Close rea
ding is thoughtful, critical analysis of a text that focuses on significant details or patterns in
order to develop a deep, precise understanding of the texts form, craft,
themes
, etc.
Reach for
interpretation
in your analysis, looking beyond summary to y
our
understanding of its deeper meanings
.
Elements to look for:
1.
Characters:
Who
are the people
in in the narrative? Who is the protagonist? Who are the
antagonists, if any? What is their principal characteristics? Are they nuanced characters? Why
do they feel real? What is their inner
motivation
?
Why do they feel real or artificial to you?
Provide
specific examples.
2.
Setting:
Where does this narrative occur? What specific details does the author use to illustrate
the feeling, the look, the smell, the taste and the feel of that place? What is unique about this
authors depiction of the setting?
3.
Co
nflict:
At the core of every character, there is a conflict. What are the forces working against
this character, and how are they working against them? How does this manifest? This moves
beyond that traditional depiction of character VS herself or characte
r VS nature. Look for
nuance, complexity, an inner landscape here. How is it written?
4.
Point of View:
Who is the narrator? Is this first person, second, third person limited or
omniscient? Does it alternate? Why is the story told from this point of
view? How would it be
different in another characters eyes?
5.
Voice
:
Diction, with its emphasis on words, provides the
voice of the work.
The dictionary will
illuminate new connotatio
ns and new denotations of words, while the sound of the voice will
lend it a certain conversational, elevated or intimate tone. Why is this the voice the author
used? What is the effect?
6.
Structure
. Divide the
narrative
into obvious sections
, and look at t
he interrelation of these units.
How do they develop? Again, what can you postulate regarding a controlling design for the work
at this point? Does the form contribute to the meaning
of the story
?
7.
Style
. Look for any significant aspects of style
parallel
constructions, antithesis, etc. Look for
patte
rns, polarities, and problems, p
eriodic sentences, clause structures
.
Look for alliteration,
internal rhymes and other such poetic devices which are often used in prose as well as in poetry.
Why would the auth
or write in this way
? Is it
reflective
of a particular character? Conflict?
Setting?
8.
Tone:
What is the mood of the text? This is when you can discuss the emotional tenure of the
piece. How does it feel inside the world of the narrative? How did the author
create that feeling,
mood or tone?
9.
Figurative Language
. Examine the
narrative
carefully for similes, images, metaphors, and
symbols. Look for
multiple
meanings and overlapping of meaning. Look for repetitions, for
oppositions
.
Consider how
these figurative examples play into
a pattern and/or points to
theme.
10.
Context:
If your text is part of a larger
collection
, make brief reference to its position in
the
whole; if it is a short work, say, a poem, refer it to other works in its author’s canon, perhaps
chronologically, but also thematically.
How does it fit into the larger literary moment?
Why is
this representative of our era?
11.
Theme:
A theme is not
to be confused with thesis; the
theme
or more properly
themes
of a
work of literature is its broadest, most pervasive concern, and it is contained in a complex
combination of elements. In contrast to a thesis, which is usually expressed in a single,
argume
ntative
, declarative sentence and is characteristic of expository prose rather than
creative literature, a theme is
not
a statement; rat
her, it often is expressed in
a phrase, such as
“illusion versus reality,” or “the tyranny of circumstance.” Generally,
the theme of a work is
never “right” or “wrong.” There can be virtually as many themes as there are readers, for
essentially the concept of theme refers to the emotion and insight which results from the
experience o
f reading a work of literatur
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