Close Reading
How to Do a Close Reading of a Literary Passage
Roth
How to Do a Close Reading
To do a close reading, you analyze a passage in fine detail, as if with a magnifying glass. You comment on points of style and your reactions as a reader.
Why is Close Reading Important?
Close reading is the building block for larger textual analysis
Your thoughts evolve not from someone else’s ideas about the reading, but from your own
The more closely you observe, the more original and exact your ideas will be
To Begin Your Close Reading…
First, reread the passage several times
Choose a passage that strikes you as significant, interesting, and/or thought-provoking
Ask yourself the following questions and freewrite to answer them to get your ideas going
First Impressions
What did I first notice about the passage?
What did I notice second?
Do the two things I noticed complement or contradict each other? Any relationship between the two?
What mood does the passage create and why?
Vocabulary & Diction
Which words did I notice first and why? What is noteworthy about the diction? How do important words relate to one another?
Are any words used oddly? How so?
Any words with double meanings or extra connotations?
Look up any unfamiliar words
Discerning Patterns
Does an image here remind me of an image elsewhere in the book? Where? What is the connection?
How could this image fit into the pattern of the book as a whole?
Could this image symbolize the entire work?
What is the sentence rhythm like? Short and choppy? Long and flowing?
Discerning Patterns, continued
Any unusual punctuation?
Any repetition?
How many types of writing are in the passage (narration, argument, dialogue, etc.)?
Anything left out/kept silent?
Points of View/Characterization
How does the passage make me react or think about any characters or events within the narrative?
Are there colors, sounds, etc. that appeal to the sense? Does the imagery form a pattern?
Who speaks in the passage? To whom? Does that person have a limited or partial point of view?
Symbolism
Are there metaphors? What kinds?
Any controlling metaphors?
How might objects represent something else
Do any of the objects, colors, animals, plants, etc. have traditional connotations or meaning?
If there are multiple symbols in the work, could we read the entire passage as an allegory?