We are dealing with a text if the sentences are united by a single theme and are related to each other grammatically and in content. Compositional unity and relative completeness make it possible to give a general title and highlight semantic parts. The lessons of literature require a comprehensive analysis of the text, the compilation of which is the subject of the proposed article. As an example, the parable "About a tired traveler" will be considered.

concept

The purpose of the analysis is to develop the ability to understand the ideological and aesthetic value of works and explain the origins of their expressiveness. Thanks to them, students will be able to write essays, reflections and other texts, replenishing lexicon and using different styles of speech. What is text analysis, how to do it correctly?

M. Gasparov identifies three levels that need to be mastered in the study of the work:

1. Ideological and figurative (impressions and emotions, author's ideas and motives for writing, main characters and the writer's attitude towards them).
2. Stylistic (analysis of syntax and vocabulary).
3. Phonic (stanza, rhythm, metrics), used for lyrical works.

Comprehensive text analysis requires certain preparation and knowledge, which we will discuss in more detail in the next subheading.

Action algorithm

Most often, literature deals with works of art - the smallest units literary creativity, where the word spoken by the author about his understanding of life is refracted through the perception of the reader. The analysis of a literary text requires the following actions:

• careful reading with the allocation of individual parts (chapters, subheadings, paragraphs);
• reflections on the title, which carries the main idea of ​​the essay;
• drafting a text plan;
• studying vocabulary and finding out the meaning of unfamiliar words in the dictionary;
• collecting information about the author and his worldview, historical era and features of the creation of the work;
• knowledge of the theory of literature, revealing what a genre, composition, chronotrope is;
• possession of the skills of highlighting artistic means of expression (epithets, metaphors, hyperbole).

Analysis Plan

In order to consider the work in the unity of form and content, the plan must include literary and linguistic aspects. Its scheme should precede the analysis of the text. How do you research a work of art? The following plan is proposed:

1. Theme, main problem and meaning of the title.
2. Author's position.
3. Microthemes.
4. Parts of the text and means of communication between them.
5. Speech, style, genre of the work.
6. The means of expression used, their role.
7. Text composition.
8. Reader's attitude to the problem of the work, emotional perception.

Text analysis, an example of which will be discussed in the article, is based on the content literary work. A small parable "About a weary traveler" tells about a group of people climbing a mountain. Everyone walked cheerfully and easily, and only one lagged behind the rest and complained of fatigue. At first, heavy luggage interfered with him, and his friends decided to free him from the burden. After some time, the traveler again began to delay the walkers and grumble that his legs hurt. The comrades decided to carry the friend in their arms, but they heard groans that he was getting tired even when they carried him. The traveler was carefully lowered to the ground, but the dissatisfied one again told how hard it was for him to lie down.

The Lord heard the groans and sent young man eternal peace. Death from laziness frightened the companions, who considered such an end of life despicable. For them, to die with honor is to die from work, raising their soul to the Mountain of Life.

Text analysis: how to do it on the example of a specific work

The theme of the parable is the attitude to life as an act and constant work, which is the essence of human life. The author is interested in the problem of the relationship between man and society, life and death, work and inaction. His conclusion: only labor leads a person to self-improvement and spiritual beauty. And that means to God.

Four stanzas are distinguished in the text, expanding microthemes: a tired person and travelers, people and God, the moral aspect, and the author's conclusion. The first two stanzas are connected by a chain, and the subsequent ones by a parallel connection. This helps to reflect the sequence and logic of events and the formation of the author's thought.

Analysis of the text, an example of which is considered in the article, allows us to define the work as a parable - a story containing a lesson. This is a small form of epic work, in which there is a didactic idea. The action is not related to specific place, but it could have happened at any time and in any place.

The style of the work is artistic. Colloquial speech is intertwined with bookish, solemn vocabulary.

Completion of the analysis

• A rich synonymic row for the central character, which makes his image more voluminous ( tired - alone - traveler - dissatisfied - unfortunate traveler - tired of the road).
• Repetitions of words that help emphasize the annoyingness of the protagonist.
• Paired antonyms that turn the work into a continuous antithesis: all - one, fun - grumbling, work - laziness, life - death.
• Variety of vocabulary: from pathos words ( despicable, dust) to negative-evaluative ( grumbled), which allows to convey the author's irony in relation to the traveler.

