Structural analysis examples english how to#

Structural analysis examples english how to#

Useful words to describe ‘form’ and ‘structure’ in poetry and prose To further clarify, below are the sort of words that should come to mind whenever you encounter ‘form’ and/or ‘structure’ for poetry or prose analysis: Poetic form : shape, sonnet, ode, terza rima, lyric, epic, villanelle (Stephen Fry, ever the wordsmith, offers a structural explanation of villanelle as such: “a pastoral Italian form from the sixteenth century written in six three-line stanzas where the first line of the first stanza is used as a refrain to end the second and fourth stanzas and the last line of the first stanza is repeated as the last line of the third, fifth and sixth.”) Poetic structure : stanza, quatrain, sestet, octave, run-on lines/enjambment, indented lines, rhyme scheme, iambic pentameter (scansion is part of poetic structure) (You’ll notice that ‘structure’ terms tend to be ‘ingredients’ of ‘form’) Prose form : novel, novella, short story, epistolary, autobiography, essay Prose structure : paragraph, chapter, prologue, epilogue, linear narrative, flashback, twist ending, interior monologue To illustrate how to incorporate form and structure in our own analysis, let’s close read something that’s formally strict (a sonnet), and something else that’s formally explicit (a quirky chapter from a fun novel). (Poetry analysis) The form (genre/type) of this poem is a sonnet, and its structure (arrangement/organisation) comprises an octave followed by a sestet, bound by an abba abba, cdecde rhyme scheme.

The narrator begins with a direct address to the imaginary reader, after which she relates her emotions about the day’s events, finally concluding with an anticipatory note about what tomorrow will hold. In analysis, we’d probably be writing something like the following: (Prose analysis) The form of this prose excerpt is epistolary, and its structure follows a linear narrative. Likewise, if I’m analysing a haiku (form), then I’d be looking at three lines with each respective line containing 5, 7 and 5 syllables (structure). So, if I’m reading a Victorian novel (form), then it’s likely that the text would feature separate chapters which follow a plot line (structure). haikus could be shaped like a diamond, a paragraph could be shaped like a heart etc.) One tip is to remember that form usually determines structure.

sonnet form for poetry, dystopian novel form for prose etc.), or its literal shape (e.g. On the other hand, form tends to either mean the genre or type of a text (e.g. What happens first, and then what happens, and then what? In prose, this implies narrative techniques such as stream of consciousness, in media res, flashforward, cliffhanger etc., as both perspective and plot contribute to the structure of stories. In the context of literary analysis, structure is about the sequence of events, the flow of thoughts, and the linearity of narrative – in short, we’re looking for how the beginning, middle and end of a text are arranged. But seriously, don’t ‘form’ and ‘structure’ just mean the same thing…? Here’s how the dictionary defines them – Structure: the way in which the parts of a system or object are arranged or organized Form: a type of something, the shape or appearance of something Not very helpful (as always, ahem), so let’s try again. This means you should be able to tell apart deceptively synonymous terms like ‘form’ and ‘structure’, which will save you a lot of stress in exams. I jest, but my point is, if you’re an English student, you belong – albeit temporarily – to the first group. As I’ve mentioned in other posts, the world can be roughly categorised into two halves – those who care about nuances in literary terminology, and ordinary folks. They seem to mean the same thing, so it’s little wonder that they should be so confusing. Two of the most commonly mixed-up words in the study of English Literature are ‘form’ and ‘structure’.