Don't Follow The Yellow Brick Road

Analyzing and writing about literature is a journey with no end. There will always be more to learn and new ways to think. Over the past few months I have learned a lot about my own process for analyzing literature, including my initial hesitancy to think outside of the box. I learned very quickly, however, that in order to write about literature in a new and interesting way, you cannot follow your own yellow brick road. My introduction to new forms of criticism such as historical, feminist, and post structuralist have made the way I see literature much more interesting and unique.


I have also learned about the process of forming an analysis and I have grown in my ability to record my thinking well and formulate a solid thesis statement. A few months ago I would have committed to the first thesis that came to me, but often the most obvious path isn't the most interesting or engaging. In my past posts about prewriting and outlining, I used multimedia to help me understand my ideas. I am such a visual learner, that displaying my ideas this way was incredibly helpful. It helped me to see what worked and what did not, and to formulate a better thesis statement later on. I also loved having multiple blogs to look at, and fellow contributors to my own blog. I was able to look closely at their methods and styles in order to learn from them as well. I remember one post by Haley K. in which she detailed her process for annotating a poem, which helped me to see a better way I could do the same. Annotation in turn has become an important part of my own prewriting process.

In conclusion, the past few months have been paramount in my developing process for analyzing literature. I have learned so much about different criticisms and ways of thinking about literature, and I have simultaneously broadened and refined my own process. I have broadened my ability to think about literature, and I have worked hard to refine my ability to write about it. I have learned not to follow the obvious yellow brick road, but to think about literature in a more multifaceted way. I feel that my analytical process has been truly strengthened and solidified over the past few months, and I am excited to take the new skills I have learned with me throughout my life.