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• How to write a literary analysis essay | A step-by-step guide

How to Write a Literary Analysis Essay | A Step-by-Step Guide

Published on January 30, 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on August 14, 2023.

Literary analysis means closely studying a text, interpreting its meanings, and exploring why the author made certain choices. It can be applied to novels, short stories, plays, poems, or any other form of literary writing.

A literary analysis essay is not a rhetorical analysis , nor is it just a summary of the plot or a book review. Instead, it is a type of argumentative essay where you need to analyze elements such as the language, perspective, and structure of the text, and explain how the author uses literary devices to create effects and convey ideas.

Before beginning a literary analysis essay, it’s essential to carefully read the text and c ome up with a thesis statement to keep your essay focused. As you write, follow the standard structure of an academic essay :

• An introduction that tells the reader what your essay will focus on.
• A main body, divided into paragraphs , that builds an argument using evidence from the text.
• A conclusion that clearly states the main point that you have shown with your analysis.

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Table of contents

Step 1: reading the text and identifying literary devices, step 2: coming up with a thesis, step 3: writing a title and introduction, step 4: writing the body of the essay, step 5: writing a conclusion, other interesting articles.

The first step is to carefully read the text(s) and take initial notes. As you read, pay attention to the things that are most intriguing, surprising, or even confusing in the writing—these are things you can dig into in your analysis.

Your goal in literary analysis is not simply to explain the events described in the text, but to analyze the writing itself and discuss how the text works on a deeper level. Primarily, you’re looking out for literary devices —textual elements that writers use to convey meaning and create effects. If you’re comparing and contrasting multiple texts, you can also look for connections between different texts.

To get started with your analysis, there are several key areas that you can focus on. As you analyze each aspect of the text, try to think about how they all relate to each other. You can use highlights or notes to keep track of important passages and quotes.

Language choices

Consider what style of language the author uses. Are the sentences short and simple or more complex and poetic?

What word choices stand out as interesting or unusual? Are words used figuratively to mean something other than their literal definition? Figurative language includes things like metaphor (e.g. “her eyes were oceans”) and simile (e.g. “her eyes were like oceans”).

Also keep an eye out for imagery in the text—recurring images that create a certain atmosphere or symbolize something important. Remember that language is used in literary texts to say more than it means on the surface.

Narrative voice

Ask yourself:

• Who is telling the story?
• How are they telling it?

Is it a first-person narrator (“I”) who is personally involved in the story, or a third-person narrator who tells us about the characters from a distance?

Consider the narrator’s perspective . Is the narrator omniscient (where they know everything about all the characters and events), or do they only have partial knowledge? Are they an unreliable narrator who we are not supposed to take at face value? Authors often hint that their narrator might be giving us a distorted or dishonest version of events.

The tone of the text is also worth considering. Is the story intended to be comic, tragic, or something else? Are usually serious topics treated as funny, or vice versa ? Is the story realistic or fantastical (or somewhere in between)?

Consider how the text is structured, and how the structure relates to the story being told.

• Novels are often divided into chapters and parts.
• Poems are divided into lines, stanzas, and sometime cantos.
• Plays are divided into scenes and acts.

Think about why the author chose to divide the different parts of the text in the way they did.

There are also less formal structural elements to take into account. Does the story unfold in chronological order, or does it jump back and forth in time? Does it begin in medias res —in the middle of the action? Does the plot advance towards a clearly defined climax?

With poetry, consider how the rhyme and meter shape your understanding of the text and your impression of the tone. Try reading the poem aloud to get a sense of this.

In a play, you might consider how relationships between characters are built up through different scenes, and how the setting relates to the action. Watch out for  dramatic irony , where the audience knows some detail that the characters don’t, creating a double meaning in their words, thoughts, or actions.

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Your thesis in a literary analysis essay is the point you want to make about the text. It’s the core argument that gives your essay direction and prevents it from just being a collection of random observations about a text.

If you’re given a prompt for your essay, your thesis must answer or relate to the prompt. For example:

Essay question example

Is Franz Kafka’s “Before the Law” a religious parable?

Your thesis statement should be an answer to this question—not a simple yes or no, but a statement of why this is or isn’t the case:

Thesis statement example

Franz Kafka’s “Before the Law” is not a religious parable, but a story about bureaucratic alienation.

Sometimes you’ll be given freedom to choose your own topic; in this case, you’ll have to come up with an original thesis. Consider what stood out to you in the text; ask yourself questions about the elements that interested you, and consider how you might answer them.

Your thesis should be something arguable—that is, something that you think is true about the text, but which is not a simple matter of fact. It must be complex enough to develop through evidence and arguments across the course of your essay.

Say you’re analyzing the novel Frankenstein . You could start by asking yourself:

Your initial answer might be a surface-level description:

The character Frankenstein is portrayed negatively in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein .

However, this statement is too simple to be an interesting thesis. After reading the text and analyzing its narrative voice and structure, you can develop the answer into a more nuanced and arguable thesis statement:

Mary Shelley uses shifting narrative perspectives to portray Frankenstein in an increasingly negative light as the novel goes on. While he initially appears to be a naive but sympathetic idealist, after the creature’s narrative Frankenstein begins to resemble—even in his own telling—the thoughtlessly cruel figure the creature represents him as.

Remember that you can revise your thesis statement throughout the writing process , so it doesn’t need to be perfectly formulated at this stage. The aim is to keep you focused as you analyze the text.

Finding textual evidence

To support your thesis statement, your essay will build an argument using textual evidence —specific parts of the text that demonstrate your point. This evidence is quoted and analyzed throughout your essay to explain your argument to the reader.

It can be useful to comb through the text in search of relevant quotations before you start writing. You might not end up using everything you find, and you may have to return to the text for more evidence as you write, but collecting textual evidence from the beginning will help you to structure your arguments and assess whether they’re convincing.

To start your literary analysis paper, you’ll need two things: a good title, and an introduction.

Your title should clearly indicate what your analysis will focus on. It usually contains the name of the author and text(s) you’re analyzing. Keep it as concise and engaging as possible.

A common approach to the title is to use a relevant quote from the text, followed by a colon and then the rest of your title.

If you struggle to come up with a good title at first, don’t worry—this will be easier once you’ve begun writing the essay and have a better sense of your arguments.

“Fearful symmetry” : The violence of creation in William Blake’s “The Tyger”

The introduction

The essay introduction provides a quick overview of where your argument is going. It should include your thesis statement and a summary of the essay’s structure.

A typical structure for an introduction is to begin with a general statement about the text and author, using this to lead into your thesis statement. You might refer to a commonly held idea about the text and show how your thesis will contradict it, or zoom in on a particular device you intend to focus on.

Then you can end with a brief indication of what’s coming up in the main body of the essay. This is called signposting. It will be more elaborate in longer essays, but in a short five-paragraph essay structure, it shouldn’t be more than one sentence.

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is often read as a crude cautionary tale about the dangers of scientific advancement unrestrained by ethical considerations. In this reading, protagonist Victor Frankenstein is a stable representation of the callous ambition of modern science throughout the novel. This essay, however, argues that far from providing a stable image of the character, Shelley uses shifting narrative perspectives to portray Frankenstein in an increasingly negative light as the novel goes on. While he initially appears to be a naive but sympathetic idealist, after the creature’s narrative Frankenstein begins to resemble—even in his own telling—the thoughtlessly cruel figure the creature represents him as. This essay begins by exploring the positive portrayal of Frankenstein in the first volume, then moves on to the creature’s perception of him, and finally discusses the third volume’s narrative shift toward viewing Frankenstein as the creature views him.

Some students prefer to write the introduction later in the process, and it’s not a bad idea. After all, you’ll have a clearer idea of the overall shape of your arguments once you’ve begun writing them!

If you do write the introduction first, you should still return to it later to make sure it lines up with what you ended up writing, and edit as necessary.

The body of your essay is everything between the introduction and conclusion. It contains your arguments and the textual evidence that supports them.

Paragraph structure

A typical structure for a high school literary analysis essay consists of five paragraphs : the three paragraphs of the body, plus the introduction and conclusion.

Each paragraph in the main body should focus on one topic. In the five-paragraph model, try to divide your argument into three main areas of analysis, all linked to your thesis. Don’t try to include everything you can think of to say about the text—only analysis that drives your argument.

In longer essays, the same principle applies on a broader scale. For example, you might have two or three sections in your main body, each with multiple paragraphs. Within these sections, you still want to begin new paragraphs at logical moments—a turn in the argument or the introduction of a new idea.

Robert’s first encounter with Gil-Martin suggests something of his sinister power. Robert feels “a sort of invisible power that drew me towards him.” He identifies the moment of their meeting as “the beginning of a series of adventures which has puzzled myself, and will puzzle the world when I am no more in it” (p. 89). Gil-Martin’s “invisible power” seems to be at work even at this distance from the moment described; before continuing the story, Robert feels compelled to anticipate at length what readers will make of his narrative after his approaching death. With this interjection, Hogg emphasizes the fatal influence Gil-Martin exercises from his first appearance.

Topic sentences

To keep your points focused, it’s important to use a topic sentence at the beginning of each paragraph.

A good topic sentence allows a reader to see at a glance what the paragraph is about. It can introduce a new line of argument and connect or contrast it with the previous paragraph. Transition words like “however” or “moreover” are useful for creating smooth transitions:

… The story’s focus, therefore, is not upon the divine revelation that may be waiting beyond the door, but upon the mundane process of aging undergone by the man as he waits.

Nevertheless, the “radiance” that appears to stream from the door is typically treated as religious symbolism.

This topic sentence signals that the paragraph will address the question of religious symbolism, while the linking word “nevertheless” points out a contrast with the previous paragraph’s conclusion.

Using textual evidence

A key part of literary analysis is backing up your arguments with relevant evidence from the text. This involves introducing quotes from the text and explaining their significance to your point.

It’s important to contextualize quotes and explain why you’re using them; they should be properly introduced and analyzed, not treated as self-explanatory:

It isn’t always necessary to use a quote. Quoting is useful when you’re discussing the author’s language, but sometimes you’ll have to refer to plot points or structural elements that can’t be captured in a short quote.

In these cases, it’s more appropriate to paraphrase or summarize parts of the text—that is, to describe the relevant part in your own words:

The conclusion of your analysis shouldn’t introduce any new quotations or arguments. Instead, it’s about wrapping up the essay. Here, you summarize your key points and try to emphasize their significance to the reader.

A good way to approach this is to briefly summarize your key arguments, and then stress the conclusion they’ve led you to, highlighting the new perspective your thesis provides on the text as a whole:

If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

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By tracing the depiction of Frankenstein through the novel’s three volumes, I have demonstrated how the narrative structure shifts our perception of the character. While the Frankenstein of the first volume is depicted as having innocent intentions, the second and third volumes—first in the creature’s accusatory voice, and then in his own voice—increasingly undermine him, causing him to appear alternately ridiculous and vindictive. Far from the one-dimensional villain he is often taken to be, the character of Frankenstein is compelling because of the dynamic narrative frame in which he is placed. In this frame, Frankenstein’s narrative self-presentation responds to the images of him we see from others’ perspectives. This conclusion sheds new light on the novel, foregrounding Shelley’s unique layering of narrative perspectives and its importance for the depiction of character.

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Literary Analysis Essay

Literary Analysis Essay Writing

Last updated on: May 21, 2023

Literary Analysis Essay - Ultimate Guide By Professionals

By: Cordon J.

Reviewed By: Rylee W.

Published on: Dec 3, 2019

A literary analysis essay specifically examines and evaluates a piece of literature or a literary work. It also understands and explains the links between the small parts to their whole information.

It is important for students to understand the meaning and the true essence of literature to write a literary essay.

One of the most difficult assignments for students is writing a literary analysis essay. It can be hard to come up with an original idea or find enough material to write about. You might think you need years of experience in order to create a good paper, but that's not true.

This blog post will show you how easy it can be when you follow the steps given here.Writing such an essay involves the breakdown of a book into small parts and understanding each part separately. It seems easy, right?

Trust us, it is not as hard as good book reports but it may also not be extremely easy. You will have to take into account different approaches and explain them in relation with the chosen literary work.

It is a common high school and college assignment and you can learn everything in this blog.

Continue reading for some useful tips with an example to write a literary analysis essay that will be on point. You can also explore our detailed article on writing an analytical essay .

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What is a Literary Analysis Essay?

A literary analysis essay is an important kind of essay that focuses on the detailed analysis of the work of literature.

The purpose of a literary analysis essay is to explain why the author has used a specific theme for his work. Or examine the characters, themes, literary devices , figurative language, and settings in the story.

This type of essay encourages students to think about how the book or the short story has been written. And why the author has created this work.

The method used in the literary analysis essay differs from other types of essays. It primarily focuses on the type of work and literature that is being analyzed.

Mostly, you will be going to break down the work into various parts. In order to develop a better understanding of the idea being discussed, each part will be discussed separately.

The essay should explain the choices of the author and point of view along with your answers and personal analysis.

How To Write A Literary Analysis Essay

So how to start a literary analysis essay? The answer to this question is quite simple.

The following sections are required to write an effective literary analysis essay. By following the guidelines given in the following sections, you will be able to craft a winning literary analysis essay.

Introduction

The aim of the introduction is to establish a context for readers. You have to give a brief on the background of the selected topic.

It should contain the name of the author of the literary work along with its title. The introduction should be effective enough to grab the reader’s attention.

In the body section, you have to retell the story that the writer has narrated. It is a good idea to create a summary as it is one of the important tips of literary analysis.

Other than that, you are required to develop ideas and disclose the observed information related to the issue. The ideal length of the body section is around 1000 words.

To write the body section, your observation should be based on evidence and your own style of writing.

It would be great if the body of your essay is divided into three paragraphs. Make a strong argument with facts related to the thesis statement in all of the paragraphs in the body section.

Start writing each paragraph with a topic sentence and use transition words when moving to the next paragraph.

Summarize the important points of your literary analysis essay in this section. It is important to compose a short and strong conclusion to help you make a final impression of your essay.

Pay attention that this section does not contain any new information. It should provide a sense of completion by restating the main idea with a short description of your arguments. End the conclusion with your supporting details.

You have to explain why the book is important. Also, elaborate on the means that the authors used to convey her/his opinion regarding the issue.

For further understanding, here is a downloadable literary analysis essay outline. This outline will help you structure and format your essay properly and earn an A easily.

DOWNLOADABLE LITERARY ANALYSIS ESSAY OUTLINE (PDF)

Types of Literary Analysis Essay

• Close reading - This method involves attentive reading and detailed analysis. No need for a lot of knowledge and inspiration to write an essay that shows your creative skills.
• Theoretical - In this type, you will rely on theories related to the selected topic.
• Historical - This type of essay concerns the discipline of history. Sometimes historical analysis is required to explain events in detail.
• Applied - This type involves analysis of a specific issue from a practical perspective.
• Comparative - This type of writing is based on when two or more alternatives are compared

Examples of Literary Analysis Essay

Examples are great to understand any concept, especially if it is related to writing. Below are some great literary analysis essay examples that showcase how this type of essay is written.

A ROSE FOR EMILY LITERARY ANALYSIS ESSAY

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD LITERARY ANALYSIS ESSAY

THE GREAT GATSBY LITERARY ANALYSIS ESSAY

THE YELLOW WALLPAPER LITERARY ANALYSIS ESSAY

If you do not have experience in writing essays, this will be a very chaotic process for you. In that case, it is very important for you to conduct good research on the topic before writing.

There are two important points that you should keep in mind when writing a literary analysis essay.

First, remember that it is very important to select a topic in which you are interested. Choose something that really inspires you. This will help you to catch the attention of a reader.

The selected topic should reflect the main idea of writing. In addition to that, it should also express your point of view as well.

Another important thing is to draft a good outline for your literary analysis essay. It will help you to define a central point and division of this into parts for further discussion.

Literary Analysis Essay Topics

Literary analysis essays are mostly based on artistic works like books, movies, paintings, and other forms of art. However, generally, students choose novels and books to write their literary essays.

Some cool, fresh, and good topics and ideas are listed below:

• Role of the Three Witches in flaming Macbeth’s ambition.
• Analyze the themes of the Play Antigone,
• Discuss Ajax as a tragic hero.
• The Judgement of Paris: Analyze the Reasons and their Consequences.
• Oedipus Rex: A Doomed Son or a Conqueror?
• Describe the Oedipus complex and Electra complex in relation to their respective myths.
• Betrayal is a common theme of Shakespearean tragedies. Discuss
• Identify and analyze the traits of history in T.S Eliot’s ‘Gerontion’.
• Analyze the theme of identity crisis in The Great Gatsby.
• Analyze the writing style of Emily Dickinson.

If you are still in doubt then there is nothing bad in getting professional writers’ help.

We at 5StarEssays.com can help you get a custom paper as per your specified requirements with our do essay for me service.

Our essay writers will help you write outstanding literary essays or any other type of essay. Such as compare and contrast essays, descriptive essays, rhetorical essays. We cover all of these.

So don’t waste your time browsing the internet and place your order now to get your well-written custom paper.

Frequently Asked Questions

What should a literary analysis essay include.

A good literary analysis essay must include a proper and in-depth explanation of your ideas. They must be backed with examples and evidence from the text. Textual evidence includes summaries, paraphrased text, original work details, and direct quotes.

What are the 4 components of literary analysis?

Here are the 4 essential parts of a literary analysis essay;

No literary work is explained properly without discussing and explaining these 4 things.

How do you start a literary analysis essay?

Start your literary analysis essay with the name of the work and the title. Hook your readers by introducing the main ideas that you will discuss in your essay and engage them from the start.

How do you do a literary analysis?

In a literary analysis essay, you study the text closely, understand and interpret its meanings. And try to find out the reasons behind why the author has used certain symbols, themes, and objects in the work.

Why is literary analysis important?

It encourages the students to think beyond their existing knowledge, experiences, and belief and build empathy. This helps in improving the writing skills also.

What is the fundamental characteristic of a literary analysis essay?

Interpretation is the fundamental and important feature of a literary analysis essay. The essay is based on how well the writer explains and interprets the work.

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Cordon. is a published author and writing specialist. He has worked in the publishing industry for many years, providing writing services and digital content. His own writing career began with a focus on literature and linguistics, which he continues to pursue. Cordon is an engaging and professional individual, always looking to help others achieve their goals.

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beginner's guide to literary analysis

Understanding literature & how to write literary analysis.

Literary analysis is the foundation of every college and high school English class. Once you can comprehend written work and respond to it, the next step is to learn how to think critically and complexly about a work of literature in order to analyze its elements and establish ideas about its meaning.

If that sounds daunting, it shouldn’t. Literary analysis is really just a way of thinking creatively about what you read. The practice takes you beyond the storyline and into the motives behind it. 

While an author might have had a specific intention when they wrote their book, there’s still no right or wrong way to analyze a literary text—just your way. You can use literary theories, which act as “lenses” through which you can view a text. Or you can use your own creativity and critical thinking to identify a literary device or pattern in a text and weave that insight into your own argument about the text’s underlying meaning. 

Now, if that sounds fun, it should , because it is. Here, we’ll lay the groundwork for performing literary analysis, including when writing analytical essays, to help you read books like a critic. 

What Is Literary Analysis?

As the name suggests, literary analysis is an analysis of a work, whether that’s a novel, play, short story, or poem. Any analysis requires breaking the content into its component parts and then examining how those parts operate independently and as a whole. In literary analysis, those parts can be different devices and elements—such as plot, setting, themes, symbols, etcetera—as well as elements of style, like point of view or tone. 

When performing analysis, you consider some of these different elements of the text and then form an argument for why the author chose to use them. You can do so while reading and during class discussion, but it’s particularly important when writing essays. 

Literary analysis is notably distinct from summary. When you write a summary , you efficiently describe the work’s main ideas or plot points in order to establish an overview of the work. While you might use elements of summary when writing analysis, you should do so minimally. You can reference a plot line to make a point, but it should be done so quickly so you can focus on why that plot line matters . In summary (see what we did there?), a summary focuses on the “ what ” of a text, while analysis turns attention to the “ how ” and “ why .”

While literary analysis can be broad, covering themes across an entire work, it can also be very specific, and sometimes the best analysis is just that. Literary critics have written thousands of words about the meaning of an author’s single word choice; while you might not want to be quite that particular, there’s a lot to be said for digging deep in literary analysis, rather than wide. 

Although you’re forming your own argument about the work, it’s not your opinion . You should avoid passing judgment on the piece and instead objectively consider what the author intended, how they went about executing it, and whether or not they were successful in doing so. Literary criticism is similar to literary analysis, but it is different in that it does pass judgement on the work. Criticism can also consider literature more broadly, without focusing on a singular work. 

Once you understand what constitutes (and doesn’t constitute) literary analysis, it’s easy to identify it. Here are some examples of literary analysis and its oft-confused counterparts: 

Summary: In “The Fall of the House of Usher,” the narrator visits his friend Roderick Usher and witnesses his sister escape a horrible fate.  

Opinion: In “The Fall of the House of Usher,” Poe uses his great Gothic writing to establish a sense of spookiness that is enjoyable to read. 

Literary Analysis: “Throughout ‘The Fall of the House of Usher,’ Poe foreshadows the fate of Madeline by creating a sense of claustrophobia for the reader through symbols, such as in the narrator’s inability to leave and the labyrinthine nature of the house. 

In summary, literary analysis is:

• Breaking a work into its components
• Identifying what those components are and how they work in the text
• Developing an understanding of how they work together to achieve a goal 
• Not an opinion, but subjective 
• Not a summary, though summary can be used in passing 
• Best when it deeply, rather than broadly, analyzes a literary element

Literary Analysis and Other Works

As discussed above, literary analysis is often performed upon a single work—but it doesn’t have to be. It can also be performed across works to consider the interplay of two or more texts. Regardless of whether or not the works were written about the same thing, or even within the same time period, they can have an influence on one another or a connection that’s worth exploring. And reading two or more texts side by side can help you to develop insights through comparison and contrast.

