Close Reading Analysis of a Text

When you write about close reading, you start with the larger meaning you have discovered and use the small details—the language itself—that show how they affect the text’s larger meaning to support your interpretation. Reaching the text’s deeper meaning when we write about rhetoric and style requires analyzing the strategies a writer uses to achieve a particular purpose; it is not mere summarization.

Analysis through the rhetorical triangle—subject, speaker, audience—responding to the context and purpose of our interactions with the text

Analysis of Author’s Style Tone Sentence structure Vocabulary Style contributes to the meaning, purpose and effect of a text Style is a subset of rhetoric; it is a means of persuasion. How does the author’s choices in diction and syntax achieve a particular purpose? To answer this question, you must first determine what the purpose is, what the choices are, and what effect those choices create.

Three Tools for Analyzing Text Annotations Dialectical Journals Graphic Organizers Read the copies of pp. 38-48, Shea’s The Language of Composition. Jane Knobler’s essay is an example of the kind of writing about close reading that you will be expected to emulate. Notice that Knobler’s essay does two things at once: analyzes how the author creates a sense of foreboding to develop her argument about the winds’ effects on human behavior.

Analysis of a Visual Text Read/discuss copies of pp. 49-51. Homework: Find an ad that either appeals to you or provokes you, and analyze it as we have done with the Durango ad. Write a complete analysis that supports a thesis that addresses the ad’s tone and the targeted audience. See sample thesis on p. 51.

First Practice Analyzing Style Read Suzanne Berne’s concluding paragraphs of “Where Nothing Says Everything,” an essay about visiting Ground Zero. p.36

Answer the following questions about Berne’s style: S-Why is the first paragraph one sentence? D-In that paragraph, why does Berne call the empty space “the disaster”? S-Why does the third sentence begin with “Gathered” rather than “Firefighters”? D-What examples of figurative language appear in the fourth paragraph? D-Does the word huddled in the fourth paragraph remind you of anything else you have read? S-What is the effect of the dashes in the final sentence?

The previous questions fall into two categories: The choice of words (Diction) The arrangement of words (Syntax)

Tropes (artful diction) Metaphor Simile Personification hyperbole

Scheme (artful syntax) Parallelisms Juxtapositions--an act or instance of placing close together or side by side, esp. for comparison or contrast; the state of being close together or side by side. Antithesis--Juxtaposition of contrasting ideas in balanced phrases or clauses. Adjective: antithetical.

Tropes and Schemes Tropes and Schemes In classical rhetoric, the tropes and schemes fall under the canon of style. These stylistic features certainly do add spice to writing and speaking. And they are commonly thought to be persuasive because they dress up otherwise mundane language; the idea being that we are persuaded by the imagery and artistry because we find it entertaining. There is much more to tropes and schemes than surface considerations. Indeed, politicians and pundits use these language forms to create specific social and political effects by playing on our emotions. Definitions: Trope: The use of a word, phrase, or image in a way not intended by its normal signification. Scheme: A change in standard word order or pattern. Tropes and schemes are collectively known as figures of speech. The following is a short list of some of the most common figures of speech. I have selected figures that politicians and pundits use often--especially schemes of repetition and word order, which convey authority.

Anaphora: A scheme in which the same word or phrase is repeated at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, or sentences. Example: "I will fight for you. I will fight to save Social Security. I will fight to raise the minimum wage." Anastrophe: A scheme in which normal word order is changed for emphasis. Example: "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country." Antithesis: A scheme that makes use of contrasting words, phrases, sentences, or ideas for emphasis (generally used in parallel grammatical structures). Example: " Americans in need are not strangers; they are citizens, not problems, but priorities." Apostrophe: A scheme in which a person or an abstract quality is directly addressed, whether present or not. Example: "Freedom! You are a beguiling mistress." Apostrophe: A scheme in which the same word is repeated at the end of successive phrases, clauses, or sentences. Example: “I believe we should fight for justice. You believe we should fight for justice. How can we not, then, fight for justice?” Hyperbole: A trope composed of exaggerated words or ideals used for emphasis and not to be taken literally. Example: "I've told you a million times not to call me a liar!" Irony: A trope in which a word or phrase is used to mean the opposite of its literal meaning. Example: "I just love scrubbing the floor." Litotes: A trope in which one makes a deliberate understatement for emphasis. Example: Young lovers are kissing and an observer says: "I think they like each other.“

