thesis paper, sometimes called a dissertation, that is the product of many years of research and investigation. Examples of thesis papers are often found in other undergraduate and graduate studies as well.

Significance of Thesis in Literature

While the thesis of a work of literature can be harder to extract from the body of the text than in academic writing, it can be just as important. Writers have a certain point of view from which they are writing, and may construct entire poems and novels to prove certain ideas true. While an academic writer can base his or her argument off of fact and data, the literary writer often uses situations and the emotions they provoke to help prove certain ideas. This process can take longer to develop than in academic thesis examples, and yet the result can often be stronger. When authors of poetry and prose appeal to emotion as well as logic (both pathos and logos ), the reader is more likely to be convinced of a certain message, as well as remember the message for a longer period of time.

Examples of Thesis in Literature

JAQUES: All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts, His acts being seven ages.

( As You Like It by William Shakespeare)

This famous example of thesis from the character of Jaques is a beautiful metaphor for the similarities between life and the stage. It is often quoted because it seems to reflect a world-view that Shakespeare probably held; everything that happens in the world can be read as a type of performance with everyone just trying to play their part.

You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view . . . until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.

( To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee)

The above excerpt from Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is famous because it is an important central idea to the novel. Atticus Finch believes in empathy and understanding other people’s life stories and points of view. Therefore, he strongly believes that we must try to understand where other people are coming from. This one statement is a thesis that the rest of the book supports.

TOM: Yes, I have tricks in my pocket, I have things up my sleeve. But I am the opposite of a stage magician. He gives you illusion that has the appearance of truth. I give you truth in the pleasant disguise of illusion.

( The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams) Thesis examples can often be found at the beginning of a work of poetry, prose, or drama , as is the case with Tennessee Williams’s The Glass Menagerie . The character of Tom narrates the play, and often breaks the fourth wall to address the audience directly. In this quote, which opens the play, Tom presents the idea that the drama that is about to unfold is entertaining yet tells the truth. Similar to Shakespeare, this could be understood as Tennessee William’s thesis about the power of drama.

And this I believe: that the free, exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world. And this I would fight for: the freedom of the mind to take any direction it wishes, undirected. And this I must fight against: any idea, religion, or government which limits or destroys the individual.

( East of Eden by John Steinbeck)

In his novel East of Eden , John Steinbeck often makes authorial interjections. These passages seem to highlight Steinbeck’s own views on different matters, rather than any particular character’s views. The short excerpt above is one of the strongest examples of a thesis statement in all of literature; Steinbeck firmly believe in free will, and vows to fight against anything that would limit free will. He presents more than one example of thesis in his novel, and creates characters and situations that support his beliefs.

so much depends upon a red wheel barrow glazed with rain water beside the white chickens.

(“The Red Wheelbarrow” by William Carlos Williams)

Poetry can have examples of thesis statements just as easily as prose or drama. William Carlos Williams’s poem “The Red Wheelbarrow” is famously enigmatic, while also being quite direct. He makes the straightforward argument that “so much depends” on a certain intangible object. In this case, “a red wheel / barrow.” Many readers and scholars have interpreted this short thesis statement in countless different ways. Thus, it is an interesting thesis example because Williams states it so unswervingly, yet does not support it with other evidence. Readers are left to interpret and prove this thesis example themselves.

Test Your Knowledge of Thesis

1. Which of the following statements is the best thesis definition? A. A minor claim to support the main proposition that author has put forth. B. A central idea which the author intends to support via evidence. C. A piece of evidence or a fact.

2. What thesis could be extracted from the following quote from John Steinbeck’s East of Eden?

Monsters are variations from the accepted normal to a greater or a less degree. As a child may be born without an arm, so one may be born without kindness or the potential of conscience.

A. All people with physical deformities are monsters. B. All monsters are evil. C. Some people can be born without kindness, making them monstrous.

3. What is the thesis in William Shakespeare’s “ Sonnet 116”?

Let me not to the marriage of true minds Admit impediments. Love is not love Which alters when it alteration finds, Or bends with the remover to remove: O no; it is an ever-fixed mark, That looks on tempests, and is never shaken; It is the star to every wandering bark, Whose worth’s unknown, although his height be taken. Love’s not Time’s fool, though rosy lips and cheeks Within his bending sickle’s compass come; Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks, But bears it out even to the edge of doom. If this be error and upon me proved, I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

A. True love does not change when problems arise. B. Love is a game for fools. C. Only married people understand true love.

Literary Criticism

• Introduction
• Literary Theories
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• thesis examples

SAMPLE THESIS STATEMENTS

These sample thesis statements are provided as guides, not as required forms or prescriptions.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The thesis may focus on an analysis of one of the elements of fiction, drama, poetry or nonfiction as expressed in the work: character, plot, structure, idea, theme, symbol, style, imagery, tone, etc.

In “A Worn Path,” Eudora Welty creates a fictional character in Phoenix Jackson whose determination, faith, and cunning illustrate the indomitable human spirit.

Note that the work, author, and character to be analyzed are identified in this thesis statement. The thesis relies on a strong verb (creates). It also identifies the element of fiction that the writer will explore (character) and the characteristics the writer will analyze and discuss (determination, faith, cunning).

Further Examples:

The character of the Nurse in Romeo and Juliet serves as a foil to young Juliet, delights us with her warmth and earthy wit, and helps realize the tragic catastrophe.

The works of ecstatic love poets Rumi, Hafiz, and Kabir use symbols such as a lover’s longing and the Tavern of Ruin to illustrate the human soul’s desire to connect with God.

The thesis may focus on illustrating how a work reflects the particular genre’s forms, the characteristics of a philosophy of literature, or the ideas of a particular school of thought.

“The Third and Final Continent” exhibits characteristics recurrent in writings by immigrants: tradition, adaptation, and identity.

Note how the thesis statement classifies the form of the work (writings by immigrants) and identifies the characteristics of that form of writing (tradition, adaptation, and identity) that the essay will discuss.

Further examples:

Samuel Beckett’s Endgame reflects characteristics of Theatre of the Absurd in its minimalist stage setting, its seemingly meaningless dialogue, and its apocalyptic or nihilist vision.

A close look at many details in “The Story of an Hour” reveals how language, institutions, and expected demeanor suppress the natural desires and aspirations of women.

The thesis may draw parallels between some element in the work and real-life situations or subject matter: historical events, the author’s life, medical diagnoses, etc.

In Willa Cather’s short story, “Paul’s Case,” Paul exhibits suicidal behavior that a caring adult might have recognized and remedied had that adult had the scientific knowledge we have today.

This thesis suggests that the essay will identify characteristics of suicide that Paul exhibits in the story. The writer will have to research medical and psychology texts to determine the typical characteristics of suicidal behavior and to illustrate how Paul’s behavior mirrors those characteristics.

Through the experience of one man, the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, accurately depicts the historical record of slave life in its descriptions of the often brutal and quixotic relationship between master and slave and of the fragmentation of slave families.

In “I Stand Here Ironing,” one can draw parallels between the narrator’s situation and the author’s life experiences as a mother, writer, and feminist.

SAMPLE PATTERNS FOR THESES ON LITERARY WORKS

1. In (title of work), (author) (illustrates, shows) (aspect) (adjective). 

Example: In “Barn Burning,” William Faulkner shows the characters Sardie and Abner Snopes struggling for their identity.

2. In (title of work), (author) uses (one aspect) to (define, strengthen, illustrate) the (element of work).

Example: In “Youth,” Joseph Conrad uses foreshadowing to strengthen the plot.

3. In (title of work), (author) uses (an important part of work) as a unifying device for (one element), (another element), and (another element). The number of elements can vary from one to four.

