115.

2
Literary analysis essays
Rasul is sitting in the living room. He is having a cup of coffee. (-
paraphrased/summarized: SNm was sitting in his living room as he was
drinking coffee.) =/ analysis
Rasul was hungry. But in his fridge were only eggs. (summary: There
was nothing except eggs in his fridge so Rasul was hungry).
Analysis:
1. Rasul doesn’t like eggs.
2. Can’t cook them.
3. Didn’t go grocery shopping.

Thesis: primary opinion of the author regarding the topic

Structure (?) of the essay:
Introduction
(Thesis statement: summarizes the topic sentences of each of the body
paragraphs)
Body 1 (beginning of each paragraph: topic sentence) The best room in
the house is the bedroom. / for various reasons.
Body 2
Body 3
Body 4
5
6
7
Conclusion

William Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 18” compares a summer’s day to a

person. In this comparison, who wins? Give examples to prove your
point.
In “Sonnet 18”, in the comparison between a summer’s day and a
person, who does Shakespeare indicate to be superior? Give examples
to blah.
Thesis: In “Sonnet 18”, blah blah, Shakespeare indicates that the person
he’s talking to is superior to a summer’s day.
Answer:
In William Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 18,” he is seen talking to a person as
he compares them to a summer’s day. While most might assume that
such a comparison would be flattering, Shakespeare, in fact, plays
around with the reader’s assumptions. Despite nature being almost
universally seen as some sort of benchmark for beauty, Shakespeare
goes in the opposite direction, providing multiple ways in which the
person he is talking to is superior to a summer’s day.
 The first way in which Shakespeare showcases the person’s
superiority is by initially being critical of summer. He starts off by saying
that the person he is talking to is “more lovely and more temperate”
going on to list the ways in which a summer’s day can be imperfect. He
says that a summer’s day can be often too windy and cold and
sometimes way too hot and even if it is nice, it doesn’t last long
enough, saying that its lease “hath all too short a date”.
On the other hand, the person he is talking to, this person’s
summer is “eternal” and one that will never fade. While initially it
seems like he’s being hyperbolic, especially when he says that not even
death will be able to take this person’s beauty away, we go on to find
out that Shakespeare is referring to his own poem to make this
person’s beauty and youth eternal. He says that “so long as men can
breathe or eyes can see,” this poem, as it continues to be read, as we
are doing now, the person’s beauty will live on.
As we can see, either through being critical of summer or by
praising the person’s eternal youth and beauty after the volta,
Shakespeare very clearly indicates that the person is far greater than
summer could ever hope to be.

Word count: At least 250 words, at most 500.

Introductory paragraph:
1. Texts / authors
2. Short summaries of each text
3. Addressing the question directly
4. Stating the thesis clearly
Body paragraphs: answer the question “why?”
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date;
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature’s changing course untrimm'd;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st;
Nor shall death brag thou wander’st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.