Textual Analysis - PowerPoint(1)

7/29/2019 Textual Analysis - PowerPoint(1)

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Textual Analysis


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CONTENTS1. Introduction to Textual Analysis (slides 1 8)

2. Exploring Imagery Metaphor, Simile & Personification (slides 9 24)

3. Exploring Figures of speech which involve Sound Onomatopoeia & Alliteration (slides 25 31)

4. Exploring Word Choice (slides 32 34)

5. Exploring Structural techniques - Sentence structure, Punctuation & Repetition (slides 35 48)

6. Exploring Contrast (slides 49 51)

7. Exploring Attitudes (slides 52 54)

8. Exploring Endings (slides 55 56)


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Introduction.

The Textual Analysis NAB is basedon an extract from a short story, novelor play, or perhaps on a whole shortpoem.

You have to read the text carefully,

and then answer questions on how itis written the techniques the writeruses and the effects he or she creates.


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Continued.

Your Textual Analysis skills will also be useful in theClose Reading NAB and final Close Reading exam,where some questions will be marked with an A toshow they are testing these skills.

The Textual Analysis NAB also overlaps with your

study of literature. When you study a literature textyou are really analysing it, and whenever you usethe ITQEE structure (which you can learn about laterin this powerpoint) to write about a text, you are

being analytical.


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So what will the focus be?

Writers choose every single word verycarefully. They use a number of language techniques .

These techniques are also sometimescalled the features of the text, oraspects of the text.


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Continued In this chapter you will learn to look carefully at the writers:

word choice : the words the writer deliberately uses

structure : the way the writer builds up sentences, orparagraphs, or the whole text

imagery : for example simile, metaphor and

personification , in which the writer describes something bycomparing it to something else, giving you a vivid image orpicture in your mind

and a number of other techniques.


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FOCUS OF TASK

Just to remind you what these mean, wellexamine them by using examples from thepoem In the Snack Bar by Edwin Morgan.

This poem tells a story, and you should be

able to understand it fairly easily at firstreading.


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WARNING

We will just use this poem to illustratesome techniques.This is not the same thing as studyingthe poem, and it doesnt necessarilymean that you will end up knowing it

well enough to be able to write aboutit in your exam.


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A) IMAGERY

1. Similies

2. Metaphors

3. Personification.


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Imagery

Imagery is the term we use whenever awriter creates a picture in language.

If the words a writer uses immediately createa picture in your mind, then youve justencountered an image.

Some imagery techniques have particularnames. Three of these are simile,metaphor and personification .


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Similes


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Simile

A simile is a figure of speech in which one thing iscompared to another using like or as .

This gives a more vivid picture because of the

similarity between the two things compared.For example:

We go together like Chinese food and chocolate pudding. Will Ferrell. That rock on your finger is like a tumour.

Beyonce and Jay Z

Life is like a pipe and Im a tiny penny, rolling up the wallsinside.

Amy Winehouse.


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Now try this.

Look at In the Snack Bar by Edwin Morgan

Look at the simile below taken from the poem.

Like a monstrous animal caught in a tent in

some story.


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What does the simile

suggest?This suggests the size of the man, and shows

how badly deformed he is as his disability hasmade him seem animal rather than human.

Comparing his gaberdine coat to a tent showsthat it seems ill-fitting and looks wrong on him.


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Another example

Later in the poem, still describing theold man, Morgan notes his:

hands like wet leaves


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Now try this

What image does this suggest in yourmind about the mans hands?

Write your own sentence(s) startingwith these words:

The simile hands like wet leaves suggests.


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Now try this

There is another simile near the start of thesecond verse.

Find it, and write your own explanation of itas before.

The simile A few yards of floor are like alandscape to be negotiated suggests.


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Metaphor


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Metaphor

A metaphor is a comparison in which onething is said to be another thing. Althoughthis isnt true, it makes a strong comparison.

For example:

That child is a pain.Her room is a rubbish dump.


