Анализ Текста

ОСНОВЫ СЕМАНТИКО-СТИЛИСТИЧЕСКОЙ ИНТЕРПРЕТАЦИИ
ХУДОЖЕСТВЕННОГО ТЕКСТА

Учебно-методические материалы для студентов IV-V курсов факультета иностранных языков
(английское отделение)

СОСТАВИТЕЛИ:
Бочарникова Н.В.
Деревянская В.В.
Ярмахова Е.А.

This booklet offers some information on how to do the analysis of a piece of fiction – the sort of work you have to deal with at your state exam. This interpretation is an oral composition, a matter of personal perception and should be original and logical.
Why do we do the interpretation? This is what your major – Philology – presupposes you should know how to do. You are linguists. So, interpreting things – accounting for facts and explaining reasons and inner motives – is what you master best.
You are expected to reveal a certain level of philological and cultural awareness as well as adequate grammatical and lexical response. You have to combine conceptual interpretation with stylistic analysis and keep it in mind that the stylistic interpretation comes as support to the conceptual analysis.
We want you to be original and creative and we are sure that by the end of your fifth year you will have become very skillful and artistic. Just remember that to be “interpretationally” proficient you have to love what you are doing and think very positively about it.

So, the basic structure of the interpretation is the traditional one:
Introduction.
Interpretation body.
Conclusion.
I. INTRODUCTION
First, introduce your listener to the story you have read. If you know this author and like (dislike) his/her writing, you may as well say it.
You may also mention the facts of his biography relevant for his creative activities; the epoch (historical and social background); the literary trend he belongs to; the main literary pieces.
But if you don’t know anything about the writer, don’t say that. The author may be someone very famous and known to everybody but you. It doesn’t sound good when a student says something like “The author of the story is K.Mansfield, unfortunately, the name is unknown to me, I don’t know anything about this writer but I’m going to read more stories written by him ( and K.Mansfield is a SHE)”.
Examples:
…I’d say it’s a typical story by C.P.Snow who turns out to be a great master of psychological analysis and literary presentation of the results of this analysis. The story only proves what I’ve always thought of him.

The text under analysis is an extract from the short story “...” by Richard Gordon. His most famous “Doctor” series are noted for witty description of a medical student’s years of studying. Define the type of the story. It may belong to a psychological type because it is concerned mainly with the mental and emotional lives of the characters. The majority of stories given to you for analysis, no matter what socially or politically important problems they tackle, deal with a human relationship aspect of life. A story is most likely to be a relationship kind. You might also want to say about the philosophical side of the story. Does the author give any generalising statements that could be treated as his philosophy revealing?
According to the genre, a text can present a realistic story, a detective story, a drama, a historical novel, etc. You may also say whether the story under consideration is narration interlaced with descriptive passages and dialogues of the characters; narration broken by digressions (philosophical, psychological, lyrical, etc); an account of events interwoven with a humorous (ironical, satirical) portrayal of society, or the personage, etc.
Examples:
This is a philosophical story for a discerning reader who has to read between the lines. Giving the reader a chance to see somebody else’s inner life, presented directly and indirectly, the author at the same time does not provide any answers to the questions that one asks himself. The author seems to grant the reader a chance to take leave to doubt and disagree with what he concludes and infers. Being imposing, he’s at the same time pretty unobtrusive which definitely, makes a merit of the story.

In this extract we deal with an ironical description of the family of social climbers. Their career, mode of life, manners, upbringing are made fun of by the author.

The passage presents a realistic story with elements of psychological approach, as the author shows the feelings of the main character and his inner thoughts. Next you may speak of the prevailing mood (tone) the story has.
The overall tone of the text may be humorous, ironical, sarcastic, satirical, lyrical, dramatic, tragic, optimistic/pessimistic, melodramatic, melancholic (sad), meditative, sentimental, emotional/unemotional, pathetic, dry and matter-of-fact, gloomy, bitter, cheerful, nostalgic, romantic etc. Only make it clear to yourself why exactly you get this impression. Remember that ANY story has a mood it creates in the reader’s soul, you have to feel it.