Example: In “Youth,” Joseph Conrad uses the sea as a unifying device for setting, structure and theme.

4. (Author) develops the character of (character’s name) in (literary work) through what he/she does, what he/she says, what other people say to or about him/her.

Example: Langston Hughes develops the character of Semple in “Ways and Means”…

5. In (title of work), (author) uses (literary device) to (accomplish, develop, illustrate, strengthen) (element of work).

Example: In “The Masque of the Red Death,” Poe uses the symbolism of the stranger, the clock, and the seventh room to develop the theme of death.

6. (Author) (shows, develops, illustrates) the theme of __________ in the (play, poem, story).

Example: Flannery O’Connor illustrates the theme of the effect of the selfishness of the grandmother upon the family in “A Good Man is Hard to Find.”

7. (Author) develops his character(s) in (title of work) through his/her use of language.

Example: John Updike develops his characters in “A & P” through his use of figurative language.

Perimeter College, Georgia State University,  http://depts.gpc.edu/~gpcltc/handouts/communications/literarythesis.pdf

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Thesis Statements for a Literature Assignment

A thesis prepares the reader for what you are about to say. As such, your paper needs to be interesting in order for your thesis to be interesting. Your thesis needs to be interesting because it needs to capture a reader's attention. If a reader looks at your thesis and says "so what?", your thesis has failed to do its job, and chances are your paper has as well. Thus, make your thesis provocative and open to reasonable disagreement, but then write persuasively enough to sway those who might be disagree.

Keep in mind the following when formulating a thesis:

• A Thesis Should Not State the Obvious
• Use Literary Terms in Thesis With Care
• A Thesis Should be Balanced
• A Thesis Can be a Blueprint

Avoid the Obvious

Bland: Dorothy Parker's "Résumé" uses images of suicide to make her point about living.

This is bland because it's obvious and incontestable. A reader looks at it and says, "so what?"

However, consider this alternative:

Dorothy Parker's "Résumé" doesn't celebrate life, but rather scorns those who would fake or attempt suicide just to get attention.

The first thesis merely describes something about the poem; the second tells the reader what the writer thinks the poem is about--it offers a reading or interpretation. The paper would need to support that reading and would very likely examine the way Parker uses images of suicide to make the point the writer claims.

Use Literary Terms in Thesis Only to Make Larger Points

Poems and novels generally use rhyme, meter, imagery, simile, metaphor, stanzas, characters, themes, settings and so on. While these terms are important for you to use in your analysis and your arguments, that they exist in the work you are writing about should not be the main point of your thesis. Unless the poet or novelist uses these elements in some unexpected way to shape the work's meaning, it's generally a good idea not to draw attention to the use of literary devices in thesis statements because an intelligent reader expects a poem or novel to use literary of these elements. Therefore, a thesis that only says a work uses literary devices isn't a good thesis because all it is doing is stating the obvious, leading the reader to say, "so what?"

However, you can use literary terms in a thesis if the purpose is to explain how the terms contribute to the work's meaning or understanding. Here's an example of thesis statement that does call attention to literary devices because they are central to the paper's argument. Literary terms are placed in italics.

Don Marquis introduced Archy and Mehitabel in his Sun Dial column by combining the conventions of free verse poetry with newspaper prose so intimately that in "the coming of Archy," the entire column represents a complete poem and not a free verse poem preceded by a prose introduction .

Note the difference between this thesis and the first bland thesis on the Parker poem. This thesis does more than say certain literary devices exist in the poem; it argues that they exist in a specific relationship to one another and makes a fairly startling claim, one that many would disagree with and one that the writer will need to persuade her readers on.

Keep Your Thesis Balanced

Keep the thesis balanced. If it's too general, it becomes vague; if it's too specific, it cannot be developed. If it's merely descriptive (like the bland example above), it gives the reader no compelling reason to go on. The thesis should be dramatic, have some tension in it, and should need to be proved (another reason for avoiding the obvious).

Too general: Edna St. Vincent Millay wrote many poems with love as the theme. Too specific: Edna St. Vincent Millay wrote "Love is not all: it is not meat nor drink" in <insert date> after <insert event from her life>. Too descriptive: Edna St. Vincent Millay's "Love is not all: it is not meat nor drink" is a sonnet with two parts; the first six lines propose a view of love and the next eight complicate that view. With tension and which will need proving: Despite her avowal on the importance of love, and despite her belief that she would not sell her love, the speaker in Edna St. Vincent Millay's "Love is not all: it is not meat nor drink" remains unconvinced and bitter, as if she is trying to trick herself into believing that love really does matter for more than the one night she is in some lover's arms.

Your Thesis Can Be A Blueprint

A thesis can be used as roadmap or blueprint for your paper:

In "Résumé," Dorothy Parker subverts the idea of what a résumé is--accomplishments and experiences--with an ironic tone, silly images of suicide, and witty rhymes to point out the banality of life for those who remain too disengaged from it.

Note that while this thesis refers to particular poetic devices, it does so in a way that gets beyond merely saying there are poetic devices in the poem and then merely describing them. It makes a claim as to how and why the poet uses tone, imagery and rhyme.

Readers would expect you to argue that Parker subverts the idea of the résumé to critique bored (and boring) people; they would expect your argument to do so by analyzing her use of tone, imagery and rhyme in that order.

Citation Information

Nick Carbone. (1994-2024). Thesis Statements for a Literature Assignment. The WAC Clearinghouse. Colorado State University. Available at https://wac.colostate.edu/repository/writing/guides/.

Copyright Information

Copyright © 1994-2024 Colorado State University and/or this site's authors, developers, and contributors . Some material displayed on this site is used with permission.

• Literary Terms
• Definition & Examples
• When & How to Write a Thesis

I. What is a Thesis?

The thesis (pronounced thee -seez), also known as a thesis statement, is the sentence that introduces the main argument or point of view of a composition (formal essay, nonfiction piece, or narrative). It is the main claim that the author is making about that topic and serves to summarize and introduce that writing that will be discussed throughout the entire piece. For this reason, the thesis is typically found within the first introduction paragraph.

II. Examples of Theses

Here are a few examples of theses which may be found in the introductions of a variety of essays :

In “The Mending Wall,” Robert Frost uses imagery, metaphor, and dialogue to argue against the use of fences between neighbors.

In this example, the thesis introduces the main subject (Frost’s poem “The Mending Wall”), aspects of the subject which will be examined (imagery, metaphor, and dialogue) and the writer’s argument (fences should not be used).

While Facebook connects some, overall, the social networking site is negative in that it isolates users, causes jealousy, and becomes an addiction.

This thesis introduces an argumentative essay which argues against the use of Facebook due to three of its negative effects.

During the college application process, I discovered my willingness to work hard to achieve my dreams and just what those dreams were.

In this more personal example, the thesis statement introduces a narrative essay which will focus on personal development in realizing one’s goals and how to achieve them.

III. The Importance of Using a Thesis

Theses are absolutely necessary components in essays because they introduce what an essay will be about. Without a thesis, the essay lacks clear organization and direction. Theses allow writers to organize their ideas by clearly stating them, and they allow readers to be aware from the beginning of a composition’s subject, argument, and course. Thesis statements must precisely express an argument within the introductory paragraph of the piece in order to guide the reader from the very beginning.

IV. Examples of Theses in Literature

For examples of theses in literature, consider these thesis statements from essays about topics in literature:

In William Shakespeare’s “ Sonnet 46,” both physicality and emotion together form powerful romantic love.

This thesis statement clearly states the work and its author as well as the main argument: physicality and emotion create romantic love.

