How to analyze a work of art?

What is text analysis?

So, more details. Analysis is a method of briefly describing (summarizing) to better understand the meaning. You can analyze anything: a poem, a text, an action, words spoken, and so on. The main thing is to follow some rules. As for text analysis in school subjects (literature or the Russian language), this activity helps not just read books, but read meaningfully. So that after reading you can easily retell the work and catch the author’s thought. Of course, at the first stages the student will ask himself the question of how to analyze the text. But later it will become easier for him to understand the works when they become more complex. This method of work also helps to tune in to creative work and reveals personal perception.

Comprehensive text analysis

This task includes many parameters that make it easier to understand an excerpt from the work. But there are no clear instructions or diagrams, although it is necessary to adhere to some kind of plan in order to compose the text of the analysis, where the conclusion will follow from certain facts supported by the arguments given.

It’s worth starting with the fact that after reading, you need to title the text. So you can determine the theme and subject matter for yourself and first answer the question: “what did the author want to say with this passage?”

It is worth remembering that a topic is a subject of discussion. And the topic is a set of topics that may be in the proposed passage.

To assist in the analysis, means of communication can be used, divided into lexical and morphological. Those. it is necessary to determine whether synonyms, repetitions, conjunctions, verbs and gerunds are used.

It is also necessary to mention the style of the text, which can be artistic, official business, scientific or colloquial. You should also clarify what type of speech is used: narration, reasoning or description.

Knowing all the points will undoubtedly help during analysis, and the student will no longer ask the question: how to analyze the text. He will immediately begin to study the proposed work according to a certain plan, and in the end he will easily be able to draw a conclusion with the arguments given.

ANALYSIS OF THE CONTENT OF A LITERARY WORK

The formation of a full-fledged perception of a work takes place at each stage of the lesson, although to varying degrees. This occurs especially intensively at the stages of analysis and secondary synthesis. In the lesson, analysis and synthesis are not opposed to each other, but organically merge. The more closely the tasks of an analytical and synthetic nature are connected in the lesson, the more productive the analysis will be and, consequently, the deeper the penetration into the meaning of a literary work.

The ability to figuratively analyze a literary text does not develop by itself. And if it is absent, then the reader perceives only the main actions of the characters, follows the course of the plot and misses everything in the work that is not interesting to him. Therefore, it is necessary to teach children thoughtful perception, the ability to think about a book, and therefore about a person and about life in general. Analysis of a work should be a joint (teacher and students) thinking out loud, which over time will lead to the development in the child of a natural need to understand what he has read himself.

There are several approaches to analyzing a literary work:

1) stylistic analysis; 2) problem analysis; 3) analysis of the development of action; 4) analysis of artistic images.

Stylistic (linguistic) analysis shows how the author’s attitude towards what is depicted is manifested in the selection of word-images. This is, first of all, an analysis of the author’s use of linguistic means in artistically organized speech. It is not the words that must be interpreted, but the images created from these words. Work on the word should be aimed at helping children understand the figurative meaning of the work, the thoughts and feelings of the writer, which are embodied in the selection of vocabulary, in the rhythm of the phrase, in every artistic detail. Therefore, for linguistic analysis, those words and expressions are selected that help to better understand the figurative meaning of the work (they paint pictures of nature, reveal the author’s feelings) and at the same time are the most expressive and accurate.

Recently, when conducting stylistic analysis, teachers have begun to more often use the technique of stylistic experiment. For example, working on an excerpt from the novel by A.S. Pushkin "Eugene Onegin"

“Neater than fashionable; parquet...", the teacher offers the students the following tasks.

1. Find in the first part the words showing how the guys skate on ice. (Skates cut the ice noisily.) - “What do you mean, “sounding”?” (Loud.)

2. Let's replace the word and read it like this: “Skates cut the ice loudly...” Which is better? (Like the author, we immediately imagine how skates ride on ice, we even hear this sound.)

3. Read the second part of the passage and think about what is more expressive: how is it written by Pushkin or how will I read it? Here is a goose approaching the river, He wants to swim along the river, But it is all covered in ice.

—Who conveyed this episode more accurately and expressively and why?

