How to write a literary essay

Structure-
Paragraph 1: Introduction. This paragraph consists of the following:
1) The introductory statements, which makes reference to the author,
text and context relevant to the question.
2) The thesis statement states the main idea of the essay. It gives the
opinion that the essay will set out to prove.
3) The directional statement gives the point you will discuss to prove
the thesis.
Paragraphs 2 and 3- Main Body
Each one of these paragraphs should try to prove one of the points
mentioned in the directional statement and should be about 3 or 4
sentences long. Use the PETER structure.
P- Point of view- your idea
E- Evidence- Relevant and appropriate quotations from the text.
T- Technique- Literary devices used in the quotation.
E- Explain- How the quotation and the technique prove your point.
R- Response- How the reader feels.
Paragraph 4- Concluding paragraph -This one sums up the ideas and end
with a thought-provoking statement that makes the reader think beyond
the ideas discussed in the essay.
Example: Model essay to an exam question on the poem The Buck in the
Snow, by Edna St Vincent Millay
White sky, over the hemlocks bowed with snow,
Saw you not at the beginning of evening the antlered buck and his doe
Standing in the apple orchard? I saw them. I saw them suddenly go,
Tails up, with long leaps lovely and slow,
Over the stone wall into the wood with hemlocks bowed with snow.

Now lies he here, his wild blood scalding the snow.

How strange a thing is death, bringing to his knees, bringing to his antlers,
The buck in the snow.
How strange a thing, – a mile away by now, it may be,
Under the heavy hemlocks that as the moments pass
Shift their loads a little, letting fall a feather of snow –
Life, looking out attentive from the eyes of the doe.
Exam question: In The Buck in the Snow, how does the writing portray
the poet’s contemplation of life and death?
Paragraph 1. Introduction
1) The Buck in the Snow is a contemporary poem which portrays
Millay’s concerns about death, probably due to the fact that she
witnessed the tragedy of the World Wars and her own recurrent
depression and neurosis.
2) The poem describes the power of death to inflict loss on even the
most peaceful of times.
3) The poem begins with the speaker describing a beautiful snow-
covered landscape in which she is exploring. After that, the reader is
presented with the shocking image of the agonizing buck. Finally,
Millay’s own views on death are transmitted to the reader.
Main Body: (example)
 1) The imagery and diction chosen by Edna St. Vincent Millay
suggest a sorrowful mood that matches the mournful prayer of
the speaker in the first stanza: “Saw you not (…) the buck and his
doe (…)? “The inversion used in this question emphasizes her
lack of understanding of what happened. The reader feels the
mournful tone conveyed in her thoughts.
Paragraph 4- Concluding paragraph (example)
The speaker, either consciously or subconsciously, has received a
reminder of her own mortality. And, as is so often the case in works
exploring this theme, life suddenly seems much more precious when
juxtaposed with the knowledge of death.