In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne symbolically shows Hester Prynne’s developing identity through the use of the letter A: she moves from adulteress to able community member to angel.

In this example, the work and author are introduced as well as the main argument and supporting points: Prynne’s identity is shown through the letter A in three ways: adulteress, able community member, and angel.

John Keats’ poem “To Autumn” utilizes rhythm, rhyme, and imagery to examine autumn’s simultaneous birth and decay.

This thesis statement introduces the poem and its author along with an argument about the nature of autumn. This argument will be supported by an examination of rhythm, rhyme, and imagery.

V. Examples of Theses in Pop Culture

Sometimes, pop culture attempts to make arguments similar to those of research papers and essays. Here are a few examples of theses in pop culture:

America’s food industry is making a killing and it’s making us sick, but you have the power to turn the tables.

The documentary Food Inc. examines this thesis with evidence throughout the film including video evidence, interviews with experts, and scientific research.

Orca whales should not be kept in captivity, as it is psychologically traumatizing and has caused them to kill their own trainers.

Blackfish uses footage, interviews, and history to argue for the thesis that orca whales should not be held in captivity.

VI. Related Terms

Just as a thesis is introduced in the beginning of a composition, the hypothesis is considered a starting point as well. Whereas a thesis introduces the main point of an essay, the hypothesis introduces a proposed explanation which is being investigated through scientific or mathematical research. Thesis statements present arguments based on evidence which is presented throughout the paper, whereas hypotheses are being tested by scientists and mathematicians who may disprove or prove them through experimentation. Here is an example of a hypothesis versus a thesis:

Hypothesis:

Students skip school more often as summer vacation approaches.

This hypothesis could be tested by examining attendance records and interviewing students. It may or may not be true.

Students skip school due to sickness, boredom with classes, and the urge to rebel.

This thesis presents an argument which will be examined and supported in the paper with detailed evidence and research.

Introduction

A paper’s introduction is its first paragraph which is used to introduce the paper’s main aim and points used to support that aim throughout the paper. The thesis statement is the most important part of the introduction which states all of this information in one concise statement. Typically, introduction paragraphs require a thesis statement which ties together the entire introduction and introduces the rest of the paper.

VII. Conclusion

Theses are necessary components of well-organized and convincing essays, nonfiction pieces, narratives , and documentaries. They allow writers to organize and support arguments to be developed throughout a composition, and they allow readers to understand from the beginning what the aim of the composition is.

List of Terms

• Alliteration
• Amplification
• Anachronism
• Anthropomorphism
• Antonomasia
• APA Citation
• Aposiopesis
• Autobiography
• Bildungsroman
• Characterization
• Circumlocution
• Cliffhanger
• Comic Relief
• Connotation
• Deus ex machina
• Deuteragonist
• Doppelganger
• Double Entendre
• Dramatic irony
• Equivocation
• Extended Metaphor
• Figures of Speech
• Flash-forward
• Foreshadowing
• Intertextuality
• Juxtaposition
• Literary Device
• Malapropism
• Onomatopoeia
• Parallelism
• Pathetic Fallacy
• Personification
• Point of View
• Polysyndeton
• Protagonist
• Red Herring
• Rhetorical Device
• Rhetorical Question
• Science Fiction
• Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
• Synesthesia
• Turning Point
• Understatement
• Urban Legend
• Verisimilitude
• Essay Guide
• Cite This Website

Thesis Definition A thesis is a declaration in a non-fiction or a fiction work that a creator intends to aid and prove. One can find examples of thesis announcement at the beginning of literary pieces. These thesis statements are of extreme importance, as they provide clear signs as to which direction the author will follow of their work. A thesis assertion is carefully crafted with the aid of a creator, and is marked via vigilant choice of phrases that will never miss its target. Generally, such a declaration suggests up in the first paragraph, or what is called an introduction. Despite writers’ efforts to show their thesis statements, not all of those statements can be verified for their exactness. Nevertheless, they do increase an argument. Importance of a Thesis Statement In writing an essay, a thesis declaration determines the well worth of the essay through its potential to live targeted on its thesis assertion. For instance, if a writer fails to genuinely point out or outline a solid thesis assertion in his or her essay, it will be hard for readers to track the issue the author plans to talk about and explain. Suppose a writer desires to write an essay on how to make a really perfect fruit salad, the great of his or her writing will enormously enhance if he or she we could the readers recognize the subject count number at the start of the essay, for example: “In this essay, I will tell you how to make the proper fruit salad. Not most effective will or not it's tasty, however also healthful in your body.” Narrative Thesis In a story essay, or narrative segment of a piece of literature, a thesis declaration is referred to as a “narrative thesis.” A narrative thesis may be an obvious one or a hidden or implied one. In both cases, such a announcement is a powerful, propelling force at the back of an entire paintings, that guides it toward its last reason and the lesson it intends to instruct. Narrative Thesis Examples Below is a list of some narrative thesis examples – starting strains that determine the entire route of the narratives. Example #1: Pride and Prejudice (By Jane Austen) “It is a reality universally stated that a single guy in possession of an excellent fortune, have to be in need of a wife.” Example #2: One Hundred Years of Solitude (By Gabriel García Márquez) “Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía became to don't forget that distant afternoon while his father took him to find out ice.” Example #3: Lolita (By Vladimir Nabokov) “Lolita, mild of my life, fireplace of my loins.” Example #4: Anna Karenina (By Leo Tolstoy) “Happy households are all alike; every sad family is unhappy in its own way.” Example #5: 1984 (By George Orwell) “It turned into a bright cold day in April, and the clocks have been putting thirteen.” Example #6: A Tale of Two Cities (By Charles Dickens) “It changed into the best of times, it became the worst of times, it turned into the age of wisdom, it turned into the age of foolishness, it turned into the epoch of belief, it changed into the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it became the season of Darkness, it become the spring of hope, it changed into the winter of despair.” Example #7: The Catcher in the Rye (By J. D. Salinger) “If you really want to hear approximately it, the first factor you’ll probably want to realize is where I turned into born, and what my awful formative years become like, and the way my parents were occupied and all before they'd me, and all that David Copperfield type of crap, but I don’t experience like going into it, if you need to realize the fact.” Example #8: A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (By James Joyce) “Once upon a time and a excellent time it became there was a moocow coming down along the road and this moocow that changed into coming down along the street met a nicens little boy named baby tuckoo.” Function of Thesis The above arguments simply screen the function of a thesis statements or a narrative thesis as a driving pressure at the back of a literary composition. It guides the narrative closer to its ultimate cause, which is the moral lesson it aims to inculcate.

• Alliteration
• Anachronism
• Antimetabole
• Aposiopesis
• Characterization
• Colloquialism
• Connotation
• Deus Ex Machina
• Didacticism
• Doppelganger
• Double Entendre
• Flash Forward
• Foreshadowing
• Internal Rhyme
• Juxtaposition
• Non Sequitur
• Onomatopoeia
• Parallelism
• Pathetic Fallacy
• Personification
• Poetic Justice
• Point of View
• Portmanteau
• Protagonist
• Red Herring
• Superlative
• Synesthesia
• Tragicomedy
• Tragic Flaw
• Verisimilitude

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• Knowledge Base
• How to write a literary analysis essay | A step-by-step guide

How to Write a Literary Analysis Essay | A Step-by-Step Guide

Published on January 30, 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on August 14, 2023.

Literary analysis means closely studying a text, interpreting its meanings, and exploring why the author made certain choices. It can be applied to novels, short stories, plays, poems, or any other form of literary writing.