To conduct a stylistic experiment, it is better to choose literary prose so as not to disrupt the rhythmic organization of poetic speech.

Another option for stylistic analysis in primary school can be considered an attempt to identify the stylistic genre features of a work at a level accessible to primary schoolchildren. For this purpose, it is recommended to use the following tasks:

1) comparison of the sound of poetry and prose to identify the features of the organization of poetic speech.

2) comparison of the works of one writer to identify characteristic features in the work or personality of the author (works on the same topic are more often considered);

3) comparison of works by different writers on the same topic to determine the uniqueness of the author’s style.

Problem analysis is the analysis of problematic issues and situations. When organizing such work, the teacher must remember that, taking into account the naive realism of readers, the problem situation must be built based on the eventual basis of the work, on moral conflicts. Characteristic features of problematic issues are: 1) the presence of contradictions and the possibility of alternative answers; 2) fun; 3) compliance with the nature of the work; 4) capacity, i.e. the ability to cover not only a single fact, but also a wide range of material, which will help to identify the general in the individual.

The problematic question reveals the connections between individual elements of a literary text and the general concept of the work. Raising problematic questions is advisable when reading those works in which there are situations that involve different understandings of the characters, their actions and deeds, and the ethical problems raised by the writer.

Analysis of the development of action involves working on the plot of a literary work and its elements (episode, chapter, etc.). At the same time, the teacher’s task is to find, together with the children, the features of integrity in each part of the work and the organic connection of the part with the whole.

Analysis of events in their sequence is close to younger schoolchildren who show interest in action, and does not present any difficulty for them, especially since most of the works in books for reading are small in volume and simple in composition. When carrying out this type of analysis when working on an episode, one must strive to ensure that the picture drawn by the writer is reproduced in the readers’ imagination as more concretely, more completely, and more vividly as possible. An analysis that begins with a climactic scene, which touches on the main issues that concern the writer, is fruitful. The beginning (exposition and plot) and the end (denouement) are also of great importance for understanding the content of the text, since they most fully express the theme and idea of ​​a work of art. These are the episodes to follow! carry out special work in reading lessons as part of a holistic analysis of the development of action.

Analysis of artistic images is work not so much on the word as on the images in their interaction. In the process of analysis, students must understand both the characteristics of the image (hero, landscape, etc.) and the meaning of this image, i.e. the load it bears in the overall structure of the work. The analysis of artistic images has the following sequence.

1. First of all, work is carried out on the character of the hero based on the plot, since character is revealed only in action. In addition, the hero is characterized by his speech and the author’s remarks (explanations regarding the appearance, characteristics of the behavior of the characters). \

2. The relationships of the heroes are considered, since any action in an epic work is built on them. At the same time, it is necessary for children to understand the motivation, the reasons for the behavior of the characters, which lie either in personal qualities of character or in the current circumstances.

3. If the work contains descriptions of the landscape or interior, their role in the text is considered.

4. Based on the interaction of images, the idea of ​​the work is revealed. Understanding the idea brings one very close to understanding the position of the author-interlocutor, because the idea is what exactly the writer wanted to say with his work.

5. The reader’s personal attitude to what is described (to the content) and to how it is done (to the form) is revealed.

Analysis of the hero's image

teaches you to understand how the writer portrays the characters: the thoughts and feelings of the characters, their character traits. It is necessary to teach children to judge the main qualities of characters, to evaluate a hero not only by his actions, but also by the motives that caused them.

Let's list some techniques for working on character characteristics:

- the teacher names the qualities of the characters and asks students to give examples that confirm them;

- children are asked to independently name the character traits of the hero if he is shown in action and has no more than 2-3 qualities;

- the heroes of one work or works similar in theme are compared (the easiest type of comparison is contrast), the author’s attitude towards the heroes is clarified;

- the teacher himself characterizes the author’s attitude towards the hero, and the students confirm this with the help of the text;

- the teacher draws the children’s attention to the author’s words that indirectly characterize the hero, the students “decipher” this or that action, facial expression, intonation of the hero and on this basis determine the nature of the author’s attitude towards the character;

- together with the teacher, children conduct an “experiment”: they exclude from the text words and expressions containing the author’s assessment, which helps to better understand the role of this assessment in the characterization of the character;

— in the absence of the author’s remarks, students come up with them together with the teacher.