When analyzing the text, how to make the transition to the composition? First you need to determine how the plot develops. In this example, it is linear. There is a plot - the lag of a tired traveler and his dialogue with his comrades. The climax is a remark addressed to God, that “he is also tired of lying down.” The denouement is the attainment of eternal rest.

The system of images is built in the form of a triangle: travelers - tired - God. The Almighty is not in a state of interaction with the characters, he is above them, fulfilling, in fact, the dream of the afflicted.

The phraseological units used and the author's final reflections on the death of a tired traveler contribute to the fact that instead of a negative attitude towards the hero, the reader feels sympathy. So unreasonably and absurdly he disposed of his life. God stays with those who continue their difficult ascent to the Mountain of Life.

Text analysis in literature cannot do without a personal relationship to what is read, because any work of art is designed to influence a person's emotions.

Now it is necessary to be able to correctly analyze the poem, both for schoolchildren and students of philological faculties. IN modern school Every year more and more attention is paid to the analysis of poems, since the specifics of the Unified State Examination provide high requirements for knowledge of terminology, practical skills in different areas. School programs are somewhat more complicated, students must master voluminous materials and be well versed in many literary nuances.

The main features of the analysis of the poem
The increase in the semantic load and the number of terms must be harmoniously combined with the release of teaching hours in schools for teaching exact sciences. That is why the analysis of the poem is the best way to present the material and instill practical skills. When making an analysis, children quickly repeat all the terms, in practice they see how different poetic means differ.

To analyze poems, you need to know a whole complex artistic techniques, determine stylistic trends, types of rhymes, make graphic image poetic text, know the means of poetic phonetics and syntax. As a rule, the analysis of a poetic work takes a lot of time, it seems more difficult than the description of a prose text. The study of poems, their description, the creation of essays devoted to analysis usually cause the greatest difficulties for schoolchildren. Even students of secondary courses in linguistic areas are not always able to freely use literary tools, sometimes they do not see the structure of the text and cannot correctly determine the type of rhyme, artistic means, they confuse the image of the author and lyrical hero.

To eliminate all difficulties, it is important first of all to learn how to perform analysis according to a strict scheme, without deviating from a given algorithm. In this case, one must rely only on facts and know exactly the meanings of terms when a poetic text is studied in the field of its construction. Also often, especially in the context of school curriculum, it is required to highlight one's own reader's position, artistically express personal impressions of the poem read. This is usually done in the form of a mini-essay. In this case, the skills of a competent presentation of thoughts, the ability to compose a logical and complete text that answers a question that fully reveals the topic will come in handy.

Thus, in order to perform a correct analysis of a poem, one needs a complex of literary knowledge and practical skills, the ability to determine the theme, the idea of ​​the text.

Poem Analysis Algorithm
When analyzing a poem, it is recommended to adhere to a clear scheme. In various articles devoted to the issue of research and description of poetic texts, they note that a rigid framework can prevent an objective study of a poem. In fact, no matter how subtle the poetic form is, it is important to consistently analyze the text. At school and institute, it is advisable to ask students to learn the scheme by heart, moreover, detailed, with the necessary explanations. This will make it easier to analyze, eliminating the possibility of missing the right items.

Requirements and schemes are different everywhere: at universities they are as detailed as possible, they tend to have a detailed analysis in terms of vocabulary, artistic means, types of rhymes and stanzas; at school, more attention is paid to the content, idea, plot and images.

There is a traditional scheme by which you can correctly analyze a poem, supplementing it with points indicated in a specific curriculum.

1. First of all, you need to indicate the name of the work itself, the name of the author. This is often forgotten, however, even if the analysis needs to be done in the form of an essay, this information will need to be entered at the beginning.
   
