Literary Analyses / 239a note about tHe saMPles
Now that you know what an analysis of a literary element should include and what
process you should follow to develop an effective analysis, study the three following
examples and their respective analyses. The first sample traces the images in a Dick-
inson poem; the second analyzes the characters of a short story; and the third, a full-
length paper, examines the development of a single symbol in a novel. By comparing
these and other sample papers throughout this section, you will better understand
the various kinds of analyses.
SAMPLE LITERARY ANALYSIS of AN IMAGE
The following single-paragraph analysis of an image in a poem illustrates the character-
istics of an analysis of a literary element. Compare this example with a three-paragraph
analysis of the same poem in the sample for literary works, later in this chapter.
Mother Nature Domesticated
Emily Dickinson’s poem, “She Sweeps with Many-Colored Brooms,” works well because of a
predominant image. An extended metaphor, which is sustained throughout the poem, gener-
ates the domestic image. Because Emily Dickinson lived as a recluse and because she felt
Mother Nature was her only real friend, many of her images domesticate Mother Nature in a
manner that makes the spiritual familiar. In “She Sweeps,” Dickinson uses common household
images to describe Mother Nature creating a sunset. The apron-clad housewife sweeps but
forgets to dust. A careless sweeper, she “leaves the shreds behind.” She also leaves scattered
duds and threads and ravelings from her sewing strewn across the eastern sky. The clouds,
which she sees as flying aprons, stay until the “brooms fade softly into stars.” By using the
sweeping-dusting-sewing images, Dickinson makes the universal sunset the result of a care-
less housewife; thus, as some critics view Dickinson, she domesticates the universe.ANALYSIS of THE SAMPLE LITERARY ANALYSIS of AN
IMAGE
The preceding single paragraph includes the basic characteristics of an analysis of a
literary element. Note these details:
• The introductory segment includes a topic sentence as the first sentence.
• Details both paraphrased and quoted from the poem support the main idea.
Adequate details appear without retelling the poem’s story or paraphrasing the
entire work.
• Varied sentence structure enhances the formal style.
• The present tense appears accurately throughout the discussion of the work.
• Transitions effectively connect ideas.