The role of landscape in an epic work is twofold. It helps create a general mood (when given independently, separately from the thoughts and experiences of the characters) or clarifies the characteristics of the character (if conveyed by the author in the perception of the hero).

A description of the interior also helps to better understand the way of life and the characters of the characters.

Awareness of the idea of ​​a work is an understanding of the author’s main idea for the sake of which he created his creation. In elementary school, children are just learning this, so there is no need to ask at the end of the analysis of each work: “So what did the author want to say in his work?” Author's attitude

It is important to reveal gradually about the characters, their relationships, and events. Questions of this type will help to do this: “How did the description of the hero’s appearance express the author’s attitude towards him?”, “What feelings of the writer were reflected in the poem?”, “What did the author depict in this scene? For what?" Identifying the author's position should not be done when analyzing each text, but only when the need for a deeper understanding by children of the author's idea is felt.

When analyzing a text, you should not analyze all the elements named in the approximate analysis scheme every time. Only those elements of the work that best reveal the meaning and ideological content of what is read are subject to consideration.

The ways to analyze a literary work depend on the nature of the work, on the capabilities of the students, and on the wishes of the teacher. But still, based on the specifics of literature as an art, the analysis of artistic images can be considered more widespread and appropriate.

The following recommendations will help you successfully organize “thinking aloud” about what you read in class.

1. A successful start to a conversation makes the entire analysis of the work purposeful and internally necessary for students.

2. The questions that make up the conversation must be appropriate, i.e. you need to know why, for what purpose this or that question will be asked.

3. “There is no need to pose or ask questions. It’s better to talk with them” (Ilyin E.N. The Art of Communication. M.: Pedagogical Search, 1988. P. 194).

4. We must strive to have few questions and tasks for the text. Their purpose is to direct attention to a vaguely expressed artistic detail of a work, to arouse the thoughts and feelings of schoolchildren, and to provoke a lively exchange of opinions.

5. When encouraging students to freely exchange opinions, one should not forget about questions that reveal their attitude to what they read, such as: “What do you want to say about this fairy tale?”, “What thoughts and feelings did this story evoke in you?”

6. Special work is needed to teach children to exchange opinions. They should not interrupt each other, but learn to develop the idea expressed by their comrades and defend their position.

7. The conversation should not consist of only questions; they should be accompanied by interesting remarks and statements from the teacher.

8. More often you should use this type of work, such as posing questions by the students themselves.

9. A conversation about a lyrical work should be focused on talking about the lyrical hero, about the image of the poet, the world of his thoughts and feelings, since the idea of ​​a lyrical work is to embody certain thoughts and moods.

10. When children perform independent tasks based on the text, it is necessary to teach them to work with a pencil. For this purpose, a separate sheet of paper is used, which is attached to the page of the text being read.

In the elementary grades, the task of developing the skill of conscious reading is solved, the basis of which is the ability to analyze text.

The main directions of work on the work are determined by three provisions.

1. The relationship between the skill of conscious reading and the ability to work with text.

2. Interconnected consideration of the content and visual means of the work.

3. A comprehensive solution to educational and educational learning tasks in the process of working on a work.

The same provisions determine the nature of the questions that the teacher poses for discussion with students, and the tasks they perform in the process of analyzing the text.

For primary school students, understanding factual content is not particularly difficult. However, it is necessary to find out whether the plot is understandable to children after initial perception. In this regard, it is advisable to begin the analysis of the work with questions like: “Who is the story talking about? Briefly tell us what the author is talking about.” If students find it difficult to name the main storyline, then this task is completed after repeated reading and conversation.

In the process of analysis, the following types of work with the text are used: conversation, selective reading, asking questions by the students themselves, illustrating the text, drawing up a plan for the work.

Conversation accompanies many activities in a reading lesson. The conversation questions can be divided into the following groups according to their focus.

1. Questions about factual content. They are placed before students after the first reading and during the selective reading process.

