Unlocking Texts: Analyzing Structure and Form
Tip for Close Reading: Pay Attention to How the Text is Organized
The way a text is structured — from its plot progression to its use of chapters, stanzas, scenes, and more — is not random. Authors often use structure and form intentionally to create specific effects. In your analysis, you’ll want to break down how the author organizes ideas and narrative elements to understand the broader meaning.
What Is Structure and Form?
- Structure: Refers to the organization of ideas, events, or arguments within a text. This can include the sequence of events in a narrative (e.g., exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution) or how information is presented in essays and non-fiction (e.g., introduction, body, conclusion).
- Form: Refers to the type of text itself, such as a novel, short story, poem, play, or even the specific genre within these broad categories. It includes both the physical arrangement (e.g., stanzas in a poem or acts in a play) and the conventions specific to that form.
Why Is Structure and Form Important?
- Reveals Theme: The structure of a text can help illuminate its central themes. For instance, in a tragedy, the falling action often highlights the consequences of the protagonist’s actions, shedding light on themes of fate, responsibility, or morality.
- Reflects Character Development: How a character’s journey is structured — their challenges, growth, and eventual resolution — reveals key aspects of their character and the narrative’s message.
- Guides Reader’s Understanding: The way events unfold in a story (whether chronologically or through flashbacks, for instance) affects how the reader engages with the plot, heightening suspense or empathy.
Key Strategies for Analyzing Structure and Form
- Identify the Overall Structure of the Text
- Why: Understanding whether a text follows a linear timeline or jumps back and forth in time is crucial for interpreting the plot and the author’s purpose.
- Tip: Break down the text into sections or chapters and consider how the story progresses. Does it follow a traditional structure (e.g., exposition, climax, resolution)? Or does the author use non-linear structure, flashbacks, or shifts in perspective?
- Example: In Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, the story is framed as a narrative within a narrative. The structure creates a sense of distance, allowing us to see Frankenstein’s actions through multiple lenses, ultimately creating a more complex understanding of his character.
- Example: In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the novel’s use of non-linear structure (through Nick’s retrospective narration) allows the reader to understand Gatsby’s life and the American Dream through the lens of memory and disillusionment.
- Why: Understanding whether a text follows a linear timeline or jumps back and forth in time is crucial for interpreting the plot and the author’s purpose.
- Examine the Narrative Point of View
- Why: The perspective from which the story is told (first-person, second-person, or third-person) significantly impacts the reader’s engagement with the text and shapes the reader’s understanding of events.
- Tip: Pay attention to the reliability of the narrator. Is the narrator trustworthy? Is there a limited or omniscient perspective? How does this influence the reader’s perception of events or characters?
- Example: In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield’s first-person narration is deeply unreliable due to his cynicism and mental state, making the reader question his interpretations of events and people.
- Example: In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee’s use of first-person narration through Scout Finch provides insight into the growth of innocence to experience, emphasizing the moral lessons she learns from her father, Atticus Finch.
- Why: The perspective from which the story is told (first-person, second-person, or third-person) significantly impacts the reader’s engagement with the text and shapes the reader’s understanding of events.
- Look at the Use of Flashbacks and Time Shifts
- Why: Non-linear narratives, flashbacks, and time shifts can provide backstory, deepen character motivations, and create suspense.
- Tip: If a text moves backward in time or shifts perspectives, notice how the author builds context or contrasts past and present.
- Example: In Beloved by Toni Morrison, the structure includes flashbacks that reveal the trauma of slavery, heightening the emotional intensity of the novel. The use of fragmented time shows the lasting effects of the past on the present.
- Example: In The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro, the narrator, Stevens, reflects on his past while on a road trip. The non-linear structure gradually uncovers how his past decisions affect his present life.
- Why: Non-linear narratives, flashbacks, and time shifts can provide backstory, deepen character motivations, and create suspense.
- Focus on Pacing and Tension
- Why: Pacing refers to the speed at which the story unfolds. Authors manipulate pacing to control the flow of events, heightening tension or providing relief.
