Final Literary Analysis Essay Directions:
For this 600-800 word essay worth 150pts, please choose ONE long text (poem/verse, short story, or play) or TWO short(er) poems, that we have covered in class from either our course textbook and/or from the provided course links to texts. Remember, your choice must be able to sustain the length of this essay.
TOPIC CHOICES: Please select one topic choice (argument parameter) from the bulleted list below and assert an arguable claim about your chosen literary text. Please refer to the Prior Module Resources: Final Literary Analysis Essay for additional guidance:
An arguable claim about how the literary text achieves or realizes a reoccurring theme (this can include the overarching thematic categories of the class, such as Realism/Inner Identity/In-the-Moment, Interactions/Relationships, Bildungsroman, or Avant-Garde)**
An arguable claim about a character’s role (function, importance), motivations, behaviors, and/or interactions with others, and the impact that role has on the literary text as a whole (USING THIS TOPIC HERE!!!)
An arguable claim about the writer’s purpose and how the literary text achieves the writer’s purpose**
An arguable claim about the role (function, importance) of the narrative’s (or narrator’s) point-of-view or the role of the speaker (in a poem), and the impact it has on the literary text as a whole
An arguable claim about how any of the following specific literary elements function in the literary text and why they are important to the text overall: symbolism, imagery, dialogue, tone/mood, setting, props, stage directions, diction (word choice, figurative language such as metaphors and similes), structure, conflict(s), flashbacks/flashforwards, foreshadowing, and/or irony (if there are literary elements not on this list that interest you, please email me)**
**Keep in mind that many literary elements may work together to achieve some united purpose; many times this will be to reveal or emphasize a reoccurring theme or the writer’s overarching purpose.
