I- Definition:

Explanation of Text is an exercise in literary analysis, formulated on the basis of a critical examination

and meticulous from a short extract of a text or a poem. The purpose of an explanation of text is

to analyze the document with method and precision, this is not a paraphrase, nor a story

literary, nor a reformulation of the passage. So this exercise examines the structure of the

text, to study the evolution and portraits of the characters, to study the style of the author or

yet to understand the importance of this excerpt in relation to the rest of the work or the

literary period in question.

Each text explanation is unique, so there is not just one method of analysis.

However, a textual analysis is based on specific criteria.

II- How to prepare the text explanation:

1- Read the text / poem several times.

2- Note the tone, the main and secondary points, the unique qualities of the passage,

genre (theater, poetry, novel, short story, etc.), lexical fields (sadness,

nostalgia, the image of death, the symbolism of nature or colors, etc.),

etc.

3- Identify the structure of the text: for a poem (rhythm, rhyme, structure of verses,

sonnet?, etc.), for a passage in prose (the linking terms and expressions, the

transitions, syntax, lexicon, images, number of paragraphs,

punctuation, terms in italics or in bold, examples used by the author,

etc).

4- Cut the text according to the cleared parts. We will operate this division, for this

linear analysis, according to the logical articulations which indicate a turning point,

a break or some other phase of the argument. Pay attention to the interaction

between content and form.

5- Identify the main theme and / or your main argument.

6- For each part it is necessary to ANALYZE the text, it is not a summary or a

paraphrase of the text. Rather, it is a question of identifying the way in which the author expresses his

thoughts, feelings using available structural tools.

7- In general, your text explanation should contribute to a better appreciation

of the passage, its meaning and its art.

III- The explanation: