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Prose analysis: Common Phrases

Literary genre

  • The text is a typical example of a …
  • It is … but it also contains elements of a …
  • In this extract / part / section / segment from … (author)’s … “(title)”, …
  • This text may be classified as …
  • This text shows all features of …
  • short story
  • novel
  • novelette
  • utopian / dystopian / slice-of-life story

Author, historical context, period

  • It was written in … by …
  • In the … century, (genre / texts about: topic) were very popular because …
  • The author grew up in … and was influenced by … / He / She is famous for

Topic / Theme

  • The text tells the story of … / The text is about …
  • In his text from … , the author deals with the topic of … / This text is concerned with the topic of …
  • The problem of … provides the dominant theme …
  • … is a secondary theme
  • The image of … forms a leitmotif

Point of view

  • The author tells the story (mainly) from the point of view of …
  • The author uses a …’s point of view …
  • The author presents the story in a rather neutral way … which means / which leads to / which creates the effect of / which results in…
  • The narrator guides the reader by … / The narrator reinforces the message by … commenting on the ebents, e.g. … / by presenting X’s thoughts on …
  • We have a …
  • … first-person narrator
  • …third-person limited narrator
  • …third-person omniscient narrator
  • reliable / fallible narrator

Setting

  • The text is set in …
  • The action takes place in …
  • The setting of … is …
  • The events are situated in …
  • The acting time of this story is about … , whereas the reading time is just …

Tone

  • · The tone is …
  • · The author has a…

ironic / serious / humorous / critical / friendly / positive attitude towards...

blunt / rude / aggressive / polite way of addressing the reader

Style

  • The author makes use of … / incorporates … / combines / creates a certain atmosphere by using …
  • everyday / colloquial / informal / vulgar language
  • formal / literary / archaic / slang expressions
  • specialist terms
  • sophisticated / academic / eloquent / witty / elevated / sophisticated / concise / clear / objective / impersonal style
  • complex / simple sentences
  • imagery / lots of metaphors / symbolism
  • vivid / animated / exaggerated language

Author

The author …
  • makes fun of … / pokes fun at …
  • Distances himself / herself from tries to show …
  • wants to conveys the idea of …

Atmosphere

  • The description of the colors / sounds / smells creates an atmosphere of …
  • The scene evokes / provokes the atmosphere of …
  • The overall atmosphere / mood of the story is …
  • The atmosphere in this passage may be described as …
  • The setting contributes to a / an … atmosphere
  • The tension is created by a conflict between …

Characters

  • The main character / protagonist / hero / antagonist is a flat / round / dynamic / central / background
  • We get to know … by … / The protagonist is characterized as … / His main features are …
  • His / Her relationship with … is …
  • There is a conflict between … and … / stands in clear contrast to … / can be regarded as an anti-hero because / serves as foil to … in order to highlight …
  • He / She is faces with the dilemma of …
  • The characters are presented in a way that …
  • His / Her character is revealed by his / her appearance / words / feelings / behavior / actions / interactions with / by the author’s comments on …
  • … is a telling name because …

Structure

  • At the beginning … / At the end … / Later he / she learns that … / After a while, his / her behavior changes: …
  • The development of … is anticipated / mirrored / paralleled by …
  • There are two interconnected strains of action …
  • The author makes us of a flashback here to summarize …
  • The author gives us this hint / clue / image as a kind of foreshadowing
  • The sub-plot revolves around the main character / reinforces the theme of …
  • The events are told in chronological order …
  • The last … lines summarize …
  • The story has a rather simple / complex / open / closed / round plot
  • This narrative has an integrated / episodic plot structure
  • The exposition serves to …
  • This story follows the traditional structure of …
  • In the exposition, the action is set in motion / the theme of … is suggested / the protagonist is introduced / the setting is sketched / suspense is aroused
  • The complication arises when …
  • ... constitutes the rising / falling action
  • The action arises / falls when … / The story reaches its climax / crisis / turning point when …
  • The story has a surprise / sad / happy / open ending / ends in a catastrophe because …
  • The main conflict is between two characters / within the character of … / between the protagonist and fate / between the protagonist and society
  • The problem is solved when … / The dénouement ends in …
  • · The action in this story is predominantly internal / external as …

Effect

  • Suspense is created by …
  • The way … is presented suggests …
  • The author uses … in order to …
  • It is striking that …
  • The text is extraordinary / revolutionary in its way to…
  • The reader is torn between … / experiences … because…
  • This text achieves its unique effect by …
  • This piece must be read as a satire about … as it criticizes …

Kontext