Cite as: Gardner, Traci. "A Heuristic for Literary Analysis and Creative Writing." Virginia English Bulletin 38.1 (Spring 1988):54-61.
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Helping students analyze literature is difficult; helping them analyze one another's creative writing is even more difficult. Whether they are trying to come up with relevant paper topics on a Hemingway short story or trying to identify what has gone wrong in their own narratives, students run into the same problem: while teachers often explain elements which make a story effective, like characterization and plot, and often discuss how and why those elements make a story effective, they have difficulty helping students understand how these elements relate to the artist, to the readers, to their world, or to the work. By showing students how the story's elements link to the real world, however, teachers can help students analyze both literature and their own creative pieces for meaning beyond the typical character sketch and plot summary.
Often, when my students have trouble determining their problems in an essay, I ask them to consider their rhetorical situation by examining their motives and how those plans relate to Kinneavy's Communication Triangle. As a heuristic, the triangle is important because it asks students to analyze their motives while their writing is still in embryonic form. Once they clarify their purpose, they are better able to continue writing.
At times, however, Kinneavy's triangle fails with creative writing, especially when students are writing to discover. Student writers probably know exactly who the encoder is, who their decoder is, and what their realistic situation is. Nonetheless, they may not have a complete idea of their purpose. This problem can greatly affect the writing situation; as Kinneavy states, "Purpose in discourse is all important. The aim of a discourse determines everything
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else in the process of discourse" (p. 48). Thus, if writers do not yet know what their aims are, they cannot use a purpose-oriented analytical tool such as the communication triangle.
Even though Kinneavy suggests that "it would be dangerous to adduce author intent as the main criterion of the aim of a discourse" (p. 49), if the writer is the one analyzing the writing, that person can have no other criterion. Kinneavy would assert that neither the encoder nor the decoder have a part in determining the aim of a piece of discourse; instead, "it seems better to find the aim which is embodied in the text itself-given the qualifications of situation and culture" (p. 49). While a completed work could inherently incorporate such a purpose, however, a writer's work in progress could only have an intended purpose, and that purpose might be incompletely realized, if it is addressed at all. In short, though Kinneavy's triangle is ideal for analyzing completed essays, it needs some manipulation before it can adequately serve as a heuristic for creative writers.
In The Mirror and the Lamp, as Kinneavy notes, M. H. Abrams uses this same basic triangular relationship to analyze literature. Abrams transfers the terms from encoder, decoder, reality, and signal to artist, audience, universe, and work, respectively. Though the terms and their definitions differ, the same basic correspondence between the piece of writing and the world structures the analysis. Thinking of the piece of creative writing in these terms can help students use Kinneavy's relationship more effectively; further, the correspondence between Kinneavy's and Abrams' triangles indicates the important analytical value of the relationship, making the triangle relevant for exploring literature, as well as discovering ideas for creative writing.
Yet the reader or writer still needs more information to analyze thoroughly the artist's motives in a piece. Changing the terms alone does not make the system much easier to use. To understand, students need more questions to ask; specifically, they need a more complete analytical technique.
To help students define the underlying relationships within the story, the teacher can introduce an analytical triangle. This third triangle uses the same relationship as far as motives are concerned, yet it does not consider writing-only how the main actor or protagonist compares and reacts to the other elements in the story. Students are basically identifying the same
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elements that they may have considered with other analytical techniques; the difference is that they are more interested in motivations and interactions than most analytical techniques would allow.
Using a parallel presentation, the center of the triangle becomes the theme, the underlying point of the story. Surrounding the theme are the main actor or speaker, other characters and speakers, and the setting. These three elements mimic the artist, audience, universe relationship which Abrams sets up in his triangle, and, indeed, the analysis of motivations within the piece is much like that for the motivations for writing the piece. Students might well ask themselves, "What does the main character want the other characters to do or to think about when he/she behaves in a certain way?" just as they might ask, "What does the artist want her readers to do or to think about what she writes?"
Like Abrams' triangle, however, this analytical triangle alone does not give students enough structure to decide and understand what questions and relationships will help them determine the artist's underlying motives. Fully to consider these motives, students can use a system of questions and concerns based on the interrelationship of Abrams' triangle and the analytical triangle. Such a system of questions gives students more to look at than character or plot: it helps them determine why character and plot work and why the artist included a particular character in a particular plot.
To extrapolate the relationships, the teacher then overlays Abrams' triangle with the analytical triangle. The result is a complex, but understandable tool that reveals the way the artist's motives influence the actions within the story. Once the twelve relationships are established, it is a simple task to ask questions which compare the artist's motives to those within the story.
While not exhaustive, the series of questions below show the way the relationship works and should give students and teachers a start with their analysis of either literature or creative writing, as well as a springboard for further questioning
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Main Actor or Speaker
What does the artist express through the actions and thoughts of the main actor? Why does the artist have the main actor do or think what that character does?Has the artist reacted in a similar way or seen someone who acted in a similar way? How might those experiences or observations have affected this portrayal? Why is the artist recalling these experiences?
Other Characters or Speakers
What does the artist express through the actions and thoughts of the other characters? Why does the artist have the other characters do or think what they do?Has the artist acted in a similar way or seen someone who acted in a similar way? How might those experiences or observations have affected this portrayal? Why is the artist recalling these experiences?
Setting
What does the artist express through the setting? Has the artist been in a similar setting or known someone who was in a similar setting? How have those experiences or knowledge affected this setting? Why is the artist recalling this setting?How would the artist react to this setting?
What does the artist want you to think about this fictional world? Why does the artist set this piece in this period and/or place?
Theme(s)
What does the artist express through the theme(s)?How do the artist's experiences or observations relate to this theme(s)?
