Tactical purpose:
A lot of authors typically dedicate their book, novel, or piece of work to someone important in their lives. This varies from family members to close friends, and even sometimes pets. It is also common for the author to dedicate the book to the reader or even tie it into the content or characters that play a role in the book. Usually located on one of the first pages, the dedication can range from one sentence to a whole paragraph, depending on the seriousness and importance of whatever the book or piece of work is being dedicated to.
Steps for Analysis:
Pinpoint the dedication, commonly found within the first few pages of the book. Generally a short paragraph, the dedication should be located on a blank page, starting with words such as “for” and “to”.
Search for who the book is being dedicated to and what relationship they have to the book or author.
Seek out any importance the dedication could have- whether it be to the author or even the book or elements pertaining to the content.
Another thing to think about would be what purpose the dedication serves to the reader and book. Is it just dedicated to someone important and personally related to the author? Does the dedication tie into the book or the main characters in the book?
No Thanks collection of poetry by E.E. Cummings dedication:
“TO
Farrar & Rinchart
Simon & Schuster
Coward-MCCann
Limited Editions
Harcourt, Brace
Random House
Equinox Press
Smith & Haas
Viking Press
Knopf Dutton
Harper's Scribner's
Covici, Friede” -E.E. Cummings
This dedication, written by E.E. Cummings for a collection of poetry he made is a perfect example of how a dedication can be humorous, not just serious and simple. Here, he dedicated his collection to all of the publishers that turned him down for this specific piece of work.
This dedication is easily identifiable because it follows the rules that it is alone, on a blank page, and it shows what or whom the piece of writing is dedicated to. In this case, it’s all the uncooperative publishers. In other cases, it could be something more serious and less for comedic effect, such as to a family member.