For example, Paradise Lost is an epic poem written in the 17th century, based largely on biblical narratives written some 700 years before and which later influenced 19th century poet John Keats. The interplay of works can be obvious, as here, or entirely the inspiration of the analyst. As an example of the latter, you could compare and contrast the writing styles of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Edgar Allan Poe who, while contemporaries in terms of time, were vastly different in their content. 

Additionally, literary analysis can be performed between a work and its context. Authors are often speaking to the larger context of their times, be that social, political, religious, economic, or artistic. A valid and interesting form is to compare the author’s context to the work, which is done by identifying and analyzing elements that are used to make an argument about the writer’s time or experience. 

For example, you could write an essay about how Hemingway’s struggles with mental health and paranoia influenced his later work, or how his involvement in the Spanish Civil War influenced his early work. One approach focuses more on his personal experience, while the other turns to the context of his times—both are valid. 

Why Does Literary Analysis Matter? 

Sometimes an author wrote a work of literature strictly for entertainment’s sake, but more often than not, they meant something more. Whether that was a missive on world peace, commentary about femininity, or an allusion to their experience as an only child, the author probably wrote their work for a reason, and understanding that reason—or the many reasons—can actually make reading a lot more meaningful. 

Performing literary analysis as a form of study unquestionably makes you a better reader. It’s also likely that it will improve other skills, too, like critical thinking, creativity, debate, and reasoning. 

At its grandest and most idealistic, literary analysis even has the ability to make the world a better place. By reading and analyzing works of literature, you are able to more fully comprehend the perspectives of others. Cumulatively, you’ll broaden your own perspectives and contribute more effectively to the things that matter to you. 

Literary Terms to Know for Literary Analysis 

There are hundreds of literary devices you could consider during your literary analysis, but there are some key tools most writers utilize to achieve their purpose—and therefore you need to know in order to understand that purpose. These common devices include: 

• Characters: The people (or entities) who play roles in the work. The protagonist is the main character in the work. 
• Conflict: The conflict is the driving force behind the plot, the event that causes action in the narrative, usually on the part of the protagonist
• Context : The broader circumstances surrounding the work political and social climate in which it was written or the experience of the author. It can also refer to internal context, and the details presented by the narrator 
• Diction : The word choice used by the narrator or characters 
• Genre: A category of literature characterized by agreed upon similarities in the works, such as subject matter and tone
• Imagery : The descriptive or figurative language used to paint a picture in the reader’s mind so they can picture the story’s plot, characters, and setting 
• Metaphor: A figure of speech that uses comparison between two unlike objects for dramatic or poetic effect
• Narrator: The person who tells the story. Sometimes they are a character within the story, but sometimes they are omniscient and removed from the plot. 
• Plot : The storyline of the work
• Point of view: The perspective taken by the narrator, which skews the perspective of the reader 
• Setting : The time and place in which the story takes place. This can include elements like the time period, weather, time of year or day, and social or economic conditions 
• Symbol : An object, person, or place that represents an abstract idea that is greater than its literal meaning 
• Syntax : The structure of a sentence, either narration or dialogue, and the tone it implies
• Theme : A recurring subject or message within the work, often commentary on larger societal or cultural ideas
• Tone : The feeling, attitude, or mood the text presents

How to Perform Literary Analysis

Step 1: read the text thoroughly.

Literary analysis begins with the literature itself, which means performing a close reading of the text. As you read, you should focus on the work. That means putting away distractions (sorry, smartphone) and dedicating a period of time to the task at hand. 

It’s also important that you don’t skim or speed read. While those are helpful skills, they don’t apply to literary analysis—or at least not this stage. 

Step 2: Take Notes as You Read  

As you read the work, take notes about different literary elements and devices that stand out to you. Whether you highlight or underline in text, use sticky note tabs to mark pages and passages, or handwrite your thoughts in a notebook, you should capture your thoughts and the parts of the text to which they correspond. This—the act of noticing things about a literary work—is literary analysis. 

Step 3: Notice Patterns 

As you read the work, you’ll begin to notice patterns in the way the author deploys language, themes, and symbols to build their plot and characters. As you read and these patterns take shape, begin to consider what they could mean and how they might fit together. 

As you identify these patterns, as well as other elements that catch your interest, be sure to record them in your notes or text. Some examples include: 

• Circle or underline words or terms that you notice the author uses frequently, whether those are nouns (like “eyes” or “road”) or adjectives (like “yellow” or “lush”).
• Highlight phrases that give you the same kind of feeling. For example, if the narrator describes an “overcast sky,” a “dreary morning,” and a “dark, quiet room,” the words aren’t the same, but the feeling they impart and setting they develop are similar. 
• Underline quotes or prose that define a character’s personality or their role in the text.
• Use sticky tabs to color code different elements of the text, such as specific settings or a shift in the point of view. 

By noting these patterns, comprehensive symbols, metaphors, and ideas will begin to come into focus.  

Step 4: Consider the Work as a Whole, and Ask Questions

This is a step that you can do either as you read, or after you finish the text. The point is to begin to identify the aspects of the work that most interest you, and you could therefore analyze in writing or discussion. 

Questions you could ask yourself include: 

• What aspects of the text do I not understand?
• What parts of the narrative or writing struck me most?
• What patterns did I notice?
• What did the author accomplish really well?
• What did I find lacking?
• Did I notice any contradictions or anything that felt out of place?  
• What was the purpose of the minor characters?
• What tone did the author choose, and why? 

The answers to these and more questions will lead you to your arguments about the text. 

Step 5: Return to Your Notes and the Text for Evidence

As you identify the argument you want to make (especially if you’re preparing for an essay), return to your notes to see if you already have supporting evidence for your argument. That’s why it’s so important to take notes or mark passages as you read—you’ll thank yourself later!

If you’re preparing to write an essay, you’ll use these passages and ideas to bolster your argument—aka, your thesis. There will likely be multiple different passages you can use to strengthen multiple different aspects of your argument. Just be sure to cite the text correctly! 

If you’re preparing for class, your notes will also be invaluable. When your teacher or professor leads the conversation in the direction of your ideas or arguments, you’ll be able to not only proffer that idea but back it up with textual evidence. That’s an A+ in class participation. 

Step 6: Connect These Ideas Across the Narrative

Whether you’re in class or writing an essay, literary analysis isn’t complete until you’ve considered the way these ideas interact and contribute to the work as a whole. You can find and present evidence, but you still have to explain how those elements work together and make up your argument. 

How to Write a Literary Analysis Essay

When conducting literary analysis while reading a text or discussing it in class, you can pivot easily from one argument to another (or even switch sides if a classmate or teacher makes a compelling enough argument). 

But when writing literary analysis, your objective is to propose a specific, arguable thesis and convincingly defend it. In order to do so, you need to fortify your argument with evidence from the text (and perhaps secondary sources) and an authoritative tone. 

A successful literary analysis essay depends equally on a thoughtful thesis, supportive analysis, and presenting these elements masterfully. We’ll review how to accomplish these objectives below. 

Step 1: Read the Text. Maybe Read It Again. 

Constructing an astute analytical essay requires a thorough knowledge of the text. As you read, be sure to note any passages, quotes, or ideas that stand out. These could serve as the future foundation of your thesis statement. Noting these sections now will help you when you need to gather evidence. 

The more familiar you become with the text, the better (and easier!) your essay will be. Familiarity with the text allows you to speak (or in this case, write) to it confidently. If you only skim the book, your lack of rich understanding will be evident in your essay. Alternatively, if you read the text closely—especially if you read it more than once, or at least carefully revisit important passages—your own writing will be filled with insight that goes beyond a basic understanding of the storyline. 

Step 2: Brainstorm Potential Topics 

Because you took detailed notes while reading the text, you should have a list of potential topics at the ready. Take time to review your notes, highlighting any ideas or questions you had that feel interesting. You should also return to the text and look for any passages that stand out to you. 

When considering potential topics, you should prioritize ideas that you find interesting. It won’t only make the whole process of writing an essay more fun, your enthusiasm for the topic will probably improve the quality of your argument, and maybe even your writing. Just like it’s obvious when a topic interests you in a conversation, it’s obvious when a topic interests the writer of an essay (and even more obvious when it doesn’t). 

Your topic ideas should also be specific, unique, and arguable. A good way to think of topics is that they’re the answer to fairly specific questions. As you begin to brainstorm, first think of questions you have about the text. Questions might focus on the plot, such as: Why did the author choose to deviate from the projected storyline? Or why did a character’s role in the narrative shift? Questions might also consider the use of a literary device, such as: Why does the narrator frequently repeat a phrase or comment on a symbol? Or why did the author choose to switch points of view each chapter? 

Once you have a thesis question , you can begin brainstorming answers—aka, potential thesis statements . At this point, your answers can be fairly broad. Once you land on a question-statement combination that feels right, you’ll then look for evidence in the text that supports your answer (and helps you define and narrow your thesis statement). 

For example, after reading “ The Fall of the House of Usher ,” you might be wondering, Why are Roderick and Madeline twins?, Or even: Why does their relationship feel so creepy?” Maybe you noticed (and noted) that the narrator was surprised to find out they were twins, or perhaps you found that the narrator’s tone tended to shift and become more anxious when discussing the interactions of the twins.

Once you come up with your thesis question, you can identify a broad answer, which will become the basis for your thesis statement. In response to the questions above, your answer might be, “Poe emphasizes the close relationship of Roderick and Madeline to foreshadow that their deaths will be close, too.” 

Step 3: Gather Evidence 

Once you have your topic (or you’ve narrowed it down to two or three), return to the text (yes, again) to see what evidence you can find to support it. If you’re thinking of writing about the relationship between Roderick and Madeline in “The Fall of the House of Usher,” look for instances where they engaged in the text. 

This is when your knowledge of literary devices comes in clutch. Carefully study the language around each event in the text that might be relevant to your topic. How does Poe’s diction or syntax change during the interactions of the siblings? How does the setting reflect or contribute to their relationship? What imagery or symbols appear when Roderick and Madeline are together? 

By finding and studying evidence within the text, you’ll strengthen your topic argument—or, just as valuably, discount the topics that aren’t strong enough for analysis. 

Step 4: Consider Secondary Sources 

In addition to returning to the literary work you’re studying for evidence, you can also consider secondary sources that reference or speak to the work. These can be articles from journals you find on JSTOR, books that consider the work or its context, or articles your teacher shared in class. 

While you can use these secondary sources to further support your idea, you should not overuse them. Make sure your topic remains entirely differentiated from that presented in the source. 

Step 5: Write a Working Thesis Statement

Once you’ve gathered evidence and narrowed down your topic, you’re ready to refine that topic into a thesis statement. As you continue to outline and write your paper, this thesis statement will likely change slightly, but this initial draft will serve as the foundation of your essay. It’s like your north star: Everything you write in your essay is leading you back to your thesis. 

Writing a great thesis statement requires some real finesse. A successful thesis statement is: 

• Debatable : You shouldn’t simply summarize or make an obvious statement about the work. Instead, your thesis statement should take a stand on an issue or make a claim that is open to argument. You’ll spend your essay debating—and proving—your argument. 
• Demonstrable : You need to be able to prove, through evidence, that your thesis statement is true. That means you have to have passages from the text and correlative analysis ready to convince the reader that you’re right. 
• Specific : In most cases, successfully addressing a theme that encompasses a work in its entirety would require a book-length essay. Instead, identify a thesis statement that addresses specific elements of the work, such as a relationship between characters, a repeating symbol, a key setting, or even something really specific like the speaking style of a character. 

Example: By depicting the relationship between Roderick and Madeline to be stifling and almost otherworldly in its closeness, Poe foreshadows both Madeline’s fate and Roderick’s inability to choose a different fate for himself. 

Step 6: Write an Outline 

You have your thesis, you have your evidence—but how do you put them together? A great thesis statement (and therefore a great essay) will have multiple arguments supporting it, presenting different kinds of evidence that all contribute to the singular, main idea presented in your thesis. 

Review your evidence and identify these different arguments, then organize the evidence into categories based on the argument they support. These ideas and evidence will become the body paragraphs of your essay. 

For example, if you were writing about Roderick and Madeline as in the example above, you would pull evidence from the text, such as the narrator’s realization of their relationship as twins; examples where the narrator’s tone of voice shifts when discussing their relationship; imagery, like the sounds Roderick hears as Madeline tries to escape; and Poe’s tendency to use doubles and twins in his other writings to create the same spooky effect. All of these are separate strains of the same argument, and can be clearly organized into sections of an outline. 

Step 7: Write Your Introduction

Your introduction serves a few very important purposes that essentially set the scene for the reader: 

• Establish context. Sure, your reader has probably read the work. But you still want to remind them of the scene, characters, or elements you’ll be discussing. 
• Present your thesis statement. Your thesis statement is the backbone of your analytical paper. You need to present it clearly at the outset so that the reader understands what every argument you make is aimed at. 
• Offer a mini-outline. While you don’t want to show all your cards just yet, you do want to preview some of the evidence you’ll be using to support your thesis so that the reader has a roadmap of where they’re going. 

Step 8: Write Your Body Paragraphs

Thanks to steps one through seven, you’ve already set yourself up for success. You have clearly outlined arguments and evidence to support them. Now it’s time to translate those into authoritative and confident prose. 

When presenting each idea, begin with a topic sentence that encapsulates the argument you’re about to make (sort of like a mini-thesis statement). Then present your evidence and explanations of that evidence that contribute to that argument. Present enough material to prove your point, but don’t feel like you necessarily have to point out every single instance in the text where this element takes place. For example, if you’re highlighting a symbol that repeats throughout the narrative, choose two or three passages where it is used most effectively, rather than trying to squeeze in all ten times it appears. 

While you should have clearly defined arguments, the essay should still move logically and fluidly from one argument to the next. Try to avoid choppy paragraphs that feel disjointed; every idea and argument should feel connected to the last, and, as a group, connected to your thesis. A great way to connect the ideas from one paragraph to the next is with transition words and phrases, such as: 

• Furthermore 
• In addition
• On the other hand
• Conversely 

Step 9: Write Your Conclusion 

Your conclusion is more than a summary of your essay's parts, but it’s also not a place to present brand new ideas not already discussed in your essay. Instead, your conclusion should return to your thesis (without repeating it verbatim) and point to why this all matters. If writing about the siblings in “The Fall of the House of Usher,” for example, you could point out that the utilization of twins and doubles is a common literary element of Poe’s work that contributes to the definitive eeriness of Gothic literature. 

While you might speak to larger ideas in your conclusion, be wary of getting too macro. Your conclusion should still be supported by all of the ideas that preceded it. 

Step 10: Revise, Revise, Revise

Of course you should proofread your literary analysis essay before you turn it in. But you should also edit the content to make sure every piece of evidence and every explanation directly supports your thesis as effectively and efficiently as possible. 

Sometimes, this might mean actually adapting your thesis a bit to the rest of your essay. At other times, it means removing redundant examples or paraphrasing quotations. Make sure every sentence is valuable, and remove those that aren’t. 

Other Resources for Literary Analysis 

With these skills and suggestions, you’re well on your way to practicing and writing literary analysis. But if you don’t have a firm grasp on the concepts discussed above—such as literary devices or even the content of the text you’re analyzing—it will still feel difficult to produce insightful analysis. 

If you’d like to sharpen the tools in your literature toolbox, there are plenty of other resources to help you do so: 

• Check out our expansive library of Literary Devices . These could provide you with a deeper understanding of the basic devices discussed above or introduce you to new concepts sure to impress your professors ( anagnorisis , anyone?). 
• This Academic Citation Resource Guide ensures you properly cite any work you reference in your analytical essay. 
• Our English Homework Help Guide will point you to dozens of resources that can help you perform analysis, from critical reading strategies to poetry helpers. 
• This Grammar Education Resource Guide will direct you to plenty of resources to refine your grammar and writing (definitely important for getting an A+ on that paper). 

Of course, you should know the text inside and out before you begin writing your analysis. In order to develop a true understanding of the work, read through its corresponding SuperSummary study guide . Doing so will help you truly comprehend the plot, as well as provide some inspirational ideas for your analysis.

Writing A Literary Analysis Essay

• Library Resources
• Books & EBooks
• What is an Literary Analysis?
• Literary Devices & Terms
• Creating a Thesis Statement This link opens in a new window
• Using quotes or evidence in your essay
• APA Format This link opens in a new window
• MLA Format This link opens in a new window
• OER Resources
• Copyright, Plagiarism, and Fair Use

Video Links

Elements of a short story, Part 1

YouTube video

Elements of a short story, Part 2

online tools

Collaborative Mind Mapping  – collaborative brainstorming site

Sample Literary Analysis Essay Outline 

Paper Format and Structure

Analyzing Literature and writing a Literary Analysis

Literary Analysis are written in the third person point of view in present tense. Do not use the words I or you in the essay. Your instructor may have you choose from a list of literary works read in class or you can choose your own. Follow the required formatting and instructions of your instructor.

Writing & Analyzing process

First step: Choose a literary work or text. Read & Re-Read the text or short story. Determine the key point or purpose of the literature

Step two: Analyze key elements of the literary work. Determine how they fit in with the author's purpose.

Step three: Put all information together. Determine how all elements fit together towards the main theme of the literary work.

Step four: Brainstorm a list of potential topics. Create a thesis statement based on your analysis of the literary work. 

Step five: search through the text or short story to find textual evidence to support your thesis. Gather information from different but relevant sources both  from the text itself and other  secondary  sources to help to prove your point. All evidence found will be quoted and analyzed throughout your essay to help explain your argument to the reader. 

Step six: Create and outline and begin the rough draft of your essay. 

Step seven: revise and proofread. Write the final draft of essay

Step eight: include a reference or works cited page at the end of the essay and include in-text citations.

When analyzing a literary work pay close attention to the following:

Characters:  A  character  is a person, animal, being, creature, or thing in a story. 

• Protagonist : The main character of the story
• Antagonist : The villain of the story
• Love interest : the protagonist’s object of desire.
• Confidant : This type of character is the best friend or sidekick of the protagonist
• Foil  – A foil is a character that has opposite character traits from another character and are meant to help highlight or bring out another’s positive or negative side.
• Flat  – A flat character has one or two main traits, usually only all positive or negative.
• Dynamic character : A dynamic character is one who changes over the course of the story.
• Round character : These characters have many different traits, good and bad, making them more interesting.
• Static character : A static character does not noticeably change over the course of a story.
• Symbolic character : A symbolic character represents a concept or theme larger than themselves.
• Stock character : A stock character is an ordinary character with a fixed set of personality traits.

Setting:  The  setting  is the period of time and geographic location in which a  story  takes place.

Plot:   a literary term used to describe the events that make up a story

Theme:   a universal idea, lesson, or message explored throughout a work of literature. 

Dialogue:  any communication between two characters

Imagery:  a literary device that refers to the use of figurative language to evoke a sensory experience or create a picture with words for a reader.

Figures of Speech:  A word or phrase that is used in a non-literal way to create an effect. 

Tone: A literary device that reflects the writer's attitude toward the subject matter or audience of a literary work.

rhyme or rhythm:  Rhyme is a literary device, featured particularly in poetry, in which identical or similar concluding syllables in different words are repeated. Rhythm can be described as the beat and pace of a poem

Point of view:  the narrative voice through which a story is told.

• Limited –  the narrator sees only what’s in front of him/her, a spectator of events as they unfold and unable to read any other character’s mind.
• Omniscient –  narrator sees all. He or she sees what each character is doing and can see into each character’s mind. 
• Limited Omniscient – narrator can only see into one character’s mind. He/she might see other events happening, but only knows the reasons of one character’s actions in the story.
• First person: You see events based on the character telling the story
• Second person: The narrator is speaking to you as the audience

Symbolism:   a literary device in which a writer uses one thing—usually a physical object or phenomenon—to represent something else.

Irony:  a literary device in which contradictory statements or situations reveal a reality that is different from what appears to be true.

Ask some of the following questions when analyzing literary work:

• Which literary devices were used by the author?
• How are the characters developed in the content?
• How does the setting fit in with the mood of the literary work?
• Does a change in the setting affect the mood, characters, or conflict?
• What point of view is the literary work written in and how does it effect the plot, characters, setting, and over all theme of the work?
• What is the over all tone of the literary work? How does the tone impact the author’s message?
• How are figures of speech such as similes, metaphors, and hyperboles used throughout the text?
• When was the text written? how does the text fit in with the time period?

Creating an Outline

A literary analysis essay outline is written in standard format: introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. An outline will provide a definite structure for your essay.

I. Introduction: Title

A. a hook statement or sentence to draw in readers

B. Introduce your topic for the literary analysis. 

• Include some background information that is relevant to the piece of literature you are aiming to analyze.

C. Thesis statement: what is your argument or claim for the literary work.

II. Body paragraph

A. first point for your analysis or evidence from thesis

B.  textual evidence   with explanation of how it proves your point

III. second evidence from thesis

A. textual evidence   with explanation of how it proves your point  

IV. third evidence from thesis

V. Conclusion

A. wrap up the essay

B. restate the argument and why its important

C. Don't add any new ideas or arguments

VI: Bibliography: Reference or works cited page

End each body paragraph in the essay with a transitional sentence. 

Links & Resources

Literary Analysis Guide

Discusses how to analyze a passage of text to strengthen your discussion of the literature.

The Writing Center @ UNC-Chapel Hill

Excellent handouts and videos around key writing concepts. Entire section on Writing for Specific Fields, including Drama, Literature (Fiction), and more. Licensed under CC BY NC ND (Creative Commons - Attribution - NonCommercial - No Derivatives).

Creating Literary Analysis (Cordell and Pennington, 2012) – LibreTexts

Resources for Literary Analysis Writing 

Some free resources on this site but some are subscription only

Students Teaching English Paper Strategies 

The Internet Public Library: Literary Criticism

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Literary Analysis Essay

Literary Analysis Essay Outline

Literary Analysis Essay Outline Guide with Examples

Published on: Aug 22, 2020

Last updated on: Mar 25, 2024

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Writing a literary analysis essay may seem intimidating at first, but we're here to simplify the process for you. In this guide, we'll walk you through the steps of creating an effective outline that will enhance your writing and analytical abilities. 