2. Then you should consider the history of the creation of the poem, highlight the facts of the author's biography that have any connection with the lyrical plot, pay attention to the time of writing the text and the history of its publication. If there is a dedication, it should be written about. It will be necessary to comprehend the context of the work as a whole, correlate it with a specific stage of the author's poetic work, highlight typical and atypical features. Thus find out the place this poem in the work of the poet.
   
3. When it is possible to single out a certain literary movement to which the author belongs, it must be indicated. For example, if the poem is written in the traditions of futurism or acmeism.
   
4. The theme of the poem is highlighted. This is a kind of basis for any text. Since there are often difficulties with attributing a work to a particular topic, it is customary to first indicate the leading topic by choosing the appropriate option from several traditional ones: landscape theme, friendship lyrics, love, philosophical, civil, poetry and poet theme. It is advisable to write about the main motives of the work, that is, narrower formally fixed sub-themes, such as the motive of loneliness, meeting, enmity, longing, disappointment, exile. Determining the theme of the poem, you can learn to understand its meaning and subtext.
   
5. It is important to say about the development of the conflict and the plot in the poem. You should highlight the main events and try to state them, even if this is a description of nature: "the lyrical hero looks at ...". The lyrical-epic genre is characterized by a detailed plot, and in lyrical poems it is noticeably weakened.
   
6. At this stage, having found out the main theme and motives, the development of the conflict, you need to write about the idea of ​​​​the poem. Effective Method- try to ask problematic questions to the work, determining its essence, subtext. The problem is usually introduced into the subtext, rarely formulated openly. It is often difficult for schoolchildren to grasp the difference between a topic and an idea. Sometimes teachers do not draw a clear boundary, as a result, it is even more difficult to remember the specifics of the idea in the future. The theme is what the poem is about. The idea is what the work is written for. The author clothes the idea that he wants to convey to the reader in a poetic form and comes up with a specific content. But first it is the idea that appears, it plays the main role in the work, determines its theme, form, artistic means.
   
7. Then you need to determine the main mood of the poem, see how it changes. Most often, the feelings of lyrical heroes are described in dynamics.
   
8. It is very important to be able to correctly identify the lyrical hero. Even in literary criticism, among scientists, the opinion about the boundaries of this concept is ambiguous. Hero lyrical work manifests itself only through emotions, it is very often completely likened to the image of the author, which is not true. The lyrical hero and the author can be connected in different ways. Sometimes a lyrical subject is singled out: the world is passed through the prism of a fictional "I". Sometimes the lyrical hero is the "double" of the author, revealing his consciousness. In philosophical poetic works, the lyrical hero is the most difficult to determine, since the problems come to the fore, and not the image of emotions and feelings.
   
9. Next, you need to specify what composition the work has. Dividing the text into semantic parts, it is easy to follow the development of the plot, the theme, the transformation of mood, to see the main poetic idea. It is necessary to determine whether the stanza is a complete thought, or several stanzas express one thought, the meaning of the stanzas is contrasted or compared. Separately, they write about the role of the last stanza: how significant it is for revealing the idea, whether the conclusion contains. Not every poem has a pronounced composition, the analysis depends on the specifics of the text.
   
10. Now it is necessary to indicate what vocabulary the author uses in the poem: neologisms, occasionalisms, archaisms, everyday vocabulary, everyday, journalistic, bookish.
    
11. It is important to correctly list all literary devices, artistic means, to accurately determine poetic size. At school, they are more often limited to indicating the size (iambic, trochee, dactyl, amphibrach or anapaest) and depicting its graphic design, determining the number of feet. They write the main tropes (epithets, comparisons, allegories, hyperbole, personifications, metaphors). University students necessarily give a more detailed analysis. They describe in detail the means of poetic syntax and intonational figures (rhetorical question, exclamation, appeal, anaphora, epiphora, gradation, ring, junction, antithesis, omission, parallelism, inversion, non-union, invective, juxtaposition of opposites). They also write in detail about poetic vocabulary, designate rhyme in detail (for example, masculine, adjacent, exact), indicate rhythm-forming elements (metric stresses, end pauses, internal consonances, etc.). If the poem was attributed to a specific direction, it is important to prove this with examples, analyzing artistic means.
    