A text acquires a satirical coloration when the author aims at showing the evil, foolishness of some person, organisation, system, at criticising the situation, described in the story and improving it. A story is written in a humorous tone when the author’s aim is to cause amusement and to make the reader laugh. The humour may be light or sad. A story is ironical when the author shows regret, displeasure and annoyance of the situation. The author can be sarcastic when he aims to upset or hurt someone, being offensive in an amusing way. A text acquires a tragic coloration if a story finishes with death.

NB! Never take a story as tedious, even though you might think it plotless, eventless – a total bore. But the writer wrote it, you’ve read it and now you have to interpret it, so use your positive thinking and make yourself enjoy the text to the full and be ready to share your enjoyment with your listener, your teacher or examiner.
Example:
The passage has a dramatic coloration, because the situation, described, is treated rather seriously by the author. Now it’s time for the problem (subject matter) characterization. Say what problems the story touches upon.

A subject matter is a big, general theme, raised by the author, in other words what the text under analysis is about (relations between grown-ups & children, existing conflicts & contradictions of the society, different approaches of men & women to the idea of marriage, love, betrayal, woman’s lot, ways to reach happiness and comfort in life, different modes of living that go in accordance with different philosophies, etc.)

The title of the text can indicate a lot about the topic of the text. You might comment on it if it’s a speaking one.
Examples:
It’s a story about a person who’s immune to the outer world having drawn into himself.

In the extract the author speaks of family gossip which he ironically calls the ‘machine… too nicely adjusted’. Habits, prejudices, ways of behaviour of the Forsytes are shown to be typical of the upper-middle class.

I’d say the story creates a sad mood. The sadness you feel here is resting on the problem that’s in the centre of the plot. The problem is a person’s suicidal attempt because of seemingly betrayed love.

The text is about young teachers, their first experience at school and the difficulties awaiting them.

The story features a person who cannot break from the society’s conventions and instead becomes disillusioned with the conflict between his aspirations and the reality of his life. The next thing you might mention in the introductory part is the setting (the place, time of day or year, historical period, etc. during which the action takes place).

As a matter of fact, some settings are relatively unimportant, having no relationship to either a plot or the characters. In a story that focuses on the inner thoughts of a character, for example, setting as such is subordinate to the author’s other concerns and purposes. Some settings, on the other hand, are necessarily connected with the meaning and unity of the total work.
To understand the purpose of setting, pay particular attention to the descriptive passages in which the details of setting are introduced. In most short stories, setting is established at or near the beginning of the work as a means of orienting the reader and framing the action that is to follow. If the emphasis on the setting in early passages is substantial one can reasonably assume that the setting is designed to serve some large function in the story.
The quality of the language by which the author projects the setting provides another clue as to his or her intention. If the author wants us to “see” the setting, the details of the setting will be rendered through concrete and denotative language. On the other hand, the author may want us to ‘feel” rather than simply “see’ the setting, as is the case when setting is to be used as a means of creating atmosphere. Many authors use their settings to arouse the reader’s expectations and establish an appropriate state of mind for events to come. In that case the appeal will be to the reader’s imagination and emotions through language that is connotative, emotionally heightened, and suggestive. Often the author will want the reader to both see and feel the setting and will use the recourses of language to bring about both effects simultaneously.
Please note that if you consider setting plays a major role in the story under analysis serving as a means of creating appropriate atmosphere or reveling a character, etc. it will be better to comment on it in the main (interpretation) part of your analysis. Don’t make your introductory part too large. Then you may speak of the plot in a general way, stating if the events are few or numerous and how it influences the story being involving and the mood it sets. You might say that the events are very few, the plot is very simple but the amazing thing is how the author through this seeming simplicity manages to create convincing images and truthful pictures. Or you may say that the plot of the story relies more on the characters (their emotional reactions, efforts to communicate their feelings to others) than physical action. Little action happens, but the subtle quality of the few events and, more crucially, the characters' feelings about them form the essence of the story.
You might as well comment briskly on the conflict the plot originates in.

Conflict is the basic opposition, or tension, that sets the plot of a story in motion; it engages the reader, builds the suspense for the events that are to follow. The conflict may be either external, when the protagonist (who is also referred to as the main character) is pitted against some object or force outside him, or internal, in which case the issue to be resolved is one within the protagonist’s own self. External conflict may take the form of a basic opposition between man and nature or between man and society. It may also take the form of an opposition between man and man (between the protagonist and antagonist). Internal conflict, on the other hand, focuses on two or more elements contesting within the protagonist’s own character.
Some conflicts, in fact, are never made explicit and must be inferred by the reader from what the characters do or say.
Examples:
There’s not much action in the extract, it’s, basically, a description of thoughts, feelings and motives of a personage.

