Darwinism in Literat- Oh wait, no, that's not quite what this is.

When I did literary analysis in the past, it always revolved around a couple distinct things: character, plot, theme, figurative language, and symbolism. That's it. I honestly had no idea what "new criticism" "Marxism" or "structuralism" meant. Although I undoubtedly used some of those approaches in past analysis, it's not the same thing as truly knowing them. Perhaps this is a crude comparison, but it's like the difference between knowing how to throw a punch in a fight and knowing exactly ho to hit someone to knock them out. In the first scenario, you can fight, sure, and you can perhaps get a knock out because in general you know to throw punches at people's heads, but in the second scenario you're going to fare much better because you know exactly where in the head to hit, how hard, and how to create appropriate openings in order to get there. It's all about refinement and knowledge of technique. This is like making an analysis because now I know more than a general "this is what you do to write a literary analysis". Now I know how to look at how the specific plot structure synthesizes with the metaphors and diction to create meaning. Now I know to look for tropes that combine with the setting to add emphasis to particular points.

This is how my literary analysis has evolved. I also learned a great deal about reader-response-ism. I felt like most of what we did in class focused on this type of literary criticism, and I think it is the most important, because, in the end, it doesn't matter how a piece of literature was intended or crafted, it matters how it was received (I don't mean favorably/unfavorably, I mean the definition of reader-response. How it makes us feel, think, etc.). I am learning to synthesize all these different types of analysis into one great whole. I did this the best on my Literary Analysis essay, where I was able to successfully synthesize many aspects of the story "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings", such as title, setting, plot structure, diction, and tropes, character, extended metaphors, and symbols, to produce a viable argument for what I thought the piece meant. The Personal Literary Essay was also helpful, but more in reading other pieces than making my own, and seeing how others were able to successfully capture the true purpose of literature in their own analysis of how it affected them. 

I'd say that from now on my way of analyzing literature is changed. I am more skilled and have more tools on my belt than ever before, and that's going to be a gift that keeps on giving.   

Links, for those who are interested, to the most influential analysis for me: