Short Stories And Critical Analysis Terms To Know

Short Stories and Critical Analysis Terms to Know

Archetype is a primordial symbol. According to Jung, humankind carries with it the collective memory of our past as a species. The images we all carry with us from this past are often expressed in myths, religion, dreams, and literature as symbols everyone can recognize. An archetype recurs often enough in literature that it holds a commonly understood meaning. It can have significant impact because of its deeply established roots in storytelling. Archetype includes symbols, imagery, descriptive detail, plot patterns, and character types.

Jungian Criticism:  is based on the work of Carl Jung  is primarily concerned with “primordial” images, or universal symbols that are part of a collective consciousness that all people share (archetypes)  these archetypes are usually representative of experiences that are fundamental to the human condition. ie, death, birth, maturation, family, celebration, hunger, dreams, etc. EX: As an archetype, ‘spring’ is symbolic of birth, new life, regeneration, hope, growth, youth. Because these associated meanings are widely understood across many cultures, spring is considered an archetype that evokes these ideas within the ‘collective conscsiousness.’

New Criticism:  views text as a unified, autonomous work of art; unity amongst textual elements reveals a prevailing theme.  all meaning is contained within the text itself. Historical and biographical influences on the text are set aside.  text is analyzed by examining its parts and the relationships between them (elements such as structure, diction, imagery, motif, etc.)  text’s meaning is often focused and reinforced through its use of irony, imagery, and symbolism.

Theme refers to the set of controlling ideas in a work of literature. It involves more than just the issues raised by the author, or the topics around which the story revolves (injustice, love, forgiveness, freedom, power. etc). However, the theme usually comments on the issues raised in the text, and provides insight about life, the human condition, the human spirit, or human society. It is expressed as a full sentence statement. Yes  The theme of the story is that absolute power corrupts and dehumanizes human beings and their societies. No  The theme of the story is power.

Structure, in literature, refers to the planned framework of the work. In tragedy, it refers to plot construction: the introduction, the rising action, crisis, climax, falling action, and resolution. It could also refer to plot parallels, and other organizing devices. Unity: Both the Modernists and the New Critics believed that all the elements of a text work should together to support a central, unifying theme. In other words, the imagery, diction, symbols, characters, events, conflict, and the atmosphere consistently function in a text to reinforce its most significant ideas.

Contrast occurs when one idea is compared to its opposite by putting the two ideas together. Parallel structure refers to repeating grammatical structures that occur when the same ideas are expressed with the same structure. ie He shoots! He scores! It is often used to suggest equality, or to emphasize contrast, order, and rhythm. However, a text can also use figurative and thematic parallels that function structurally to organize the text. For example, in King Lear, the loss of the King’s sanity parallels both the loss of his status and the rise of chaos and evil. The structure is extended further in a parallel sub-plot, too.

A motif is a set of recurring images, words, objects, phrases, or actions that, collectively, work to illuminate, or unify a theme. Motifs also appear as patterns in the whole of literature. For example, the motif of boy-meets-girl, boy-almost-loses-girl, boy- gets-girl is a modern day romantic motif. Motifs also include image clusters, or variations of an image: river, bathing, showering, dew, puddles, rain, brook, ice, snow, damp, ocean, cleansing, water…

Style refers to how an author writes. When you write about an author’s style, consider: diction, sentence types, variety and length, rhetorical devices, literary devices, use of tone, persona, voice, use of slang, reference to authority, use of time, method of development, and characteristics of genre ( such as fantasy, science fiction, documentary, satire, fairy-tale, romance, tragedy, comedy, etc)

Mood: Mood is the predominant emotional response evoked in the reader resulting directly from the established atmosphere in the text. Tone is the author’s attitude towards his/her subject or audience.

Atmosphere: The atmosphere in a text helps the reader enter the emotional world of a scene or the work as a whole. The reader’s expectations, responses, or attitudes towards the work are often subtly shaped by the author’s skilful creation of atmosphere.

Diction refers to word choice: the specific words chosen for their connotation, their implications, and their power to convey attitude, or tone.

Figurative language refers to language that relies on abstract and imagistic meaning, rather than on its literal meaning. Usually, this meaning is expressed in figures of speech, such as metaphor, simile, personification, etc.

Implication occurs when the text suggests something indirectly, without stating it directly. For example; My friend insulted me by asking if I really thought I needed that third slice of pizza. The implication was unfair.

Inference is a conclusion reached based on the evidence presented in the text. Example: The people sat around the table wearing funny hats and eating cake. One could infer that this is a birthday gathering.

Connotation is the inferred or figurative meaning of a word. It is the abstract meaning, rather than the literal meaning.

Denotation is the literal meaning of a word. Juxtaposition is the placing of words, phrases, images, or sentences side by side to enhance contrast, or comparison. Commonly, two images not usually combined with each other are brought together to force the reader to stop and reconsider the meaning of the text in light of the new combination.

Ambiguity in diction refers to words and phrases for which there are many possible meanings.

Analogy is a comparison between two unlike things that have something in common. Consequently, the reader can infer there are other commonalities. ie. The city is an anthill of activity. Metaphors, similes, and personification rely on analogy.