The plot of the story relies on the conflict within the main character’s own self: Kurtz struggles (and fails) to subdue the savage instincts concealed beneath his civilized veneer. The events of the story are few, because the author is concerned with the protagonist’s emotional reactions and thoughts rather than physical There is one more important issue you are supposed to comment on in this part of your analysis – point of view.
The way a story is presented is a key element in fictional structure. This involves the angle of vision, the point from which people and events are viewed.
The point of view colours and shapes the way in which everything else is presented and perceived, including plot, character and setting.
The author may choose a first-person narrative, when one character tells of things that only he or she saw or felt. In a third-person narrative the author comments on what the characters feel, say or do.
First-person narratives are necessarily subjective. The only thoughts and feelings that first-person narrators experience directly are their own. For this reason it is always necessary to pay particular attention to the character that fills that role – to his or her personality, values and beliefs. Among the advantages of first-person point of view is the sense of psychological realism. It is very effective in its capacity for eliciting the reader’s direct intellectual and emotional involvement in the story.
Third-person point of view – where the narrator does not appear as a character in the story – is the most common perspective used to tell stories. A story is told from the outside. A narrator who knows everything, can tell us what the characters are thinking, and can move around in space and time at will is an omniscient narrator.
Example:
The extract under analysis is a third-person narrative. The main character’s experience is presented objectively and impersonally which illustrates his psychological and emotional detachment and self-control.

The introduction parts mentioned above may come this way or any other order. You might feel like speaking of them all or mentioning only some of them. Don’t make your introduction too long! Arrange them the way you feel it logical and appropriate.
II. INTERPRETATION BODY
After you have given the ample introduction (do remember, that the tips mentioned above are more than you might need for a particular story, so you might feel like using some of them) you should give the summary of the text.

A summary is a clear orderly retelling of the contents of a text. The normal proportion of a summary is about 1 to 10 of the original; although it may be a single sentence if it is enough to convey the general idea. A summary requires a certain degree of generalization which presupposes that you should use your own words. Another requirement is that you should follow the chronology of the text. Change direct narration to indirect whenever it is possible. Omit quotations, repetitions, figures of speech, examples. In the summary avoid your own emotions, opinion, appreciation, interpretation. Join sentences with appropriate linking words or phrases to produce a more coherent, flowing summary.
Example:
Before conducting a lesson, Speed, a young, inexperienced teacher, knew that some mischief could be expected to be done by the pupils. When he started the lesson, the quietness of the room was interrupted by some student, whose name according to the map was Worsley. Speed punished the boy with a special task, but it turned out that the pupils had changed their places. Having understood, that he had been played a joke on, Speed gave the same punishment to the real Worsley for sitting in the wrong place. Having coped with the situation, Speed conducted the lesson to the end without other interruptions and was afterwards praised by one of the headteachers for overcoming the problem successfully.

The tool of the summary allows you to later avoid mentioning every single event of the story explaining the numerous minor ones as well. It lets you skip certain points and dwell only on the ones that are important for you. Giving the summary in the interpretation body allows you to concentrate on the characters, events, conflicts and ideas.
Imagine you are basing your analysis on the interpretation of the conflicts the personages come into and the character sketches the author creates meaning them to be human type representatives. You don’t need the whole of the plot. You need only the things that would help you with the items you want to highlight. This way you are enlightening your listener on the whole plot and later on you will be just specifying the needed episodes introducing them by saying something like There is an episode when Anna asks Marcus why he doesn’t come to see the children. He reacts to the innocent question in an amazingly rough way blaming her for “bloodily accusing him”. This, I think, proves that Marcus himself feels guilty of not coming to see their children. His life without Anna is a mess but he’s too proud to acknowledge this and feels hurt and jealous when Anna seems to have guessed that, probably, there’s something wrong with his new life. He’s afraid that Anna has become too independent of him, more independent a personality than he is. She seems to be successful and so steady on her feet, steadiness, endurance, forbearance having always been her qualities. Marcus is afraid to seem weaker. The same idea may be proved by another episode. This happens later in the evening. After you have given the summary of the story characterize the composition. The composition may be the traditional one that starts with the exposition, proceeds with the rising action and the climax, moves toward the falling action and ends up with the denouement (which is also referred to as the conclusion, resolution or outcome). These are the five compositional parts that are usually singled out.