2. Questions that clarify various connections: cause and effect, similarity and contrast, temporary connections, etc. Questions of this type are asked during repeated reading, selective reading, and in a general conversation.

3. Questions leading to estimates and generalizations. Asked during a general conversation.

4. Questions aimed at establishing associations with children's experiences.

Conversation questions should be targeted and posed in a specific system. The sequence of questions is determined by the teacher’s goal setting. Along with questions on the factual content, questions of an analytical and synthetic nature are raised.

The latter are associated with generalizing the material, in contrast to questions of an analytical nature, which are aimed at isolating individual sentences from the text.

Selective reading is reading part of the text in accordance with the task or question. Tasks can be aimed at clarifying specific content, at establishing various connections, at revealing artistic features, and students’ own attitude to what they read.

Selective reading is used at all stages of working on a text and can be of varying degrees of complexity. It is the simplest when the answer to the question is to reproduce the text. For example: “Read how the bear made his den.” A more complicated option is to search for several small parts in the text that will answer the question. More complex is selective reading, which is based on the selection of material in order to prove any analytical conclusion. For example: “Read the passages that prove that Nina was a coward.”

Selective reading allows you to effectively combine work on developing the skills of conscious and expressive reading and the ability to work with text. It also affects the development of creative imagination, speech and memory. In this regard, selective reading is used when drawing up a plan, illustrating, drawing up characterizations of a hero, revealing the idea of ​​a work, etc.

Posing the question by the students themselves is a very effective type of work. Also K.D. Ushinsky rightly noted that a correctly posed question is already half the answer.

Posing a question based on a text must be taught consistently. Consciousness of posing a question is formed in the process of the teacher’s analysis of his own questions or questions placed after the text (why this or that question is posed, who or what it is talking about, what words questions most often begin with, what questions are the most interesting, the most difficult and etc.). And then the teacher shows how to answer questions using the text.

Children are taught the technique of asking questions based on the text. So, before asking a question, you need to carefully read the text and try to imagine the characters; if necessary, highlight the part on which the question will be raised. At the initial stage, the work is carried out collectively and is educational in nature, the most successful questions are identified, and it is found out why some of them are interesting and others, on the contrary, are unsuccessful. Asking questions about the text can be used as homework.

In Russian language and literature

And finally. Analyzes of texts in Russian language and literature may differ slightly from each other. If it is taken from any work, several identical steps must be used. In order:

1. Genre of the text - legend, poem, parable, memory, essay
2. Theme of the text - any work has its own theme
3. What techniques were used to construct the text - repetitions, contrasts, intensification, dynamism, contemplation?
4. Use of visual media
5. The general impression of what you read - if you read the text thoughtfully, then a certain impression will definitely remain, and you should talk about it at the very end of the analysis

Example

How to analyze the text of the presented passage? Below is an example:

You should take it step by step to see the underlying meaning.

1. The author’s idea is to show and tell about the participants in the hunt, and on the other hand, to demonstrate the greatness of nature.
2. Type and style are a work of art, or rather a narrative with elements of description.
3. Means of communication and artistic means - conjunctions (and, but), adverbs (long, firmly, away). The main technique is antithesis, i.e. when there is a contrast - verbs (jump out, rush and besiege, freeze), adjectives (desperate, mad and dead). There are also epithets, metaphors, and gradations.
4. Syntactic features - simple sentences are used, which are also included in complex ones, definitions and circumstances are common.
5. Spelling features - unstressed vowels in the root (hooves, valley), alternating vowels in the root (freeze, jump out).

Analysis of literary works

You are on the page of all literary works that are studied in the school literature course. the characteristics of the works for you so that you can better understand the theme, idea, problems of the works, and become better acquainted with the literary characters. We do not provide the text of the works, we only provide an analysis of the literary work in its detailed content. We list all the authors alphabetically, that is, under the letter L you will find an author with a last name starting with the letter L: Lermontov, Leskov.

We also have a wonderful theory of literature in diagrams and tables, and we provide a unique opportunity to prepare for the Unified State Exam in literature online, on our website, by completing a large number of tests.
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