Analyzing Literary Text: Two Media

Question 1

What is a medium?

Answer 1

the material or form used by an artist or writer

Question 2

What is mood?

Answer 2

the feeling or emotion that a piece of literature or an artwork evokes

Question 3

sometimes a piece of literature and a painting complement each other’s ability to tell a story, describe the reasoning behind this

Answer 3

An author may draw on a nearly infinite number of words to tell a story and describe a scene, but the reader must interpret and imagine those words. Sometimes, words alone are not enough to enable a reader to visualize the text fully. Likewise, a painter or visual artist has unlimited colors and shapes they may use, but they are restricted in how much they can show. They must compose and frame the most meaningful or visually interesting moment within the confines of the canvas. There is always the chance that viewers won’t see or feel what the artist intends them to