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Metaphors vs Similes

You wont find any metaphors in this poem, butyou can find examples of metaphors in almost

every poem you have studied.

Similes are easy to spot but metaphors aremuch more difficult. They do not always usethe word is.

Sometimes we have to ask ourselves if whatthe writer is saying can be literally true.


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Now try this Pair up with someone you know quite well.Create five metaphors to describe yourpartner.Swap metaphors and see if you agree witheach others descriptions.Then choose one of the metaphors youcreated for your partner and try to explainthe picture or image suggested by it. Writeyour own sentence(s) starting:

The metaphor (quote it) suggests


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Personification


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PersonificationIn this figure of speech, an inanimate, non-living, object is written about as if it was aperson or a living creature . For example:

The wind whistled through the sails.

The sun treads a path through the woods.


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Now try this The dismal hump looming over him forces his head down.

Can the hump on his back be pushing and forcinghim? Of course not it is not a living creature.

So what is Morgan suggesting by making the lump seem alive?

Morgan is suggesting the hump seems alive because itlooks as though it has deliberately pushed the manout of shape.


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B) Figures of speechwhich involve SOUND

1. Onomatopoeia

2. Alliteration


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Onomatopoeia


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OnomatopoeiaWhen a word sounds like what it isdescribing, we call this onomatopoeia.

Words like thud, bang, splash, yawn and howlare all examples of this technique.

Most onomatopoeic words are to do with either

sound or movement.

Onomatopoeia is used to make the writing

sound more vivid.


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Now try this An example of onomatopoeia in the poem is:

slithering with a dull clatter

Look at the quotation above.Which is the onomatopoeic word?In what way does that words sound suggest itsmeaning?

Write your own sentence(s) starting:

The word (quote it) suggests


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Alliteration


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AlliterationWhen letters or sounds are repeated at thebeginnings of words we call this alliteration

For example:Steve seldom smiled on Sundays.Silently the spider spun its silken strands.

Alliteration makes you notice the words moreand draws your attention to what the writer

is saying.


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Now try this

Look at the line below from the poem.

A cup capsizes along the formica

What effect does the alliteration in this

line have?Why do you think the writer began hispoem this way?


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Word Choice

Of course all words that a writer uses arechosen in some way.

But when we talk about word choice as atechnique we mean that certain words are very

carefully and deliberately chosen to obtainparticular effects.


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Now try this. Answer the following questions about some of the word choicein the poem.

1 What can we tell about the snack bar from the fact that theold mans stool is fixed to the floor? (Line 5)

2 What effect is created by the writers use of dismal in line 7?

3 What effect is created by the writers description of the mansgaberdine coat as stained, beltless in line 9?

4 What effect is created by the writers use of the word fumbling in line 20?

5 Why does the writer use the word contraption to describethe hand drier in line 56?


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D) Structuraltechniques

1. Sentence structure

2. Punctuation

3. Repetition


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Sentence structure


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Sentence structureOften Textual Analysis or Close Readingquestions ask you to examine sentence

structure . You may be wondering where to start.First, you will only be asked about the structure

of a sentence if the examiners think there issomething noticeable or unusual about it, soyou can start by asking yourself thesequestions:


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What do I notice.? Length: Is the sentence noticeably short or long? What effect does this length have?

Sentence type: Does the sentence make a statement? Shes a good girl.

Is the sentence in the form of a question? Is she a good girl?

Is it an exclamation? Good girl!

Does it give a command or instruction? Be a good girl for your granny.

Is the sentence in the form of a list? What effect does the sentence type have?


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Continued. Word order:

Have the words been placed in an unusual order? What effect does this have?

Grammar:

Would the sentence make sense on its own, out of context?

Is it a minor sentence, one without a verb? She was a really good girl. Sometimes. Not always.(Minor sentences, while not grammatically perfect, can often make a bigimpact. Writers can use them to add drama or emphasis.)

What effect does the grammar of the sentence have?

Finally, ask yourself:

Is there anything else unusual about the way the sentence is written?


