Analysis

Assignment: Write a 200-word essay critiquing or analyzing a work of art such as a movie, literary work, television production, etc. Note: Choose a different work than the one you summarized or described in previous assignments. If possible, try to incorporate linked verbs.

THIS IS NOT TO BE A MERE SUMMARY OF THE WORK. In your analysis you might comment on such aspects as:

1. Genre (el género). What type of work is involved, e.g., play, novel, documentary, etc.? What particular classification within that category, e.g., detective novel, science fiction novel, biographical novel, etc.

2. Structure (la estructura). What are the various elements which make up the work and how are they related?

3. Themes (LOS temas): the main idea and less important ones (motifs). What is the author saying? How does it tie in to other aspects of the work? Is the audience persuaded to adopt a certain point of view? Why or why not?

4. Characterization (la caracterizacón). Who are the main characters (personajes prinicipales) and how are they portrayed? Why are they important to the work, and why are they portrayed thusly?

5. Setting (el ambiente). Where does the work take place? What does this lend to the work?

6. Plot (el argumento). How is the it constructed? Does it “hang together”? Is it logical, well ordered? Or is it an “episodic plot” or merely based on coincidence?

7. Symbols (los símbolos). Do various items/persons in the work stand for something else? Why? What made you come to this conclusion (i.e., does the work itself suggest such an interpretation)?

8. Author and point of view (el autor/la autora y el punto de vista). What is the author's relationship to the work? For example, does he/she include him/herself in the work? Is the author omniscient, writing in the third person? Why, or what is the effect?

9. Style (el estilo). What type of details are important in the author's writing: description, dialog, action, personalities, poetic effects? How does the author use —or fail to use— these details to create a masterpiece?

10. Conclusion (la conclusión). Based on your analysis, is the work significant, worth reading/viewing, etc.? Any additional recommendations?