What is Close Reading?

Close reading Close reading means you read and analyze a passage in fine detail, as if with a magnifying glass  Take your time—don’t rush  Go line by line or sentence by sentence Close reading is essential for larger analysis  Making notes is crucial to helping you organize your thoughts once you’ve finished reading.  You will most likely need to read the piece several times to glean all the information you need for a thorough analysis Your thoughts evolve as your own—what do YOU notice or observe?  You are not just repeating someone else’s truth; you are advocating your own discoveries!

How do I start? As you read, try to answer at least 10 of the close reading questions  The questions are a starting point for your own thoughts.  Once those questions have answers, you can start to consider a thesis if you plan to write an analysis.  The answers to these questions will help you determine how to organize your paper.

The Questions I. First Impressions 1. What is the first thing you notice about the passage? 2. What is the second thing? 3. Do the two things you noticed complement each other? Do they contradict each other? 4. What mood does the passage create in you? Why?

The Questions II. Vocabulary and Diction 1. Which words do you notice first? Why? What is noteworthy about this diction? 2. How do the important words relate to one another? 3. Do any words seems oddly used to you? Why? 4. Do any words have double meanings? Do they have extra connotations? 5. Look up any unfamiliar words. (For pre-20 th century words, use the Oxford English Dictionary.)

The Questions III. Discerning Patterns 1. Does an image here remind you of an image elsewhere in the text? Where? What’s the connection? 2. How might this image fit into the pattern of the book/text as a whole? 3. Could this passage symbolize the entire work? Could this passage serve as a microcosm—a little picture of—what is taking place in the whole work? 4. What is the sentence rhythm like? Short and choppy? Long and flowing? Does it build on itself or stay at an even pace? What is the style like?

The Questions III. Discerning Patterns (con’t.) 5. Look at the punctuation. Is there anything unusual about it? 6. Is there any repetition within the passage? What is the effect of that repetition? 7. How many types of writing are in the passage? For example, narration, description, argument, dialogue, rhymed or alliterative poetry, etc.) 8. Can you identify paradoxes in the author’s thought or subject? 9. What is left out or kept silent? What would you expect the author to talk about that the author avoided?

The Questions IV. Point of View and Characterization 1. How does the passage make us react or think about any characters or events within the narrative? 2. Are there colors, sounds, physical descriptions that appeal to the senses? Does this imagery form a pattern? Why might the author have chosen that color, sound, or physical description? 3. Who speaks in the passage? To whom does he or she speak? Does the narrator have a limited or partial point of view? Or does the narrator appear to be omniscient, and he knows things the characters couldn’t possibly know?

The Questions V. Symbolism 1. Are there metaphors? What kinds? 2. Is there one controlling metaphor? If not, how many different metaphors are there, and in what order do they occur? How might that be significant? 3. How might objects represent something else? 4. Do any of the objects, colors, animals, or plants appearing in the passage have traditional connotations or meanings? What about religious or biblical significance? 5. If there are multiple meanings in the work, could we read the entire passage as having an allegorical meaning beyond a literal level?