12. The genre affiliation of the poem is indicated (madrigal, elegy, ode, satire), stylistic (folk song flow, classical, propaganda).
    

It is best to conclude the analysis with a small sketch: write about your personal impression of the text you read, express your own reader's opinion, tell how the work influenced inner world which reminded me of.

It is very important to be able to correctly analyze the poem. In the process of studying the text, you can discover in it a lot of new things that were not noticed when reading. Analysis develops memory, literary skills.

I used to read a lot of books on efficiency, time management, management and the like. But 6 months ago I came up with my own tool, which has become an indispensable technology for self-development for me. This is a daily introspection. It brings me great benefits and has replaced all other technologies. Hope it helps you too!

Here is how I use this tool. EVERY day at 22:00 my mobile alarm goes off. Consistency is a must! During this time, I MUST set aside at least 20-30 minutes to review the day's activities. I carry out the analysis according to the following list and always in writing (for this I have a separate notebook):

1. What did I do right/good? How can these benefits be enhanced in the future?

2. What did I do wrong? What could have been done better? How to proceed in the future in such situations and correct mistakes?

3. What else could be done? Why wasn't it done? How can this situation be avoided in the future?

(This is a mandatory item! You can do nothing all day and go through the first two points like a handsome man).

4. Has today brought me closer to achieving my long-term goals? What should have been done to get even closer to the goals? (Accordingly, you must have goals.)

5. What will I do tomorrow to build on my strengths, work around my weaknesses, and get closer to achieving my long-term goals? This item comes as a conclusion from the previous 4.

To further strengthen this point, you can work out the tasks for the next day in the organizer. Very often we are “thrown” by the tasks around us, and without hesitation we write them down in our organizers. If you look at these tasks with a sober head in a calm atmosphere and analyze them from the point of view of your goals, then half can be abandoned, and another quarter can be delegated to someone else.

Mandatory rules when performing introspection:

1. Analyze cases only current day. You will not remember with whom and how you “wrongly” communicated or had a telephone conversation yesterday. Everything must be done in hot pursuit.

2. Everything is subject to analysis: why do I get to work for a long time? How many times and who called me? Why did they call me? Could you call one of the employees? How did the negotiations go, and what did I miss? How to optimize the financial scheme of my companies? How to reduce the tax burden in the light of the last payment of income tax?..

I review the calls that I received on my mobile, look at the mail, the organizer.

3. Do it all the time. It is very difficult to force yourself to do introspection all the time. It often happens that in the evening you are tired and want to rest, you have no strength, you want to eat, etc. But you need to use this tool constantly! Otherwise, there will be no sense from it.

4. Do everything in writing.

So the analysis is deeper and more meaningful, and you can write down for yourself the conclusions and important points that you should pay attention to.

5. Once a month, you need to review the conclusions (point 5) and analyze whether they have all been implemented, whether everything is going smoothly. If not, then you need to set a goal for yourself for the week and focus on one aspect. It is very important. Because we all know that there is a huge difference between how to do it and how I do it.

It would seem that the tool is very simple, but as a result of its use, I got real benefits:

1. The load decreased - I began to refuse a large number tasks, businesses and projects that conflict with my goals.

2. Life has become more conscious - daily analysis very clearly highlights my strengths and weaknesses, right and wrong actions, relationships with time.

3. Daily small improvements - in fact, my system helps to implement the same principle as "kaizen".

4. Before using this tool, I was in brownian motion- a lot of things, meetings, projects, tasks. After the start of use - everything is laid out on the shelves, it becomes clear and understandable.

I'm sure you know the feeling when you're constantly busy. You do something, like a lot, all day long. But when a year passes and you ask yourself: “What have I achieved this year, what significant have I done?” - then only the new iPhone and a couple of stupid noisy gatherings with friends come to mind, and that's it. And it's been a whole year! And you promise yourself that next year you will fix everything, you will do something meaningful, but this year passes, and nothing really changes. The tool I have described allows you to break this vicious circle.

