TEXT ANALYSIS

A text analysis involves the careful examination or evaluation of a work of

literature or an aspect of a work of literature. As with any analysis, this requires
breaking the topic down into its component parts.

Examining the different elements is a process that helps to better appreciate and
understand the work of literature as a whole. For example, the analysis of a poem
could focus on the different types of images used by the poet.

If it is a novel , the relationship between a subplot and the main theme could be
analyzed. Analyzing a short story can explain how the main character's attitude
toward women is revealed through his dialogue or actions.

Elements of a literary text analysis

A good analysis of a literary text requires closely examining its elements; that is,
the resources and ideas that make a story work.

Often these resources can be used to explain a main point. Some of the most
important literary elements are described below.

Issue

The theme is an essential element in any literary text analysis. A theme is

understood to be a central or underlying idea in literature, which is established
directly or indirectly.

All novels, stories, poems and other literary works have at least one theme
throughout their development. On the other hand, topic should not be confused
with theme.

The first serves as the basis for a literary work, for example machismo. The theme,
for its part, is the author's opinion on the topic.

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Plot

Plot refers to the structure of interrelated actions, consciously selected and

arranged by the author. Most plots begin somewhere in the middle, and then other
parts of the story are revealed (exposition).

Complications, conflicts and crises then arise until a climax is reached. Finally, they
reach a point of resolution or exhaustion called denouement.

Often, plot structures deliberately suppress elements of the story. With this they
manage to create mystery, suspense and a dramatic climax.

Characters

Stories are told through characters. Almost any literary character fits one of these
three roles:

– Protagonist : is the main character (or group of characters) of the story.

– Antagonist : basically, the opponent or adversary of the protagonist.

– Catalyst : a character who is neither clearly a protagonist nor an antagonist, and

yet plays an important role in advancing the action of the story.

Around

Setting is an important part of any story or poem because it explains where and
when events occur.

This element provides a backdrop for the characters' involvement in the world
around them and sets the mood for the story or poem.

When performing a literary text analysis, the surrounding environment, historical

place in time, and geographic location must be examined.

TEXT TYPES

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 Texts are written documents that allow us to record all kinds of information. However, for a
correct interpretation of its contents, it is necessary to be clear that each text responds to a
different type, which means that it will have specific purposes and structural
characteristics.

Literary texts

Literary texts are those that are produced for aesthetic purposes. Through
connotative language, that is, through the use of metaphorical language, stories,
ideas, feelings and dialogues are exposed that function as symbols or allegories of
deep realities, and that cannot always be explained through direct language.

Literary texts are classified into:

Narrative text
It refers to all kinds of fictional stories or symbolic stories. In this type of texts,
literary resources such as description, dialogues, etc. can be used in a combined
manner.

Its structure usually responds to a beginning, development, middle and end.

Among the most common genres of narrative literary texts we have the following:

 Novel
 Tale
 Legend
 Fable
 Anecdote
 Myth
lyrical text
Lyrical texts are those that express feeling and ideas through the use of poetic
language loaded with inspiration and enthusiasm, which is why the poem is its
fundamental expression. Deliberate subjectivity is one of its characteristic features.
Within lyrical texts, there is a great variety of literary genres.

dramatic text
Dramatic texts are those intended for scenic representation, either through
dialogues or actions. That is, dramatic texts are those from which theater is made.
They are usually divided into acts and each act is in turn divided into scenes.

Non-literary texts
Non-literary texts are all those texts that have as their purpose the transmission of
information or the communication of ideas or messages through denotative
language, that is, through clear, direct and pragmatic language. Some of its types
are:

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Descriptive text
It refers to the set of texts that are intended to characterize in detail a certain
object, whether it is a person, animal, landscape, place, situation or thing.

Expositive text
They are those texts that seek to present information, ideas and concepts clearly to
the reader, whether from a general or specialized perspective. As an example we
can name the different entries in an encyclopedia. There are at least two types of
expository text: informative and specialized.

Argumentative text
Argumentative texts are those that discuss ideas, theories and concepts with the
purpose of expressing diverse opinions and points of view on addressing certain
topics. It has elements typical of the expository text, since before debating, it must
present the reader with information about the topic to be discussed.

An example of argumentative text are opinion articles, literary essays and

academic essays. Philosophical theoretical disquisitions can also be considered
argumentative texts. For example, the book Critique of Pure Reason by Immanuel
Kant.

Information text
They are those intended to provide essential information about specific events or
any matter of current interest. This type of text is essential in journalism, and can
range from news of events to in-depth reports that help the reader stay up to date.

Cientific text
Scientific texts are those in which theories and concepts are developed and, in
addition, present advances in scientific research of all kinds, through a rigorous
structure.

Technical text
It is a clear and precise text whose purpose is to provide information on
methodologies and processes to apply scientific knowledge, as well as to provide
work tools. For example: catalogues, manuals, instructions, etc.

Advertising text
Advertising texts are short texts intended to persuade the consumer to purchase
certain goods or services. Its length is usually no longer than one sentence.

Legal text
It refers to those texts of legal and judicial uses, such as laws, sentences,
purchase and sale documents, powers, articles of incorporation, etc.

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Regulatory text
It refers to texts in which norms of behavior are indicated in the context of a
specific institution, formal or informal.

Administrative text
It refers to the entire universe of texts intended to formalize communication within a
given institution, which includes both its workers and the bodies they represent, as
well as the people who use the institution (clients, students, etc.). ).