Whether you're a seasoned student or new to literary analysis, mastering the art of outlining will help you organize your thoughts and express your ideas with clarity and precision. 

Let's dive in!

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The Basics of Literary Analysis Writing

Before diving into the specifics of the outline, let's grasp the fundamental elements of a literary analysis essay .

At its core, this type of essay requires a thoughtful examination and interpretation of a literary work. Whether it's a novel, poem, or play, the aim is to analyze the author's choices and convey your insights to the reader.

The Significance of an Outline

An outline is important for two reasons: It helps you organize your ideas and allows readers to follow along easily.

 Think of it as a map for your essay. Without structure, essays can be confusing. By using an outline, you ensure that your writing is clear and logical, keeping both you and your readers on track.

Literary Analysis Essay Format

Let’s take a look at the specific and detailed format and how to write a literary analysis essay outline in simple steps: 

Outline Ideas for Literary Analysis Essay

Here are sample templates for each of the outlined ideas for a literary analysis essay:

Five Paragraph Essay

This format is a traditional structure for organizing essays and is often taught in schools. It consists of an introduction, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Each body paragraph focuses on one main point or argument.

MLA Formatted Graphic Organizer 

This format is designed to help organize your ideas according to the Modern Language Association (MLA) formatting guidelines. It ensures that your essay is properly structured and formatted according to MLA standards.

Compare and Contrast Essay on Two Texts 

This format compares and contrasts two texts, highlighting similarities and differences. This is a common method used to analyze literature. There are two common methods: point by point and block method.

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Literary Analysis Essay Examples Outline 

Let’s take a look at the literary analysis essay outline examples in easily downloadable PDF format:  

Literary Analysis Essay Outline Middle School

Literary Analysis Outline Graphic Organizer

Critical Analysis Essay Outline Example

Character Analysis Essay Outline

Literary Analysis Essay Topics

Here are some literary analysis essay topics you can take inspiration from: 

• Analyze the corrupting influence of power in Shakespeare's "Macbeth."
• Explore the symbolism of the green light in "The Great Gatsby" and its connection to the American Dream.
• Examine Holden Caulfield's journey of self-discovery and identity in "The Catcher in the Rye."
• Understand the use of magical realism in "One Hundred Years of Solitude" and its reflection of Latin American culture.
• Unravel the impact of race, class, and social hierarchy on moral justice in "To Kill a Mockingbird."
• Investigate feminist themes and gender roles in "Jane Eyre": Independence, equality, and the quest for autonomy.
• Examine the theme of fate versus free will in Sophocles' "Oedipus Rex" and its tragic consequences.
• Analyze the allegorical critique of totalitarianism in George Orwell's "Animal Farm."
• Explore survival and resilience in "Life of Pi" through the protagonist's journey of faith and self-discovery.
• Understand existential themes in "The Stranger": Absurdity, alienation, and the search for meaning in an indifferent world.

Need more topic ideas? Check out our ‘ literary analysis essay topics ’ blog and get unique ideas for your next assignment.

In conclusion, crafting a literary analysis essay outline is a critical step in the writing process. By breaking down the essay into manageable sections and organizing your thoughts effectively, you'll create a compelling and insightful analysis that engages your readers. 

Remember, practice makes perfect, so don't hesitate to revise and refine your outline until it reflects your ideas cohesively.

In case you are running out of time you can reach out to our essay writing service. At CollegeEssay.org , we provide high-quality college essay writing help for various literary topics. We have an extensive and highly professional team of qualified writers who are available to work on your assignments 24/7.

Get in touch with our customer service representative and let them know all your requirements.

Also, do not forget to try our AI writing tool !

Barbara P (Literature, Marketing)

Barbara is a highly educated and qualified author with a Ph.D. in public health from an Ivy League university. She has spent a significant amount of time working in the medical field, conducting a thorough study on a variety of health issues. Her work has been published in several major publications.

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Introduction

You’ve been assigned a literary analysis paper—what does that even mean? Is it like a book report that you used to write in high school? Well, not really.

A literary analysis essay asks you to make an original argument about a poem, play, or work of fiction and support that argument with research and evidence from your careful reading of the text.

It can take many forms, such as a close reading of a text, critiquing the text through a particular literary theory, comparing one text to another, or criticizing another critic’s interpretation of the text. While there are many ways to structure a literary essay, writing this kind of essay follows generally follows a similar process for everyone

Crafting a good literary analysis essay begins with good close reading of the text, in which you have kept notes and observations as you read. This will help you with the first step, which is selecting a topic to write about—what jumped out as you read, what are you genuinely interested in? The next step is to focus your topic, developing it into an argument—why is this subject or observation important? Why should your reader care about it as much as you do? The third step is to gather evidence to support your argument, for literary analysis, support comes in the form of evidence from the text and from your research on what other literary critics have said about your topic. Only after you have performed these steps, are you ready to begin actually writing your essay.

Writing a Literary Analysis Essay

How to create a topic and conduct research:.

Writing an Analysis of a Poem, Story, or Play

If you are taking a literature course, it is important that you know how to write an analysis—sometimes called an interpretation or a literary analysis or a critical reading or a critical analysis—of a story, a poem, and a play. Your instructor will probably assign such an analysis as part of the course assessment. On your mid-term or final exam, you might have to write an analysis of one or more of the poems and/or stories on your reading list. Or the dreaded “sight poem or story” might appear on an exam, a work that is not on the reading list, that you have not read before, but one your instructor includes on the exam to examine your ability to apply the active reading skills you have learned in class to produce, independently, an effective literary analysis.You might be asked to write instead or, or in addition to an analysis of a literary work, a more sophisticated essay in which you compare and contrast the protagonists of two stories, or the use of form and metaphor in two poems, or the tragic heroes in two plays.

You might learn some literary theory in your course and be asked to apply theory—feminist, Marxist, reader-response, psychoanalytic, new historicist, for example—to one or more of the works on your reading list. But the seminal assignment in a literature course is the analysis of the single poem, story, novel, or play, and, even if you do not have to complete this assignment specifically, it will form the basis of most of the other writing assignments you will be required to undertake in your literature class. There are several ways of structuring a literary analysis, and your instructor might issue specific instructions on how he or she wants this assignment done. The method presented here might not be identical to the one your instructor wants you to follow, but it will be easy enough to modify, if your instructor expects something a bit different, and it is a good default method, if your instructor does not issue more specific guidelines.You want to begin your analysis with a paragraph that provides the context of the work you are analyzing and a brief account of what you believe to be the poem or story or play’s main theme. At a minimum, your account of the work’s context will include the name of the author, the title of the work, its genre, and the date and place of publication. If there is an important biographical or historical context to the work, you should include that, as well.Try to express the work’s theme in one or two sentences. Theme, you will recall, is that insight into human experience the author offers to readers, usually revealed as the content, the drama, the plot of the poem, story, or play unfolds and the characters interact. Assessing theme can be a complex task. Authors usually show the theme; they don’t tell it. They rarely say, at the end of the story, words to this effect: “and the moral of my story is…” They tell their story, develop their characters, provide some kind of conflict—and from all of this theme emerges. Because identifying theme can be challenging and subjective, it is often a good idea to work through the rest of the analysis, then return to the beginning and assess theme in light of your analysis of the work’s other literary elements.Here is a good example of an introductory paragraph from Ben’s analysis of William Butler Yeats’ poem, “Among School Children.”

“Among School Children” was published in Yeats’ 1928 collection of poems The Tower. It was inspired by a visit Yeats made in 1926 to school in Waterford, an official visit in his capacity as a senator of the Irish Free State. In the course of the tour, Yeats reflects upon his own youth and the experiences that shaped the “sixty-year old, smiling public man” (line 8) he has become. Through his reflection, the theme of the poem emerges: a life has meaning when connections among apparently disparate experiences are forged into a unified whole.

In the body of your literature analysis, you want to guide your readers through a tour of the poem, story, or play, pausing along the way to comment on, analyze, interpret, and explain key incidents, descriptions, dialogue, symbols, the writer’s use of figurative language—any of the elements of literature that are relevant to a sound analysis of this particular work. Your main goal is to explain how the elements of literature work to elucidate, augment, and develop the theme. The elements of literature are common across genres: a story, a narrative poem, and a play all have a plot and characters. But certain genres privilege certain literary elements. In a poem, for example, form, imagery and metaphor might be especially important; in a story, setting and point-of-view might be more important than they are in a poem; in a play, dialogue, stage directions, lighting serve functions rarely relevant in the analysis of a story or poem.

The length of the body of an analysis of a literary work will usually depend upon the length of work being analyzed—the longer the work, the longer the analysis—though your instructor will likely establish a word limit for this assignment. Make certain that you do not simply paraphrase the plot of the story or play or the content of the poem. This is a common weakness in student literary analyses, especially when the analysis is of a poem or a play.

Here is a good example of two body paragraphs from Amelia’s analysis of “Araby” by James Joyce.

Within the story’s first few paragraphs occur several religious references which will accumulate as the story progresses. The narrator is a student at the Christian Brothers’ School; the former tenant of his house was a priest; he left behind books called The Abbot and The Devout Communicant. Near the end of the story’s second paragraph the narrator describes a “central apple tree” in the garden, under which is “the late tenant’s rusty bicycle pump.” We may begin to suspect the tree symbolizes the apple tree in the Garden of Eden and the bicycle pump, the snake which corrupted Eve, a stretch, perhaps, until Joyce’s fall-of-innocence theme becomes more apparent.

The narrator must continue to help his aunt with her errands, but, even when he is so occupied, his mind is on Mangan’s sister, as he tries to sort out his feelings for her. Here Joyce provides vivid insight into the mind of an adolescent boy at once elated and bewildered by his first crush. He wants to tell her of his “confused adoration,” but he does not know if he will ever have the chance. Joyce’s description of the pleasant tension consuming the narrator is conveyed in a striking simile, which continues to develop the narrator’s character, while echoing the religious imagery, so important to the story’s theme: “But my body was like a harp, and her words and gestures were like fingers, running along the wires.”

The concluding paragraph of your analysis should realize two goals. First, it should present your own opinion on the quality of the poem or story or play about which you have been writing. And, second, it should comment on the current relevance of the work. You should certainly comment on the enduring social relevance of the work you are explicating. You may comment, though you should never be obliged to do so, on the personal relevance of the work. Here is the concluding paragraph from Dao-Ming’s analysis of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest.

First performed in 1895, The Importance of Being Earnest has been made into a film, as recently as 2002 and is regularly revived by professional and amateur theatre companies. It endures not only because of the comic brilliance of its characters and their dialogue, but also because its satire still resonates with contemporary audiences. I am still amazed that I see in my own Asian mother a shadow of Lady Bracknell, with her obsession with finding for her daughter a husband who will maintain, if not, ideally, increase the family’s social status. We might like to think we are more liberated and socially sophisticated than our Victorian ancestors, but the starlets and eligible bachelors who star in current reality television programs illustrate the extent to which superficial concerns still influence decisions about love and even marriage. Even now, we can turn to Oscar Wilde to help us understand and laugh at those who are earnest in name only.

Dao-Ming’s conclusion is brief, but she does manage to praise the play, reaffirm its main theme, and explain its enduring appeal. And note how her last sentence cleverly establishes that sense of closure that is also a feature of an effective analysis.

You may, of course, modify the template that is presented here. Your instructor might favour a somewhat different approach to literary analysis. Its essence, though, will be your understanding and interpretation of the theme of the poem, story, or play and the skill with which the author shapes the elements of literature—plot, character, form, diction, setting, point of view—to support the theme.

Academic Writing Tips : How to Write a Literary Analysis Paper. Authored by: eHow. Located at: https://youtu.be/8adKfLwIrVk. License: All Rights Reserved. License Terms: Standard YouTube license

BC Open Textbooks: English Literature Victorians and Moderns: https://opentextbc.ca/englishliterature/back-matter/appendix-5-writing-an-analysis-of-a-poem-story-and-play/

Literary Analysis

The challenges of writing about english literature.

Writing begins with the act of reading . While this statement is true for most college papers, strong English papers tend to be the product of highly attentive reading (and rereading). When your instructors ask you to do a “close reading,” they are asking you to read not only for content, but also for structures and patterns. When you perform a close reading, then, you observe how form and content interact. In some cases, form reinforces content: for example, in John Donne’s Holy Sonnet 14, where the speaker invites God’s “force” “to break, blow, burn and make [him] new.” Here, the stressed monosyllables of the verbs “break,” “blow” and “burn” evoke aurally the force that the speaker invites from God. In other cases, form raises questions about content: for example, a repeated denial of guilt will likely raise questions about the speaker’s professed innocence. When you close read, take an inductive approach. Start by observing particular details in the text, such as a repeated image or word, an unexpected development, or even a contradiction. Often, a detail–such as a repeated image–can help you to identify a question about the text that warrants further examination. So annotate details that strike you as you read. Some of those details will eventually help you to work towards a thesis. And don’t worry if a detail seems trivial. If you can make a case about how an apparently trivial detail reveals something significant about the text, then your paper will have a thought-provoking thesis to argue.

Common Types of English Papers Many assignments will ask you to analyze a single text. Others, however, will ask you to read two or more texts in relation to each other, or to consider a text in light of claims made by other scholars and critics. For most assignments, close reading will be central to your paper. While some assignment guidelines will suggest topics and spell out expectations in detail, others will offer little more than a page limit. Approaching the writing process in the absence of assigned topics can be daunting, but remember that you have resources: in section, you will probably have encountered some examples of close reading; in lecture, you will have encountered some of the course’s central questions and claims. The paper is a chance for you to extend a claim offered in lecture, or to analyze a passage neglected in lecture. In either case, your analysis should do more than recapitulate claims aired in lecture and section. Because different instructors have different goals for an assignment, you should always ask your professor or TF if you have questions. These general guidelines should apply in most cases:

• A close reading of a single text: Depending on the length of the text, you will need to be more or less selective about what you choose to consider. In the case of a sonnet, you will probably have enough room to analyze the text more thoroughly than you would in the case of a novel, for example, though even here you will probably not analyze every single detail. By contrast, in the case of a novel, you might analyze a repeated scene, image, or object (for example, scenes of train travel, images of decay, or objects such as or typewriters). Alternately, you might analyze a perplexing scene (such as a novel’s ending, albeit probably in relation to an earlier moment in the novel). But even when analyzing shorter works, you will need to be selective. Although you might notice numerous interesting details as you read, not all of those details will help you to organize a focused argument about the text. For example, if you are focusing on depictions of sensory experience in Keats’ “Ode to a Nightingale,” you probably do not need to analyze the image of a homeless Ruth in stanza 7, unless this image helps you to develop your case about sensory experience in the poem.
• A theoretically-informed close reading. In some courses, you will be asked to analyze a poem, a play, or a novel by using a critical theory (psychoanalytic, postcolonial, gender, etc). For example, you might use Kristeva’s theory of abjection to analyze mother-daughter relations in Toni Morrison’s novel Beloved. Critical theories provide focus for your analysis; if “abjection” is the guiding concept for your paper, you should focus on the scenes in the novel that are most relevant to the concept.
• A historically-informed close reading. In courses with a historicist orientation, you might use less self-consciously literary documents, such as newspapers or devotional manuals, to develop your analysis of a literary work. For example, to analyze how Robinson Crusoe makes sense of his island experiences, you might use Puritan tracts that narrate events in terms of how God organizes them. The tracts could help you to show not only how Robinson Crusoe draws on Puritan narrative conventions, but also—more significantly—how the novel revises those conventions.
• A comparison of two texts When analyzing two texts, you might look for unexpected contrasts between apparently similar texts, or unexpected similarities between apparently dissimilar texts, or for how one text revises or transforms the other. Keep in mind that not all of the similarities, differences, and transformations you identify will be relevant to an argument about the relationship between the two texts. As you work towards a thesis, you will need to decide which of those similarities, differences, or transformations to focus on. Moreover, unless instructed otherwise, you do not need to allot equal space to each text (unless this 50/50 allocation serves your thesis well, of course). Often you will find that one text helps to develop your analysis of another text. For example, you might analyze the transformation of Ariel’s song from The Tempest in T. S. Eliot’s poem, The Waste Land. Insofar as this analysis is interested in the afterlife of Ariel’s song in a later poem, you would likely allot more space to analyzing allusions to Ariel’s song in The Waste Land (after initially establishing the song’s significance in Shakespeare’s play, of course).
• A response paper A response paper is a great opportunity to practice your close reading skills without having to develop an entire argument. In most cases, a solid approach is to select a rich passage that rewards analysis (for example, one that depicts an important scene or a recurring image) and close read it. While response papers are a flexible genre, they are not invitations for impressionistic accounts of whether you liked the work or a particular character. Instead, you might use your close reading to raise a question about the text—to open up further investigation, rather than to supply a solution.
• A research paper. In most cases, you will receive guidance from the professor on the scope of the research paper. It is likely that you will be expected to consult sources other than the assigned readings. Hollis is your best bet for book titles, and the MLA bibliography (available through e-resources) for articles. When reading articles, make sure that they have been peer reviewed; you might also ask your TF to recommend reputable journals in the field.

Harvard College Writing Program: https://writingproject.fas.harvard.edu/files/hwp/files/bg_writing_english.pdf

In the same way that we talk with our friends about the latest episode of Game of Thrones or newest Marvel movie, scholars communicate their ideas and interpretations of literature through written literary analysis essays. Literary analysis essays make us better readers of literature.

Only through careful reading and well-argued analysis can we reach new understandings and interpretations of texts that are sometimes hundreds of years old. Literary analysis brings new meaning and can shed new light on texts. Building from careful reading and selecting a topic that you are genuinely interested in, your argument supports how you read and understand a text. Using examples from the text you are discussing in the form of textual evidence further supports your reading. Well-researched literary analysis also includes information about what other scholars have written about a specific text or topic.

Literary analysis helps us to refine our ideas, question what we think we know, and often generates new knowledge about literature. Literary analysis essays allow you to discuss your own interpretation of a given text through careful examination of the choices the original author made in the text.

ENG134 – Literary Genres Copyright © by The American Women's College and Jessica Egan is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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How to Write a Literary Analysis Essay: Purposes, Outline, Samples

Firstly to understand what a literary analysis essay means, it’s a way to determine and understand the work of an author, even if it is a single work or an entire body of work. Literary criticism is a description, analysis, evaluation, or interpretation of a particular literary work or an author’s writings as a whole.

Many students, writers, and english scholars are told to write essays on different literary analysis essay topics because this type of assignment helps and makes writers to think about the reason why a poem, short story, novel, or play was written. To analyze literature, writers will need to remember that authors have specific decisions for particular reasons. Your essay should point out the author’s decision and try to explain their intentions.

Learn how to write a book review and check out related guides: poem analysis essay , poetry analysis essay or critical lens essay at EssayHub blog.

What Is A Literary Analysis Essay?

The most comprehensive literary analysis definition goes as follows. It is a text that objectively analyzes the weak and strong points of another text. One author shares their opinion on what another author wrote. The most common literary analysis format is an essay.

The writer examines a novel, short story, or another type of fiction created by someone else. They praise or criticize the plot, style, characters, and other aspects of the text. After reading a piece of literary analysis, people should understand whether the book is worthy or not. 

What Is The Purpose Of A Literary Analysis Essay?

When a newbie checks literary analysis examples, they will see that they are very personal. Different people might perceive the same text very differently. It depends on their character, life experience, and cultural background. The aim of writing a literary analysis is to express one’s individual understanding of the text and back it up with facts.

It is not sufficient to say, "I enjoyed every minute of reading this book!" or "It is too dull." All types of literary analysis involve the assessment of both technical and emotional aspects of the text. It implies an impartial balancing of pros and cons.

Imagine that someone is looking for a good book. Their time and finances are limited, so they can afford just one text. They want to avoid hit-or-miss decisions. They prefer an expert to recommend to them what to read.

They do not want this expert to be a high-brow professional critic. They are interested in the opinions of people whose lifestyle and worldview are close to theirs. They read book blogs and unbiased reviews on profile sites. When they finally buy a piece of fiction, they know what to expect of it.

After a reader gains experience, they become ready to share viewpoints with others. They read articles on how to analyze literature and start writing their own reviews. They can post their works in their private blogs or share them on social networks. Plus, literary analysis is an essential part of the educational process in schools and colleges.

Content Of A Literary Analysis Essay

There are many topics for literary analysis, but it all depends on the kind of work that a writer analyzes. For instance, the approach is not the same in poems as it is in the case with a play. Before writing it is important to know what you want to analyze in the literature that you have read. That brings us to types of literature analysis. How can a writer analyze the literature? This is done by:

• Character Analysis
• Symbolism Analysis
• Theme Analysis
• Setting Analysis
• Structure and Style Analysis
• Diction, Imagery, and Denotation Analysis. etc.

How To Write A Literary Analysis Essay?

Read the text critically.

When carrying out literature analysis, a person should read slowly. They should start a notebook where they would put down their thoughts. They should take notes when they find themselves in one of the following situations:

• disagree with the author;
• want to praise the author’s skills;
• come across a plot twist that resembles their own lives;
• have anything to say on the matter.

When people read an interesting text, they have controversial desires. On the one hand, they want to finish it to get to know what happens in the end. On the other hand, they want to enjoy it for as long as possible. When compiling a literary analysis sample, people should focus on their thoughts and not emotions.

Literary Devices

When newbies ask about how to write a good literary analysis, literary devices become the most challenging aspect for them. These devices involve the following terms and notions:

• literary elements, such as plot, mood, and protagonists;
• figurative language, including symbolism and metaphors;
• literary techniques, such as foreshadowing and repetition.

To be able to analyze these aspects, newbies should read theory in textbooks. Also, they should examine enough sample literary analysis essays. They need to see how other writers handle the overview of literary devices without making their texts too formal.

In a literary analysis paper, it is not enough to say that the author has a masterful command of the word. The writer should concentrate on the following important aspects.