- Tip: Look at how the author speeds up or slows down the narrative. Short, sharp sentences often increase tension, while longer sentences can slow down the pace and allow for introspection or reflection.
- Example: In Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses rapid pacing during moments of conflict, such as the boys’ descent into savagery. The fast-paced action creates a sense of chaos.
- Example: In The Odyssey by Homer, the pacing of Odysseus’s return home is deliberately slow and filled with delays, creating a sense of anticipation and tension as the hero faces various challenges.
- Why: Pacing refers to the speed at which the story unfolds. Authors manipulate pacing to control the flow of events, heightening tension or providing relief.
- Analyze the Use of Acts and Scenes (For Plays)
- Why: In plays, the division into acts and scenes helps structure the drama and creates moments of tension, change, and resolution.
- Tip: Focus on how the structure of acts builds up tension and how each scene moves the plot forward or reveals new information.
- Example: In Macbeth, Shakespeare uses five acts to structure the tragic fall of Macbeth, with each act creating a turning point — from Macbeth’s initial ambition to his ultimate downfall.
- Example: In A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams, each scene reveals more about the characters, heightening the emotional conflict between Blanche and Stanley.
- Why: In plays, the division into acts and scenes helps structure the drama and creates moments of tension, change, and resolution.
- Consider the Form of the Text
- Why: The form (whether it’s a poem, novel, short story, etc.) dictates the structural conventions of the text. Understanding the form helps you appreciate how the structure works within that context.
- Tip: Ask yourself how the form of the text contributes to its message. For example, a sonnet might contain a twist or resolution in the final line, while a novel might build themes over hundreds of pages.
- Example: In Othello, Shakespeare’s use of a tragedy form leads to inevitable disaster. The structure of rising action, climax, and downfall enhances the dramatic tension and reinforces the themes of jealousy and manipulation.
- Example: In The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T.S. Eliot, the fragmented structure and stream-of-consciousness form reflect Prufrock’s disjointed thoughts and inner turmoil.
- Why: The form (whether it’s a poem, novel, short story, etc.) dictates the structural conventions of the text. Understanding the form helps you appreciate how the structure works within that context.
Examples of Close Reading Through Structure and Form
Example 1: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (A-Level/IB)
- Form: The novel is structured as a frame narrative, with multiple narrators telling the story through letters, recounting their personal experiences. This layered narrative creates distance and invites readers to question the reliability of the accounts.
- Structure: The story unfolds through Victor’s narrative, then shifts to the monster’s story, and finally back to Victor’s tale, creating a sense of symmetry and mirroring the themes of creation and destruction.
Example 2: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (IGCSE/Edexcel)
- Structure: The novel’s non-linear structure (Nick Carraway narrates events from the past) creates an air of mystery and invites readers to piece together the events. This structure mirrors the elusive nature of Gatsby’s character and dreams.
- Form: The novel is written in a modernist form, focusing on the fragmentation of time and perception, allowing readers to understand the emptiness behind the glitter of the American Dream.
How to Apply Structure and Form in Exam Responses
- Tip: When analyzing structure and form in your exams, always link the structure to the broader themes or messages in the text.
- Clue: Use phrases like:
- “The use of a non-linear structure emphasizes…”
- “By shifting between past and present, the author shows…”
- “The division into acts creates a sense of…”
- “The form of the text reflects the underlying theme of…”
- “The use of a non-linear structure emphasizes…”
- Example Response:
- “In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald’s non-linear structure, with Nick narrating from the future, reflects the elusive nature of the American Dream, mirroring Gatsby’s futile quest for an idealized past.”
- “In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald’s non-linear structure, with Nick narrating from the future, reflects the elusive nature of the American Dream, mirroring Gatsby’s futile quest for an idealized past.”
By analyzing structure and form, you gain a deeper understanding of how a text works to convey its themes, build suspense, and guide the reader’s experience. This analysis adds layers to your interpretation and enhances your ability to discuss the text in a nuanced way.