Epistolary text, epistle or letter

An epistolary text refers to the letters or communications that are established
between people.

Digital texts

Digital texts deserve special mention, since they represent a different level of
complexity due to their modes of production, their supports and the reading modes
they promote. That is, digital texts use different codes but maintain the same
language structures.

Unimodal digital texts

They are those that have been written or digitized in a specific processor for this
purpose and that are recognized by the extension acronyms (doc, pdf, rtf, etc.).

Multimodal digital texts

Multimodal texts are those that use online editors and/or multimodal editors (that is,
that integrate various functions). They can be classified into two types:

NOTE:
Literary note is information on a topic related to literature: It can be biographical,
which talks about the biography of a writer or obituary, about the death of a literary
character, it can be critical, about a work, as you can see the note can talk about
many topics.

SYNTHESIS:

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The synthesis of an oral or written text is a process that is carried out after having
read and analyzed it in depth, so that not only the main ideas can be extracted
from it, but the internal relationships of its contents can also be clearly
established. .

A synthesis implies a more complex intellectual process than the summary, since
in the first the content of the text is reworked from the elements indicated above,
while the second consists of highlighting the main ideas and writing them,
maintaining the basic structure of the text. in abbreviated form, that is, in the
synthesis a summary is made with the words of the person who is doing it and in
the summary, nothing is changed, only information is cut out.

The synthesis can be used before developing a topic, as a presentation of what is

to come, or at the end, to emphasize the essence of the presentation or work
carried out.

It is also called synthesis, the orderly recapitulation of ideas, themes or events that
have happened in a certain period of time.

PARAGRAPH:
The paragraph is the coherent, written exposition of a complete idea. It is a unity of
thought and feeling, it forms the unit of expression in written language. This unit is
made up of two elements: the main statement and the secondary statements,
which complement the main one.
Depending on its function, there are many types of paragraph: narrative,
descriptive, argumentative, analytical, synthetic, expository, literal, etc. Which are
commonly combined, depending on the ideas that you want to present. An
educational or didactic work will mainly combine analytical and synthetic
paragraphs with some descriptive ones; On the other hand, a novel will mainly use
descriptive and narrative paragraphs.

SYNOPSIS:
A synopsis is a summary on a specific topic; generally the synopsis serves to make
a brief and concise exposition of a book, a movie or a play.
The synopses are found on the back of the books or the boxes in which the films
are kept, although they can also be found in the cinema or theater as a billboard or
brochure.

SYNONYMOUS:

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Synonyms are words that are spelled differently and have the same meaning.
They are used to avoid repetition and to decorate or embellish a text. A piece of
writing where the same word is repeated over and over again can lose its beauty.
For example, in a poem, in a novel or even in a letter or assignment. Synonyms
are a reflection of the richness of the language.

ANTONYMS:
Antonyms are all those words that have a contrary or opposite meaning
relationship with each other. In parallel with synonyms, antonyms belong to the
same grammatical category; For example, the antonym of the adjective good is
also an adjective, bad. The semantic relationship maintained between two
antonymous words is called antonymy. Knowing a wide variety of antonyms can be
very useful when communicating, since it allows us to express our ideas or
opinions with greater precision, without repeating ourselves or being boring.
Typology of antonyms
Generally, antonyms are divided into three groups: gradual, complementary and
reciprocal. Below we explain each of these groups with a series of examples so
that you understand it better.
gradual antonyms
They are those in which the opposition relationship is progressive and gradual. For
example, the colors black and white are gradual antonyms because the color gray
exists between them, just as between hot and cold we can find a whole range of
temperatures such as temperate, warm, icy or frozen.

complementary antonyms
They are characterized because the meaning of one excludes the other, that is,
they are incompatible with each other. For example, antonyms like alive and dead,
day and night, or winning and losing. If we look at these pairs of words, we realize
that the affirmation of the first term implicitly entails the negation of the second
term; That is, if one is "alive" one cannot be "dead" at the same time, if it is "day" it
means that it is not "night" and, finally, "winning" is directly opposed to "losing."
Reciprocal Antonyms
They are those antonyms in which the meaning of one of the terms implies that of
the other, so that one cannot be understood without the other. For example, the

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 actions of buying and selling or giving and receiving, since to buy something it is
necessary for that something to be sold, just as giving something entails that
something being received by someone.

POLYSEMY:
Polysemy is a term used to describe the diversity of meanings contained in certain
words or linguistic signs . Polysemy is also a concept that refers to the various
meanings that a phrase or expression can have depending on the context.

The word polysemy is composed of the prefix poly-, which indicates "many" and by
seme, which derives from the Greek and refers to "meaning." Hence the word
polysemy is used to designate words that have more than one meaning .
Polysemous words are found in a large number of languages, which have arisen
for various reasons, including:

 Figurative meaning of words: that is, when metaphors or metonymies are used
to refer to or indicate something specific. For example, when referring to the legs of
a table to indicate the columns or bars that support this object.

 Specialized or technical language: this is when certain words are given a

technical meaning depending on the area of work, research, development, among
others. For example, the word “dough” does not mean the same in the area of
sciences such as physics or chemistry, if we compare it with its meaning in the field
of cooking, in which it surely refers to an ingredient in a recipe.

 Influence of foreign words: there is a diversity of words from which more than
one meaning has been derived thanks to the influence or application of certain
foreign terms.