• Is the language modern, archaic, or full of slang?
• Does the author use poetic phrases?
• Are the sentences predominantly long or short? How does the rhythm of the text impact its mood?

It would be wise to answer the following question in a literary analysis essay example. Do all characters speak the same language, or does each one have their particular style? Individual speech manners are significant merits of fiction.

Narrative Voice

A text can be written either from a first-person or third-person perspective. In a literary analysis example, the author should explain the position of the narrator. Are they omnipresent, or does the reader hardly notice them? Are they reliable, or do they share a distorted version of events?

Writers with little experience might ask how to do literary analysis when the narrator is absent. In this case, speak about the tone. Is it neutral, comic, or tragic? What emotions does it evoke in the readers from the first passage? How often does the reader come across exaggerations, irony, or incongruities?

In a novel, the key elements of literary analysis are chapters. In a play, these constituents are acts and scenes. In a poem, these are lines and stanzas. The author of the essay should think of how skilfully the writer divided their text into parts.

Chapters, scenes, and stanzas should be interconnected logically and emotionally. The last line of the previous part should motivate the reader to glance through the next one. The structure of the text helps emphasize its conflicts and build up the tension. The pauses between every two parts might speak louder than a thousand words.

Most examples of literary analysis essay include comments on the timeline of the story. Do the events unfold in chronological order? Does the author make the readers travel back and forth in a time machine? How easy is it to switch between different time layers, and which effect does it produce?

The following types of conflicts are most likely to be present in a literary analysis:

• one person versus another;
• person versus society;
• person versus technology;
• person versus supernatural forces;
• an inner conflict within a person (good versus bad intentions).

Instead of one person, there might be a group of people.

Newbies should not get confused about how to write a thesis for a literary analysis. The term "thesis" denotes the main point that they are planning to focus on. Modern books are multifaceted: they feature numerous problems and give readers a lot of food for thought. Yet, the writer should concentrate only on a handful of aspects in their work.

There are three approaches to thesis writing:

• analytical;
• argumentative;
• explanatory.

The literary analysis thesis of the first type strives to answer the questions "why?" and "how?" The writer tries to explain why the author created that book. Why is their perception of the world so unique and innovative? Why do they draw certain parallels and use specific devices?

This sentence might serve as a good example of an analytical thesis: "Outraged by gender inequality in this Eastern country, the author ridicules the problem instead of trying to undermine the traditions."

An argumentative thesis for literary analysis implies that the writer explains their own perception of the text. They take a certain position that might differ from the opinion of the majority. They further prove their point by quoting the book. For instance: "While most critics perceive this novel as an educational one, I believe that the main conflict lies in the lack of tolerance in society."

Literary analysis thesis examples of the explanatory type do not include the author’s opinion at all. They just help other readers understand the message of the book: "The author depicts their ideal political system."

Write A Literary Analysis Essay

Write a title.

After reading the title, the person should understand what the literary analysis paper example is about. The title should contain the digest of the paper. It should reveal the writer’s attitude to the piece of fiction that they criticize. 

Those who do not know how to start a literary analysis can use a popular trick that works for any book genre. They can include a short quote from the book in the name of their essay. Then, they should put a colon and accompany the quote with their own comment.

Write An Introduction

The instruction on how to write literary analysis starts with a clear statement of one’s goals. The author should tell their readers what the book they are going to criticize is about and why they chose it. They should share the title of the text and the name of its writer. They might briefly outline the plot and problems of the manuscript. They might focus the readers’ attention on the main points of their essay — language, characters, or conflicts.

Write A Body

All the best examples of literary analysis essay have an identical structure. Each paragraph is focused on one aspect or topic. In the first sentence, the author briefly outlines this topic. That initial phrase should be concise and unambiguous. 

The last sentence of each paragraph should summarize its essence. It should not contradict the first phrase and overall logic of the passage.

The writer should avoid lengthy and complicated structures. Even if the author of the book prefers compound sentences, a literary analysis sample should be easier to read. One phrase should contain only one thought. To link sentences, the writer should use transition words.

"The book dissects the impact of virtual reality technologies on the life of single people in cosmopolitan cities" — this is an example of a topic sentence that opens a paragraph. "Nevertheless, its target audience is not geeks or die-hard gamers" — here, the word "nevertheless" serves as a transition.

In any literary analysis template, the writer should back up their opinion with textual evidence. They should quote parts of the original texts only if they contain no more than 30 words. Otherwise, they should reword the quotes to deliver the essence of large passages.\

Write A Conclusion

The answer to the question "How to conclude a literary analysis?" is very simple. The writer needs to reword and sum up everything that they have said above. They should share no original quotes and introduce no new thoughts. It is enough to summarize their main ideas logically and concisely.

Literary Analysis Essay Outline

Introduction.

Introduction should be sophisticated and creative, and it should catch the reader’s attention, so they can read the rest of the essay. A literary analysis should not sound boring. It should create some enthralling and fascinating quotes, reflection or motives. The main sentences of the introduction should give backdrop facts so that the analysis will make sense; facts such as Title of the Book, Name of Author and little information about the book. Don’t write bulky details of the book the reader would have read this book and they just want to read the analysis. Make sure that your backdrop information and your thesis statement are short and transitional. To make the reader understand and connect to the literature and what exactly is been analyzed. The analysis or thesis statement is what you will prove in your essay, and it should come at the end of your introductory paragraph. The Intro could be more than one paragraph but about 5 important sentences.

The body must be very convincing. Here start rendering evidences of the argument. A convincing body will have at least three to four paragraphs or more. Also, do not go out of context the question has to be related. How does it relate to the overall theme of what the analysis? Make emphasis on the ways in which these elements bestow to the entire quality of the book. Emphasize one major point per paragraph in this section. No need to rush all of your evidence into one idea. Do more reading and analyze different factors in your literary analysis. Argue on a character's development, for example how the individual changes from the beginning to the end of the book. Center core on a character's fatal flaw and query or question the person's mistakes.

The conclusion should end dynamically and energetically. Start rounding up the literary essay paper in the last paragraph. It should include all the major points that have been made in the aforementioned statements of your literary analysis. Also, make emphasis on the on the implications of your argument.

Literary Analysis Essay Example

Symbolism Manifestation in Little Prince By Antoine De Saint-Exupery

The storyline arose from the author's personal experience. He survived an airplane accident in a desert. It happened when the writer served as a pilot during World War II.

A seemingly simple-hearted fairy tale has two main plotlines that uncover deeper problems. The leading one is the pilot-narrator line, lined up with the metaphor of adult reality. The second line dwells on the adventures of the Little Prince. Two protagonists travel to different planets, get acquainted with various characters, both positive and negative. 

Each planet introduces the readers to a different philosophical conundrum. Each item and being in the book bear unique symbolic meaning. 

The Pilot impersonates the author in his adult years. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry was, in fact, a pilot and survived a plane crash in the desert.

The sudden encounter of an adult and a child (both are metaphors for inner psychological states) occurs in the desert, symbolizing the disastrous inner state of the narrator. The story unravels during the repair of the plane. The maintenance itself is a metaphor for mending the inner traumas through direct dialogue with the inner child.

The Little Prince

The description of the Little Prince gives the readers a hint of its relation to the author in his childhood years. Antoine de Saint-Exupery came from an impoverished aristocratic family. Through the Little Prince, the author shows himself. He reveals his struggle to survive within the boring world of adults. 

His visit to our planet is a symbol of birth. The return to the home planet occurs through physical death from the poison of a snake. Here, we can observe the impact of Christian religious thinking on the plotline. The physical death of the protagonist is a reference to the religious idea of an immortal soul. Thus, after receiving knowledge about life from the Fox and Pilot, Little Prince has to die to be reborn into a new state.

The line telling about the love of the Little Prince and Rose shows an allegorical depiction of love. It reveals the ironic unsimilarity of how men and women see and express this feeling. 

Rose gets introduced to the readers as a proud and beautiful character who has power over the Little Prince and his feelings. Gentle, timid, dewy-eyed Little Prince suffers from the frivolity of Rose. Because of his naïve perception, the protagonist struggled to see that it was necessary to love her for her essence – for the aroma and the joy she brought him.

When the protagonist sees that roses are abundant in the gardens on Earth, he feels disappointed. Later, he meets the Fox who serves as the guide to the little lost being. Fox explains to the protagonist some basic philosophical truths. He teaches the Little Prince to look with his heart, not his eyes, and be responsible for those we have tamed.

When Little Prince absorbs the knowledge imparted by his new friend, he becomes mortal. This transition symbolizes him growing up and shaking off idealistic world perception.

Planets And Their Inhabitants

The author shows his readers two sorts of evil. The first kind of evil reveals itself in the negative sides of separate people. 

The inhabitants of different planets, visited by the protagonist, reveal the most dangerous human vices. It seems relevant to note that all of them are adults. Drunkards, politicians, and selfish people seem quite morally bankrupt.

The author exposes life devoid of meaning as a common vice. The only relatable person to the protagonist is a lamplighter. He differs because his craft is good for others.

Baobab Trees

Another element of evil in the book is macro-evil. Baobabs represent evil in general. This image is a metaphor for fascism. Saint-Exupery gently leads the readers to the idea that such evil endangers the world. It should be extinguished like undesirable plants.

The main idea of the used allegories is the presentation of true values. The author contrasts naive and rational ways of world perception, the individual, and the crowd. In the tale, the unraveling of the main themes is connected with compositional structure, metaphors, and similes used by the author. 

The author dwells on deep philosophical issues through similes and symbols. He emphasizes such topics as true love, friendship, and loneliness.

Romantic traditions play a keynote role in the plot formation. Unraveling the deep problems of humanity in a form of the fairytale is the main sign of that. It comprises all typical elements of this genre: child protagonist, fairy-tale characters, and a fantastic journey. These symbolic characters and items introduce the depth to the plot. They make readers see deeper into the book and reconsider their perception of reality.

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Literary analysis: sample essay.

We turn once more to Joanna Wolfe’s and Laura Wilder’s  Digging into Literature: Strategies for Reading, Writing, and Analysis  (Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2016) in order to show you their example of a strong student essay that has a strong central claim elucidated by multiple surface/depth arguments supported by patterns of evidence.

Paragraph 1

Sylvia Plath’s short poem “Morning Song” explores the conflicted emotions of a new mother. On the one hand, the mother recognizes that she is expected to treasure and celebrate her infant, but on the other hand, she feels strangely removed from the child. The poem uses a combination of scientific and natural imagery to illustrate the mother’s feelings of alienation. By the end of the poem, however, we see a shift in this imagery as the mother begins to see the infant in more human terms.

Paragraph 2

There are several references to scientific imagery in “Morning Song” that suggest that mother is viewing the baby in clinical, scientific terms rather than as a new life. The poem refers to magnification (4) and reflection (8), both of which are scientific methods. The word “distills” (8) refers to a scientific, chemical process for removing impurities from a substance. The baby’s cry is described as taking “its place among the elements” (3), which seems to refer to the periodic table of elements, the primordial matter of the universe. The watch in the first line is similarly a scientific tool and the gold the watch is made of is, of course, an element, like the baby’s cry. Even the balloons in the last line have a scientific connotation since balloons are often used for measurements and experiments in science. These images all serve to show how the speaker feels distanced from the baby, who is like a scientific experiment she is conducting rather than a human being.

Paragraph 3

Natural imagery also seems to further dehumanize the baby, reducing it to nothing more than its mouth. The baby’s breathing is compared to a moth in line 10, suggesting that the speaker feels the infant is fragile and is as likely to die as a moth dancing around candlelight. A few lines later, the baby’s mouth is compared to another animal—a cat—who greedily opens its mouth for milk. Not only does the speaker seem to feel that the baby is like an animal, but she herself is turned into an animal, as she arises “cow-heavy” (13) to feed the infant. These images show how the speaker sees both the baby and herself as dumb animals who exist only to feed and be fed. Even the morning itself seems to be reduced to another mouth to feed as she describes how the dawn “swallows its dull stars” (16). These lines suggest that just as the sun swallows up the stars, so the baby will swallow up this mother.

Paragraph 4

However, in the last few lines the poem takes a hopeful turn as the speaker begins to view the baby as a human being. The baby’s mouth, which has previously been greedy and animal-like, now becomes a source of music, producing a “handful of notes” (17) and “clear vowels” (18). Music is a distinctly human sound. No animals and certainly not the cats, cows, or moths mentioned earlier in the poem, make music. This change in how the speaker perceives the baby’s sounds—from animalistic cry to human song—suggest that she is beginning to relate the baby as an individual. Even the word “handful” in the phrase “handful of notes” (17) seems hopeful in this context since this is the first time the mother has referred to the baby as having a distinctly human body part. When the baby’s notes finally “rise like balloons” (18), the speaker seems to have arrived at a place where she can celebrate the infant. For the first time, the infant is giving something to the speaker rather than threatening to take something away. The mother seems to have finally accepted the child as an independent human being whose company she can celebrate.

Works Cited

Literary Analysis Essay Writing

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Literary Analysis Essay Outline - A Step By Step Guide

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How to Write a Literary Analysis Essay - A Step-by-Step Guide

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Have you ever felt stuck, looking at a blank page, wondering what a literary analysis essay is? You are not sure how to analyze a complicated book or story? 

Writing a literary analysis essay can be tough, even for people who really love books. The hard part is not only understanding the deeper meaning of the story but also organizing your thoughts and arguments in a clear way.

But don't worry!

In this easy-to-follow guide, we will talk about a key tool: The Literary Analysis Essay Outline. 

We'll provide you with the knowledge and tricks you need to structure your analysis the right way. In the end, you'll have the essential skills to understand and structure your literature analysis better.   So, let’s dive in!

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• 1. How to Write a Literary Analysis Essay Outline?
• 2. Literary Analysis Essay Format 
• 3. Literary Analysis Essay Outline Example
• 4. Literary Analysis Essay Topics 

How to Write a Literary Analysis Essay Outline?

An outline is a structure that you decide to give to your writing to make the audience understand your viewpoint clearly. When a writer gathers information on a topic, it needs to be organized to make sense.

When writing a literary analysis essay, its outline is as important as any part of it. For the text’s clarity and readability, an outline is drafted in the essay’s planning phase.

According to the basic essay outline, the following are the elements included in drafting an outline for the essay:

• Introduction
• Thesis statement
• Body paragraphs

A detailed description of the literary analysis outline is provided in the following section.

Literary Analysis Essay Introduction

An introduction section is the first part of the essay. The introductory paragraph or paragraphs provide an insight into the topic and prepares the readers about the literary work.

A literary analysis essay introduction is based on three major elements:

Hook Statement: A hook statement is the opening sentence of the introduction. This statement is used to grab people’s attention. A catchy hook will make the introductory paragraph interesting for the readers, encouraging them to read the entire essay.

For example, in a literary analysis essay, “ Island Of Fear,” the writer used the following hook statement:

“As humans, we all fear something, and we deal with those fears in ways that match our personalities.”

Background Information: Providing background information about the chosen literature work in the introduction is essential. Present information related to the author, title, and theme discussed in the original text.

Moreover, include other elements to discuss, such as characters, setting, and the plot. For example:

“ In Lord of the Flies, William Golding shows the fears of Jack, Ralph, and Piggy and chooses specific ways for each to deal with his fears.”

Thesis Statement: A thesis statement is the writer’s main claim over the chosen piece of literature. 

A thesis statement allows your reader to expect the purpose of your writing. The main objective of writing a thesis statement is to provide your subject and opinion on the essay.

For example, the thesis statement in the “Island of Fear” is:

“...Therefore, each of the three boys reacts to fear in his own unique way.”

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Literary Analysis Essay Body Paragraphs

In body paragraphs, you dig deep into the text, show your insights, and build your argument.

 In this section, we'll break down how to structure and write these paragraphs effectively:

Topic sentence: A topic sentence is an opening sentence of the paragraph. The points that will support the main thesis statement are individually presented in each section.

For example:

“The first boy, Jack, believes that a beast truly does exist…”

Evidence: To support the claim made in the topic sentence, evidence is provided. The evidence is taken from the selected piece of work to make the reasoning strong and logical.

“...He is afraid and admits it; however, he deals with his fear of aggressive violence. He chooses to hunt for the beast, arms himself with a spear, and practice killing it: “We’re strong—we hunt! If there’s a beast, we’ll hunt it down! We’ll close in and beat and beat and beat—!”(91).”

Analysis: A literary essay is a kind of essay that requires a writer to provide his analysis as well.

The purpose of providing the writer’s analysis is to tell the readers about the meaning of the evidence.

“...He also uses the fear of the beast to control and manipulate the other children. Because they fear the beast, they are more likely to listen to Jack and follow his orders...”

Transition words: Transition or connecting words are used to link ideas and points together to maintain a logical flow.  Transition words  that are often used in a literary analysis essay are:

• Furthermore
• Later in the story
• In contrast, etc.

“...Furthermore, Jack fears Ralph’s power over the group and Piggy’s rational thought. This is because he knows that both directly conflict with his thirst for absolute power...”

Concluding sentence: The last sentence of the body that gives a final statement on the topic sentence is the concluding sentence. It sums up the entire discussion held in that specific paragraph.

Here is a literary analysis paragraph example for you: 

Literary Essay Example Pdf

Literary Analysis Essay Conclusion

The last section of the essay is the conclusion part where the writer ties all loose ends of the essay together. To write appropriate and correct concluding paragraphs, add the following information:

• State how your topic is related to the theme of the chosen work
• State how successfully the author delivered the message
• According to your perspective, provide a statement on the topic
• If required, present predictions
• Connect your conclusion to your introduction by restating the thesis statement.
• In the end, provide an opinion about the significance of the work.

For example,

“ In conclusion, William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies exposes the reader to three characters with different personalities and fears: Jack, Ralph, and Piggy. Each of the boys tries to conquer his fear in a different way. Fear is a natural emotion encountered by everyone, but each person deals with it in a way that best fits his/her individual personality.”

Literary Analysis Essay Outline (PDF)

Literary Analysis Essay Format 

A literary analysis essay delves into the examination and interpretation of a literary work, exploring themes, characters, and literary devices. 

Below is a guide outlining the format for a structured and effective literary analysis essay.

Formatting Guidelines 

• Use a legible font (e.g., Times New Roman or Arial) and set the font size to 12 points.
• Double-space your essay, including the title, headings, and quotations.
• Set one-inch margins on all sides of the page.
• Indent paragraphs by 1/2 inch or use the tab key.
• Page numbers, if required, should be in the header or footer and follow the specified formatting style.

Literary Analysis Essay Outline Example

To fully understand a concept in a writing world, literary analysis outline examples are important. This is to learn how a perfectly structured writing piece is drafted and how ideas are shaped to convey a message. 

The following are the best literary analysis essay examples to help you draft a perfect essay. 

Literary Analysis Essay Rubric (PDF)

High School Literary Analysis Essay Outline

Literary Analysis Essay Outline College (PDF)

Literary Analysis Essay Example Romeo & Juliet (PDF)

AP Literary Analysis Essay Outline

Literary Analysis Essay Outline Middle School

Literary Analysis Essay Topics 

Are you seeking inspiration for your next literary analysis essay? Here is a list of literary analysis essay topics for you:

• The Theme of Alienation in "The Catcher in the Rye"
• The Motif of Darkness in Shakespeare's Tragedies
• The Psychological Complexity of Hamlet's Character
• Analyzing the Narrator's Unreliable Perspective in "The Tell-Tale Heart"
• The Role of Nature in William Wordsworth's Romantic Poetry
• The Representation of Social Class in "To Kill a Mockingbird"
• The Use of Irony in Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn"
• The Impact of Holden's Red Hunting Hat in the Novel
• The Power of Setting in Gabriel García Márquez's "One Hundred Years of Solitude"
• The Symbolism of the Conch Shell in William Golding's "Lord of the Flies"

Need more topics? Read our literary analysis essay topics blog!

All in all, writing a literary analysis essay can be tricky if it is your first attempt. Apart from analyzing the work, other elements like a topic and an accurate interpretation must draft this type of essay.

If you are in doubt to draft a perfect essay, get professional essay writing assistance from expert writers at MyPerfectWords.com. 

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12.14: Sample Student Literary Analysis Essays

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• Heather Ringo & Athena Kashyap
• City College of San Francisco via ASCCC Open Educational Resources Initiative

The following examples are essays where student writers focused on close-reading a literary work.

While reading these examples, ask yourself the following questions:

• What is the essay's thesis statement, and how do you know it is the thesis statement?
• What is the main idea or topic sentence of each body paragraph, and how does it relate back to the thesis statement?
• Where and how does each essay use evidence (quotes or paraphrase from the literature)?
• What are some of the literary devices or structures the essays analyze or discuss?
• How does each author structure their conclusion, and how does their conclusion differ from their introduction?

Example 1: Poetry

Victoria Morillo

Instructor Heather Ringo

3 August 2022

How Nguyen’s Structure Solidifies the Impact of Sexual Violence in “The Study”

Stripped of innocence, your body taken from you. No matter how much you try to block out the instance in which these two things occurred, memories surface and come back to haunt you. How does a person, a young boy , cope with an event that forever changes his life? Hieu Minh Nguyen deconstructs this very way in which an act of sexual violence affects a survivor. In his poem, “The Study,” the poem's speaker recounts the year in which his molestation took place, describing how his memory filters in and out. Throughout the poem, Nguyen writes in free verse, permitting a structural liberation to become the foundation for his message to shine through. While he moves the readers with this poignant narrative, Nguyen effectively conveys the resulting internal struggles of feeling alone and unseen.