Exposition is the beginning section in which the author provides the necessary background information, sets the scene, establishes the situation, and dates the action. It usually introduces the characters and the conflict, or at least the potential of the conflict.
Rising action: the complication develops and intensifies the conflict.
Climax is that moment at which the plot reaches its point of greatest emotional intensity; it is the turning point of the plot on which the fate of the characters and the final action depend on.
Falling action: once the turning point has been reached, the tension subsides and the plot moves toward its conclusion.
Denouement (resolution, conclusion) means “untying” or “unknotting” which is precisely what happens in this phase: it records the outcome of the conflict.

What meaning can the compositional characteristic have for the impression the story makes on you? If the composition is traditional, you might say that this plays its certain positive role involving the reader gradually as the plot is developing chronologically, logically, step by step. The reader is smoothly sliding down into the content.
The three basic parts may come in another order: the story starts with the climactic scene (episode), or right from the beginning we are given the outcome. This is all done on purpose. You may say that in the former case the writer wants to plunge us right away into the thick of the conflicts and characters described. In the latter case he probably wants to amaze us, surprise us, upset us, make us happy. He might want us to wonder why it happened this way. We are made to pay some special attention to the very way the event chain has been developing to arrive to such a finish. Thus, the author gets us even more involved, as knowing the ending we very much feel like knowing the beginning and the very development.
The composition may be of a jumbled sort in another way. The actual events may be intermingled with the personages’ reminiscences, or the author gives certain descriptions of their past and the like. You might say that this is done to keep the reader a kind of tense and alert, to make him a real careful and discerning one.
The story may not be just of a plain (one-layer) sort of text, but a story in a story kind of it. This happens when the actual events are not simply intermingled with the personages’ reminiscences, but there is a certain complete story inside/within the main plot. And this secondary story appears to be not less important than the primary plot for the readers to understand the conflicts of the piece of fiction and the ideas lodged in the text.

Please bear in mind that it is not unusual for readers and critics to disagree among themselves about where the climax, or turning point, of the story actually occurs. Nor is there any special reason that the climax should occur at or near the middle of the narrative. In fact, it can occur at any moment, at the very end of the story, for example, and the falling action and the denouement can be dispensed with almost entirely. Exposition and rising action can also be omitted. In many modern and contemporary stories the plot consists of a “slice of life” into which we enter on the eve of crisis, and the reader is left to infer beginnings and antecedents.
Example:
Composition-wise the story is traditional, which plays its positive role by letting the reader deepen his feeling gradually. One gets to feel stronger and stronger for the main character but, in fact, this doesn’t make one feel totally on his side Structurally, a text can be divided according to the three principles: (1) the plot, (2) the form of the text (narration, description, dialogue, etc) and (3) the atmosphere, created by the author.
Example:
According to the three principles of dividing the text ( the plot, the form, the mood, created by the author) the passage under analysis falls into three logically connected parts. The story begins with the author’s speculations about exams. This part of the text presents a description. It is static, and the neutral atmosphere prevails here: “An examination is nothing more than an investigation of a man’s knowledge...”. The part ends with the author’s thoughts, that “the candidates spend almost as much time over the technical details of the contest as they do learning general medicine from their text-books”.
The second part begins with the narration of the students’ preparations for the exams. The emotional tone of the passage changes immediately at this point and the tension starts increasing gradually: “Benskin discovered that Malcolm Maxworth was the representative on the examining Committee and thenceforward we attended all his ward rounds, standing at the front and gazing at him like impressionable music enthusiasts at the solo violinist”… Stylistic device commentary comes up in the interpretation body. Usually students ask how many stylistic devices they are supposed to mention and comment on. It depends on the story, the language the author employs, the main idea he aims to reveal.
Remember that your conceptual analysis should be combined with the stylistic one, the latter serving as support of the former one. Do not go too deep into the stylistic details of the narration whatever attractive they might seem to you. The reader (student) has to show why the author uses these particular means to render these particular ideas.
In some cases it is important to speak of the language the story is written in, and characterize the style of the writer. Say if the language is metaphoric (expressive), if the vocabulary the author employs is everyday or outdated, or high-flown, or colloquial, or slang etc. Define what this is all done for. That is say what impression it produces on the reader or what it adds to the mood that you feel. You are sharing your perception and you can’t say things just to say them. Everything should be said for a purpose.
The stylistic devices should be interpreted in the following way. First comes the author’s idea the student points out. Then comes the quotation – the piece of the text that contains the stylistic device you want to comment on. Next comes the stylistic comment, you name the device. And finally, you have to expand the idea you have expressed/put forward in the beginning. Without repeating yourself try to show how the named device emphasizes the point and how it is connected with the other points or sides of the author’s philosophy (which equals message).
When expanding on the author’s idea, it’s not enough just to say “The author emphasizes the way she feels”. Say, what is the way she feels, how she feels, and how it is stressed out. Do not just enumerate stylistic devices. They should be nicely inserted into the interpretation context.
Certain devices are said to be resorted to to achieve certain effects. For example, an epithet is used to express the author’s individual attitude towards what he describes, his personal appraisal of it. It is a powerful means in his hands of conveying his emotions to the reader and in this way securing the desired effect. (See Stylistic Devices List).

