Some timely tips on annotating
fiction in your texts
First, be sure your text is
clearly identified with your name and contact details�and ideally a promise of
reward for its return, if someone finds it. You do not want to lose the text
once it contains all your thoughtful, painstaking notes.
I recommend eight types of
annotation based on Aristotle�s six elements of (tragic) literature as detailed
in the Poetics, plus two we must add to his list since we're dealing
with a different literary mode--fiction instead of tragedy. These would be
narrator and imagery. Here�s what you
might consider:
1. Note dramatic conflicts, reversals, resolutions of the
plot, major shifts in episode, flashbacks. When does the plot
take ironic twists? As the plot moves from place to place, consider summarizing
events in the margin so you can re-enter the story quickly.
2. Annotate
key dialogue that reveals character, actions and choices that
indicate what motivates the characters, reactions to events that help you
understand them. List character traits these reveal to you. When does the
narrator show us these traits, and when does he tell us about them? Are there
ironic traits in the character? Who is the protagonist? Antagonist? What is the
nature of their conflict? Round? Flat? Are any of the minor characters more
significant than they seem at first? It might help to keep a table of
characters in the text.
3. Circle and define words
or references unfamiliar to you (diction). What does the diction tell us
about the intended audience or the narrator himself? What literary antecedents
are there for the diction? Allusions? Are there terms that the author wants us
especially to contemplate?
4. Note the main philosophical ideas (thought)
at issue. What concepts are being tested? Are there dichotomies of main ideas?
Is there any inescapable symbolism? Why? What does the story try to teach us?
5. Are there any particularly stunning turns of phrase, beautiful passages
of dialogue, memorable lines? Do either the narrator or any of the characters
have an spell of writing charming melody?
6. What are
the most impressive visual scenes, spectacle? Where are they
located? What is the role of nature in this fiction? Interiors vs.
exteriors.
7. Related to the preceding, what types of imagery
dominate the story and why? Are there any emblems or significant details?
8. Finally, note the main passages that help us understand the narrator:
narrative intrusions, explicit narrative judgments, moments of narrative
uncertainty, mood swings.Remember that I give one bonus point on your quizzes
for each textual typo you find in our editions that I haven't already
discovered. Only the first person to make the discovery gets the bonus
point. Check against the online facsimile before submitting your
discovery.