The speaker recalls his experience with such painful memory through the use of specific punctuation choices. Just by looking at the poem, we see that the first period doesn’t appear until line 14. It finally comes after the speaker reveals to his readers the possible, central purpose for writing this poem: the speaker's molestation. In the first half, the poem makes use of commas, em dashes, and colons, which lends itself to the idea of the speaker stringing along all of these details to make sense of this time in his life. If reading the poem following the conventions of punctuation, a sense of urgency is present here, as well. This is exemplified by the lack of periods to finalize a thought; and instead, Nguyen uses other punctuation marks to connect them. Serving as another connector of thoughts, the two em dashes give emphasis to the role memory plays when the speaker discusses how “no one [had] a face” during that time (Nguyen 9-11). He speaks in this urgent manner until the 14th line, and when he finally gets it off his chest, the pace of the poem changes, as does the more frequent use of the period. This stream-of-consciousness-like section when juxtaposed with the latter half of the poem, causes readers to slow down and pay attention to the details. It also splits the poem in two: a section that talks of the fogginess of memory then transitions into one that remembers it all.

In tandem with the fluctuating nature of memory, the utilization of line breaks and word choice help reflect the damage the molestation has had. Within the first couple of lines of the poem, the poem demands the readers’ attention when the line breaks from “floating” to “dead” as the speaker describes his memory of Little Billy (Nguyen 1-4). This line break averts the readers’ expectation of the direction of the narrative and immediately shifts the tone of the poem. The break also speaks to the effect his trauma has ingrained in him and how “[f]or the longest time,” his only memory of that year revolves around an image of a boy’s death. In a way, the speaker sees himself in Little Billy; or perhaps, he’s representative of the tragic death of his boyhood, how the speaker felt so “dead” after enduring such a traumatic experience, even referring to himself as a “ghost” that he tries to evict from his conscience (Nguyen 24). The feeling that a part of him has died is solidified at the very end of the poem when the speaker describes himself as a nine-year-old boy who’s been “fossilized,” forever changed by this act (Nguyen 29). By choosing words associated with permanence and death, the speaker tries to recreate the atmosphere (for which he felt trapped in) in order for readers to understand the loneliness that came as a result of his trauma. With the assistance of line breaks, more attention is drawn to the speaker's words, intensifying their importance, and demanding to be felt by the readers.

Most importantly, the speaker expresses eloquently, and so heartbreakingly, about the effect sexual violence has on a person. Perhaps what seems to be the most frustrating are the people who fail to believe survivors of these types of crimes. This is evident when he describes “how angry” the tenants were when they filled the pool with cement (Nguyen 4). They seem to represent how people in the speaker's life were dismissive of his assault and who viewed his tragedy as a nuisance of some sorts. This sentiment is bookended when he says, “They say, give us details , so I give them my body. / They say, give us proof , so I give them my body,” (Nguyen 25-26). The repetition of these two lines reinforces the feeling many feel in these scenarios, as they’re often left to deal with trying to make people believe them, or to even see them.

It’s important to recognize how the structure of this poem gives the speaker space to express the pain he’s had to carry for so long. As a characteristic of free verse, the poem doesn’t follow any structured rhyme scheme or meter; which in turn, allows him to not have any constraints in telling his story the way he wants to. The speaker has the freedom to display his experience in a way that evades predictability and engenders authenticity of a story very personal to him. As readers, we abandon anticipating the next rhyme, and instead focus our attention to the other ways, like his punctuation or word choice, in which he effectively tells his story. The speaker recognizes that some part of him no longer belongs to himself, but by writing “The Study,” he shows other survivors that they’re not alone and encourages hope that eventually, they will be freed from the shackles of sexual violence.

Works Cited

Nguyen, Hieu Minh. “The Study” Poets.Org. Academy of American Poets, Coffee House Press, 2018, https://poets.org/poem/study-0 .

Example 2: Fiction

Todd Goodwin

Professor Stan Matyshak

Advanced Expository Writing

Sept. 17, 20—

Poe’s “Usher”: A Mirror of the Fall of the House of Humanity

Right from the outset of the grim story, “The Fall of the House of Usher,” Edgar Allan Poe enmeshes us in a dark, gloomy, hopeless world, alienating his characters and the reader from any sort of physical or psychological norm where such values as hope and happiness could possibly exist. He fatalistically tells the story of how a man (the narrator) comes from the outside world of hope, religion, and everyday society and tries to bring some kind of redeeming happiness to his boyhood friend, Roderick Usher, who not only has physically and psychologically wasted away but is entrapped in a dilapidated house of ever-looming terror with an emaciated and deranged twin sister. Roderick Usher embodies the wasting away of what once was vibrant and alive, and his house of “insufferable gloom” (273), which contains his morbid sister, seems to mirror or reflect this fear of death and annihilation that he most horribly endures. A close reading of the story reveals that Poe uses mirror images, or reflections, to contribute to the fatalistic theme of “Usher”: each reflection serves to intensify an already prevalent tone of hopelessness, darkness, and fatalism.

It could be argued that the house of Roderick Usher is a “house of mirrors,” whose unpleasant and grim reflections create a dark and hopeless setting. For example, the narrator first approaches “the melancholy house of Usher on a dark and soundless day,” and finds a building which causes him a “sense of insufferable gloom,” which “pervades his spirit and causes an iciness, a sinking, a sickening of the heart, an undiscerned dreariness of thought” (273). The narrator then optimistically states: “I reflected that a mere different arrangement of the scene, of the details of the picture, would be sufficient to modify, or perhaps annihilate its capacity for sorrowful impression” (274). But the narrator then sees the reflection of the house in the tarn and experiences a “shudder even more thrilling than before” (274). Thus the reader begins to realize that the narrator cannot change or stop the impending doom that will befall the house of Usher, and maybe humanity. The story cleverly plays with the word reflection : the narrator sees a physical reflection that leads him to a mental reflection about Usher’s surroundings.

The narrator’s disillusionment by such grim reflection continues in the story. For example, he describes Roderick Usher’s face as distinct with signs of old strength but lost vigor: the remains of what used to be. He describes the house as a once happy and vibrant place, which, like Roderick, lost its vitality. Also, the narrator describes Usher’s hair as growing wild on his rather obtrusive head, which directly mirrors the eerie moss and straw covering the outside of the house. The narrator continually longs to see these bleak reflections as a dream, for he states: “Shaking off from my spirit what must have been a dream, I scanned more narrowly the real aspect of the building” (276). He does not want to face the reality that Usher and his home are doomed to fall, regardless of what he does.

Although there are almost countless examples of these mirror images, two others stand out as important. First, Roderick and his sister, Madeline, are twins. The narrator aptly states just as he and Roderick are entombing Madeline that there is “a striking similitude between brother and sister” (288). Indeed, they are mirror images of each other. Madeline is fading away psychologically and physically, and Roderick is not too far behind! The reflection of “doom” that these two share helps intensify and symbolize the hopelessness of the entire situation; thus, they further develop the fatalistic theme. Second, in the climactic scene where Madeline has been mistakenly entombed alive, there is a pairing of images and sounds as the narrator tries to calm Roderick by reading him a romance story. Events in the story simultaneously unfold with events of the sister escaping her tomb. In the story, the hero breaks out of the coffin. Then, in the story, the dragon’s shriek as he is slain parallels Madeline’s shriek. Finally, the story tells of the clangor of a shield, matched by the sister’s clanging along a metal passageway. As the suspense reaches its climax, Roderick shrieks his last words to his “friend,” the narrator: “Madman! I tell you that she now stands without the door” (296).

Roderick, who slowly falls into insanity, ironically calls the narrator the “Madman.” We are left to reflect on what Poe means by this ironic twist. Poe’s bleak and dark imagery, and his use of mirror reflections, seem only to intensify the hopelessness of “Usher.” We can plausibly conclude that, indeed, the narrator is the “Madman,” for he comes from everyday society, which is a place where hope and faith exist. Poe would probably argue that such a place is opposite to the world of Usher because a world where death is inevitable could not possibly hold such positive values. Therefore, just as Roderick mirrors his sister, the reflection in the tarn mirrors the dilapidation of the house, and the story mirrors the final actions before the death of Usher. “The Fall of the House of Usher” reflects Poe’s view that humanity is hopelessly doomed.

Poe, Edgar Allan. “The Fall of the House of Usher.” 1839. Electronic Text Center, University of Virginia Library . 1995. Web. 1 July 2012. < http://etext.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/PoeFall.html >.

Example 3: Poetry

Amy Chisnell

Professor Laura Neary

Writing and Literature

April 17, 20—

Don’t Listen to the Egg!: A Close Reading of Lewis Carroll’s “Jabberwocky”

“You seem very clever at explaining words, Sir,” said Alice. “Would you kindly tell me the meaning of the poem called ‘Jabberwocky’?”

“Let’s hear it,” said Humpty Dumpty. “I can explain all the poems that ever were invented—and a good many that haven’t been invented just yet.” (Carroll 164)

In Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking-Glass , Humpty Dumpty confidently translates (to a not so confident Alice) the complicated language of the poem “Jabberwocky.” The words of the poem, though nonsense, aptly tell the story of the slaying of the Jabberwock. Upon finding “Jabberwocky” on a table in the looking-glass room, Alice is confused by the strange words. She is quite certain that “ somebody killed something ,” but she does not understand much more than that. When later she encounters Humpty Dumpty, she seizes the opportunity at having the knowledgeable egg interpret—or translate—the poem. Since Humpty Dumpty professes to be able to “make a word work” for him, he is quick to agree. Thus he acts like a New Critic who interprets the poem by performing a close reading of it. Through Humpty’s interpretation of the first stanza, however, we see the poem’s deeper comment concerning the practice of interpreting poetry and literature in general—that strict analytical translation destroys the beauty of a poem. In fact, Humpty Dumpty commits the “heresy of paraphrase,” for he fails to understand that meaning cannot be separated from the form or structure of the literary work.

Of the 71 words found in “Jabberwocky,” 43 have no known meaning. They are simply nonsense. Yet through this nonsensical language, the poem manages not only to tell a story but also gives the reader a sense of setting and characterization. One feels, rather than concretely knows, that the setting is dark, wooded, and frightening. The characters, such as the Jubjub bird, the Bandersnatch, and the doomed Jabberwock, also appear in the reader’s head, even though they will not be found in the local zoo. Even though most of the words are not real, the reader is able to understand what goes on because he or she is given free license to imagine what the words denote and connote. Simply, the poem’s nonsense words are the meaning.

Therefore, when Humpty interprets “Jabberwocky” for Alice, he is not doing her any favors, for he actually misreads the poem. Although the poem in its original is constructed from nonsense words, by the time Humpty is done interpreting it, it truly does not make any sense. The first stanza of the original poem is as follows:

’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves

Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;

All mimsy were the borogroves,

An the mome raths outgrabe. (Carroll 164)

If we replace, however, the nonsense words of “Jabberwocky” with Humpty’s translated words, the effect would be something like this:

’Twas four o’clock in the afternoon, and the lithe and slimy badger-lizard-corkscrew creatures

Did go round and round and make holes in the grass-plot round the sun-dial:

All flimsy and miserable were the shabby-looking birds

with mop feathers,

And the lost green pigs bellowed-sneezed-whistled.

By translating the poem in such a way, Humpty removes the charm or essence—and the beauty, grace, and rhythm—from the poem. The poetry is sacrificed for meaning. Humpty Dumpty commits the heresy of paraphrase. As Cleanth Brooks argues, “The structure of a poem resembles that of a ballet or musical composition. It is a pattern of resolutions and balances and harmonizations” (203). When the poem is left as nonsense, the reader can easily imagine what a “slithy tove” might be, but when Humpty tells us what it is, he takes that imaginative license away from the reader. The beauty (if that is the proper word) of “Jabberwocky” is in not knowing what the words mean, and yet understanding. By translating the poem, Humpty takes that privilege from the reader. In addition, Humpty fails to recognize that meaning cannot be separated from the structure itself: the nonsense poem reflects this literally—it means “nothing” and achieves this meaning by using “nonsense” words.

Furthermore, the nonsense words Carroll chooses to use in “Jabberwocky” have a magical effect upon the reader; the shadowy sound of the words create the atmosphere, which may be described as a trance-like mood. When Alice first reads the poem, she says it seems to fill her head “with ideas.” The strange-sounding words in the original poem do give one ideas. Why is this? Even though the reader has never heard these words before, he or she is instantly aware of the murky, mysterious mood they set. In other words, diction operates not on the denotative level (the dictionary meaning) but on the connotative level (the emotion(s) they evoke). Thus “Jabberwocky” creates a shadowy mood, and the nonsense words are instrumental in creating this mood. Carroll could not have simply used any nonsense words.

For example, let us change the “dark,” “ominous” words of the first stanza to “lighter,” more “comic” words:

’Twas mearly, and the churly pells

Did bimble and ringle in the tink;

All timpy were the brimbledimps,

And the bip plips outlink.

Shifting the sounds of the words from dark to light merely takes a shift in thought. To create a specific mood using nonsense words, one must create new words from old words that convey the desired mood. In “Jabberwocky,” Carroll mixes “slimy,” a grim idea, “lithe,” a pliable image, to get a new adjective: “slithy” (a portmanteau word). In this translation, brighter words were used to get a lighter effect. “Mearly” is a combination of “morning” and “early,” and “ringle” is a blend of “ring” and "dingle.” The point is that “Jabberwocky’s” nonsense words are created specifically to convey this shadowy or mysterious mood and are integral to the “meaning.”

Consequently, Humpty’s rendering of the poem leaves the reader with a completely different feeling than does the original poem, which provided us with a sense of ethereal mystery, of a dark and foreign land with exotic creatures and fantastic settings. The mysteriousness is destroyed by Humpty’s literal paraphrase of the creatures and the setting; by doing so, he has taken the beauty away from the poem in his attempt to understand it. He has committed the heresy of paraphrase: “If we allow ourselves to be misled by it [this heresy], we distort the relation of the poem to its ‘truth’… we split the poem between its ‘form’ and its ‘content’” (Brooks 201). Humpty Dumpty’s ultimate demise might be seen to symbolize the heretical split between form and content: as a literary creation, Humpty Dumpty is an egg, a well-wrought urn of nonsense. His fall from the wall cracks him and separates the contents from the container, and not even all the King’s men can put the scrambled egg back together again!

Through the odd characters of a little girl and a foolish egg, “Jabberwocky” suggests a bit of sage advice about reading poetry, advice that the New Critics built their theories on. The importance lies not solely within strict analytical translation or interpretation, but in the overall effect of the imagery and word choice that evokes a meaning inseparable from those literary devices. As Archibald MacLeish so aptly writes: “A poem should not mean / But be.” Sometimes it takes a little nonsense to show us the sense in something.

Brooks, Cleanth. The Well-Wrought Urn: Studies in the Structure of Poetry . 1942. San Diego: Harcourt Brace, 1956. Print.

Carroll, Lewis. Through the Looking-Glass. Alice in Wonderland . 2nd ed. Ed. Donald J. Gray. New York: Norton, 1992. Print.

MacLeish, Archibald. “Ars Poetica.” The Oxford Book of American Poetry . Ed. David Lehman. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2006. 385–86. Print.

Attribution

• Sample Essay 1 received permission from Victoria Morillo to publish, licensed Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International ( CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 )
• Sample Essays 2 and 3 adapted from Cordell, Ryan and John Pennington. "2.5: Student Sample Papers" from Creating Literary Analysis. 2012. Licensed Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported ( CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 )

Literary Analysis Essay

Literary analysis essays offer a deeper understanding and interpretation of literary works, allowing readers to delve into the intricacies of a story, poem, or novel. Whether you’re a student or a literature enthusiast, analyzing literature can be a rewarding experience. In this article, we will explore a collection of 30+ literary analysis essay examples available in Word, Google Docs, and PDF formats. We will also discuss essential elements such as analysis paper outlines , literary devices, short story analysis, literature reviews, theses, analogies, book reviews, context, and conclusions.

1. Literary Analysis Essay Outline Example

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What is a Literary Analysis Essay?

A literary analysis essay is a critical examination and interpretation of a literary work. It involves analyzing various elements such as plot, characters, themes, and literary devices to uncover deeper meanings and insights. By dissecting the text and exploring its nuances, readers can gain a deeper appreciation for the author’s intentions and the work’s impact. A well-written literary analysis essay provides a comprehensive analysis that goes beyond surface-level observations.

How to Write a Literary Analysis Essay

Before we dive into the examples, let’s outline the steps involved in writing a literary analysis essay:

Step 1: Choose a literary work:

Select a literary work that you want to analyze. It could be a novel, short story, poem, or play. Ensure that the chosen work is rich in literary elements and offers ample material for analysis.

Step 2: Familiarize yourself with the work:

Read the literary work carefully, taking note of important plot points, characters, themes, and literary devices. Pay attention to the author’s writing style and the overall tone of the work.

Step 3: Develop a thesis statement:

Craft a strong thesis statement that encapsulates your main argument or interpretation of the literary work. Your thesis should be clear, concise, and debatable, providing a roadmap for your analysis.

Step 4: Gather evidence:

Collect evidence from the literary work to support your thesis statement. Look for specific examples, quotes, and literary devices that reinforce your analysis. Take note of the context in which these elements appear.

Step 5: Organize your essay:

Create an analysis paper outline to structure your essay effectively. Divide your essay into introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion . Each body paragraph should focus on a specific aspect of your analysis, supported by evidence.

Step 6: Write your essay:

Start with an engaging introduction that provides background information and introduces your thesis statement. In the body paragraphs, analyze different aspects of the literary work, providing evidence and explanations. Ensure a smooth flow between paragraphs. Conclude your essay by summarizing your main points and reinforcing your thesis .

What are some examples of literary devices?

Literary devices are techniques used by authors to enhance their writing and convey meaning. Examples include metaphors, similes, personification, alliteration, and symbolism. For a comprehensive list and explanations, refer to Literary Devices .

Are there any specific examples of short story analysis essays?

You can find examples of short story analysis essays in PDF format here . These examples provide insights into analyzing the elements of a short story effectively.

How does context impact literary analysis?

Context plays a crucial role in literary analysis as it helps readers understand the historical, social, and cultural background in which the literary work was written. It provides insights into the author’s intentions and influences the interpretation of the text.

Literary Analysis Essay Generator

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Analyze the theme of courage in a novel for your Literary Analysis Essay.

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Literary Analysis Essay Examples: Discover How to Analyze Literature and Improve Your Writing Skills

Discover the allure of literature with our literary analysis essay examples. Uncover the hidden meanings, symbolisms, and develop your writing skills. Let's dive into these examples and master the art of literary analysis together!

Literary analysis essays offer a critical examination of a literary work, exploring how various elements contribute to an overarching theme. While crafting an impactful essay can be challenging, especially when identifying unique themes or accumulating adequate knowledge, it's entirely achievable with fundamental essay writing principles and a solid plan. This form of essay is prevalent in high school and college and plays an integral role in literary criticism. In this guide, we'll equip you with practical tips and a sample to steer your writing process. Let's delve deeper.

What is Literary Analysis?

A literary analysis is an essay that focuses on either a single element or multiple elements within a piece of writing to determine how they contribute to the main theme or purpose. This process involves a meticulous examination of the work's structure to explain or interpret the integration of its components. Writing a literary analysis may sound intimidating, but it's entirely attainable even for beginners. It involves the careful evaluation of a written piece to unearth its deeper meanings and understand the author's choices. It's not simply a summary or book review; rather, it shares similarities with an argumentative essay, providing a detailed examination of the work's language, perspective, and structure.

Furthermore, it includes an exploration of how the author employs literary devices to generate specific effects and convey ideas. Gaining inspiration for a literary analysis essay may involve understanding the work's historical context, themes, and symbolism. With these guidelines, anyone - beginners and seasoned writers alike - can create a thoughtful literary analysis essay that offers insightful interpretations of a literary work.

Writing a Literary Essay: A Step-by-Step Guide

Learning from other literary analysis essays can facilitate the writing process. This method helps understand different approaches and ways to analyze a subject. Furthermore, exploring the work of scholars and critics on your chosen literature can provide fresh perspectives and novel ideas for your essay. Here's a simplified guide of eight crucial steps to help you compose a thoughtful and well-crafted literary analysis essay.

Carefully Read the Text: Familiarize yourself with the literature you'll analyze. Understand its message by reading it multiple times, especially for shorter pieces like poetry.

Brainstorm a Topic: After comprehensively studying the work, generate a unique topic for your essay. A few probing questions can stimulate creative ideas.

Collect and Interpret Evidence: Analyze the available evidence supporting your proposed topic. Highlight key sections as you read, including contradicting evidence that could support your argument.

Write a Thesis: This is the central argument guiding your essay. Choose a debatable topic, rather than stating something universally acknowledged.

Develop and Organize Your Arguments: Organize your evidence and create a robust thesis statement . Modify your argument as needed to match the evidence.

Write a Rough Draft: Focus on delivering a thorough argument supported by textual evidence. Don't worry about perfect grammar or complex sentences at this stage.

Refine Your Arguments and Review: Be ruthless while editing. Pay attention to grammar, sentence structure, and ensure your essay aligns with your thesis.

Get Another Opinion and Finalize: Seek feedback on your essay. Analyze your writing carefully and ensure it aligns with your thesis.

In summary, following these steps will not only make your literary essay writing process more structured, but will also enhance your analytical thinking and writing skills . Keep practicing, and each essay will be a step towards mastery in literary analysis.

How to write an outline of a Literary Essay

Embarking on the journey of writing a literary analysis essay requires a roadmap to ensure a logical and coherent argument. One effective way to organize your thoughts and ideas is by creating an outline. This outline not only structures your essay, but it also guides your analysis, helping to illuminate the path from your introduction to your conclusion.

Think of your outline as a skeleton: the backbone of your essay, providing structure and support. It allows you to arrange your points systematically, ensuring you don't overlook essential elements and maintain a logical flow throughout your analysis. The following sections are the key components of this framework, each having a specific role and purpose in your essay:

Introduction: This initial section draws your readers into the world of your analysis. Providing the author's name and the work's title lays the groundwork. A thematic statement then broadens this base, offering a glimpse into the wider theme of your analysis. As your introduction unfolds, provide some contextual information about the work to highlight its relevance. Nearing the end of this section, present your readers with your thesis statement—an unambiguous declaration that encapsulates the purpose of your analysis.