A literary analysis essay is not a rhetorical analysis , nor is it just a summary of the plot or a book review. Instead, it is a type of argumentative essay where you need to analyze elements such as the language, perspective, and structure of the text, and explain how the author uses literary devices to create effects and convey ideas.

Before beginning a literary analysis essay, it’s essential to carefully read the text and c ome up with a thesis statement to keep your essay focused. As you write, follow the standard structure of an academic essay :

• An introduction that tells the reader what your essay will focus on.
• A main body, divided into paragraphs , that builds an argument using evidence from the text.
• A conclusion that clearly states the main point that you have shown with your analysis.

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Table of contents

Step 1: reading the text and identifying literary devices, step 2: coming up with a thesis, step 3: writing a title and introduction, step 4: writing the body of the essay, step 5: writing a conclusion, other interesting articles.

The first step is to carefully read the text(s) and take initial notes. As you read, pay attention to the things that are most intriguing, surprising, or even confusing in the writing—these are things you can dig into in your analysis.

Your goal in literary analysis is not simply to explain the events described in the text, but to analyze the writing itself and discuss how the text works on a deeper level. Primarily, you’re looking out for literary devices —textual elements that writers use to convey meaning and create effects. If you’re comparing and contrasting multiple texts, you can also look for connections between different texts.

To get started with your analysis, there are several key areas that you can focus on. As you analyze each aspect of the text, try to think about how they all relate to each other. You can use highlights or notes to keep track of important passages and quotes.

Language choices

Consider what style of language the author uses. Are the sentences short and simple or more complex and poetic?

What word choices stand out as interesting or unusual? Are words used figuratively to mean something other than their literal definition? Figurative language includes things like metaphor (e.g. “her eyes were oceans”) and simile (e.g. “her eyes were like oceans”).

Also keep an eye out for imagery in the text—recurring images that create a certain atmosphere or symbolize something important. Remember that language is used in literary texts to say more than it means on the surface.

Narrative voice

Ask yourself:

• Who is telling the story?
• How are they telling it?

Is it a first-person narrator (“I”) who is personally involved in the story, or a third-person narrator who tells us about the characters from a distance?

Consider the narrator’s perspective . Is the narrator omniscient (where they know everything about all the characters and events), or do they only have partial knowledge? Are they an unreliable narrator who we are not supposed to take at face value? Authors often hint that their narrator might be giving us a distorted or dishonest version of events.

The tone of the text is also worth considering. Is the story intended to be comic, tragic, or something else? Are usually serious topics treated as funny, or vice versa ? Is the story realistic or fantastical (or somewhere in between)?

Consider how the text is structured, and how the structure relates to the story being told.

• Novels are often divided into chapters and parts.
• Poems are divided into lines, stanzas, and sometime cantos.
• Plays are divided into scenes and acts.

Think about why the author chose to divide the different parts of the text in the way they did.

There are also less formal structural elements to take into account. Does the story unfold in chronological order, or does it jump back and forth in time? Does it begin in medias res —in the middle of the action? Does the plot advance towards a clearly defined climax?

With poetry, consider how the rhyme and meter shape your understanding of the text and your impression of the tone. Try reading the poem aloud to get a sense of this.

In a play, you might consider how relationships between characters are built up through different scenes, and how the setting relates to the action. Watch out for  dramatic irony , where the audience knows some detail that the characters don’t, creating a double meaning in their words, thoughts, or actions.

Prevent plagiarism. Run a free check.

Your thesis in a literary analysis essay is the point you want to make about the text. It’s the core argument that gives your essay direction and prevents it from just being a collection of random observations about a text.

If you’re given a prompt for your essay, your thesis must answer or relate to the prompt. For example:

Essay question example

Is Franz Kafka’s “Before the Law” a religious parable?

Your thesis statement should be an answer to this question—not a simple yes or no, but a statement of why this is or isn’t the case:

Thesis statement example

Franz Kafka’s “Before the Law” is not a religious parable, but a story about bureaucratic alienation.

Sometimes you’ll be given freedom to choose your own topic; in this case, you’ll have to come up with an original thesis. Consider what stood out to you in the text; ask yourself questions about the elements that interested you, and consider how you might answer them.

Your thesis should be something arguable—that is, something that you think is true about the text, but which is not a simple matter of fact. It must be complex enough to develop through evidence and arguments across the course of your essay.

Say you’re analyzing the novel Frankenstein . You could start by asking yourself:

Your initial answer might be a surface-level description:

The character Frankenstein is portrayed negatively in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein .

However, this statement is too simple to be an interesting thesis. After reading the text and analyzing its narrative voice and structure, you can develop the answer into a more nuanced and arguable thesis statement:

Mary Shelley uses shifting narrative perspectives to portray Frankenstein in an increasingly negative light as the novel goes on. While he initially appears to be a naive but sympathetic idealist, after the creature’s narrative Frankenstein begins to resemble—even in his own telling—the thoughtlessly cruel figure the creature represents him as.

Remember that you can revise your thesis statement throughout the writing process , so it doesn’t need to be perfectly formulated at this stage. The aim is to keep you focused as you analyze the text.

Finding textual evidence

To support your thesis statement, your essay will build an argument using textual evidence —specific parts of the text that demonstrate your point. This evidence is quoted and analyzed throughout your essay to explain your argument to the reader.

It can be useful to comb through the text in search of relevant quotations before you start writing. You might not end up using everything you find, and you may have to return to the text for more evidence as you write, but collecting textual evidence from the beginning will help you to structure your arguments and assess whether they’re convincing.

To start your literary analysis paper, you’ll need two things: a good title, and an introduction.

Your title should clearly indicate what your analysis will focus on. It usually contains the name of the author and text(s) you’re analyzing. Keep it as concise and engaging as possible.

A common approach to the title is to use a relevant quote from the text, followed by a colon and then the rest of your title.

If you struggle to come up with a good title at first, don’t worry—this will be easier once you’ve begun writing the essay and have a better sense of your arguments.

“Fearful symmetry” : The violence of creation in William Blake’s “The Tyger”

The introduction

The essay introduction provides a quick overview of where your argument is going. It should include your thesis statement and a summary of the essay’s structure.

A typical structure for an introduction is to begin with a general statement about the text and author, using this to lead into your thesis statement. You might refer to a commonly held idea about the text and show how your thesis will contradict it, or zoom in on a particular device you intend to focus on.

Then you can end with a brief indication of what’s coming up in the main body of the essay. This is called signposting. It will be more elaborate in longer essays, but in a short five-paragraph essay structure, it shouldn’t be more than one sentence.

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is often read as a crude cautionary tale about the dangers of scientific advancement unrestrained by ethical considerations. In this reading, protagonist Victor Frankenstein is a stable representation of the callous ambition of modern science throughout the novel. This essay, however, argues that far from providing a stable image of the character, Shelley uses shifting narrative perspectives to portray Frankenstein in an increasingly negative light as the novel goes on. While he initially appears to be a naive but sympathetic idealist, after the creature’s narrative Frankenstein begins to resemble—even in his own telling—the thoughtlessly cruel figure the creature represents him as. This essay begins by exploring the positive portrayal of Frankenstein in the first volume, then moves on to the creature’s perception of him, and finally discusses the third volume’s narrative shift toward viewing Frankenstein as the creature views him.

Some students prefer to write the introduction later in the process, and it’s not a bad idea. After all, you’ll have a clearer idea of the overall shape of your arguments once you’ve begun writing them!

If you do write the introduction first, you should still return to it later to make sure it lines up with what you ended up writing, and edit as necessary.

The body of your essay is everything between the introduction and conclusion. It contains your arguments and the textual evidence that supports them.

Paragraph structure

A typical structure for a high school literary analysis essay consists of five paragraphs : the three paragraphs of the body, plus the introduction and conclusion.

