An essay on literature is a problem for modern schoolchildren. They try to solve it in different ways: they buy books with ready-made works, look for suitable texts on the Internet, or ask their parents for help. Indeed, writing a good essay is not so easy, and it needs to be learned.
Everything starts with a book
Reading the works of the school curriculum is one of the main conditions for successful work on your opus - this is exactly how the answer to the question "how to start an essay on literature" should be. Plunging into the world created by the writer, the reader becomes an eyewitness to the events, so his attitude towards the characters is formed not on someone's prompt in the form of a brief retelling or director's decision on stage or in the cinema, but on the basis of personal impressions.
And then descriptions of nature, monologues and dialogues, interiors and portraits will help in characterizingimages or analysis of the whole work, that is, they will become weighty literary arguments.
Learning to write an essay in given parameters
The content of the work must fully comply with the proposed or selected topic. And this means that you need to understand: about what and how to write. For example, if the wording raises “eternal” questions (ethical, aesthetic, scientific), then these are problems. About why the author puts them, what proves this, and you need to reason. How to write an essay on literature "Family values in the comedy "Woe from Wit""?
The problem of relationships between parents, children and relatives in general is ethical. You need to start by defining family values, then consider how close people (father, daughter, adopted son, aunts, uncles) relate to each other in the play, confirm this with the text, draw a conclusion about Griboyedov’s position and express your opinion.
In addition to problematic topics, essays are often offered comparative (comparison of heroes, episodes, works), survey, free, mixed and literary criticism. The latter are the most time-consuming, since writing an essay on literature from the point of view of the ideological and aesthetic value of the work should be done using terminology, analyzing texts, characterizing the characters, proving the uniqueness of the author.
Three pillars on which reasoning rests
No matter what topic an essay is written on, it requires adherence to logic, reasoning and conclusions.
The classic structure of such a work: introductory part, main and final part. Planning what will be said in each element of the structure is already a competent approach to solving the problem of "how to write an essay on literature".
Problem questions on the topic should be posed in the introduction. In the main part, you need to reasonably answer them, relying on the text and citing authoritative opinions of famous critics, writers, and scientists. In conclusion, a conclusion is drawn on the questions posed at the beginning.
Step One – Headline
The topic on which the essay is being written is not the title of the work. For some reason, this important and bright detail of a creative opus has recently become optional. But the title is the key to understanding the text. It will help in writing the work, so it is advisable to take care of it before you start writing an essay on literature to put it on paper.
A capacious, bright word (phrase) is suitable for the name. To do this, you need to witty, meaningfully answer the questions "what is the main character", "what or who does he look like." Or pick up a recognizable phrase. For example: “Famusov is the father of a respectable family” or “Woe from the mind - happiness from the heart.”
Step two - updating
The most difficult thing is the first line. But there is no need to invent introductions to essays just to have at least something. The beginning must be made relevant, and above all for the author of the work. And this means thathe must understand well why he turned to this particular topic, what is interesting about it specifically for him: for example, he is close to the drama of a literary hero, or he considers the problems of the work to be modern.
There are two methods of actualization: projection and "shadow". The first one has several ways, which are worth talking about in more detail.
But the "shadow" technique can be used by those who do not know how beautifully you can start an essay on literature. This method is ideal when you want to characterize or compare the heroes of the work. "Shadow" is obtained by replacing a proper name with a pronoun. For example, you need to write about Evgeny Bazarov. This actualization technique will look like this: “He recognized only the mind and science. For him, man is the king of nature. He was young. Smart Bully. But love destroyed his world. And killed.”
Beginning - "projection"
You need to become a director of the work to apply this entry technique. It is best suited for essays on free topics. So, a projection is a landscape sketch (interior), a historical episode, a plot from ancient history or the Bible. It is necessary to consider this with examples.
Here's how to start your essay with a sketch. “Morning life in the forest starts early. A little dawn breaks - the timid sounds of life are heard from all sides. The leaves will rustle, the grass will rustle, the branch will crackle, the owl will hoot for the last time before going to bed. See it, hear it and feel itexciting for the soul. Probably, this was the last dawn for five girls in Boris Vasiliev's story "The Dawns Here Are Quiet", it was for this aching feeling of the motherland that they died then. And also for the fact that on Russian soil there will always be such dawns.”
How to start an essay on literature from a historical episode is best considered on military topics. When reviewing works of art about the Great Patriotic War, one can turn to the past. “The battle for Moscow began at Borodino. It was in this battle that Napoleon's insolent bravado was broken. Yes, he was “allowed to stay” for a while in Belokamennaya, but on the way back, in every forest and in every village, the French were waiting for a “special” reception of the partisans. People in Russia don't like unexpected guests.”
For example, how to start an essay on literature, talking about the early Gorky and his Danko? One can recall the myth from antiquity about Prometheus, who gave fire to people, knowing what awaits him for this cruel punishment. Homer's Odysseus will help with the characterization of Ivan Flyagin from N. Leskov's The Enchanted Wanderer.
Bible stories will be appropriate at the beginning of essays based on the works of F. M. Dostoevsky, M. A. Bulgakova, Ch. Aitmatova.
Intro for lazy people
The easiest start for essays can be a historical note about the time of the events of a literary work or a few facts from the biography of the author of the book. The introduction is also rhetorical questions on the topic, which will then be revealed. If you choose a quote that reflects the essence of the problem being described, then it will be good.getting started.
When we learn to write an essay, we should not forget about personal life experience. Based on your thoughts, feelings, impressions and preferences, you can also start an essay well. For example: “For a long time I have been looking for an answer to a question…” or “It always seemed to me that being smart is the main value in a person…”
Beware of errors
Thinking about the beautiful and clever phrases of the essay, do not forget about the mistakes that may occur in the text due to inattention.
Examples of essays on literature allow us to warn about the most common of them:
– the names of the characters should never be changed (Katerina from A. N. Ostrovsky's "Thunderstorm" cannot be either Ekaterina or Katya);
– it is also wrong, speaking about the authors, to write “Alexander Sergeevich wanted to show” (you need either Alexander Pushkin, or A. S. Pushkin, or just Pushkin);
– you need to be careful with dates, names of places and events (even an accidental reservation will lead to an error);
– The citation must be absolutely accurate.
For a successful result, you also need to learn how to write an essay on literature strictly according to plan. It organizes thoughts, helps to maintain the logic of presentation, and above all, it will not leave a single thought unsaid. Of course, the plan is best made problematic. And it must be done not in the head, but on paper.
And a little more advice. Although the epigraph, like the title, is now not included in the obligatory element of the essay, it is still not worth mentioning.forget. Accurately selected lines, quotes, aphorisms can become a tuning fork, tuning in to a correct understanding of the position of the author of the essay.
And finally. All work is maintained in the same style, journalistic is best suited for this. He will make the composition bright, imaginative, emotional, but at the same time strict!