Metaphor: A trope in which a word or phrase is transferred from its literal meaning to stand for something else. Unlike a simile, in which something is said to be "like" something else, a metaphor says something is something else. Example: "Debt is a bottomless sea." Metonymy: A trope that substitutes an associated word for one that is meant. Example: Using "top brass" to refer to military officers. Oxymoron: A trope that connects two contradictory terms. Example: “Bill is a cheerful pessimist.” Periphrasis: A trope in which one substitutes a descriptive word or phrase for a proper noun. Example: “The big man upstairs hears your prayers.” Personification: A trope in which human qualities or abilities are assigned to abstractions or inanimate objects. Example: “Integrity thumbs its nose at pomposity.” Pun: A play on words in which a homophone is repeated but used in a different sense. Examples: “She was always game for any game." Rhetorical Question: A trope in which the one asks a leading question. Example: "With all the violence on TV today, is it any wonder kids bring guns to school?" Simile: A trope in which one states a comparison between two things that are not alike but have similarities. Unlike metaphors, similes employ "like" or "as." Example: "Her eyes are as blue as a robin's egg." Synecdoche: A trope in which a part stands for the whole. Example: "Tom just bought a fancy new set of wheels." Zeugma: A trope in which one verb governs several words, or clauses, each in a different sense. Example: “He stiffened his drink and his spine.”

Some Questions for Analyzing Diction Which of the important words in the passage (verbs, nouns, adjectives, and adverbs) are general and abstract? Which are specific and concrete? Are the important words formal, informal, colloquial, or slang? Are some words nonliteral or figurative, creating figures of speech such as metaphors?

Diction Colloquial (slang) Informal (Conversational)/Formal (Literary)/Archaic (Old-fashioned) Connotative (Suggestive Meaning)/Denotative (Exact Meaning) Concrete (Specific)/Abstract (General or Conceptual) Euphonious(Pleasant Sounding)/Cacophonous (Harsh Sounding) Monosyllabic (One Syllable)/Polysyllabic (Multiple Syllables)

Lexicon The word choices speakers and writers make can tell us much about their world views and attitudes toward political situations. Analysis based on lexicon is most profitably undertaken with a computer. One may use special programs for word analysis, such as Diction 5.0 (Sage Publications Software), or text editing programs that report extensive data about text files. The old-fashioned way works well, too, if you have the time. Here are things to look for: Nouns: Nouns tell us what interests a speaker. Are they concrete or abstract? Do they identify things or feelings? In what proportion do they balance the concrete and the abstract? Do they specifically define their abstract nouns or do they rely on the audience to supply a culturally accepted definition? Verbs: Verbs tell us what actions interest a speaker. Does the speaker use active verb forms so that the agent of the action is clear. Or does the writer hide the agent in passive constructions. Does the writer use metaphoric verbs? Ultimate or "god" terms: These are words that have a special force within a culture, i.e. "freedom" or "liberty." Communications scholar Roderick Hart1 claims that "much public oratory is little more than a clever interspersing of such words at appropriate times, which often turns genuine communication into mere word-saying." Code words or jargon: These are words meant to communicate special messages to a subgroup or limited members of a broader audience. Code words are meant to exclude some people from the communication. Code words may often be euphemisms, such as "collateral damage" for the killing of innocent civilians in a war zone. Adjectives: Words that writers use to modify nouns often reveal bias, such as the term "arch" used to modify "conservative." Adjectives also tell us much about the emotional involvement of the speaker. For example, there is a big difference between the "homeless" and the "forgotten homeless." Adverbs: Adverbs tell us much about what a speaker intends to do and how they intend to do it. Compare these statements: "We must save Social Security" and "We must move quickly to save Social Security."