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Punctuation


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PunctuationPunctuation is part of sentencestructure since it is used to shape

sentences and to organise the wordswithin them.To be able to answer punctuation

questions, you need to know whatcommon punctuation marks are usedfor:


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Punctuation

When do we usecommas ?

,

When do we usedashes ?

- When do we useInverted commas ?

1. to separate items in a list.2. to introduce a quote.3. to introduce direct speech.4. to make the reader pause at certain

times in a sentence.

1. to give extra information in asentence.

2. to make the reader take a pause.3. to mark out a word or phrase from the

rest of the sentence (Maths is great not.)

1. to show the words actually spoken2. to show that we are talking about the

title of a book or film or poem, etc.3. to show that we are quoting someone

else and these are not the writers own

words.


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More Punctuation When do we usesemi colons ?

;When do we usecolons ?

: When do we useellipsis ?

.

When do we use capital letters ?

1. to join two (or more) related ideas.2. to separate items in a list when there are

commas in the sentence already.3. to join several sentences into one very

long one.

1. to introduce a list.2. to introduce a quote.3. to give more information about an idea4. .to punctuate a play.

1. Dots used to tail of a sentence.2. To show gaps in a piece of writing.

1. at the beginning of a sentence.2. for names.3. for initials.4. for the beginning of a section of direct speech.5. for titles of books, newspapers, films, etc.for

acronyms (like BBC or STV or CSI)


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Now try this Look again at the poem and find:

A) At least three examples of dashes beingused to create pauses. Quote each one , andexplain why the writer wanted pauses there.

B) At least two examples of commas beingused to create lists. Quote each one , andthen explain why the writer used a list at thatpoint.


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Repetition


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RepetitionRepetition is another structural technique:when a writer deliberately uses a word orphrase more often than you would normallyexpect.

One example of repetition in this poem is:

And slowly we go down. And slowly we go down.


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What effect does thishave?

This also slows down the reader, making us

pay more attention to the repeated words.

What does this example of repetition suggest?

Here, the repetition suggests the difficulty of the journey down the stairs.


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Now try this

Read lines 57 to 65 of the snack barpoem.

Find two more examples of repetition.In each case, quote them , andexplain what effect Morgan gets by

using that technique here.


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E) Contrast


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Contrast A contrast is a form of opposite.

Whenever you get a question about contrast, to get

full marks you need to look at both sides .

Its not a contrast to say: Jane is short and middle aged

but it is a contrast if you say:While Jane is short and middle aged, Kenny is tall and

young.


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Now try this Read lines 63 to 65 of the poem. The writertwice uses contrasting, opposite pairs of words.

How can the old mans steps be at once faltering and unfaltering? How can their journey across the floor be atonce endless and not endless? What overall effect does Morgan create byusing contrasts in this way?


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F) Attitude


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Attitude

Our attitude is how we feel about something,our opinion of it or reaction to it.

A writers attitude is often shown through other

techniques, and you may need to read quite alarge chunk of text before you can work outwhat the attitude is.


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Now try this

Re-read the poem. Then write a mini essayto explain the writers attitude to the manhe helps. Use the opening below to helpyou, and back up the attitude identified withquotations from the poem.The writers attitude towards the older man

is that he feels sorry for him, yet in a wayalso admires him


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G) Endings


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Endings You will often be asked why the ending of a text is suitable.This might involve looking at the last line(s) of a poem, or thelast sentence or paragraph of a prose text. Endings can besuitable in a number of ways. For example:

the ending may sum up what the writer has been saying the ending may emphasis a point made in the text the ending may be humorous the ending may give the reader something to think about the ending may refer neatly back to something found earlierin the text.


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Now try this

We are going to look at the ending of thepoem in two ways.

1 Read the whole of the last verse. In whatways is this a suitable ending to the poem? You answer should be a paragraph and youshould use some quotations from that verse

to justify what you say.2 Focus on the final line. In what way is thisa suitable ending to the poem?

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Textual Analysis - PowerPoint(1)