Body: The body serves as the battlefield of your essay, where you tackle the issues stated in your thesis. Your primary goal is to demonstrate how the author utilized the techniques discussed in your thesis. Use persuasive evidence such as quotes and literary devices to fortify your arguments. Always keep your thesis as the central pillar of your discussion, wrapping up each paragraph with a robust statement that fortifies your argument.

Conclusion: Here, you reaffirm your thesis and show how the ideas discussed in the body support its claims. Your conclusion recaps your main points, reinforcing their significance and leaving a lasting impression on your readers regarding the depth and relevance of your analysis.

3 Literary Analysis Essay Examples

This segment presents three instances of literary analysis essays on acclaimed pieces of literature. Studying these examples will offer you insights into the various methods and strategies employed by proficient writers for literary evaluation, focusing on the elucidation of thematic undertones, symbolism interpretation, and character motivation exploration.

God Help the Child by Toni Morrison: An Analysis of Childhood Trauma

Introduction:

Toni Morrison's novel 'God Help the Child' is a powerful exploration of childhood trauma and its implications. It probes the intricate layers of the trauma experience by centralizing the narrative around an African American character, Bride.

Morrison unravels the theme of childhood trauma via Bride's life experiences. The early abandonment by her mother due to her dark skin color manifests in Bride's adulthood, influencing her relationships and self-worth. Morrison uses vivid symbolism and imagery to convey the depth of Bride's trauma, such as her white attire representing her longing for purity and acceptance. Bride's interpersonal relationships, strained by her past trauma, are realistically portrayed, aiding readers in empathizing with her experiences.

Conclusion:

In 'God Help the Child', Morrison seamlessly explores the impact of childhood trauma on individuals and society. The novel's potent imagery and symbolism simplify the complexities of trauma, making it an essential read for those interested in this theme.

The Color Purple by Alice Walker: An Examination of Gender and Identity

Alice Walker's 'The Color Purple' delves into the intricate web of gender, race, and identity during the early 20th century American South.

The novel uniquely presents the theme of gender by depicting the struggles of African American women against oppression. It also discusses the theme of identity through the protagonist Celie's life journey. Walker's symbolism, such as the color purple signifying strength and resilience, contributes to the novel's potent portrayal of gender and identity. Walker's epistolary format and colloquial language use immerse the reader in the experiences of African American women of that era.

'The Color Purple' provides a compelling narrative about gender and identity struggles. Walker's distinct use of symbolism, imagery, and language gives the novel a multifaceted perspective on these themes, securing its place in African American literature.

The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe: A Study of the Supernatural

Edgar Allan Poe's short story 'The Fall of the House of Usher' examines the supernatural's influence on the human psyche.

The story is replete with supernatural elements contributing to its eerie Gothic atmosphere. These elements, such as the haunted mansion and its inhabitants' bizarre behaviors, elicit fear and unease in the reader. Poe masterfully uses these supernatural components to underline fear and terror's psychological effects. The haunted mansion symbolizes the Usher family's decay and societal decline, while the blood-red moon during the mansion's final collapse underlines the events' supernatural nature.

'The Fall of the House of Usher' successfully explores supernatural themes and their psychological implications. Poe's atmospheric storytelling and symbolism use underscore the themes of death and decay, solidifying the story's place in the Gothic tradition.

Final Thoughts

Conclusively, to craft a compelling literary analysis essay, you should select a captivating topic, meticulously evaluate the text, and present a well-organized argument. The inclusion of textual evidence and considering the broader context are equally vital. Proficient writing skills are indispensable for formulating an influential essay that manifests a profound comprehension of the text and engages the readers.

If you face challenges in crafting a literary analysis essay, consider using tools like Jenni.ai . This AI-powered platform aids in essay creation across various topics, enhancing efficiency and easing the process. It's particularly helpful when you need a persuasive essay but lack confidence in your writing skills. Give it a shot and experience a streamlined essay-writing process.

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Attributions

• Images and video created by Dr. Sandi Van Lieu and licensed under CC BY NC SA.
• Student essay example by Janelle Devin and used with permission.

The RoughWriter's Guide Copyright © 2020 by Dr. Sandi Van Lieu is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Environmental migration? A systematic review and meta-analysis of the literature

• Original Paper
• Open access
• Published: 30 March 2024

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• Maria Cipollina   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-1454-4039 1 ,
• Luca De Benedictis 2 &
• Elisa Scibè 3  

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This article provides a comprehensive quantitative overview of the literature on the relationship between environmental changes and human migration. It begins with a systematic approach to bibliographic research and offers a bibliometric analysis of the empirical contributions. Specifically, we map the literature and conduct systematic research using main bibliographic databases, reviews, and bibliometric analysis of all resulting papers. By constructing a citation-based network, we identify four separate clusters of papers grouped according to certain characteristics of the analysis and resulting outcomes. Finally, we apply a meta-analysis to a sample of 96 published and unpublished studies between 2003 and 2020, providing 3904 point estimates of the effect of slow-onset events and 2065 point estimates of the effect of fast-onset events. Overall, the meta-analytic average effect on migration is small for both slow- and rapid-onset events; however, it is positive and significant. Accounting for the clustering of the literature, which highlights how specific common features of the collected studies influence the magnitude of the estimated effect, reveals a significant heterogeneity among the four clusters of papers. This heterogeneity gives rise to new evidence on the formation of club-like convergence of literature outcomes.

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1 Introduction

In a world of changing climate and increasing occurrence of natural hazards, the role of environmental factors in shaping migration patterns has become a most debated topic within institutions and academia. As opposed to a simplistic vision of a general direct role of environmental factors in determining migration flows from environmentally stressed areas and regions hit by calamities, more complex scenarios have emerged, with analyses reporting different and sometimes opposite outcomes. This may not only be due to the intrinsic complexity of their extent and scale, but also to differences in specific characteristics of scientific contributions (International Organization for Migration, 2021 ).

The literature on the relationship between environmental factors and human mobility is characterized by heterogeneous findings: some contributions highlight the role of climate changes as a driver of migratory flows, while others underline how this impact is mediated by geographical, economic, and the features of the environmental shock. This paper aims to map the economic literature on these topics moving away from a classical literature review and offering a methodology that integrates three approaches in a sequence, in this way we believe that our contribution improves the existing literature on several dimensions. First, the analysis starts with systematic research of the literature through main bibliographic databases and collecting previous reviews and meta-analyses, followed by a review and bibliometric analysis of all resulting papers. This step produces a sample of 151 papers empirical and non-empirical contributions, spanning the last 20 years and focusing on different geographical areas, taking into account different socio-economic factors, applying different methodologies and empirical approaches to the analysis of slow-onset climatic events and/or fast-onset natural catastrophic events. Most importantly, the sample provides a variety of different outcomes on the impact of climatic changes and hazards on migration, revealing three main possible scenarios: (1) active role of environmental factors as a driver of migration; (2) environmental factors as a constraint to mobility; (3) non-significant role of environmental factors among other drivers of migration.

Second, to investigate the determinants of this extreme heterogeneity of outcomes, we postulate the assumption that the inter-connectivity of papers may play a role in shaping such different conclusions. Considering the ensemble of papers referenced by each contribution included in the sample, as a second step, we build a bibliographic coupling network, where papers are linked to each other according to the number of shared references. This citation-based method allows for the formation of a network of contributions in the literature space and highlights some potential common grounds among papers. We then run a community detection of the resulting network that produces four main clusters that gather papers together according to not only certain characteristics of the analysis but also resulting outcomes.

Finally, we use the clustered structure in the last step of the analysis: a Meta-Analysis (MA) to summarize and analyze all estimated effects of environmental variables on human mobility. The MA is a “quantitative survey" of empirical economic evidence on a given hypothesis, phenomenon, or effect, and provides a statistical synthesis of results from a series of studies (Stanley, 2001 ). The MA can be applied to any set of data and the synthesis will be meaningful only if the studies have been collected systematically (Borenstein et al., 2009 ). A highly significant result can be potentially considered as a consensual indication of the external validity of the correlation of the phenomena under scrutiny.

Therefore, from the original 151 paper we build - through a replicable process of screening, eligibility, and inclusion of contribution based on PRISMA guideline (see Fig. 1 ) - a unique dataset that synthesises the estimated coefficients of 96 empirical papers released between 2003 and 2020, published in academic journals, working papers series, or unpublished studies, providing 3904 point estimates of the effect of slow-onset events (e.g. climate change) and 2065 point estimates of the effect of fast-onset natural events(e.g. catastrophes) on different kinds of human mobility (international, domestic, and with a clear pro-urban directionality). Overall, the meta-analytic average effect estimates a small impact of slow- and rapid-onset variables on migration, however positive and significant. When the communities of papers are accounted for, however, a significant heterogeneity emerges among the four clusters of papers, giving rise to new evidence on the limits of a consensual effect of climatic shocks on permanent human displacement and the formation of club-like convergence of literature outcomes.

PRISMA Diagram. Note : PRISMA Diagram (Page et al., 2021a ) of identification, screening, eligibility and inclusion stages of academic contributions. The resulting sample is obtained through a search on Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, IDEAS RePEc, and previous meta-analyses (Hoffmann et al., 2020 ; Beine & Jeusette, 2021 )

This is not the first MA on environmental migration. Concerning previous published reviews (Hoffmann et al., 2020 ; Sedova & Kalkuhl, 2020 ; Beine & Jeusette, 2021 ; Hoffmann et al., 2021 ) our article contributes and adds to the existing literature: (a) providing systematic research of the literature through main bibliographic databases, followed by a review and bibliometric analysis of all resulting papers; (b) building a citation-based network of contributions, that allows identifying four separate clusters of papers; (c) applying MA methods on a much larger sample of both micro- and macro-level estimates of environmental factors (slow- and fast-onset events) as a driver of migration (international and internal, including urbanization). Moreover, our overview highlights the role of the interconnectivity of studies in driving some main findings of the environmental migration literature.

Section 2 offers a systematic review of the literature and gives a detailed description of the data collection process; Sect. 3 analyses the structural characteristic of the network of the bibliographically coupled papers; Sect. 4 summarizes and discusses the results of the MA, finally, Sect. 5 concludes and offers some possible future extensions of the analysis.

2 Systematic review

This section reports the different phases of the systematic review. We do it schematically to facilitate the understanding of the proposed procedure.

Setting the boundaries of the literature This first step provides the most comprehensive sample of economic contributions on the relationship between climatic variations (and natural hazards) and human mobility, in all its different forms. We implement a systematic review aimed at mapping the body of literature and defining the boundaries of our focus. Systematic reviews have become highly recommended to conduct bibliographic overviews of specific literature because they provide a tool to report a synthesis of the state of the art of a field through a structured and transparent methodology (Page et al., 2021b ). To allow for comparability with previous MA and reviews, we also add to our sample all articles included in two recently published MA, Hoffmann et al. ( 2020 ) and Beine and Jeusette ( 2021 ) Footnote 1 . We begin with the definition of the research question and the main keywords, to gather and collect data in a sample of contributions. After the definition of inclusion and exclusion conditions, we proceed with a screening by title to exclude off-topic contributions and then to a screening of the text to assure the uniformity of contributions. The resulting sample is then the object of a preliminary bibliometric analysis.

Defining the research question and keywords The purpose of our systematic search is to collect all possible economic contributions to the impact of environmental factors on migration determinants. We define three keywords of the three phenomena under analysis:

climate change, as the most investigated environmental factor in the literature. The events connected to climate change are hereby intended as slow-onset events that gradually modify climatic conditions in the long run. We specifically focus on variations of temperature, precipitation, and soil quality (such as desertification, salinity, or erosion), factors that are not expected to cause an immediate and sudden expected impact, but slowly modify environmental conditions;

natural disasters, defined as fast-onset events that introduce a sudden shock (see Appendix Table 5 );

migration, which captures all possible patterns of human mobility, including within the borders of a country, which might be a potential response to environmental change. Most importantly, internal mobility includes also the process of urbanization of people moving out of rural areas to settle in cities.

Collecting data and initial search results To collect data we use two main literature databases, namely Scopus and Web of Science. Footnote 2 Exploiting the specific indexing and keyword definition of both sources, the search is run allowing for any kind of document type (articles in journals, book chapters, etc.) but limiting the area to economic literature in English. Footnote 3 The obtained sample only includes published documents, however since we perform a MA, it is important to take into account also non-published documents, as a way to control for a well-known publication bias in meta-analytic methodology (see Sect. 4 ). Therefore, we use the bibliographic database IDEAS, based on RePEc and dedicated to Economics, to include unpublished and working papers. Footnote 4 A selection of the contributions is made manually. Finally, to meet the purpose of comparability with other recent meta-analyses on the impact of environmental factors on migration, we also include all the contributions that have been reviewed in two main articles: Hoffmann et al. ( 2020 ) that provide a MA on 30 empirical papers focusing on country-level studies and Beine and Jeusette ( 2021 ) that review 51 papers and offer an investigation of the role of methodological choices of empirical studies (at any level) on the sign and magnitude of estimated results. Merging the results gives a sample of 203 records.

Screening of the results. We manually and meticulously screen the collected items through Scopus and Web of Science by title and we exclude papers on the migration of animals, plants, or other species, or focusing on topics different from human mobility (i.e. discrimination, crime, wars) or on the impact of environmental variables not corresponding to our definition of environmental factors (air pollution, mineral resources). All the papers in Beine and Jeusette ( 2021 ), Hoffmann et al. ( 2020 ) and those manually selected from IDEAS RePEc are automatically included in the sample with no concern of incoherence. The screening by title leads to the exclusion of 20 papers. The remaining 183 documents underwent a text screening process, which involved a careful and thorough reading of each paper to isolate eligible content. This stage leads to the removal of additional 32 documents covering on the one hand the analysis of the impact of environmental variables at destination countries (thus not focusing on their role on migration determinants at origin). We also exclude all the papers in which the dependent variable of the empirical exercise is not a measure of human mobility (i.e. remittances, poverty, wealth, employment, etc.). After duplicates removal, the sample results in 151 documents of different kinds: 35 records are non-empirical and contain an ensemble of literature reviews, qualitative analysis, theoretical modeling, and policy papers; 116 records are categorized as empirical, in which the dependent variable is a measure of human mobility and at least one environmental variable is an independent variable.

The PRISMA flow diagram (Moher et al., 2009 ) in Fig. 1 shows the process of identification, screening, eligibility, and inclusion of contributions in the final sample. It is important to note that there are two levels of inclusion: the first level identifies the sample of contributions included in our network analysis, while the second level is restricted to quantitative analyses suitable for the MA. To conduct a MA it is crucial to select only comparable papers that provide complete information (mainly on estimated coefficients and standard errors) that can then be used to recover the average effect size Footnote 5 . This implies the exclusion of papers that do not comply with the requirements of a MA. However, those excluded papers can be of interest in building the taxonomy of the whole concerned literature, as they may play a role in building links between different contributions (see Sect. 3 ). Similarly, non-quantitative (policy, qualitative or theoretical) papers may participate as well in the development of research fronts or give a direction to a certain thread of contributions and incidentally affect the detection of clusters. These reasons led us to build our citation-based network and perform the network analysis and the community detection on the whole sample, while only the sample for the MA is restricted only to quantitative contributions that meet the coding requirements. Our final database of point estimates for the MA includes 96 papers released between 2003 and 2020, published in an academic journal, working papers series, or unpublished studies, providing 3,904 point estimates of the effect of slow-onset events (provided by 66 studies) and 2,065 point estimates of the effect of fast-onset events (provided by 60 studies). The list of articles is in the Appendix Table 6 .

2.1 Bibliometric analysis

This section summarizes the most relevant features of the ensemble of economic literature collected in our sample. Footnote 6

The economic literature started to pay attention to the potential relevance of environmental events on migration in the early 2000s, although the topic had already gained some relevance in global debate decades before, and scientific production increased sharply in the last 17 years. Figure 2 shows that the scientific production in the specific field is quite recent, spanning from 2003 to 2020, with a peak of 20 contributions in 2016 and an annual growth rate for the overall period at 18.5 percent. Taking a closer look at the cited references, it is possible to trace back an article published before 2003 (Findley, 1994 ), that provides a qualitative analysis of drought-induced mobility in Mali (finding no evidence of any role of 1983-85 droughts on migration). As our research of documents is based on keywords, naturally the three most repeated are those put in the search key (“migration", “climate change" and “natural disasters"). Footnote 7 Within the topic of migration, there’s a greater emphasis on international mobility compared to internal migration. However, internal migration may include also urbanization or rural-urban migration, and when combined, they are as common as international migration (counting 21 repetitions per group). Environmental migration is also explored as a form of forced migration , originating refugees, or specifically environmental refugees. The keywords related to environmental issues are more focused on slow-onset events like ( rainfall, temperature, global warming and climate variability ) rather than rapid-onset events. Although, some of the latter are more recurrent than others, such as drought, floods and ultimately earthquakes .

Number of documents per year. Note : Sample of academic contributions about migration and environmental factors from Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, IDEAS RePEc, and previous meta-analyses (Hoffmann et al., 2020 ; Beine & Jeusette, 2021 ) collected, merged, screened and included by the authors

Overall 288 authors have contributed to this literature, with 372 appearances, 34 documents are single-authored, the mean number of authors per document is 1.88; when considering exclusively multi-authored documents, the number of co-authors per document rises to 2.16, with a maximum of co-authors of 9. Various disciplines have put attention to the topic. Despite journals specializing in economics and econometrics representing the majority of the sources of publication, the literature includes also other disciplines (Fig. 3 ).

The 20 most relevant publication sources by field.  Note : Sample of academic contributions about migration and environmental factors from Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, IDEAS RePEc, and previous meta-analyses (Hoffmann et al., 2020 ; Beine & Jeusette, 2021 ) collected, merged, screened and included by the authors

Specifically, economic environmental migration is the object of publication in journals specialized in environmental sciences, geography, and social sciences such as urban studies, agriculture, demography, and political studies. A special mention has to be done for development studies: many reviews and journals specialized in development have issued contributions on the topic, highlighting the trend of observing the topic through development lenses. As an example, 14 documents in our sample are published in World Development , a multi-disciplinary journal of development studies.

A picture of the most relevant documents included in the sample is provided by simple measures, such as the number of global citations as reported in Scopus (at the moment of the bulk download of all sources), and the number of local citations, which shows how many times a document has been cited by other papers included in the sample. Measures for the most cited documents (global and local citation scores) in the sample are reported in Appendix Table 7 . The difference between global and local citation scores (almost four times higher) reveals that the documents have been cited by papers not included in our sample. It means that environmental migration has attracted the interest of different disciplines or they became part of the two main strands of literature, climate change, and migration, separately. 58 papers have not been cited in any of our samples, while 52 have zero citations globally. A part of it can be explained by the 18 papers that have been published recently in 2020, which could not have been cited yet because of timing (except for some contributions published in early 2020 such as Mueller et al. ( 2020 ) and Rao et al. ( 2020 ). Footnote 8 Position and the number of citations confirm the central role of papers published by Gray Clark and Valerie Mueller (Gray & Mueller, 2012b , a ; Mueller et al., 2014 ), receiving high citations both globally and internally. Some papers seem to be more relevant locally than globally: Marchiori et al. ( 2012 ) and Beine and Parsons ( 2015 ) had a bigger influence on our sample of economic environmental migration literature rather than globally, scoring the highest number of local citations. Conversely, Hornbeck ( 2012 ) seems to be cited more in literature outside the specific literature of environmental migration.

2.2 Overview of major results

The literature on the effects of climate and natural disasters on migration is characterized by a rich variety of studies both in micro- and macro-economic analyses. Country-level analyses tend to find evidence of a direct or indirect impact of environmental factors on migration patterns, either internally or internationally. Barrios et al. ( 2006 ) and Marchiori et al. ( 2012 ) find evidence of an increase in internal migration, especially towards urban areas in the case of Sub-Saharan Africa, according to many specific historical and developmental factors. Both contributions highlight how worsening climatic conditions correspond to a faster urbanization process. Marchiori et al. ( 2012 ) add also that this climate-driven urbanization process results also in higher international migration rates, acting as a channel of transmission of the effect of climate.

The macro literature, in line with most validated theoretical models of migration, also investigates whether the effect is conditioned to income levels of the country of origin of potential migrants (Marchiori et al., 2012 ; Beine & Parsons, 2015 , 2017 ). The role of income in a specific origin country experiencing the effects of environmental events is found to be crucial to determine the sign and the magnitude of the impact. Cattaneo and Peri ( 2016 ) support from one side the active role of those events in fostering migration, but show how this effect is conditioned to middle-income countries. The effect is the opposite when conditioning the analysis to poor countries, highlighting the existence of certain constraints to mobility. Worsened environmental conditions may exacerbate liquidity constraints or lack of access to credit aimed at financing the migratory project, which lead to what has been called poverty trap . Furthermore, these conditioned results seem to be robust even when another important channel is controlled, agricultural productivity. Climatic conditions and disruptive hazards may constitute major drawbacks for agricultural productivity, leading the agriculture-dependent part of the population to move out from rural areas: Cai et al. ( 2016 ) and Coniglio and Pesce ( 2015 ) provide evidence of an indirect link between worsened temperature and precipitation conditions and migration, mediated by the level of agricultural dependency of the country of origin. Sudden and fast-onset hazards, on the other side, are not found to contribute significantly to human mobility, except in the case of a higher-educated population, more mobile than other groups after the disruption of a natural disaster (Drabo & Mbaye, 2015 ).

