Författaren försöker beskriva handlingen så tydligt som möjligt, men jag tycker ändå att titeln är lättare att förstå än handlingen.

Because they are in the definite singular form: the author, the plot, the title.

In Swedish, the definite article is usually attached to the end of the noun instead of being a separate word like the in English.

For example:

• en författare = an author

• författaren = the author

• en handling = a plot / an action

• handlingen = the plot

• en titel = a title
• titeln = the title

Here, the sentence is talking about a specific author, title, and plot, so the definite forms are used.

Here, handlingen means the plot or the storyline of a book, film, or other story.

The word handling can also mean action, act, or procedure in other contexts, so learners often get confused by it. In literary contexts, though, handling(en) very often means plot.

So in this sentence:

• beskriva handlingen = describe the plot

After försöka (to try), Swedish often uses the infinitive directly:

• försöker beskriva = tries to describe

You can also sometimes hear or see försöker att beskriva, but in modern Swedish, leaving out att is very common and natural.

So:

• försöker beskriva = natural and common
• försöker att beskriva = also possible, but often less neutral or a bit heavier in style

Because tydligt is functioning as an adverb here, not an adjective.

Compare:

• en tydlig beskrivning = a clear description
  Here tydlig describes a noun, so it is an adjective.

• beskriva något tydligt = describe something clearly
  Here tydligt describes the verb beskriva, so it works like an adverb.

In Swedish, the -t form of an adjective is often also used as an adverb.

So:

• tydlig = clear
• tydligt = clearly

This is a very common Swedish pattern meaning as ... as possible.

The structure is: så + adjective/adverb + som möjligt

So:

• så tydligt som möjligt = as clearly as possible

Other examples:

• så snabbt som möjligt = as quickly as possible
• så bra som möjligt = as well as possible
• så enkel som möjligt = as simple as possible

It is a set pattern, so it is best learned as a chunk.

Here, ändå means something like still, nevertheless, or all the same.

So:

• men = but
• ändå = adds the idea of despite that

The combination men ... ändå ... is very natural in Swedish when the speaker wants to make a stronger contrast.

So this part: men jag tycker ändå att ... means roughly: but I still think that ... or but I nevertheless think that ...

It emphasizes that even though the author tries hard to explain the plot clearly, the speaker still finds the title easier to understand.

They are spelled the same, but they do different jobs.

In jag tycker ändå att titeln är ..., att means that. It introduces a subordinate clause:

• jag tycker att ... = I think that ...

In lättare att förstå, att is the infinitive marker to:

• att förstå = to understand

So:

• att titeln är lättare ... = that the title is easier ...
• att förstå = to understand

This is very common in Swedish, so learners need to get used to att having both functions.

Lättare is the comparative form of lätt, so it means easier.

• lätt = easy
• lättare = easier

Swedish often uses lätt att + infinitive to mean easy to + verb:

• lätt att läsa = easy to read
• lätt att använda = easy to use
• lätt att förstå = easy to understand

So:

• titeln är lättare att förstå = the title is easier to understand

Because Swedish, like English, often leaves out repeated words in comparisons when the meaning is already clear.

So:

• titeln är lättare att förstå än handlingen means:
• the title is easier to understand than the plot

The full idea is understood without repeating everything. In English we do the same:

• The title is easier to understand than the plot not usually
• The title is easier to understand than the plot is to understand

So Swedish is being economical here.

Yes. There are two different clause types here.

First, the main clause:

• jag tycker ändå
  Swedish main clauses normally follow verb-second word order, so the finite verb comes early:
• jag tycker ändå ...

Then the subordinate clause after att:

• att titeln är lättare att förstå

In subordinate clauses, Swedish does not use the same verb-second pattern. The subject usually comes before the finite verb:

• titeln är not
• är titeln

So this sentence shows a very useful contrast:

• main clause: jag tycker ...
• subordinate clause: att titeln är ...

Not naturally in this sentence.

Using the definite forms titeln and handlingen shows that the speaker is talking about the specific title and specific plot of a particular work. Since the sentence also mentions författaren (the author), the context is clearly about one known book, story, film, etc.

If you used the indefinite forms:

• en titel
• en handling

it would sound more general, as if you were talking about titles or plots in general rather than this particular one.

So the definite forms are the natural choice here.