Example:
(Notice the scheme: IDEA – QUOTATION – DEVICE NAME – IDEA) She is an attractive lady (idea). The author says “She was the rose of my garden” (quotation). This is how through this metaphor (device name) the author renders the idea of Juliet’s outstanding and unique beauty and also discloses Robert’s attitude to his wife – obviously she was his pride of place (idea). You will need stylistic devices in the process of character sketch which is also in the interpretation body. It’s important not to forget to prove your own words by quotations from the text and their commentary. Be sure not only to indicate the devices but to explain why they are used and what they give to the character.
Usually you will talk about a major character, although you might also study a minor character or characters. Say whether the characters are round or flat. Who is the protagonist (antagonist) of the story? Also comment on the conflict of the story in which these two personages are involved in.

Characters are called round if they are complex and develop or change in the course of the story. Flat characters are one-sided, constructed round a single trait.
Characters have their own functions in the conflict of the story. The two parties in the conflict are called the protagonist and the antagonist. The protagonist realises the author’s attitude towards the problem, expresses his ideas – he is the mouthpiece of the author. The author sympathises with him/her, but still can be rather critical.
The idea of the text is realised within the conflict of the protagonist and the antagonist, which results in the victory of some idea or character. The conflict may be external – between human beings or between man and the environment. The internal conflict takes place in the mind, when the character is torn between opposing features of his personality.

You may also want to speak about the author’s method in the portrayal of the characters.

The method of the characters’ portrayal may be direct (when the author himself tells us what this or that character is like) or indirect, sometimes also called dramatic (when the characters are revealed through their behaviour, actions, speech). The two methods may be combined. They may also be used in contrast, when the author consciously misleads the reader first describing a character in a certain way and then making him act in a striking contrast to that description, so that he is revealed in a new and unexpected light.
Characters may be given by the author either statically or in development. A character may develop in different ways: either the person himself may change in the course of the story, or our knowledge of him may change, when in the course of narration he is revealed to us in a new aspect.
Examples:
The author sympathises with the students, calling them “poor victims”, but at the same time criticises them: at the exam they were “hoping by an incomplete sentence to give the examiners the impression of frustrated brilliance”, etc. Making them win the conflict, he proclaims them to be the protagonist of the story, realising the writer’s attitude to the problem - the vicious system of examinations at the Cambridge University should be criticised and fought . The second part of the conflict - the antagonist is embodied by the collective character of the examiners. They are described as indifferent invigilators, “keeping an eye open for flagrant cheeting”. The porters are compared with “the policemen that flank the dock at the Old bailey”; “One was a burly, elderly man like a retired prize-fighter”, “the other was invisible”. Here the author uses both direct and indirect methods of characterisation. He does not say directly, that the examiners make an exam not “an investigation of a man’s knowledge”, but an investigation of a man’s nervous system. The writer makes the plot develop and the examiners act (“the examiner suddenly cut me short”, “he said impatiently”) and enables the reader to draw his own conclusion about them. He lets the reader realise that they are the personification of the vicious system.

