Literary Analysis

[Hulud]

i have to do one for lit class.

i have to "Analyze sight in the Odyssey or Oedipus Rex"

i dont believe i have ever done a literary analysis before, anyone have some ideas on what i am supposed to do?

like can you give me some examples on what to talk about?

thanks!

reps for help

[quickdodge®]

COPY/PASTE for an easy A+, mon ami:

Migratory flights of Marsh Harriers (Circus aeruginosus), Montagu's Harriers (Circus pygargus) and Pallid Harriers (Circus macrourus) in southern Israel were used to test flight theory predictions. The body sizes of these closely related species are between those of the typical large soaring migrants, such as eagles and storks, and the typical flapping migrants, such as small falcons and sparrowhawks. In soaring-gliding flight, Marsh Harriers reacted to different thermal conditions by adjusting their gliding airspeed to the actual climbing rate in thermal circling; consequently, cross-country speed was related to climbing rate. In contrast, the smaller Montagu's and Pallid Harriers did not adopt gliding airspeeds according to thermal conditions. All harrier species regularly used flapping-gliding flight, predominately soon after sunrise and before sunset, and more often in opposing winds than in following winds. Montagu's/Pallid Harriers used flapping-gliding more frequently than Marsh Harriers. Because they alternate between different flight styles, harriers are more independent of environmental factors, such as thermal activity and wind, compared to pure soaring migrants. This allows harriers to migrate under unfavorable thermal and wind conditions. Marsh Harriers are similar to typical soaring migrants in maximizing cross-country speed in soaring-gliding flight, whereas Montagu's and Pallid Harriers are less adapted to soaring-gliding flight and thus are similar to smaller flapping migrants. Optimal soaring-gliding flight seems to be less relevant for these smaller harriers; they maximize cross-country performance by efficiently combining different flight styles.

Later, QD.

[Hulud]

yea ok... lol

but seriously everything i find online about literary analysis is about a whole story not a specific topic in the story

[Ran]

http://www.goshen.edu/english/litanalysis.html

[TheProfiteer]

A Literary analysis is a subjective explanation of the given text.

It is your interpretation of the piece of work you are assigned to read. Not hard since its your own point of view.

You have to follow a specific format, either MLA or Chicago style depending on teacher preference but MLA is the standard which basically means double spaced, half inch margins, and parenthetical citations. If you need any help with this let know.

I was gonna be a lit major, but then again I do not like reading.

[Ran]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/Nismosis/pbs.png

[HvyArms]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/Nismosis/pbs.png

that's a guy?

[Ran]

Not sure but, even if that's the case, then it still works for PBS. lol

[Leadfoot_mf]

wikipedia that shit.

[Hulud]

A Literary analysis is a subjective explanation of the given text.

It is your interpretation of the piece of work you are assigned to read. Not hard since its your own point of view.

You have to follow a specific format, either MLA or Chicago style depending on teacher preference but MLA is the standard which basically means double spaced, half inch margins, and parenthetical citations. If you need any help with this let know.

I was gonna be a lit major, but then again I do not like reading.
yea, but how do you do a literary analysis on a topic of the work?

cause i have to do it on "sight", do i just give my point of view on how they used sight? like how odysseus (sp?) knew about the hydra eating people no matter how fast they row past? and how odysseus and athena used disguises from people?

[TheProfiteer]

In terms of the Odyssey, you are going to have to think in a mythological perspective, but thats only if you want to impress your teacher.

Post your exact assignment instructions and i'll let you know whats up.

[imbosile]

I'm pretty sure you need to analyze the importance of sight to the story. not sure though.

[Ran]

Think of it as an opinionated summary.

[Nismo]

wikipedia that shit.

I dont know about that wikipedia says that giraffe's can breathe underwater

[Princess12]

yea, but how do you do a literary analysis on a topic of the work?

cause i have to do it on "sight", do i just give my point of view on how they used sight? like how odysseus (sp?) knew about the hydra eating people no matter how fast they row past? and how odysseus and athena used disguises from people?

Yes and No. Never ever ever use first person point of view in a proper literary analysis. (I, me, etc.) Not sure how picky your professor is, but mine was a stickler for that. Discuss the idea of "sight" as a point of reference. For instance, what does the fact that Odysseus could see the hydras say about him as an individual? It states that he was of the supernatural. He is the epic hero. Epic heroes posess qualities that make him/her larger than life. You can go in that direction with how an individual's sight defines them as a character. The topics you picked out are pretty good ones. You can go on forever with the disguises they used and their purpose for doing so. I even think I have an analysis of that one topic somewhere. Let me know if you need any help. I'd be more than happy to assist/proofread etc.

[TheProfiteer]

I dont know about that wikipedia says that giraffe's can breathe underwater

link because that would be the :screwy:

[Magnus213]

Literary analysis is not the same as literary summary, which a lot of people have described above. Analysis is looking, in your case, at either (A) every single instance of sight-related description in the works, or (B) the common use of sight-based description in the piece, then deciding why they're there or what message they convey. The key question is, "How does the author use the concept of sight to relate an overall theme / idea of the work?" I'm not too familiar with those works (only read a portion of the Odyssey), but it's possible that sight connects to an overall theme of enlightenment, wisdom, intelligence (you said something about disguises, perhaps he could see through them, etc.) something like that. That's for you to find / decide, and support with evidence from the text.

If you really want to impress your teacher, write your entire paper without using any "be" verbs or uncertain language. "Is, are, was, have, has, had, is having, should, would, could, may, might," get rid of all of it. Active verbs >> passive verbs. That's a pain, though, you could pass on that if it's due tomorrow.

Good luck.

[GTScoob]

Its been a while since I've read either of those but write about how the notion of sight is used in both stories. At least in Oedipus, its symbolic that he puts the charcoals in his eyes to burn himself as a result of his shame. Sight can also be taken as any emphasis on physical beauty or even first impressions, ie if someone is constantly talked about as being beautiful. Oedipus hasnt seen his mother for years but still thinks she's gorgeous and then marries her. You could even go into other meanings of sight such as personal insight and judgment although that might be a stretch.

Regarding the Odyssey, I'd mention something about Medusa and how her sight will turn men to stone. You could even extrapolate on sight as one of the physical senses and tie in how the Sirens used their beauty and songs to lure men to their death. Hope this helps somehow.

I hate to say it but think outside of the box, think of everything that sight/vision/appearance can mean overall not in specific scenes.


If you really want to impress your teacher, write your entire paper without using any "be" verbs or uncertain language. "Is, are, was, have, has, had, is having, should, would, could, may, might," get rid of all of it. Active verbs >> passive verbs. That's a pain, though, you could pass on that if it's due tomorrow.

Good luck.
Thats just good paper writing. Great habit to get into that makes your papers much more confident sounding as well as interesting to read.