Number of case studies covered by the micro-level sub-sample per country. Note : Sub-sample of micro-level studies about migration and environmental factors from Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, IDEAS RePEc, and previous meta-analyses (Hoffmann et al., 2020 ; Beine & Jeusette, 2021 ) collected, merged, screened and included by the authors

Micro-level literature provides a vast variety of case studies on different potential impacts of environmental factors on mobility. In our sample, they almost double macro-level contributions (86 contributions against 47) and provide different scenarios. Firstly, while macro-level studies mostly provide analyses at the global level or for some groups of countries or macro-regions, micro-level analyses tend to observe a specific phenomenon hitting a specific area or to study differences in the impact of a common phenomenon in different areas. The most covered region as a whole is Sub-Saharan Africa, with 65 case studies included in the contributions (Fig. 4 ). Footnote 9 When the level of analysis is less aggregated than the national or sub-national level, and individual or household behavior is observed through the use of surveys, the picture gains complexity and less generalized conclusions. This seems clear in Gray and Wise ( 2016 ) who analyze a series of comparable surveys across five Sub-Saharan countries, which have consistent differences. The heterogeneity of responses to climatic variations across those countries is strictly linked to the characteristics of the area and of the specific households. Poorer countries (such as Burkina Faso) mainly experience internal and temporary migration, often on a rural-rural channel as a way to diversify risk (Henry et al., 2003 , 2004 ). Long-distance migration seems to be constrained by liquidity and access to credit to finance those expensive journeys. Migratory trends of Nigerian households are pushed in times of favorable climatic conditions, while the effect of adverse conditions interacts with a negative effect on income and traps populations at origin (Cattaneo & Massetti, 2019 ). Overall, micro-level studies focused on the African continent highlight the importance of considering the interplay of a variety of factors when it comes to the analysis of the role of environmental factors, defining the new path toward hybrid literature.

The single countries that receive singularly the most attention are Mexico, with 10 case studies, and the U.S., with 9 case studies. This should not be a surprise because of two reasons: firstly, the stock of Mexican emigrates has been constantly the highest in the world (in absolute terms) as well as the migratory flow between Mexico and the U.S. But there might also be a publication-related reason based on the fact that the vast majority of journals in our sample are U.S. based. Major findings support the relevance of environmental drivers (mainly precipitation shortage) on push factors from Mexico ( Feng et al. ( 2010 ) estimates that a 10% reduction of agricultural productivity driven by scarce rainfall corresponds to the rise of 2% of emigrants).

Southern and Eastern Asia, representing by far the most disaster-prone area in the world. Footnote 10 also provide a variety of heterogeneous scenarios. The case of Vietnam (Koubi et al., 2016 ; Berlemann & Tran, 2020 ) shows how the Vietnamese population chooses different coping strategies in response to different kinds of environmental stressors. While gradual climatic variations lead to mechanisms of adaptation in loco to new climatic conditions, sudden shocks drive the decision to migrate elsewhere. However, mobility responses to different types of hazards might be different according to their specific consequences and duration (Berlemann & Tran, 2020 ). On the contrary, the case of Bangladesh supports the hypothesis that the existence of previous barriers to access to migration is worsened by the occurrence of disasters, specifically in the face of recurrent and intense flooding (Gray & Mueller, 2012b ).

The specific case of earthquakes across the world (El Salvador in Halliday ( 2006 ), Japan in Kawawaki ( 2018 ) and Indonesia in Gignoux and Menéndez ( 2016 ) for instance) shows a common trend of outcomes: highly disruptive disasters such as earthquakes tend to decrease mobility from the hit area. An interesting mechanism to explain this common trend found in three very different contexts is given by, not only the already mentioned financial constraints but also the possibility of higher local employment opportunities due to post-disaster reconstruction (Gignoux & Menéndez, 2016 ; Halliday, 2006 ). Moreover, households are found to respond to hazard by using the labor force as a buffer to the damages and redistributing labor within the household, with female mobility drastically dropping more than males and being substituted with increased hours of domestic labor (Halliday, 2012 ).

Analyses on South American countries also contribute to giving a hint of the complexity of the phenomenon. Thiede et al. ( 2016 ) show how internal migration is indeed impacted by rising temperature when considering the general effect; however, it hides an extreme heterogeneity of outcomes when specific characteristics of the areas and individuals are taken into account, resulting in a non-uniform effect.

An evident gap in the literature emerges in Fig. 4 : European countries have rarely been the object of study of the impact of environmental factors on mobility. This might be motivated by the fact that the European continent is mostly seen as a destination for migrants than an origin. It should not surprise that the two articles covering European countries, namely Italy (Spitzer et al., 2020 ) and the Netherlands (Jennings & Gray, 2015 ) analyze historical data of mobility at the beginning of the XX century (respectively earthquake in Sicily and Calabria and climate variability associated with riverine flooding in the Netherlands). Nevertheless, figures show that Europe is not unrelated to the occurrence and frequency of hazards as well as to sizable internal mobility that should receive some attention.

3 The inter-connectivity of papers

Our quantitative approach aims at analyzing the connectivity that exists among papers according to a citation-based approach and detecting the existence of communities or clusters. Since our target literature is characterized by a high heterogeneity of results, both in the direction and magnitude of the impact, we try to investigate the existence of potential specific patterns that lead to a certain type of analysis, methodology, or result under network-analysis lenses. We then use all information from this section to implement the meta-analysis.

3.1 Bibliographic coupling and citation-based approaches

The citation-based approach we choose is called bibliographic coupling. Footnote 11 Two scientific papers “bear a meaningful relation to each other when they have one or more references in common". Thus, the fundamentals of the link between two papers are depicted by the number of shared papers they both include in their references, which constitute the strength of the connectivity they have. In other words, a reference that is cited by two papers constitutes a “unit of coupling between them" (Kessler, 1963a ). Two articles are then said bibliographically coupled if at least one cited source appears in both articles (Aria & Cuccurullo, 2017 ). Bibliographic coupling is increasingly becoming widely used in citation analysis, thanks to some specific advantages (and despite some disadvantages). Conceptually, through the linkages established, it gives a representation of the basic literature of reference and, incidentally, implies a relation between two papers that reveals a potential common intellectual or methodological approach (Weinberg, 1974 ). The constancy of the links between the papers over time, being based on cited references which, once published and indexed, is also an asset (Thijs et al., 2015 ). Most importantly, the bibliographic coupling is more suitable for recent literature than other citation-based approaches. For reasons of timing and extension of the time window, Footnote 12 using any other citation-based approach would have resulted in a very sparse matrix and created many isolated observations which would not be inter-connected for reasons other than conceptual, but just for the fact that they could not have been cited yet. Not only do the characteristics of our sample motivate the choice of the approach: keeping in mind that this stage of the analysis aims to investigate and map current research fronts in the target literature rather than to look at historical links or the evolution of school of thoughts, bibliographic coupling seems to be the best tool to capture them (Klavans & Boyack, 2017 ).

To obtain the network of bibliographically coupled papers, we initially extract the list of cited references from each article and build a bipartite network, a rectangular binary matrix \(\textbf{A}\) linking each paper in the sample to their reference (Aria & Cuccurullo, 2017 ):

The matrix \(\textbf{A}\) is composed of 151 rows i representing the papers belonging to the sample and 5.433 columns j representing the ensemble of references cited in each paper in the sample. Each element \(a_{ij}\) of the matrix equals 1 when paper i cites paper j in its bibliography; \(a_{ij}\) is equal to 0 otherwise. Starting from matrix \(\textbf{A}\) , we can derive the bibliographic coupling network \(\textbf{B}\) as follows:

where \(\textbf{A}\) is the cited reference bipartite network and \(\mathbf {A^T}\) is its transpose. \(\textbf{B}\) is a symmetrical square matrix 151 \(\times\) 151, where rows and columns are papers included in the sample. Element \(b_{ij}\) of the matrix \(\textbf{B}\) contains the number of cited articles that paper i and paper j have in common. By construction, the main diagonal will contain the number of references included in each paper (as element \(a_{ii}\) defines the number of references that a paper has in common with itself).

The resulting matrix displays an undirected weighted network in which the 151 vertices are the set of papers included in our sample and the edges represent the citation ties between them. An existing tie implies that common reference literature exists between vertex i and j . When two nodes are not linked, the corresponding value of their tie is zero, as they do not share any common reference. Therefore, the network is weighted with the strength of the connections between papers i and j being measured by the weights associated with each tie. To avoid loops, which would be meaningless for our investigation, Footnote 13 we set the main diagonal to zero. Few ties exceed 20 shared cited references, with a maximum value of 48. Footnote 14 It can be argued that the number of references included in an article is not neutral to the resulting tie with any other article. Measuring the correct relatedness of nodes is of primary importance to produce an accurate mapping of literature (Klavans & Boyack, 2006 ). Citation behaviors of authors may interfere with the observation of core reference literature at the basis of coupled nodes. An author may opt for an extensive approach of citations and include a consistent number of references to display some particular links or details of a paper; authors may also decide for a less inclusive approach and include just essential cited references in the list. In other words, the number of included references in one article may dissolve meaningful information about the ties. Furthermore, specific formats or types of articles lead to broader or narrower bibliographies. To address these concerns, a process of normalization is needed so that data can be corrected for differences in the total number of references. Bibliometric literature has dealt with this issue through the calculation of different similarity measures . An accurate overview of the possible measures of similarity is provided in van Eck and Waltman ( 2009 ). Overall, such indices aim to determine the similarity between two units according to their co-occurrence (value of association between them, which in our case, is the number of common references in the bibliography) adjusted in different ways for the number of total occurrences of the single units. However, despite the need to correct data for many purposes in citation-based networks and obtain a size-independent measure of association, there is no consensus on which measure is the most appropriate (van Eck & Waltman, 2009 ): tests of accuracy and coverage proposed by different authors have reached different conclusions (Klavans & Boyack, 2006 ; van Eck & Waltman, 2009 ; Sternitzke & Bergmann, 2009 ). We apply a simple ratio between the observed number of commonly shared references and the product of the number of cited references in each of the two coupled papers. It has been defined as a measure of association strength (van Eck & Waltman, 2009 ) and it can be expressed as:

where \(b_{ij}\) corresponds to the weights of the tie between i and j in the original bibliographic coupling network; \(b_{ii}\) and \(b_{jj}\) are respectively the number of cited references included in paper i ’s bibliography and in paper j ’s bibliography, which corresponds to the original value on the diagonal. The obtained weighted network will serve to detect communities of papers through their common references and investigate if referring to a certain (group of) paper(s) creates meaningful clusters of items aggregating around certain common characteristics.

3.2 Community detection

We intend to identify the existence of communities in our network. The assumption is that papers citing the same references aggregate into a group that shares certain features, which could be methodological approach, level of analysis, specific sub-topics of the literature, and outcomes. The extreme heterogeneity of outcomes in this specific literature may be motivated partially by the heterogeneity of the events themselves (type of environmental factor, type of mobility, preexisting conditions in the specific area) or the theoretical and empirical modeling; it may also be motivated by other factors, that can be traced in some patterns linked to the characteristics of single publications. The procedure of community detection is aimed at investigating which are the “forces" that aggregate or disperse papers with each other, primarily through the direct observation of main characteristics, and then running separate MAs on each cluster. Community detection in the bibliographic network is often made through Louvain community detection algorithm (Blondel et al., 2008 ). In this analysis, a community is thought of as a group of contributions that share common references and form strong common ties with each other, while others have less shared characteristics and structure. The algorithm can detect clusters of contributions with dense interaction with each other and sparse connections with the rest of the network (Fig. 5 ).

Bibliographic coupling network and detected communities Note : Bibliographic coupling network of 151 documents included in the sample obtained from Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, IDEAS RePEc and previous meta-analyses (Hoffmann et al., 2020 ; Beine & Jeusette, 2021 ). Each node represents a paper included in our sample and its size corresponds to its weighted degree. Nodes are tied by links whenever two nodes share at least one common reference. The thickness of links is given by the association strength of the tie between two nodes (to provide a clear visualization, only nodes with weights higher than the mean are displayed). Colors correspond to communities of belonging of each paper: Cluster 1 is represented in violet, Cluster 2 in green, Cluster 3 in blue, and Cluster 4 in yellow. The description of each Cluster is presented in the text

The procedure identifies four main clusters. Our network being relatively small allows analyzing the main characteristics of each cluster. Following the full-text screening made in the first step of our threefold approach, we summarized some meaningful indicators about the analysis (such as type - quantitative, qualitative, theoretical, policy, literature review -, level - macro or micro for quantitative and qualitative studies -, unit - country, household, individual, territorial units), the object of the analysis (concerning the type of migration and environmental factors studied and the area) and theoretical and empirical approach (empirical approach and whether it is theory-based, estimation strategy and potential channel investigated). Finally, we recorded a synthetic indicator of the concluding effect of environmental factors on migration patterns: for each paper, we assigned the value “positive", “negative", “not significant" or a combination of the three (in case a paper contains multiple analysis of different migration or environmental factors that lead to different outcomes). Thanks to these indicators we were able to have a picture of the main common characteristics of the papers included in a cluster (Appendix Table 8 ), which will be tested and eventually confirmed in the MA.

The first cluster (Cluster 1) is the most populated, counting 51 papers spanning the entire period considered (from 2003 to 2020). In terms of the type of analysis, it contains the largest variety: as in all clusters, quantitative studies represent the majority (as they are the 76% of the full sample), but this cluster contains also most of the qualitative analyses (10 out of 13) and policy papers (5 out of 7) of the full sample. Published papers are predominant (47 out of 50). Except for a few papers, the analysis is mainly carried from a micro perspective, with individuals as units of analysis, based on surveys. Interestingly, most of the micro-level studies included in Beine and Jeusette ( 2021 ) can be found in this cluster. Authorship is very concentrated around two main authors, Clark Gray, (co-)authoring 9 papers, and Valerie Mueller, (co-)authoring 4 papers. Many of their co-authors appear in this community, which indeed scores the highest collaboration index of all communities (2.86), much higher than the full sample (2.16). Another important feature is that Cluster 1 includes the micro-level papers with the highest global citations: Gray and Mueller ( 2012b ), Feng et al. ( 2010 ), Gray and Mueller ( 2012a ), Mueller et al. ( 2014 ), Henry et al. ( 2004 ), Henry et al. ( 2003 ) and Gray ( 2009 ). This is also shown by the fact that the number of average citations per document is the highest among all clusters (34.84). Journals are also quite concentrated around a few of them, World Development and Population and Environment mainly. The content of the analyses is mainly focused on climatic change exclusively (precipitation and temperature), while few studies include also natural disasters. All corridors of migration are investigated, with no specific predominance of internal or international migration (which is a characteristic of individual-level studies, mainly based on surveys). Even though the majority of outcomes show a positive coefficient, that can be translated into finding an active role of environmental factors in pushing migrants out of their origin areas, it is not consensual to every paper: variation among results is high compared to other clusters, most paper finding complex relations between the two phenomena and different directions according to different dimensions. Empirical strategies are often based on discrete-time event history models estimated through multinomial logit. This reflects the approach of the main authors included in this community. A strong accent is put on the importance of the agricultural channel and the theme of adaptation to the change in environmental conditions.

The second community (Cluster 2) counts 28 papers, mostly published, except for 4 of them. It is composed of mostly quantitative papers, accompanied by 5 literature reviews. As in the previous cluster, most studies are at a micro level, with all kinds of units of analysis and aggregations. Both patterns of migration are explored, but with special attention to urbanization and internal mobility. Contrarily, it seems to put a stronger accent on natural disasters rather than on slow-onset events. The majority of papers in Cluster 2 have been excluded from Beine and Jeusette ( 2021 ) (only 5 included, compared to the 21 in Cluster 1) and Hoffmann et al. ( 2020 ) (only 1, all others being in Cluster 4). All papers analyzing the impact of different kinds of natural disasters in the U.S. are included in this cluster. Empirical approaches such as the differences-in-difference model and instrumental variable are often used. The papers explore a large variety of potential channels and mechanisms of transmission of the impact of environmental factors on migration (income, agriculture, employment, liquidity constraints), and only in a few cases, a negative direction is found.

The third cluster (Cluster 3) includes the most recent papers: only one paper dates 2011, all other ones are published or issued after 2015. This is part of the reasons why the average citations per document in this cluster is the lowest (10.89) compared to any other cluster. Half of the overall unpublished papers are included in this cluster. In terms of kind of analysis, this cluster appears to be very heterogeneous: even if the micro-level analysis is the majority, 12 papers apply a macro-level analysis on countries. Both cross-country and internal migration are considered, but the majority of them investigate the impact of slow-onset events rather than fast-onset. Many of the analyses are theory-based, especially on classic economic migration theories (Roy-Borjas model, New Economics of Labor Migration), or general or partial equilibrium models. This cluster is also peculiar for the heterogeneity of empirical outcomes, which are often multiple for a single paper: outcomes vary according to the different channels explored, i.e. different levels of agricultural dependency, presence of international aid, and level of income. In many cases, environmental factors are an obstacle to the decision to migrate from an area, or completely neutral. Comparatively, outcomes from this cluster tend to show a complex picture and highlight the many dimensions that may intervene in determining the direction of the impact.

Contrary to the previous one, Cluster 4 is extremely homogeneous. It contains almost exclusively quantitative (32 out of 35) and macro-level studies (30 out of 35). It covers equally slow- and fast-onset events and their impact on mobility. Most importantly, it aggregates 23 of the 30 papers reviewed in Hoffmann et al. ( 2020 ), making this cluster very representative and comparable to Hoffmann et al. ( 2020 )’s MA. Additionally, this community appears to be solid also in terms of theoretical and empirical approaches, as micro-founded gravity or pseudo-gravity models are widely used in it (more than half of them use such models). None of the studies find a negative impact of environmental factors on migration, they mainly estimate positive and significant outcomes, with few not-significant results for specific cases. The most locally cited macro papers are included in this cluster, which also receive high global citations with an average of citations per document 24.91 (even though lower than Cluster 1).

This description of cluster composition serves as a preliminary investigation of which are the main characteristics linking papers together through their citation behavior. It emerges that stronger links are given by diverse indicators varying across clusters. To test which are the sources of heterogeneity between clusters that aggregate papers within a cluster and their impact on the estimated effect size, in the next section, we will use this partitioning to run four separate MAs and compare the conclusions.

4 Meta-analysis

The purpose of our MA is to summarize the results of collected studies and, at the same time, highlight any possible sources of heterogeneity. The analysis is based on four assumptions: (i) our parameter of interest, which we call \(\beta\) , is the effect of climate change on migration; (ii) most researchers believe that \(\beta\) is greater than zero, and this is indeed true; (iii) the sign is not enough for decision-makers; (iv) this has attracted a large literature that has obtained a large number of estimates \(\hat{b}\) of \(\beta\) . Each of the 96 selected papers contains one or more equations that estimate the migration effect due to environmental factors. Footnote 15 In addition to the characteristics specific to migration itself, the estimated impact on migration can also be distinguished according to different features of environmental factors. Since comparability among studies, and more specifically among estimated \(\beta\) s, is a crucial issue for the MA, we group all collected estimates and conduct two separate analyses according to the type of environmental phenomenon: gradual or slow-onset events and sudden or fast-onset events. To compare the estimates and correctly interpret the synthetic results we need to standardize all collected effect sizes \(\beta\) in a common metric. In this MA the estimates from separate, but similar studies, are converted into partial correlation coefficients ( pcc ):

and its standard error, \(se_i\) :

where \(t_i\) and \(df_i\) are the t-value and the degrees of freedom of the i-th estimate \(\beta _i\) . The pcc is commonly used in MA literature (Doucouliagos, 2005 ; Stanley & Doucouliagos, 2012 ; Doucouliagos & Ulubasoglu, 2006 ; Brada et al., 2021 ) and allows to analyze within a single framework of all available studies on the effects of environmental stressors on migration regardless of the specification or measure of migration used. Footnote 16 Summarizing all the different estimates together in a single coefficient raises the question of heterogeneity within the same study and between studies. The summary effect is calculated as follows:

where \(\hat{b}_i\) is the individual estimate of the effect and weight, \(w_i\) , in a fixed effects model (FEM) is inversely proportional to the square of the standard error, so that studies with smaller standard errors have greater weight than studies with larger standard errors. The FEM is based on the assumption that the collected effect sizes are homogeneous (the differences observed among the studies are likely due to chance). Unlike in the FEM, random-effects model (REM) takes into account the heterogeneity among studies and weights incorporate a “between-study heterogeneity", \(\hat{\tau }^2\) . In the presence of heterogeneity, the two models likely find very different results, and it may not be appropriate to combine results. A test of homogeneity of the \(\beta _i\) is provided by referring to the statistic Q to a \(\chi ^2\) -distribution with n - 1 degrees of freedom (Higgins & Thompson, 2002 ): if the test is higher than the degrees of freedom, the null hypothesis is rejected (and thus there is heterogeneity). Another test commonly used is the \(I^2\) inconsistency index by Higgins and Thompson ( 2002 ) describing the percentage of the variability of the estimated effect that is referable to heterogeneity rather than to chance (sample variability). Values of the \(I^2\) range from 0 percent to 100 percent where zero indicates no observed heterogeneity. Since most computer programs report \(I^2\) , and so it is readily available, it is largely used to quantify the amount of dispersion. However, it is a proportion and not an absolute measure of heterogeneity in a meta-analysis (Borenstein et al., 2017 ). To understand how much the effects vary and report the absolute values, we compute the prediction interval as suggested by Borenstein et al. ( 2017 ). The results of the meta-synthesis of the collected estimates (Table 1 ) are statistically significant, except for findings of the slow onset effect of paper included in Cluster 2 (where the most of studies focus on the fast onset effect), in which both FEM and REM give statistically insignificant averages.

The preliminary result of the basic MA is that environmental factors seem to influence migration positively, even if the magnitude is very small and the REM mean is statistically significant only in the case of fast-onset events. The mean effect by cluster becomes negative in the case of estimates of slow-onset events in Clusters 1 and 3 and for the estimates of fast-onset events in Cluster 2.