Each paragraph in the main body should focus on one topic. In the five-paragraph model, try to divide your argument into three main areas of analysis, all linked to your thesis. Don’t try to include everything you can think of to say about the text—only analysis that drives your argument.

In longer essays, the same principle applies on a broader scale. For example, you might have two or three sections in your main body, each with multiple paragraphs. Within these sections, you still want to begin new paragraphs at logical moments—a turn in the argument or the introduction of a new idea.

Robert’s first encounter with Gil-Martin suggests something of his sinister power. Robert feels “a sort of invisible power that drew me towards him.” He identifies the moment of their meeting as “the beginning of a series of adventures which has puzzled myself, and will puzzle the world when I am no more in it” (p. 89). Gil-Martin’s “invisible power” seems to be at work even at this distance from the moment described; before continuing the story, Robert feels compelled to anticipate at length what readers will make of his narrative after his approaching death. With this interjection, Hogg emphasizes the fatal influence Gil-Martin exercises from his first appearance.

Topic sentences

To keep your points focused, it’s important to use a topic sentence at the beginning of each paragraph.

A good topic sentence allows a reader to see at a glance what the paragraph is about. It can introduce a new line of argument and connect or contrast it with the previous paragraph. Transition words like “however” or “moreover” are useful for creating smooth transitions:

… The story’s focus, therefore, is not upon the divine revelation that may be waiting beyond the door, but upon the mundane process of aging undergone by the man as he waits.

Nevertheless, the “radiance” that appears to stream from the door is typically treated as religious symbolism.

This topic sentence signals that the paragraph will address the question of religious symbolism, while the linking word “nevertheless” points out a contrast with the previous paragraph’s conclusion.

Using textual evidence

A key part of literary analysis is backing up your arguments with relevant evidence from the text. This involves introducing quotes from the text and explaining their significance to your point.

It’s important to contextualize quotes and explain why you’re using them; they should be properly introduced and analyzed, not treated as self-explanatory:

It isn’t always necessary to use a quote. Quoting is useful when you’re discussing the author’s language, but sometimes you’ll have to refer to plot points or structural elements that can’t be captured in a short quote.

In these cases, it’s more appropriate to paraphrase or summarize parts of the text—that is, to describe the relevant part in your own words:

The conclusion of your analysis shouldn’t introduce any new quotations or arguments. Instead, it’s about wrapping up the essay. Here, you summarize your key points and try to emphasize their significance to the reader.

A good way to approach this is to briefly summarize your key arguments, and then stress the conclusion they’ve led you to, highlighting the new perspective your thesis provides on the text as a whole:

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
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By tracing the depiction of Frankenstein through the novel’s three volumes, I have demonstrated how the narrative structure shifts our perception of the character. While the Frankenstein of the first volume is depicted as having innocent intentions, the second and third volumes—first in the creature’s accusatory voice, and then in his own voice—increasingly undermine him, causing him to appear alternately ridiculous and vindictive. Far from the one-dimensional villain he is often taken to be, the character of Frankenstein is compelling because of the dynamic narrative frame in which he is placed. In this frame, Frankenstein’s narrative self-presentation responds to the images of him we see from others’ perspectives. This conclusion sheds new light on the novel, foregrounding Shelley’s unique layering of narrative perspectives and its importance for the depiction of character.

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Thesis Definition

A thesis is a statement in a non- fiction or a fiction work that a writer intends to support and prove. One can find examples of thesis statement at the beginning of literary pieces. These thesis statements are of utmost importance, as they provide clear indicators as to which direction the writer will follow in their work.

A thesis statement is carefully crafted by a writer, and is marked by vigilant selection of words that will never miss its target. Generally, such a statement shows up in the first paragraph, or what is called an introduction. Despite writers’ efforts to prove their thesis statements, not all of these statements can be verified for their exactness. Nevertheless, they do develop an argument .

Importance of a Thesis Statement

In writing an essay , a thesis statement determines the worth of the essay by its capacity to stay focused on its thesis statement. For instance, if a writer fails to clearly mention or define a solid thesis statement in his or her essay , it will be difficult for readers to track the issue the writer plans to discuss and explain. Suppose a writer wants to write an essay on how to make a perfect fruit salad, the quality of his or her writing will exceedingly improve if he or she lets the readers know the subject matter at the start of the essay , for example:

“In this essay , I will tell you how to make the perfect fruit salad. Not only will it be tasty, but also healthy for your body.”

Narrative Thesis

In a narrative essay , or narrative section of a piece of literature, a thesis statement is called a “ narrative thesis.” A narrative thesis can be an apparent one or a hidden or implied one. In both cases, such a statement is a powerful, propelling force behind an entire work, that guides it toward its ultimate purpose and the lesson it intends to instruct.

Narrative Thesis Examples

Below is a list of a few narrative thesis examples – opening lines that determine the entire course of the narratives.

Example #1: Pride and Prejudice (By Jane Austen)

“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”

Example #2: One Hundred Years of Solitude (By Gabriel García Márquez)

“Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice.”

Example #3: Lolita (By Vladimir Nabokov)

“Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins.”

Example #4: Anna Karenina (By Leo Tolstoy)

“Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”

Example #5: 1984 (By George Orwell)

“It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.”

Example #6: A Tale of Two Cities (By Charles Dickens)

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.”

Example #7: The Catcher in the Rye (By J. D. Salinger)

“If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you’ll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don’t feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth.”

Example #8: A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (By James Joyce)

“Once upon a time and a very good time it was there was a moocow coming down along the road and this moocow that was coming down along the road met a nicens little boy named baby tuckoo.”

Function of Thesis

The above arguments clearly reveal the function of a thesis statements or a narrative thesis as a driving force behind a literary composition. It guides the narrative toward its ultimate purpose, which is the moral lesson it aims to inculcate.

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12.14: 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 )

Literary Devices in Raymond Carver’s Cathedral Essay (Critical Writing)

The story described by Raymond Carver in his literary work Cathedral sheds light on the changes that are taking place in humanity. The author wrote this story in 1981, but its relevance is not lost today. A protagonist is a man with whom specific changes occur during the story. He has a conversation with a blind man, Robert, his wife’s friend. From this conversation, the reader can learn about the arrangement of human thoughts and better understand himself.

Before determining the literary devices of Cathedral , it might be useful to emphasize that it is a short story in which Carver was able to accommodate a variety of essential thoughts related to human nature (Stefanescu, 2008). In a short situation, the author reveals the protagonist’s changes in his perception of life. Therefore, Carver clarifies that fourteen pages of Cathedral are enough to make the reader think about how he considers life.

The first literary device to highlight is the dialogue between the protagonist and the blind man. The author chooses a conversation between people to show how two individuals can perceive the world and life differently. Comparing their viewpoints, character traits, and preconceptions about life leads to important conclusions that the protagonist makes at the end of the Cathedral . In addition, such an approach would be more interesting for the reader since when comparing different opinions, the person can observe their positive and negative sides and get important food for thought.

The author’s next literary device throughout the literary work is short, precise sentences. According to Carver (2018), “I wasn’t enthusiastic about his visit. He was no one I knew. And his being blind bothered me” (p. 1). Such sentences lack special coloring and do not have many adjectives and other minor sentences. They clearly express the idea and significantly shorten the literary work’s text. At the same time, the text does not lose meaning, and the reader receives essential information by reading a small amount of the story.