The author presents Speed as the example of a brave and smart teacher, dealing successfully with students’ misbehaviour and earning respect, not emposed by fear, but by creating a good atmosphere. The author treats him with sympathy and depicts as not a confident, but a very witty and brave man. Making him cope with the situation, he proclaims Speed to be the protagonist of the story. The second part of the conflict - the antagonist is emboded by the collective character of the pupils. But still they are not treated as complete enemies, and the author describes them with sympathy: “a bright, rather pleasant-faced boy”, “a lean, rather clever-looking boy”. Another character is Clanwell. He is portrayed as an evaluator of Speed’s behavior, whose aim is to emphasize how important Speed’s victory is.

Make an analysis of the characters’ speech. Point out colloquial style and bookish elements, queer combinations; observe the use of certain high-flown or sentimental clichйs (if there is any). What does it give to the character? How does the author use the characters’ speech for the purposes of characterization?
You might provide a basic summary of the character. It may contain comments about the realism of the character, or how the character might act in real life. It might also incorporate the theme of the story and how the character illustrates that theme.

Formulate the main idea (theme, message) and generalize on it. The main idea is NOT the issue, or problem, or subject with which the story deals, but rather the comment or statement the author makes about the issue, problem, or subject. In other words, it is the main line of the author’s thoughts – what he wants to tell the reader, what he disagrees with, what he admits, criticizes or glorifies.
Readers can look at different aspects of the work to uncover different interpretations of the meaning of the story. No one is going to argue with you on the point of your conceptions being right or wrong provided your interpretation is supported by the work’s other elements.
Please, remember that the main idea, the message, of the story is formulated in a sentence or a set of sentences of a generalizing kind.
Example:
It is obvious from the story that overwhelming pride complicates one’s life; outstanding ambition can cause a shockingly painful spiritual descent from the sublime to nothingness. The upheaval brings about irreparable harm. I’d say this is the main idea of the story.

The author has the aim of criticising the whole system of examinations, showing the contradictions between how the exams should be held and what they are like in reality.
CONCLUDING PART.
In this part of your analysis you are expected to say what the story shows you, what it teaches you, what it makes you think of.
You are not supposed to refer to any personages or episodes from the story in the concluding part. Another major don’t: don’t give stylistic device commentary here.
The interpretation is an oral composition and the most interesting thing is the PERSONALIZATION of the things presented by the author of the story, the ideas and facts. Share your background, show why the story is interesting and important for YOU. Something like:

“This is how it usually happens in real life. I remember myself in a similar sort of situation. I think I faced the same kind of choice to make, and I wouldn’t say I emerged absolutely victorious, I’d say I still think I could have acted differently”.

The point is sharing your own experience, your personal attitude towards the problem makes your interpretation story very realistic and true to life which counts for the personalization aspect assessment.

Here are some questions to ask when you face the task of analyzing a piece of fiction. Your answers to these questions will help you brainstorm and develop the ideas that form your response to a story.

What is the tone of the story? Does it change with the events in the story or remain fixed? How does the tone contribute to the effect of the story?

What is the setting of the story? Does the setting play an important role in the story, or is it simply the place and time where things happen? How would some other setting affect the story?

Is the composition a traditional one? Does the story start with the exposition or any other part? Is it just one story? Is it a story in a story? How does the composition involve the reader?

From what point of view is the narrator telling the story? Why?

What is the central conflict in the story – between characters, groups, or between two parts of a character’s personality? How is it resolved? Is the resolution satisfying?

Who are the principal characters in the story? What function do the minor characters serve? Do any characters change during the course of the story? How, and why?

What is the author’s method in the portrayal of the characters? What can you say about his appearance, clothes, manners, way of life? What does the appearance demonstrate about the character? Does his appearance answer his true character? What is he really like? What is the purpose of all that masquerading (if there is any)? What is the social significance of his figure?

Does the author describe the characters through their actions, feelings and attitude towards other people?

Does the author remain aloof and detached towards the characters? What is the author’s attitude towards him? Is the attitude explicit or implicit?

What makes the narration vivid and natural?

What is the main idea/theme of the story? Does the title reinforce or point to the theme? Can you locate any particular places in the story where the theme is addressed?