Reading the Work of Others Through Literary Analysis

Reading the Work of Others Through Literary AnalysisLiterary analysis is the art of exploring and learning about a writer's self. It can also be the art of discovering the artist, which sometimes is a true definition of art. Literary analysis is the language of the arts. It is the background and history of the works of a writer as they are presented through literary elements, conventions, and communication habits that make them recognizable to readers.Readers are used to places within literature that move the reader to consider and explore their humanity, relationships, and the role of the story within the narrative. Readers will investigate the spaces and associations between words and meanings, between characters and actions, between place and time and space and medium.Readers are used to the boundaries between people and places being blurred. Readers are used to language that encourages them to imagine that one person is reading another.The traditional definition of literature in its most literal sense is only an extreme example of what literary analysis can look like. In fact, the term literary can refer to a greater range of interpretations and feelings. The categories can include anything from contemporary short stories to the finest of the romances. Literary analysis looks at different aspects of how and why a writer's work is considered as great.Every writer's work is unique and that uniqueness, however it may be defined, contributes to the impression that the reader gets when they read the work. While the various writers may all have similar styles, it is possible to tell each work by its atmosphere.Literary analysis should always be considered an activity that takes place when the reader has the opportunity to go beyond the boundaries of the story and the author's words. A writer may not be the best at wordplay, but the writer who manage to write a story that pulls readers into the story, that keeps them engaged, and that challenges them to think abou t the characters in ways that take them away from the story is the one that readers can feel that they understand the nature of the text, to see the world in it, and to be able to relate to it.When a reader reads a book that doesn't make them feel as if they understand it, they are only furthering the idea that they don't. Any work that is able to pull a reader to it should be the subject of any literary analysis that takes place.It's not really that difficult to do, but readers need to be encouraged to share their experiences with literary analysis. They need to be able to go beyond the mere entertainment value of the work to the very nature of the work.