Another device of the Cathedral story is the conversational tone of the narrator (Gale, Cengage Learning, 2015). This technique is a continuation from what was described in the last paragraph about short sentences. However, it is worth paying particular attention to the narrator’s proximity to the reader. Thanks to the informal narration, the reader can better follow the course of the main character’s thoughts and changes in his mood (Gale, Cengage Learning, 2015). It applies both to the protagonist’s ordinary feelings and whims, such as his unwillingness to see a blind guest in his home, and to further internal changes in him. The tone of the dialogue helps the reader better understand the protagonist’s observations of blind Robert.

One of the critical literary techniques Carver used in Cathedral is the symbol. At the end of the work, Robert and the protagonist draw the cathedral together. This drawing process becomes a symbol of the changed feelings of the protagonist toward the world. He first helps Robert draw and guides his hand with his own. During this time, the protagonist paints a cathedral according to his perception of the world. The story culminates with Robert asking him to close his eyes and move his fingers. The drawing here becomes a symbol of changing feelings. At that moment, the hero realizes that the most important thing is that one cannot see with eyes but can only feel with the heart.

Carver, R. (1983). Cathedral . Knopf.

Gale, Cengage Learning. (2015). A study guide for Raymond Carver’s Cathedral . Gale, Cengage Learning.

Stefanescu, A. (2008). Postmodernism and minimalism in Raymond Carver’s “Cathedral” . GRIN Verlag.

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Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Literary Devices in Raymond Carver's Cathedral." August 13, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/literary-devices-in-raymond-carvers-cathedral/.

• Cathedral' by Raymond Carver Literature Analysis
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• Journal entry on Cathedral by Raymond Carver
• “Cathedral” by Raymond Carver
• Raymond Carver’s “Cathedral” Discovering Vision
• Narrator in “The Cathedral” by Raymond Carver
• Novella "Cathedral" by Raymond Carver
• The Importance of historical time period in Raymond Carver body of literature
• ‘What We Talk About When We Talk About Love’ and ‘Cathedral’ by Carver
• Carver’s “The Cathedral” & Barthelme’s “The Balloon”
• The Short Story "The Necklace" by Guy de Maupassant
• Gilgamesh and Odysseus as Heroes
• The Book "Meet Me at the Intersection" by Ambelin Kwaymullina
• To Be a Writer, You Must Be Born a Writer
• The Tales of the Merchant and the Demon

The Odyssey

Introduction to the odyssey.

Odyssey is one of the best ancient epics and a masterpiece, written by the blind poet, Homer. It might have been written in the 8 th or 7 th century BC. The poem has won popularity in almost every culture and civilization despite belonging to the Grecian civilization and yet has kept its freshness despite having survived the odds of time until this day. The poem presents the story of Odysseus, the Greek king, and his homeward journey after the Trojan war, including other wars and trials and tribulations that he confronts on the way home. The epic has not only achieved the status of a cannon but has also become a classic.

Summary of The Odyssey

The Odyssey is the story, the epic of Odysseus or Ulysses in some texts. His journey begins when the city of Troy falls. Odysseus, the Grecian hero , does not return to Ithaca, his kingdom, in ten days as per the journey schedule takes almost ten years. Assuming Odysseus is dead, his wife, Penelope, is hounded by unruly and rowdy suitors wanting to marry her. They spend more time around her palace, pillaging the land around it. However, despite this continuous commotion of these suitors, she carries on delaying it with the argument that she is knitting a shroud for her husband and that she will not respond to their calls until she finishes it. Although she has her son, Telemachus, with her, she does not dare to throw this mob out of the precincts of her palace. Despite the fierce opposition and Antinous’s plans to kill Telemachus, she stays dedicated.

During Penelope’s trial, Odysseus goes through a lot of trials on the land as well as the sea. He is captured with his companions and imprisoned by Calypso, a nymph on her island, Ogygia. Having no ship to return to Ithaca, he longs to be with his family. Then Mount Olympus is in deep debate as the goddesses and gods argue about what to do regarding Odysseus’ fate. While Athena has a soft spot for Odysseus and wants to assist him and his son, Telemachus, some fiercely oppose her. She visits Telemachus, disguising herself as the friend of his grandfather, and asks him to call all the suitors into an assembly and warn them of their misbehavior. She also helps him visit Nestor and Menelaus, the associates of Odysseus, who inform Telemachus about his father and his imprisonment on the island of Calypso. When he is about to return, the suitors plan to eliminate him.

Sensing delay in Odysseus’ return, Zeus himself dispatches Hermes for his release. Finally, she succeeds in convincing Calypso about the likely release of Odysseus, who sets sail toward his homeland but finds himself trapped in a storm caused by Poseidon on account of blinding Cyclops Polyphemus, his one-eyed giant son. Here again, Athena comes to his assistance and brings him to land at Scheria, where Nausicaa with her parents, welcomes him warmly. The hosts become captivated by his exploits after he discloses his real identity and tells his purpose. They promise to extend all possible help to this great hero.

However, before he departs from the island, he narrates his exploits, including his time on the island of Calypso, his trip to the Land of the Lotus Eaters, his time with Circe, and the temptation of Sirens until the final journey to the underworld where he meets the blind prophet, Tiresias, and wrestles with Scylla after consulting him Tiresias about this menace. The next day, the Phaeacians help him return to Ithaca, where he reaches the hut of Eumaeus, his faithful colleague, in the guise of a beggar.

After this, he goes to meet his son and discloses his identity, after which both plan to eliminate the unruly suitors to gain control of their city. The next day, Odysseus reaches his palace, and the same mob of the suitors attacks him with insults and rebukes, after which he meets the old lady, Eurycelia, who does not disclose his identity due to the fear that the suitors should kill him. Penelope, on the other hand, arranges an archery competition of the suitors to engage them in stringing the bow of Odysseus, at which all of them fail except Odysseus, who is in the garb of a beggar. Following this, with the assistance of his son, Telemachus, he falls upon the suitors and eliminates all of them. Following this, he discloses his identity and goes to meet Laertes, his father. They face an attack from Antinous’s father but kill him, while Zeus asks Athena to bring peace to the land after Odysseus’s ordeal ends. It is important to notice that the entire journey of Odysseus takes 20 years in which ten years he fought the Trojan war and the next ten years he fight everything else to reach home.