There is only one difficulty in using this tool - you need to have a sufficiently high level of self-criticism. Testing for self-criticism - the question "what are my weaknesses?" If you don’t have a single answer to this question, then the tool is unlikely to be for you. And to further simplify the analysis of daily events, you can approach everything that happened from the point of view of such a chain: what did you want to get? What did you really get? – why did it happen?

The need to analyze a poem can cause difficulties for a person who reads this verse for the first time. It is not always clear how to approach the detailed analysis and capture the different meanings. Read the poem several times, analyze the form and content to understand the author's intention. You can also show the poem to others to get their opinion and get a comprehensive understanding of the ideas behind it. Work through the poem carefully and slowly to improve your own perception and learn to analyze poetry.

Steps

Part 1

Shape analysis

Read the poem to yourself. The first thing to do is to read the verse. Grab a pen or pencil to underline, mark, or highlight lines you like or surprise. You can also underline and circle all unfamiliar or incomprehensible words and phrases. These units can be considered later to be used in the analysis process.

• The first reading should be seen as an introduction to the poem. Don't try to immediately capture the whole essence and form of the verse. First you need to briefly read the text.

1. Read the poem aloud. Read the poem aloud a second time. Read in your normal voice, take your time and read every word. All incomprehensible lines should be re-read again. Listen to the sound and melody of the language. How noticeable are the differences when reading aloud and silently?

   • All commas and periods should be taken as pauses. When reading aloud, pause after each comma or period. The poet uses punctuation for a reason: it has an important mission.
   • Every line break, spaces or gaps between words and lines should be understood as pauses. Slow down your reading pace and take short breaks.
   • If the poem is popular enough, then try to find audio recordings of reading such a verse. Listen to the recordings while actively following the text. Don't rely on sound perception alone.

2. Examine the rhythm and meter of the poem. As a rule, each verse has a rhythm and meter if it is written in a certain pattern. Read aloud to hear and capture these aspects of the verse. The only type of verse that does not follow a clear rhythm and meter is called free verse or free verse. All other poems follow a certain pattern.

   • Does the poem use rhymes? Does the poet rhyme every last word in a line? Through a line? Analyze the rhyme scheme to determine the shape of the poem.
   • It is the structure of rhymes that makes it possible to understand the form of the verse. For example, blank verse has no rhymes at all. In a couplet, two lines rhyme or not, and in a three-line stanza consists of three rhyming or non-rhyming lines.

3. Consider the structure of the poem. Pay attention to the organization of the content, which allows the verse to be given a certain form. What kind of division is used? A poem may be subdivided into stanzas (for example, a stanza of four lines) or simply consist of a certain number of lines ordered by rhyme or meter.

   Analyze literary devices. In the context of the form of a poem, poets use various literary devices that allow them to put a deeper meaning into the verse and create detailed images. Rhymes, onomatopoeia, alliteration, assonances and consonances can be distinguished among the common literary devices. Analyze all the literary devices of the poem and think about the impact they have on the overall meaning laid down by the author.

   • Rhymes - the repetition of final sounds in words (for example, "face" and "porch"). This technique can be used both within one line and at the end of two separate lines.
   • Onomatopoeia - onomatopoeia through words (for example, the “buzz” of a bee).
   • Alliteration is the repetition of initial consonant sounds (for example, “sighs of the wind”).
   • Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in any part of a word (for example, “papaha”).
   • Consonance - the repetition of a vowel sound at the end of several words (for example, “cedar” and “bouncy”).
   • Metaphor - comparison of objects or phenomena in figurative meaning(“I am a sad bird”).
   • Comparison - the likening of objects or phenomena with the word “as if” or “like” (for example, “I’m like a lonely bird on the branches”).

4. Determine the form of the poem. After analyzing the size, structure and rhyme scheme, determine the form of the poem. Various poetic forms exist: sonnets, ballads, acrostics, blank verse, haiku, cinquains, epic poems, elegies, limericks, sextines, and villanelles. It is important to determine the form of the poem in order to better understand the text and capture the poet's intent.

   • Read examples of different poetic forms so as not to make a mistake in the definition. You can also explore distinctive features specific form.