How does the theme(s) reveal something about the artist? Why is this theme(s) particularly meaningful to the artist?
Why does the artist present this particular theme(s)?
Main Actor or Speaker
What do you learn through the actions or thoughts of the main actor? Have you had similar experiences or seen someone who has had similar experiences? How do the events in the story affect your memories? How have your experiences or knowledge affected your perceptions of this actor?What would you do (did you do) in a similar situation? How do the main character's actions affect your response?
What do you think the artist wants you to think about these experiences (your own or the character's)?
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Other Characters or Speakers
What do you learn through the actions of the other characters?Have you had similar experiences or seen someone who has had similar experiences? How do the events in the story affect your memories of those experiences? How have your experiences or knowledge affected your perceptions of these characters?
What would you do (did you do) in a similar situation? How do the main character's actions affect your response?
What do you think the artist wants you to think about these experiences (your own or the character's)?
Setting
What do you learn through the setting?Have you been in a similar setting or known someone who was in a similar setting? How does the setting affect your memories? How have your experiences or knowledge affected your perceptions of the story's setting?
How would you react (did you react) to this setting? How does the story's setting affect your response?
Theme(s)
What does the reader learn through the theme(s)?What do you think the artist wants the readers to learn?
How do you feel about the theme(s) that the artist presents? How does it change or reinforce your feelings about the topic?
How is this theme(s) particularly meaningful to you? How do your experiences or observations relate to this theme(s)?
Main Actor or Speaker
How do the main actor's experiences reflect those of society?Do people you know act and think this way? How are these experiences and thoughts typical or atypical of society's norms? How do they depart from or mirror society's expectations?
Why do you think that the actor reacts to the universe in this way? What is the artist trying to show about the universe? What is the artist trying to show about fhe real world?
How do the main actor's reactions to this universe affect your perception of this universe? How do the main actor's reactions to this universe affect your perceptions of your universe?
What do you think that the artist wants you to think about the way the main actor reacts to this universe?
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Other Characters or Speakers
How do the other characters' experiences reflect those of society?Do people you know act or think this way? How are these experiences and thoughts typical or atypical of society's norms? How do they depart from or mirror society's expectations?
Why do you think that the characters react to the universe in this way? What is the artist trying to show about the universe? What is the artist trying to show about the real world?
How do the characters' reactions to this universe affect your perceptions of this universe? How do the characters' reactions to this universe affect your perceptions of your universe?
What do you think that the artist wants you to think about the way the characters react to this universe?
Setting
How does this setting reflect society? Is this setting typical or atypical of the universe? How does it depart from or mirror the universe?Why do you think that the setting is shown in this way? What is the artist trying to show about the universe? What is the artist trying to show about the real world?
How does this setting affect your perceptions of this fictional universe? How does the setting affect your perceptions of the real world?
What do you think that the artist wants you to think about the way this setting compares to the real world?
Theme(s)
How does the theme(s) reflect society?What does the theme(s) reveal about the universe? What does the theme(s) reveal about the real world? How is this theme(s) particularly meaningful in this universe?
Why does the artist explore this theme(s) in this universe?
Main Actor or Speaker
How does the main actor make the work important?How is the main point of the work expressed through the main actor? Why would the work (not) be as interesting and/or as successful without the main character or if the main character were different?
Why does this main actor exist? Why has this main actor been created?
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Other Characters or Speakers
How do the other characters make the work important?How is the main point of the work expressed through the other characters?
Why would the work (not) be as interesting and/or as successful without these other characters or if these characters were different?
Why do these other characters exist? Why have these other characters been created?
Setting
How does the setting make the work important?How is the main point of the work expressed through the setting?
Why would the work (not) be as interesting and as successful without these other characters or if these characters were different?
Why does this setting exist? Why has this setting been created?
Theme(s)
How does the theme(s) make the work important?How is the main point of the work expressed through the theme(s)?
Why would the work (not) be as interesting or as successful without this theme(s) or if the theme(s) was different?
Given these sample questions and the model on which they are based, students will eventually develop more than a way to think about and analyze writing. They will develop very relevant and far-reaching analytical techniques since these questions and their inter-relationships are based on the four types of literary analysis anatomized in Abrams' work-expressive, pragmatic, mimetic, and objective.
These types are basic to the questioning in each of the categories. In expressive criticism, the interpretation considers how artists express themselves in their works--how those works are essentially works of self-expression. Pragmatic theory examines the work as a way to teach readers some concept(s) while mimetic theory, based on Greek drama, looks at works of art as a reflection of some state of society. Finally, objective criticism considers the work itself as the important end; in other words, it is a study of art for art's sake. Students, then, are not just learning useful analytical techniques but analytical techniques that are, according to Abrams, the basis for all literary interpretation.
In terms of analyzing either literature or creative writing, these questions provide more than a series of literary elements to identify. Instead, they provide the student with several techniques which help them to identify the way art works. By recognizing and understanding how art works, students are better able to provide meaningful analysis of their own creative writing.
These questions allow students to move beyond wondering whether a piece makes sense and is reasonable to considering how well artists express
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themselves and whether their readers change as a result of the narrative. Furthermore, because the questions focus on the writers' motives, students can use the questions and the issues they raise to give one another more useful feedback. The questions give direction to peer or self-review by forcing substantive, facilitative feedback. More importantly, by applying these same questions both to pieces of literature and to their own creative writing, students begin to think of their own imaginative works in a new way: they can see themselves as capable of accomplishing the same motives as "real" artists. In short, they see themselves as artists and writers-which is, after all, an important goal in the composition classroom.
References
Abrams, M. H. The Mirror and the Lamp: Romantic Theory and the Critical Tradition. Oxford, 1953.
Kinneavy, James L. A Theory of Discourse. Norton, 1971.