Major Themes in The Odyssey

• Hubris : The Odyssey shows the theme of hubris or excessive pride through Odysseus, who brags about his wins in the war until the gods turn against him and punish him for this hubris. The punishment continues until Athena favors him in bringing him home and assists him in overcoming his enemies on his way back home and also in his palace as suitors of his wife, Penelope troubles her. He faces Circe and the Cyclops and goes through the underworld. Despite his bragging, Athena supports him and saves him after he goes through this long punishment of near-fatal journeys after he has suffered enough for his pride.
• Homecoming: The theme of homecoming is apparent from the desire and longing of the hero, Odysseus, who recalls his wife, his son, and his hometown of Ithaca whenever he is in some difficult situation. It means that he always has his home in mind even when he is trapped by Circe or spends time with Calypso. Even when the Cyclops asks him the reason for staying there, he tells that he is on his homeward journey.
• Hospitality: The theme of hospitality goes side by side with other themes with its significance in the Grecian culture. That is why Odysseus enjoys the hospitality of Circe as well as the Cyclops, though he is their captive. The first one turns his people into animals , and the second starts satisfying his hunger by feeding on them. Even the Phaeacians demonstrate their trait of hospitality which is gentle rather than evil, as opposed to the first two cases.
• Temptation: Another theme of The Odyssey is a temptation that the Grecians considered a negative human trait. Although temptations are sometimes very strong and even drives Odysseus crazy such as at the Lotus-eater’s island, he always considers homecoming his major purpose in life, recalling Penelope and Telemachus. He also falls to the temptation of Circe’s beauty and sensuousness and stays for a while, but again moves forward and is able to overcome temptations.
• Heroism: Heroism is the greatest Greek virtue told in almost every epic, as reflected through the character of Odysseus is another theme. Despite having human traits, Odysseus shows exemplary character traits having courage , bravery, wit , and strength with some human aberrations of falling to the temptations as in the case of Circe and then the Lotus-eaters. However, he shows his courage when fighting against the Cyclops and even when going through his ordeal with Scylla and Charybdis.
• Deception: A minor theme, deception is shown as a human trait in The Odyssey that is necessary for survival. Odysseus comes to deception when he sees his survival is at stake. For instance, his return when he confronts Antinous. Odysseus has already done the same when confronting the Cyclops and tells him that he is a No-man, then blinding him while escaping under the sheeps’ belly. Even gods come to deceive others by adopting different guises, such as Athena does to help Odysseus.
• Free Will: Free will is another significant theme of the poem in that Odysseus is shown as a fiercely independent person having courage, bravery, and strength, yet he sometimes feels the divine act obstructing his paths, such as the magic of Circe or the deathly confrontation of the Cyclops. In such cases, it seems that the gods debate and determine his fate on Mount Olympus, and if Athena hadn’t pleaded his case with Zeus, he might not have survived at several points, such as in confronting Poseidon in a storm.
• Justice : The epic shows the theme of justice through debates between the gods and goddesses on Mount Olympus. It seems that sometimes the gods are forced to punish Odysseus, such as Poseidon does but again, a few god or goddess comes to take the punishment away from him to render justice.
• Revenge : The epic shows the theme of revenge through Odysseus’s act of blinding the Cyclops and killing the suitors, including Antinous. The gods also exact revenge, such as Poseidon does against Odysseus for killing his son, the Cyclops.

Major Characters of The Odyssey

• Odysseus: Odysseus is the main character and great heroic figure who goes through several adventures described in the entire epic, The Odyssey. He is a human with a fascinating combination of the presence of mind and strong body. He leaves to fight in Troy alongside Achilles and other kings while he is the ruler of Ithaca. He leaves Penelope, his faithful wife, and his son, Telemachus, behind. As his son is very young in his absence, his old father, Laertes, takes care of his kingdom. During his long journey toward home after the fall of Troy, he goes through various adventures, meets demons, avoids the wrath of gods, and confronts witches, nymphs, and monsters, yet he comes out of all these as victorious to lock horns with the characters like Antinous. Despite his tough and resilient frame, he sometimes has to use his mind to deal with Calypso or the Cyclops or to go through the land of Cicones. He goes on to use his wits until Athena, the goddess favoring him, asks him to stop and be at peace.
• Penelope: In The Odyssey, as well as in the Grecian literature, the status achieved by Penelope is hard to contest as a virtuous woman waiting for Odysseus. When the courtyard of her palace is full of suitors, creating a commotion for her hand, she uses patience and tricks to keep the men away. She continues knitting the shroud for her husband during the day and pulls them at night . And sending a word to the suitor that she would not respond until she finishes it, extending the time for her son, Telemachus, to be able to deal with them or for her husband to arrive. Finally, when Odysseus arrives, she informs him of the whole situation. However, this long period has tested her loyalty as well as integrity, on account of which she achieves this high status in literature and myths .
• Telemachus: As the son of Odysseus, it is natural for Telemachus to show qualities and bravery to lead Ithaca and protect his mother in Odysseus’ absence. Although he confronts the unruly suitors of his mother in the initial stages after Athena supports him, he could not resist that huge mob. His most important mistake is to allow the suitors to arm themselves to the teeth, which Odysseus has had a hard time overcoming by the end when he reaches Ithaca. Odysseus then advises him on how to protect the family’s honor and stature by the end.
• Athena: As a goddess, Athena is quite close to Zeus, but as a supporter of Odysseus, her role in The Odyssey is admirable. She saves Odysseus from several fatal accidents where it would have been hard to predict his survival. As the favorite daughter of Zeus, she holds sway on Poseidon, who is determined to take revenge on Odysseus for killing the Cyclops. She stops him from this and reaches out in different disguises to save Odysseus, who is not her son, yet becomes her favorite. In the end, she reaches out to Odysseus to help him in dealing with the wild mob of suitors.
• Poseidon: Poseidon is a divine character, but he develops animosity with the human, Odysseus, who must have been killed. He is stopped by Athena, who helps Odysseus. As a sea god, he raises storms in the way of Odysseus, lengthening his homeward journey. He, including his wife, goes against Athena, who is determined to save Odysseus from their wrath. In fact, Odysseus has blinded his son, the Cyclopes, and left him to die.
• The Cyclops : A one-eyed giant, the Cyclops, also known as Polyphemus, is the son of Poseidon, a god. He lives on a Cyclopean island in a cave where Odysseus and his men reach to take shelter during a storm. When he reaches his cave, he becomes happy to find men there and starts killing them one by one to eat them. To save the rest of his men, Odysseus deceives Cyclops. He becomes blind after Odysseus pokes a spear in his eye and leaves him on the island to die. Because of what is done to him, Poseidon is angry toward Odysseus when he blinds the Cyclops.
• Zeus: A divine figure and the chief god, Zeus is a significant character in the epic, The Odyssey. He is present during the debate between the gods and goddesses about Odysseus’ fate. When Athena supports Odysseus, he assists Athena in all of the exploits she takes upon herself to assist Odysseus in saving his life. He also allows Poseidon to cause some trouble for Odysseus but does not let him cause his death.
• Circe: Circe turns to Odysseus’s associates and turns all of them into animals after imprisoning Odysseus on her island. Odysseus falls to her magic and wins only with alertness given by Eurylochus. He finally overpowers her and wins freedom for all of his companions.
• The Suitors: The role of suitors is important to raise the status of Penelope, for they check her patience, loyalty, and integrity toward her husband. Especially, the unruliest one, Antinous, makes her stand on her toes all the time, She even has to pretend that she is weaving a shroud for her husband to keep them off. Finally, Odysseus comes and kills all of them after an archery contest.
• Tiresias: The popular Grecian prophet also appears in The Odyssey like several other myths and asks Odysseus to go to Ithaca after he lets him talk to the souls of the dead in the underworld of Hades.

Writing Style of The Odyssey

The writing style of The Odyssey is exactly like that of classical poetry, which is elevated or formal. As it is written in poetic form, it is a dactylic hexameter with repetitive use of phrases and cliches common during those times. The use of deus ex machina has made it more interesting for general readers, while the metrical pattern has added to its melody. For literary devices , Home resorts to metaphors , extended metaphors , similes, and repetitions .