4.1 Meta-regression tests of publication selection bias

Different findings of the same phenomenon can be explained in terms of heterogeneity of studies’ features, however, the literature also tends to follow the direction consistent with the theoretical predictions causing the so-called publication bias. Footnote 17 Meta-regression tests, such as the funnel asymmetry test (FAT), allow for an objective assessment of publication bias:

Weighted least squares (WLS) corrects the previous equation for heteroskedasticity (Stanley & Doucouliagos, 2017 ) and it can be obtained by dividing \(pcc_i\) by the standard errors:

Results are used to test for the presence of publication selection ( \(H_0:\beta _1 = 0\) ) or a genuine effect beyond publication selection bias ( \(H_0:\beta _0 = 0\) ). According to the Funnel Asymmetry and Precision-Effect Tests (FAT-PET), in the absence of publication selection the magnitude of the reported effect will vary randomly around the “true” value, \(\beta _1\) , independently of its standard error (Stanley & Doucouliagos, 2012 ). Replacing in eq. ( 7 ) the standard error \(se_i\) with the variance \(se_i^2\) , as the precision of the estimate, gives a better estimate of the size of the genuine effect corrected for publication bias (Stanley & Doucouliagos, 2014 ). This model is called “precision-effect estimate with standard error” (PEESE) and the WLS version is:

Table 2 shows results of the FAT-PET using multiple methods for sensitivity analysis and to ensure the robustness of findings. To take into account the issue of the dependence of study results, when multiple estimates are collected in the same study, the errors of meta-regressions are corrected with the “robust with cluster" option, which adjusts the standard errors for intra-study correlation.

Column (1) of Table 2 presents the FAT-PET coefficients, column (2) shows the results of the WLS model to deal with heteroskedasticity, columns (3) and (4) present the results of the panel-random effect model (REM) and multilevel mixed-effect model that treats the dataset as a panel or a multilevel structure.

Looking at the estimates of the effect of climate change on migration, the FAT coefficients ( \(\hat{\beta }_1\) ) are not statistically significant, implying that there is no evidence of publication bias, while the positive and statistically significant PET coefficient ( \(\hat{\beta }_0\) ) indicates a genuinely positive slow-onset effect exists, in particular in the case of Cluster 4. Conversely, in the case of Cluster 3 the REM and multilevel mixed-effect model find that, even if in presence of publication bias, the impact on migration is negative. Table 2 provides evidence of publication bias in the literature focusing on the effect of natural disasters on migration. The estimated FAT coefficient is statistically significant in the overall sample, especially due to papers in clusters 1 and 3, and there is insufficient evidence of a genuinely positive effect (accept \(H_0: \hat{\beta }_0\) ).

4.2 Multiple meta-regression analysis: econometric results and discussion

The multiple meta-regression analysis (MRA) includes an encompassing set of controls for factors that can integrate and explain the diverse findings in the literature. To capture possible sources of bias among all analyses, we code all differences in the features of the various studies and regressions and include a set of dummies to control for them. Specifically, we code left- and right-hand side characteristics of regressions estimated in the collected papers and generate a set of dummies for paper features, dependent variables, independent variables, sample characteristics, and regression characteristics. Footnote 18

The overall sample includes both unpublished and published papers, so we add some moderators variables describing different features of the studies that are published. In particular, we introduce a dummy for Published articles and a control for the quality of the journal in which the study is published by adding the variable Publication Impact-factor . In reporting the main results, some authors emphasize a benchmark regression that produces a preferred estimate, thus we add the dummy preferred specification equal to 1 when the reported effect size is obtained from the main specification. Concerning the measure of migration, the dependent variable in the left-hand side of the regression, original studies mainly distinguish migration by corridor , which are mainly two, internal and international migration. In this context, we distinguish also a special internal corridor, the one characterized by rural-urban mobility, to investigate the potential impact of an environmental variable on the urbanization process. Whenever the corridor is not specified, the variable is categorized as undefined (which will be the reference category in the estimation). Dependent variables differ also in terms of measurement of the phenomenon: specifically, we separate measures that express flows from those expressing stocks. The first category includes both studies that use flows (or an estimation of flows) and rates of migration. The second category captures those cases in which migration is measured as a stock of migrants at the destination. The reference category is direct measures, which mainly capture whether migration has occurred or not (typically dummy variables used on survey-based samples equal to 1 when the individual migrates and 0 otherwise). We also include information about the countries of origin and the destination of migrants. Origins are categorized by macro-regions: Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and Caribbean, Middle East and North Africa, and North America. The reference category is “world", identified whenever origin countries are not specified (typically in multi-country settings). Destinations are categorized by level of income. The choice of this categorization is led by the aim to identify differences in the possibility to choose a destination. Categories are divided into high, higher-middle, lower-middle, and low-income.

The specific objective of the study is the impact of environmental variables on migration, thus on the right-hand side of the regression a proxy of the environmental change is included. Slow-onset events are typically defined as gradual modifications of temperature, precipitation, and soil quality. Respectively, three dummies temperature, precipitation and soil degradation are created. Each of these phenomena is measured in different ways, and the use of a specific kind of measurement is relevant to the outcome. Both temperature and precipitation have been measured in levels (simple level or trend of temperature/precipitation); deviation, as the difference between levels and long-run averages; and anomalies, mostly calculated as the ratio of the difference between the level and the long-run mean and its standard deviation. Soil degradation includes events such as desertification, soil salinity, or erosion. Additionally, we also code the time lag considered concerning the time units of the dependent variable: whenever the period considered corresponds to the same period of the dependent variable the lag is zero, while it takes values more than zero for any additional period before the dependent variable time-span. This control also allows us to account for varying time-frames in different studies, including situations where migration spans several years or occurs suddenly in the aftermath of a natural disaster. The second battery of coded variables refers to fast-onset events, which can be also defined as natural hazards or extreme events. The main classification of fast-onset events reflects the one reported in Sect. 2 : geophysical (earthquakes, mass movements, volcanic eruptions), meteorological (extreme temperature, storms - cyclones, typhoons, hurricanes, tropical storms, tornadoes), hydrological (floods and landslides) and climatological (droughts or wildfires). Fast-onset events also differ in the way they are measured. Possible measures are occurrence (when the measure is a dummy capturing if the disaster happened or not), frequency (the count of events that occurred in the area), intensity (i.e. Richter scale for earthquakes, wind speed for tornadoes, etc.), duration (length of the occurrence of the event) and losses (when the disaster is measured in terms of the affected population, number of deaths or injured people, number of destroyed houses or financial value of the damaged goods). As for slow-onset events, we code a continuous variable capturing the time lag of the event concerning the dependent variable. A dummy capturing whether the coefficient refers to multiple disasters is also included.

Characteristics of the sample are one of the main sources of heterogeneity. The level of the analysis varies considerably from paper to paper, as we include both micro-and macro-level studies. we code variables capturing both the specific unit of analysis and the source of the data. Typically micro-level studies use data coming from censuses or surveys where households or individuals are the units of analysis. Country-level studies usually take the source of their data from official statistics . Other kinds of sampling are included in the reference group (for example small territorial aggregates such as districts, provinces, or grid cells). We also code a variable capturing the time span of the analysis, subtracting the last year of observation from the first one. The role of econometric approaches may have an impact on resulting outcomes. Beine and Jeusette ( 2021 ) emphasized in their work the importance of methodological choices, with differentiated results depending on estimation techniques. First of all, we code a panel dummy to capture whether the structure of data and related estimation techniques has an impact. Furthermore, we distinguish Poisson estimations that include the Pseudo Poisson Maximum Likelihood (PPML) estimator and Negative Binomial Models; linear estimators, both Ordinary Least Squares (OLS), linear probability models and maximum likelihood models; conventional Instrumental Variables (IV) estimators, two-stage least squares (2SLS), and other cases of estimators as Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) used to control for endogeneity; and finally, logit which comprises multinomial logit models. Any other estimator (i.e. Tobit, panel VAR) is less frequent and grouped in a category other estimators used as the reference group.

Theoretically, the impact of environmental variables on migration may be mediated, channe-led, or transmitted through other phenomena that can be controlled for or interacted with. Most of models investigating general migration determinants usually control for several possible determinants to recover the effect of the specific objective variable, with all potential other factors being controlled for. The majority of these additional controls are suggested by theoretical models and then introduced in the empirical model. Furthermore, methodological approaches in our sample are found to often include interaction terms to specifically address the combined effect of an environmental variable with other potential factors. Thus, we introduce two groups of variables, controls and interacted terms , categorized both to capture factors or channels such as income, agriculture, conflicts, political stability, cultural or geographical factors. Among the list of controls, we also include a dummy that captures whether both slow- and fast-onset events are included in the regression.

Table 3 shows the results of the multiple MRA on the literature in slow-onset events (precipitation, temperature, and soil quality) in which potential biases are filtered out sequentially by the addition, in a stepwise manner, of statistically significant controls. Column (1) presents results for the whole sample of studies estimating the impact of climatic variations on migration, and columns (2) to (5) show the results of papers grouped by clusters to highlight how specific features characterizing the cluster influence the magnitude of the estimated effect. The results are unfolded below.

Column (1) refers to the overall sample and shows a coefficient of the main variable of interest ( \(\hat{\beta }_0\) ) negative and statistically significant, implying that climatic variations may decrease incentives for migration by exacerbating credit constraints of potential migrants. Looking at results for different clusters (columns 2-5) such a negative effect is generated by studies that are included in clusters 1 and 3. The MRA of papers in clusters 2 and 4, instead, gives positive and statistically significant PET coefficients ( \(\hat{\beta }_0\) ) implying that climate changes induce people to migrate. Concerning the FAT-test, the intercept ( \(\hat{\beta }_1\) ) might deviate from zero confirming the presence of publication bias: the peer-review process seems to particularly affect the magnitude of the estimated effect of studies in all clusters except for Cluster 3.

Most of the papers included in the MRA for slow-onset events are published (52 articles out of 66), indeed the estimated coefficients of controls for published articles are useful to evaluate if the peer-review process exerts some influence on reported results in the collected studies. In Cluster 3 estimates obtained by the Preferred specification tend to be slightly lower while articles published in journals with higher impact factors report lower estimates of the impact of slow-onset events on migration. In Cluster 4, instead, results of Published articles are lower, even if the mean effect of this group of studies remains positive.

From the other sets of controls emerges that specific features of studies included in the MRA differently explain the diversity in the results within clusters. The positive coefficients of controls for corridors such as Internal and Urbanization state that people respond to adverse climatic change with increased internal migration. The only exception is for studies included in Cluster 3, this is the most heterogeneous cluster of most recent papers, where heterogeneous approaches (micro-and macro-level and type of migration) lead to a large heterogeneity in outcomes, varying according to different channels explored. Findings obtained when mobility is measured by Flows seem to be lower in the overall sample. In macroeconomic literature, usually, the measurement of migration is a stock variable, since it is generally easier to find and measure the number of foreign citizens born or resident in a country at any given time. Data on flow variables and migration rates, or the number of people who have moved from an origin to a destination in a specific period, are less available, and analyses often rely on estimates and computations of this data. Therefore, the opposite sign of the coefficient of the variable Flows in Cluster 1 is not surprising since this cluster collects all micro-level studies (where the migration variable refers to the movements of individuals as a unit, based on surveys).

Controls for how the climatic phenomenon is measured, Precipitation measures and Temperature measures , seem to differently affect the heterogeneity of results and, in many cases, the estimated coefficients are statistically significant but very close to zero.

The estimated coefficients of dummies for country groups included in our multiple MRA indicate how results from analyses focusing on specific regions of origin differ. In particular, positive coefficients of controls Asia and Europe support the idea that the results of analyses that focus on the migration from these regions are likely to be positive (with exception of Cluster 1), while if the people move from a country in the region of North America the impact of climate changes on migration is lower and can be negative. The climate impact on migration from LAC (Latin America and the Caribbean) countries are higher in Cluster 3 (where the PET coefficient is negative) and lower in Cluster 4 (where the PET coefficient is positive).

Regarding the heterogeneity produced by the fact that studies use different sources of data for migration, we add dummies for sources used. All estimated coefficients of this set of controls are statistically significant in Cluster 1: the use of different databases might influence the wide variety of findings. Effect sizes in Cluster 2, instead, are not affected by the source of data used.

Since it is natural to expect the adjustment of migratory flows in response to climate change is not instantaneous, especially in the case of gradual phenomena, most of the studies use a panel structure with a macroeconomic focus and attempt to assess the impact of changes in climatic conditions on human migratory flows in the medium-long term. Microeconomic analyses mostly use cross-section data to explain causal relationships between specific features of individuals, collected through surveys and censuses, and various factors determining migration by isolating the net effect of the environment. Analyses at Individual level tend to capture a more negative impact of climate changes on migration, whereas analyses at Country level tend to find a more positive effect. As already said, for micro-level analyses in Cluster 1 controls related to sample characteristics have opposite signs. Looking at dummies for the estimation techniques, our evidence suggests that the diversity in the effect sizes is in part explained by differences in techniques. In particular, positive and significant coefficients are found for controls as OLS and ML estimators for cross-section analyses, same for panel studies that use Panel estimation techniques, and Instrumental Variables ( IV ) or GMM estimators to correct for endogeneity. Micro-economic analyses (Cluster 1) use more disaggregated data, while the high presence of zeros in the dependent variable is treated with a Poisson estimator, which tends to produce lower estimates.

Many authors highlight the importance of variables of political, economic, social, and historical nature, in influencing the impact of climatic anomalies on migration processes, emphasi-zing the role of important channels of transmission of the environmental effect to migrations. We include in the multiple MRA a set of dummies for Controls included in the estimation of the model of migration and dummies for Channels through which the climatic event determines migration phenomena. The idea is that studies based on the same theoretical framework tend to include the same set of control variables or interacted terms and we find that many of these controls may positively and negatively affect the effect size of climate changes on migration.

Table 4 shows the results of the MRA for fast-onset events, or rather natural disasters, more or less related to climate change, which appear as destructive shocks of limited duration and for which the ability to predict is reduced. Footnote 19

The coefficient of \(\hat{\beta }_0\) , is positive and statistically significant in the overall sample and clusters 2 and 4, providing evidence of an increase in migration due to sudden natural hazards. It is worth noting that papers in Cluster 2 (column 3) mainly focus on fast-onset events and the summarized effect size is positive and very high. On the other side, the summarized effect of papers in clusters 1 and 3 is negative and statistically significant.

Results show evidence of publication bias for the overall sample and in Cluster 3, with \(\hat{\beta }_1\) statistically significant signaling that the reported effect is not independent of its standard error. The significant and positive coefficient found for the published dummy confirms that there is a general Publication Impact , so the peer-review process seems to affect the magnitude of the estimated effect, especially in clusters 1 and 2. Articles published in journals with higher Impact-factor get higher estimates of the effects of natural disasters on migration, with exception of published articles in Cluster 2, suggesting that editors prefer to publish results that have a positive but more limited effect. Natural disasters affect domestic and international migration flows. The positive coefficients of the group of controls related to the type of migration, in clusters 2 and 3 confirm that people respond to natural disasters with any kind of mobility. Specifically in Cluster 2 natural disasters increase both Internal and Urbanization migration, while studies in Cluster 3 find a greater effect on Internal and International movements of people. In Cluster 4, instead, estimates of the impact of natural disasters are lower in the case of Internal migration. Hydrological events have a greater impact on migration, the estimated coefficient is statistically significant in all clusters; if the fast-onset event refers to Geophysical , Meteorological and Climatological disasters the effect on migration is lower.

The severity of natural disasters, such as hurricanes, landslides, or floods, affects regional agricultural production and it also has direct effects on employment and income in the agricultural sectors of the affected regions pushing people to migrate. However, on the one hand, natural disasters, such as droughts, floods, and storms, push individuals to move to find new sources of income or livelihood, on the other hand, natural disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis, or hurricanes cause losses to populations that might lead people into a poverty trap, with potential migrants not having the resources to finance the trip. These effects, already highlighted by the literature, seem to be confirmed. Also in this literature, indeed, various controls and transmission channels analyzed in the original empirical models have a role in determining heterogeneity in results.

5 Conclusions

The present meta-analysis, aimed to systematically review and synthesize the empirical evidence on the relationship between environmental change and human migration, suggests that while there is a small, positive, and significant effect of slow- and rapid-onset environmental variables on migration, the heterogeneity of results in the existing economic literature highlights the need for a nuanced understanding of the causes and effects of environmental migration, as well as the specific characteristics of the places and populations involved.

If a key function of meta-analysis is to challenge and test the results of empirical studies, our study provides important insights that can inform both researchers and policymakers on the relationship between human migration and environmental changes or shocks. Specifically, our findings suggest that a more nuanced and context-specific understanding of environmental migration is needed. Future research could profit from our work by exploring the average effect of specific environmental shocks, such as droughts or floods, and the important role of mediating factors that influence the decision to migrate, such as specific economic and social conditions.

The paper also offers an encompassing methodology for the empirical analysis of very heterogeneous outcomes of a research field. The sample collected through a systematic review of the literature, the bibliometric analysis, the construction of a co-citation network and the community detection on the structure of the network of essays, allow the inspection of a scientific area also in absence of a uniform and cohesive literature. In the case of environmental migration, the too many different characteristics in terms of object of analysis, empirical strategy, and mediating covariates render the meta-analytic average effect estimates just a first approximation of the quantitative evidence of the literature.

As shown in the present meta-analysis, when the level of heterogeneity in the outcome of a literature is relevant, as for the four clusters of papers that compose the economic literature on environmental migration, a group-by-group analysis has to be preferred and compared with the results of an overall meta-analysis.

Moreover, our analysis highlights the need for greater collaboration and standardization of methods in the study of environmental migration. We report a lack of uniform and cohesive literature, with different studies using different methods, covariates, and definitions of key variables. This limits the external validity of existing results and calls for greater efforts by scholars and institutions to validate existing studies and improve the quality of data and methods used in future research.

Overall, our meta-analysis contributes to a better understanding of the complex relationship between slow or rapid environmental change and human migration. The implications of this work extend beyond the academic community to inform public policy and action. As environmental change and human migration continue to characterize the global system, it is crucial for decision-makers to consider the insights provided by scientific research and for the scientific community to continue to produce results that improve the external validity of existing studies and help delineate evidence-based policies.

A detailed table highlighting specific studies featured in other meta-analyses, along with their citations, that have been reviewed in our study is provided in the Supplementary material, Section A.

The extraction is made through bibliometrix , an R tool for science mapping analysis that reads and elaborates the information exported by Scopus and Web of Science (Aria & Cuccurullo, 2017 ).

Scopus: key (“migration" and (“natural disasters" or “climate change")) and ( limit-to ( subjarea ,“econ")) and ( limit-to ( language ,“English")), Date: 24/11/2020. Web of Science: (( AK =(migration and (“natural disasters" or “climate change"))) or ( KP = (migration and (“natural disasters" or “climate change")))) and language : (English) Refined by: web of science categories : (“economics"), Date: 24/11/2020.

We use the Advanced Search tool, searching by Keywords and Title: migration and (“natural disasters" or “climate change").

Our inclusion criteria prioritize studies reporting outcomes in an appropriate and consistent manner. In particular, we have excluded studies that do not rely on a complete set of objective measures. For instance, studies that only present estimated coefficients, solely indicating the significant level, without reporting standard errors or t -ratios have been excluded because they do not allow for the calculation of a meta-synthesis.

All records have been uploaded and summary statistics produced using the R tool bibliometrix (Aria & Cuccurullo, 2017 ). Scopus and Web of Science allow for the download in the bulk of records in .bibtex format, ready to be converted in R objects. Other records are manually entered, depending on the publication status of the single record: for published documents additional research of the specific document is made on Scopus and the relative .bibtex file is downloaded and added to the other results; for unpublished papers, which cannot be found in the two sources, a .bibtex is manually created following the structure of fields and information in the downloaded ready-to-use files. After merging each file and removing duplicates we obtain the data source that contains the bibliographic information of all articles, including publication year/latest draft, author(s), title, journal, keywords, affiliations, and references.

Variants of words or concepts have been aggregated in a unique item i.e. climate change and climatic change or environmental migrants and environmental migration .

The issue of timing will be addressed in the network analysis, choosing a specific type of citation-based network, the bibliographic coupling network, to minimize the risk of missing connections between papers.

Some contributions are not single-case studies.

Asia suffered the highest number of disaster events. In total, between 2000 and 2019, there were 3,068 disaster events in Asia, followed by the 1,756 events in the Americas and 1,192 events in Africa (UNDRR, 2020 ).

Bibliographic coupling, first introduced by (Kessler, 1963b , a ), belongs to the broader class of citation-based approaches to science mapping. Co-citation is based on the relationship established by citing authors of a paper: two papers are linked whenever they jointly appear in the cited references of at least a third paper. Direct citation is the most intuitive approach, linking two papers if one has cited a precedent one. As co-citation, direct citation performs better for long time windows to visualize historical connections (Klavans & Boyack, 2017 ). In terms of accuracy, it has been established that direct citation provides a more accurate representation of the taxonomy of scientific production (Klavans & Boyack, 2017 ), but for the specific requirements the methodology imposes, it has not gained much success (Boyack & Klavans, 2010 ).

Our sampled literature starts in 2003 and ends at the moment the research has been done (November 2020), testifying the recent interest of economic literature on the topic.

It is trivial to observe the value of ties that link a paper with itself, which naturally corresponds to the number of listed references.

This number seems very high, but at a closer look, the two papers that register the highest value are two consecutive papers published by the same author (Naudé, 2008, 2010).

Detailed information on collected coefficients and standard errors are provided in the Supplementary material, Section B.

A summary of the distribution of computed partial correlation coefficients is provided in the Supplementary material, Section C.

The publication bias occurs when (i) researchers, referees, or editors prefer statistically significant results and (ii) it is easier to publish results that are consistent with a given theory. However, the consequences of the peer-review process refer more to a general “publication impact" rather than a “bias" (Cipollina & Salvatici, 2010 ).

The complete description of coded variables is available in Supplementary material, section D.

Potential biases are filtered out sequentially by the addition, in a stepwise manner, of statistically significant controls.

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Appendix: environmental migration a systematic review and meta-analysis of the literature.

See Tables 5 , 6 , 7 and 8 .

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Cipollina, M., De Benedictis, L. & Scibè, E. Environmental migration? A systematic review and meta-analysis of the literature. Rev World Econ (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10290-024-00529-5

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Accepted : 13 February 2024

Published : 30 March 2024

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s10290-024-00529-5

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