Some Questions for Analyzing Syntax What is the order of the parts of the sentence? Is it the usual (subject-verb-object), or is it inverted? Which part of speech is more prominent—nouns or verbs? What are the sentences like? Are they periodic (moving toward something important at the end) or cumulative (adding details that support an important idea in the beginning of the sentence)? How does the sentence connect its words, phrases, and clauses?

Punctuation is included in syntax! Ellipses…a trailing off; going off in a dreamlike state Dash—interruption of a thought; an interjection of a thought into another Semicolon; parallel ideas; equal ideas; a piling up of detail Colon: a list; a definition or explanation; a result Italic for emphasis CAPITALIZATION for emphasis Exclamation Point! For emphasis; for emotion

Shifts in Tone Attitude Change about Topic/Subject Key Words (but, nevertheless, however, although) Changes in the line/sentence length Paragraph Divisions Punctuation (dashes, periods, colons) Sharp contrasts in diction

Assignment Read, analyze, and write about President John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address, pp. 51-54. As you read it for the first time, consider the notion maintained by the ancient Romans and Greeks that eloquence is indispensable to politics. As you read it the second time, have a conversation with the text by annotating it, creating a dialectical journal, or using a graphic organizer. Analyze the big ideas through the rhetorical triangle and its appeals. Then analyze the specific language and arrangement of the speech, considering the tone that results. See next slides for questions to help with your analysis.

Diction Questions for JFK’s Speech Why are so many of the words abstract? How do words like freedom, poverty, devotion, loyalty, and sacrifice set the tone of the speech? Find examples of formal rhetorical tropes such as metaphor and personification. What is their effect? Does Kennedy use any figures of speech that might be considered clichés? Which metaphors are fresher? Is there a pattern to their use? Do any of the words in the speech seem archaic, or old-fashioned? If so, what are they? What is their effect?

Syntax Questions for JFK’s Speech The speech is a succession of twenty-eight short paragraphs. Twelve paragraphs have only one sentence, eight have two, and six have three sentences. Why do you think Kennedy used these short paragraphs? The speech contains two extremes of sentence length, ranging from eighty words (para. 4) to six words (para. 6). A high percentage of the sentences are on the short side. Why? More than twenty sentences are complex sentences—that is, sentences that contain a subordinate clause. How do complex sentences suggest hidden energy?

Syntax Questions Cont. The speech has many examples of antithesis in parallel grammatical structures: “To those old allies”; “to those new states”; “If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich”; and of course, “[A]sk not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.” What does this use of opposites suggest about the purpose of Kennedy’s speech? Why is the dominance of declarative sentences, which make statements, appropriate in an inaugural address?

Syntax Questions Cont. Paragraph 24 consists of two rhetorical questions. How do they act as a transition to Kennedy’s call for action. Find examples of rhetorical schemes such as anaphora (the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, or lines) and zeugma (use of two different words in a grammatically similar way but producing different, often incongruous, meanings).

Syntax Questions Cont. Consider the speech’s many examples of parallelism: “born in this country, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our heritage”; “pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe.” How do they lend themselves to Kennedy’s purpose?

Syntax Questions cont. Kennedy uses hortative sentences (language that urges or calls to action) in paragraphs 2-21: “let us,” “Let both sides.” Later, in paragraphs 26-27, he uses the imperative: “ask” and “ask not.” What is the difference between the two forms, and why did he start with one and end with the other?

More Tips for Analysis Even if you were not able to answer all of the questions, you may be able to see one or more patterns. Now listen and follow along as I read some analyses, answering the previous questions, of Kennedy’s address. What I am reading you will emulate in your written analysis. Pay particular attention to the sample thesis sentence. See copies of terms, pp. 58-59.