Analysis of the Literary Devices in The Odyssey

• Action: The main action of the epic comprises the homeward journey of the great Grecian hero, Odysseus. The rising action occurs when Odysseus gets freed from the clutches of Calypso and leaves her island for his home but faces a sea storm and loses his ship. The falling action occurs when he reaches home and joins his son, Telemachus, to kill the suitors.
• Anaphora : The below sentences are examples of anaphora , i. Not once have we held assembly, met in session since King Odysseus sailed away in the hollow ships. Who has summoned us now —one of the young men, one of the old-timers? (Book-II) ii. “Ah what a wicked man you are, and never at a loss. What a thing to imagine, what a thing to say! Earth be my witness now, the vaulting Sky above. (Book-V) These examples show the repetitious use of “one of the” and “what a thing” in the first part of the clauses of sentences ,or verses .
• Allusion : The best examples of allusions are given below, i. Zeus’s daughter plied, potent gifts from Polydamna the wife of Thon, a woman of Egypt, land where the teeming soil bears the richest yield of herbs in all the world. (Book-IV) ii. I’d died there too and met my fate that day the Trojans, swarms of them, hurled at me with bronze spears, fighting over the corpse of proud Achilles! A hero’s funeral then, my glory spread by comrades — now what a wretched death I’m doomed to die!” (Book-V) iii. Father Zeus, Athena and lord Apollo! if only — seeing the man you are, seeing we think as one — you could wed my daughter and be my son-in-law. (Book-VII) These examples show allusions of Zeus, Egypt, Achilles, and Apollo.
• Antagonist : Poseidon, the sea god in the house of Zeus, is the antagonist of The Odyssey even before he has blinded his son, the Cyclops. He is the main hurdle in his homeward journey.
• Conflict : The main conflict of the epic is Odysseus’s homeward journey and his struggles to overcome obstacles to achieve this end to save his wife from the suitors.
• Characters: The epic, The Odyssey, shows both static as well as dynamic characters. The young hero, Odysseus, is a dynamic character as he shows a considerable transformation in his behavior and conduct by the end of the epic when he meets his wife and son. However, all other characters are static as they do not show or witness any transformation, such as Cyclops, Poseidon, Circe, and even Zeus.
• Climax : The climax in the epic occurs when Odysseus arrives home after his long voyages and expeditions and sets upon killing the suitors for causing disrepute in his kingdom.
• Deus Ex Machina : The below sentences are the best examples of deus ex machina, i. But the other gods, at home in Olympian Zeus’s halls, met for full assembly there, and among them now the father of men and gods was first to speak. (Book-1) ii. As the sun sprang up, leaving the brilliant waters in its wake, climbing the bronze sky to shower light on immortal gods and mortal men across the plowlands ripe with grain — the ship pulled into Pylos, Neleus’ storied citadel. (Book-III) iii. Then Zeus’s daughter Helen thought of something else. Into the mixing-bowl from which they drank their wine she slipped a drug, heart’s-ease, dissolving anger, magic to make us all forget our pains. (Book-IV) The mention of gods, Olympian Zeus, sky, Helen, and magic potion shows the use of deus ex machina in the shape of supernatural beings coming down to the earth to help human beings.
• Hyperbole : The examples of hyperboles are given below, i. “Father Zeus on high — may the king fulfill his promises one and all! Then his fame would ring through the fertile earth and never die —and I should reach my native land at last! (Book-VII) ii. There colonnades and courts and rooms were overflowing with crowds, a mounting host of people young and old . The king slaughtered a dozen sheep to feed his guests. (Book-VIII) Both of these examples exaggerate things such as fame and rooms exaggerated as having capacity and capability.
• Imagery : The examples of imagery are given below, i. At last they gained the ravines of Lacedaemon ringed by hills and drove up to the halls of Menelaus in his glory. They found the king inside his palace, celebrating with throngs of kinsmen a double wedding-feast for his son and lovely daughter. (Book-IV) ii. Thick, luxuriant woods grew round the cave, alders and black poplars, pungent cypress too, and there birds roosted, folding their long wings, owls and hawks and the spread-beaked ravens of the sea, black skimmers who make their living off the waves. And round the mouth of the cavern trailed a vine laden with clusters, bursting with ripe grapes. (Book-V) iii. Here luxuriant trees are always in their prime, pomegranates and pears, and apples glowing red, succulent figs and olives swelling sleek and dark. And the yield of all these trees will never flag or die, neither in winter nor in summer, a harvest all year round for the West Wind always breathing through will bring some fruits to the bud and others warm to ripeness —(Book-VII) These examples show images of feeling, color, movement, and taste.
• Invocation: The below sentence is a good example of invocation, i. Sing to me of the man, Muse, the man of twists and turns driven time and again off course, once he had plundered the hallowed heights of Troy. This invocation is an example in epic style writing followed by all the great poets of every nation including John Milton . Homer here invokes Muse, the Grecian goddess of poetry, to empower him to sing in the praise of that great hero.
• Metaphor : The following sentences are good examples of metaphor , i. Just as that fear went churning through his mind a tremendous roller swept him toward the rocky coast where he’d have been flayed alive, his bones crushed if the bright-eyed goddess Pallas had not inspired him now. He lunged for a reef, he seized it with both hands and clung for dear life, groaning until the giant wave surged past and so he escaped its force, but the breaker’s backwash charged into him full fury and hurled him out to sea. Like pebbles stuck in the suckers of some octopus dragged from its lair —so strips of skin torn from his clawing hands stuck to the rock face. (Book-V) ii. And out he stalked as a mountain lion exultant in his power strides through wind and rain and his eyes blaze and he charges sheep or oxen or chases wild deer but his hunger drives him on to go for flocks, even to raid the best-defended homestead. So Odysseus moved out…(Book-VI) iii. There’s nothing better than when deep joy holds sway throughout the realm and banqueters up and down the palace sit in ranks. (Book-IX) These examples show that several things have been compared directly in epic such as the first one shows the comparison between fear and a roller, the second shows the comparison of a man and a mountain, and the last one shows joys compared to men.
• Motif : Most important motifs of the epic, The Odyssey, is storytelling, disguises, and magic.
• Personification : The following sentences are good examples of personifications, i. Someone may tell you something or you may catch a rumor straight from Zeus, rumor that carries news to men like nothing else. (Book-I) ii. As Dawn rose up from bed by her lordly mate Tithonus, bringing light to immortal gods and mortal men, the gods sat down in council, circling Zeus the thunder king whose power rules the world. (Book-V) These examples show as if the rumor and dawn have life and emotions of their own.
• Protagonist : Odysseus is the protagonist of the epic. The epic, after the invocation, starts with his entry into the world and moves forward as he starts his homeward journey until he reaches home.
• Rhetorical Questions : The examples of rhetorical questions are as follows, i. Who has summoned us now —one of the young men, one of the old-timers? What crisis spurs him on? Some news he’s heard of an army on the march, word he’s caught firsthand so he can warn us now? Or some other public matter he’ll disclose and argue? (Book-II) ii. She called out to her girls with lovely braids: “Stop, my friends ! Why run when you see a man? Surely you don’t think him an enemy, do you? (Book-VI) This example shows the use of rhetorical questions posed by different characters not to elicit answers but to stress upon the underlined idea.
• Setting : The setting of the epic, The Odyssey, is spread over several places such as Mount Olympus, Ithaca, Aeaea, Ogygia, Scheria, etc.
• Simile : The examples of similes are given below, i. When young Dawn with her rose-red fingers shone once more the true son of Odysseus sprang from bed and dressed, over his shoulder he slung his well-honed sword, fastened rawhide sandals under his smooth feet and stepped from his bedroom, handsome as a god. (Book-II) ii. Here’s my prophecy, bound to come to pass. If you, you old codger, wise as the ages, talk him round, incite the boy to riot. (Book-II) iii. Strangers have just arrived, your majesty, Menelaus. Two men, but they look like kin of mighty Zeus himself. Tell me, should we unhitch their team for them or send them to someone free to host them well?” (Book-IV) iv. As Dawn rose up from bed by her lordly mate Tithonus, bringing light to immortal gods and mortal men, the gods sat down in council, circling Zeus the thunder king whose power rules the world. (Book-V) These are similes as the use of the word “like” shows the comparison between different things. For example, the first example shows the beatify of Odysseus compared to gods, the second shows the person compared to time, the third shows people compared to the relatives of the god, and the last one shows the dawn rising like a person or a living thing.

Related posts:

• Odyssey Quotes
• Odyssey Themes
• Odyssey Characters
• The Iliad Themes
• The Iliad Quotes
• The Iliad Characters

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