Key Idea: This topic is about reading the literary works you study for the oral: how to read them, how to find themes and characters, and how to describe the narrator and the writing style.
Reading a literary work
- Read on four levels: {{Handlung, Themen, Figuren, Erzählstil|plot, themes, characters, narrative style}}.
- Mark themes, characters and key quotations as you read.
- For an extract: {{Detail → Zitat → Wirkung|detail → quotation → effect}}.
- Keep one German page per work: themes, how characters change, quotations, turning point, voice.
Themes and characters
- A theme is a claim the work makes, said as a sentence, not one noun.
- To find it, ask: {{Was wiederholt sich? Was verändert sich am Ende?|What recurs? What changes by the end?}}
- A character = motive + relationship + development: {{Eigenschaft → Zitat → Bedeutung|trait → quote → meaning}}.
- Link the character to the theme.
| Question | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Wer erzählt? (Who tells it?) | The pronouns: Ich-Erzähler or Er-/Sie-Erzähler. An allwissender narrator knows hidden thoughts. |
| Wie ist es geschrieben? (How is it written?) | Tone, register and devices |
| Devices | Metapher, Vergleich (with «wie»), Bild, Symbol, Personifikation |
The narrator is never the author. Say «der Erzähler», not «der Autor», when you talk about who tells the story.
Is «Freiheit» on its own a theme? Not yet. Say what the work claims about freedom, in a sentence.
«Sie lachte wie ein Kind.» Metapher or Vergleich? Vergleich, because it uses «wie».
The text says «ich». What kind of narrator is it? An Ich-Erzähler: first person.
Which three things make up a character analysis? Motive, relationship and development.