Analyzing Literature And Figurative Language

From middle school to where I am in high school, analyzing literature was one of the almost important aspects of English, however I was not exposed as many strategies as I expected to be. I have known critical analysis as “reading between the lines”, looking for a deeper meaning behind the text. I always believed that analyzing literature was the hardest part of English, and sometimes I could spend hours on just one question that involves it. When I was first introduced to critical analysis, I thought it meant to summarize the plot of a story, or the main idea of a passage. Overtime, I learned that there are underlying themes and messages hidden throughout the texts that we must discover using clues the author gives us. The strategies to analyze literature that I was taught is by annotations, noticing literary devices and figurative language, and finding the O.P.V.L. (origin, purpose, value, limitation) for documents.

Annotations are little notes and comments you write down as you read a passage or text. These comments require me to engage my mind while reading, paying attention to every detail. This technique helps me recall what I have read and allows me to question the author. Annotating is significant to analyze literature because it helps you further understand the meaning behind the the text. This is because annotations require you to read thoroughly and highlight specific clues and quotes that are important. Usually, I would use annotations to analyze a poem, since they usually use figurative language. This way, I am able to make recall what the poem says, as well as think critically about what I wrote and what I questioned. Additionally, these notes forces me to point out any hidden literary device, along with the purpose of those devices and their