You should have already read the text for class, but if you’re studying for an exam, make sure you go back and re-read it to catch things you missed out on the first time. Many authors use techniques such as metaphors, similes, and personification to emphasize their points. These may be crucial to understanding the literary work you’re reading: for example, knowing that the white whale in Moby-Dick represents (among other things) Captain Ahab’s hubris is essential to being able to understand Melville’s novel.    Metaphors make direct comparisons between two seemingly dissimilar things. They are stronger than similes. For example, the last line of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby is a famous metaphor comparing human lives to boats trying to make progress against a strong current: “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”  Similes also make comparisons, but they don’t directly state that “x” is “y”. For example, Margaret Mitchell uses a simile to describe Scarlett O’Hara’s interest in Ashley Wilkes with a simile in her novel Gone With the Wind: “The very mystery of him excited her curiosity like a door that had neither lock nor key.”  Personification occurs when a non-human animal or object is given human characteristics in order to express an idea more powerfully. For example, Emily Dickinson frequently uses personification in her poems, as in this poem about a snake: “A narrow fellow in the grass / occasionally rides; / You may have met him, -- did you not, / His notice sudden is.” Here, the snake is a “narrow fellow” who “rides” in the grass, which makes it seem almost like a dashing Victorian gentleman, rather than a reptile. The way that an author expresses her or his ideas is often as important as the ideas themselves. In many cases, the form and structure of the text will have some kind of influence on its subject matter.  If you’re reading fiction, think about the order in which the events are recounted. Are there flashbacks or places in the narrative that cycle back in time? Sandra Cisneros’s novel Caramelo begins close to the end of the actual “story” and switches between various times and places in order to emphasize how complicated family histories are. If you’re reading poetry, think about the form of the poetry. What type of poem is it? Is it something formally structured, like a  sonnet or sestina? Is it free verse, which makes use of elements such as rhythm and alliteration but doesn’t have a set rhyme scheme? The way the poem is written will often offer clues as to the mood the poet wanted to convey. An archetype is usually a character -- although it may also be an action or situation -- that is believed to represent something universally recognized as part of human nature. The influential psychologist Carl Jung argued that archetypes tap into the “collective unconscious” of humanity, and thus we recognize experiences we’ve shared with others in archetypes. Several types of of literature analysis have been influenced by Jung, so being familiar with some archetypes that may appear in your text will probably be useful.  The Hero is a character who embodies good and often fights against evil in a struggle to bring justice or restore order. Beowulf and Captain America are perfect examples of the Hero archetype. The Innocent Youth is a character who is usually inexperienced, but whom others like because of the faith s/he has in other people. For example, Pip in Charles Dickens’s novel Great Expectations is an Innocent Youth, as is Luke Skywalker from Star Wars. Often, these archetypes will experience some sort of “coming of age” in later parts of the story. The Mentor is tasked with caring for or protecting the main character through wise advice and assistance. Gandalf in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit is an excellent example of a Mentor archetype, as is Obi-Wan Kenobi from the Star Wars movies. The Doppelganger is a character who doubles for the main character in order to represent the “dark side” of the hero or heroine. Common examples of doppelgangers include Frankenstein and his Creature in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in Robert Louis Stevenson's' novel of the same name. The Villain is a character with evil plans whom the hero must oppose. The villain will usually do anything to defeat the hero and is often, though not always, clever. Good examples include Shere Khan from Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book, Smaug the Dragon from The Hobbit, and the Joker from the Batman comics and films. The other main type of archetype you’ll probably encounter is situational, i.e., a very familiar and expected type of plot and progression. Some common situational archetypes include:  The Journey. This is an incredibly common archetype and is referenced in everything from stories of King Arthur to Jonathan Swift's Gulliver’s Travels to Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. In this archetype, the main character undertakes a journey -- physical or emotional, literal or figurative -- to understand something about herself/himself or the world around her/him, or to achieve an important goal. Often, the journey is very important to the plot, as with the Fellowship’s quest to destroy Sauron’s One Ring in the Lord of the Rings.  The Initiation. This archetype has similarities with the Journey, but the focus is more on the hero/heroine’s developing maturity through their experiences. This type of story may also be called a ‘’bildungsroman.’’ Henry Fielding's Tom Jones is an excellent example of this, as are the origins of most comic book heroes (for example, Peter Parkers lessons about how to handle “great power and great responsibility” as he becomes Spiderman). The Fall. This is another very common archetype. In this archetype, the main character experiences a fall from grace as the consequence of her/his own action. Examples of this archetype are all over classic literature, including King Lear from Shakespeare’s play King Lear, Ahab from Melville's novel Moby-Dick, and Satan from John Milton’s epic poem Paradise Lost. For many texts, particularly plays and fiction, there is an “inciting incident” that sets the main action of the story in motion. This moment disturbs the equilibrium of the situation, poses a problem, and sets off a series of events that will form the rest of the story.  For example, in Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Macbeth hears a prophecy from a trio of witches that says he will become King of Scotland. While he has never wanted to be king until this moment, the prophecy sets him on a path of ambition and murder that eventually leads in his downfall. As another example, in Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible, a group of young girls face a conflict: they’ve been caught doing naughty things in the woods and face punishment. To try to cover up their actions, they accuse their fellow villagers of witchcraft. This action incites the rest of the play’s story, which follows these accusations as they spin out of control.
Re-read your text. Look for figurative language. Consider the structure of your text. Think about character archetypes. Think about situational archetypes. Consider how action develops from conflict.