   Part 2

   Content Analysis

   1. Consider the title. The title always contains important hints about the nature of the poem, so be sure to pay attention to it. Reread and think about the title, taking into account the text of the verse. Think about what meaning the author put into the title in the context of the rest of the text of the verse? Does the title add depth to the main idea?

      • Sometimes the title indicates the target audience of the poem. Examples include the titles of "Mother" or "My Beloved." Also, the title may describe the subject, genre, or tone of the poem (for example, "Sonnet 18" or "The Diggers").

   2. Determine the narrator. The poet and the narrator are not always the same person. Even a minor character can act as such a person in a poem. The author of the verse can tell the story from the first (“I”), second (“you”) or third person (“she, he, they”).

      • Usually the narrator can be identified without deep analysis, but in case of doubt, there is no need to worry about it now. Try to correctly grasp the type of narration in order to accurately analyze the meaning of the verse.

   3. Check unknown words and phrases. If you come across an incomprehensible word, then pause and check the meaning in the dictionary. You can also underline words in the text to find out their meaning a little later. Be sure to learn the meaning of unfamiliar words in order to better understand the essence of the entire poem.

      • You can also use a dictionary of synonyms and find possible synonyms for such words.
      • Find out the meaning of the words and reread the corresponding lines with the new information.
      • Use the same approach for proper names and obscure phrases. Sometimes you need to study examples in other texts or read articles on the Internet in order to understand the essence of certain phrases.

   4. Determine the tone and mood of the verse. As a rule, such aspects are determined by the choice of words and the language of the poem. It is also recommended to read the poem aloud and listen to the rhythm of each line.

   5. Consider the context of the poem. Try to understand when and for what purpose this verse was written to get the context. Perhaps the author of the verse was inspired historical events or the poetic style popular at the time. He may also have been influenced by certain paintings or other forms of art. The context allows you to better understand the author's intention, to read the work correctly.

      • Learn context from other texts, scientific journals and articles on the Internet. Consider the year the poem was published and read about the literature of that time.

   6. Look for patterns and repetitions. Repetition is often used in poems, as it allows you to emphasize the main idea or theme. The poet may use the same line several times as a refrain to remind him of an important message again and again. Also look for patterns in the words used or the structure of the verse that increase the intensity. Does the poet often return to certain images, themes, words? Groups of similar words form combinations.

      • For example, a poem may repeat the same line over and over again: “(and) nothing else.” Think about the purpose of the author. Often such a phrase or phrase brings the reader back to the main idea.

   7. Order of ideas. The order of ideas in a poem is another possible pattern in a text. Are they in chronological order from present to future? Arbitrarily moving from the past to the present and future, and then back to the past?

      • Sometimes a different organizational structure, in the form of conversation snippets or observations, may be used instead of a temporal order.
      • For example, the author may return to the theme of water, describe the ocean and a shallow pond in different lines. The theme of lost love can be reflected in the consideration of various moments from the life of the lyrical hero in each stanza.

Instruction

Specify the theme of the poem. Ask yourself: "What is the poet talking about in this?". Poetic works can be, patriotism, politics. Some describe landscapes and the beauty of nature, others are reflections on philosophical topics.

In addition to the theme, it is sometimes necessary to define also the idea or main idea works. Think about what exactly the poet wanted to convey to the reader, what “message” lies in his words. The main idea reflects the attitude of the poet to the written, it is a key factor for a true understanding of a literary work. If the author of the work raised several problems at once, list them and highlight one as the main problem.

Write to which artistic means and stylistic devices resorted to by the author in this work. Give specific ones from the poem. Indicate for what purpose the author used this or that technique (stylistic figures, etc.), i.e. what effect was achieved. For example, rhetorical questions and appeals increase the reader's attention, and the use of irony speaks of the author's mocking attitude, etc.

Analyze the features of the composition of the poem. It consists of three parts. It's the meter, and the rhythm. The size can be indicated schematically so that it is clear which syllable is stressed. For example, in iambic tetrameter, the stress falls on every second syllable. Read one line from the poem aloud. So it will be easier for you to understand how the stress falls. The way of rhyming is usually indicated using the notation "a" and "b", where "a" is one type of line ending of the poem, and "b" is the second type.