memory-literary-analysis

What this skill does

# Memory Literary Analysis

Transform a complete literary work into a structured knowledge graph. Characters, themes, chapters, locations, symbols, and literary devices become interconnected notes — searchable, validatable, and visualizable.

## When to Use

- Analyzing a novel, play, poem, or non-fiction book end-to-end
- Building a teaching or study resource for a literary text
- Creating a book club companion knowledge base
- Research projects requiring structured close reading
- Stress-testing Basic Memory at scale (~200+ notes, 1000+ relations)

## Pipeline Overview

```
Phase 0: Setup         → project, schemas, directory structure
Phase 1: Seed          → stub notes for known major entities
Phase 2: Process       → chapter-by-chapter notes in batches
Phase 3: Cross-ref     → enrich arcs, add parallels, write analysis
Phase 4: Validate      → schema checks, drift detection, consistency
Phase 5: Visualize     → canvas files for character webs, timelines
```

## Phase 0: Setup

### Create the Project

```python
create_memory_project(name="<work-name>", path="~/basic-memory/<work-name>")
```

Use a kebab-case slug of the work's title (e.g., `great-gatsby`, `hamlet`, `beloved`).

### Define Schemas

Write 6 schema notes to `schema/`. Each schema defines the entity type's fields, observation categories, and relation types. Adapt fields to fit the work — the schemas below are starting points, not rigid templates.

#### Character Schema

```python
write_note(
  title="Character",
  directory="schema",
  note_type="schema",
  metadata={
    "entity": "Character",
    "version": 1,
    "schema": {
      "role(enum)": "[protagonist, antagonist, supporting, minor], character's narrative role",
      "description": "string, brief character description",
      "first_appearance?": "string, chapter or scene of first appearance",
      "status?(enum)": "[alive, dead, unknown, transformed], character status at end of work"
    },
    "settings": {"validation": "warn"}
  },
  content="""# Character

Schema for character entity notes.

## Observations
- [convention] Major characters in characters/major/, minor in characters/minor/
- [convention] Observation categories: trait, motivation, arc, quote, appearance, relationship, symbolism, fate
- [convention] Relations: appears_in, contrasts_with, allied_with, commands, symbolizes, associated_with"""
)
```

Add work-specific fields as needed — e.g., `rank` for military fiction, `house` for family sagas, `species` for fantasy.

#### Theme Schema

```python
write_note(
  title="Theme",
  directory="schema",
  note_type="schema",
  metadata={
    "entity": "Theme",
    "version": 1,
    "schema": {
      "description": "string, what this theme explores",
      "prevalence(enum)": "[major, minor], how central to the work",
      "first_introduced?": "string, where theme first appears"
    },
    "settings": {"validation": "warn"}
  },
  content="""# Theme

Schema for thematic analysis notes.

## Observations
- [convention] Observation categories: definition, manifestation, evolution, counterpoint, quote, interpretation
- [convention] Relations: embodied_by, contrasts_with, reinforced_by, explored_in, expressed_through"""
)
```

#### Chapter Schema

```python
write_note(
  title="Chapter",
  directory="schema",
  note_type="schema",
  metadata={
    "entity": "Chapter",
    "version": 1,
    "schema": {
      "chapter_number": "integer, sequential chapter number",
      "pov?": "string, point-of-view character or narrator mode",
      "setting?": "string, primary location",
      "narrative_mode?(enum)": "[dramatic, expository, reflective, epistolary, mixed], chapter's primary mode"
    },
    "settings": {"validation": "warn"}
  },
  content="""# Chapter

Schema for chapter-level analysis notes.

## Observations
- [convention] Chapters stored in chapters/ directory
- [convention] Observation categories: summary, event, tone, technique, quote, significance, foreshadowing
- [convention] Relations: features, set_in, explores, contains, employs, follows, precedes, parallels"""
)
```

#### Location Schema

```python
write_note(
  title="Location",
  directory="schema",
  note_type="schema",
  metadata={
    "entity": "Location",
    "version": 1,
    "schema": {
      "description": "string, what this place is",
      "location_type(enum)": "[city, building, landscape, body_of_water, region, fictional, vehicle], type of place",
      "real_or_fictional(enum)": "[real, fictional, both], whether the place exists"
    },
    "settings": {"validation": "warn"}
  },
  content="""# Location

Schema for location and setting notes.

## Observations
- [convention] Observation categories: description, atmosphere, symbolism, significance, geography
- [convention] Relations: setting_for, associated_with, symbolizes, contains, part_of"""
)
```

#### Symbol Schema

```python
write_note(
  title="Symbol",
  directory="schema",
  note_type="schema",
  metadata={
    "entity": "Symbol",
    "version": 1,
    "schema": {
      "description": "string, what the symbol is literally",
      "symbol_type(enum)": "[object, animal, color, action, natural_phenomenon, body_part], category of symbol",
      "primary_meaning": "string, most common interpretation"
    },
    "settings": {"validation": "warn"}
  },
  content="""# Symbol

Schema for symbolic element notes.

## Observations
- [convention] Observation categories: meaning, appearance, ambiguity, interpretation, quote, evolution
- [convention] Relations: represents, associated_with, appears_in, contrasts_with, located_at"""
)
```

#### LiteraryDevice Schema

```python
write_note(
  title="LiteraryDevice",
  directory="schema",
  note_type="schema",
  metadata={
    "entity": "LiteraryDevice",
    "version": 1,
    "schema": {
      "description": "string, what the device is",
      "device_type(enum)": "[rhetorical, structural, figurative, narrative, dramatic], category",
      "frequency(enum)": "[pervasive, frequent, occasional, rare], how often used"
    },
    "settings": {"validation": "warn"}
  },
  content="""# LiteraryDevice

Schema for literary technique and device notes.

## Observations
- [convention] Observation categories: definition, usage, effect, example, significance
- [convention] Relations: used_in, characterizes, expresses, related_to"""
)
```

### Directory Structure

```
<project>/
  schema/            # 6 schema definitions
  chapters/          # one note per chapter/section + prologue/epilogue
  characters/
    major/           # protagonist, antagonist, key supporting
    minor/           # named characters with limited roles
  themes/            # thematic analysis notes
  locations/         # settings and places
  symbols/           # symbolic elements
  literary-devices/  # techniques and devices
  analysis/          # cross-cutting synthesis
  tasks/             # processing tracker
```

## Phase 1: Seed Entities

Before processing chapters, create stub notes for major entities so `[[wiki-links]]` resolve from the start.

### Characters (major)

For each major character, create a stub with known metadata:

```python
write_note(
  title="<Character Name>",
  directory="characters/major",
  note_type="Character",
  tags=["character", "major", "<role>"],
  metadata={"role": "<role>", "description": "<brief description>"},
  content="""# <Character Name>

## Observations
- [role] <Character's role in the work>
- [appearance] <Key physical description>

## Relations
- associated_with [[<Related Character>]]
- appears_in [[<Key Location>]]"""
)
```

### Seed Checklist

Identify the work's major entities before you start reading. A good starting inventory:

| Type | Typical Count | What to Include |
|------|--------------|-----------------|
| Characters (major) | 8-20 | Protagonist, antagonist, key supporting cast |
| Themes | 5-12 | Central concerns the work explores |
| Locations | 4-10 | Primary settings, symbolically significant places |
| Symbols | 4-10 | Recurrin