how to close read

a. what is happening

• in what context does this passage appear

• how does this context modify the meaning of the passage

• what role does passage play in overall progression of plot

x. how is it happening

structure

sound

rhythm/meter

punctuation

syntax

imagery

rhetorical devices

tone/narrative voice

irony

vocab/diction

paradoxes/contradictions

omissions

structure

how does it develop themes/ideas

how is passage organized

are there climaxes/turning points

sound

alliteration, assonance, rhyme, conconance, euphony, cacophony, onomatopoeia

rhythm/meter

short/choppy?

long/flowing?

build on itself or keep pace?

how does structure relate to content?

punctuation

commas, semi colons, periods - units & sub-units of thoughts

syntax

sentences simple or complex, suspension, parallels, opposition, repetitons

imagery

how do images relate to rest of text, what happens to imagery in rest of passage, does it noticeably

rhetorical devices

metaphors, similes, images, symbols

do they work w themes

classical/biblical allusions

tone/narrative voice

speaker’s attitude toward their subject/hearers, how is it reflected in tone, what does passage reveal abt speaker

irony

how does irony operate if at all (review kinds of ironies)

vocab/diction

how do words relate to one another, recurring phrase, odd words - deliberate, or just old english, double meanings

paradoxes/contradictions

can you identify any

omission

what is left out/silenced? what would you expect author to say that wasn’t said?

b. why does this matter?

inductive reasoning

consider:

• why do you think author chose to express ideas of this passage in particular way

• WHAT IS OVERALL EFFECT OF THIS PASSAGE

• how could this passage symbolize something wrong in the entire work, could passage serve as microcosm (little picture), what’s taking place in whole narrative

inductive reasoning

details FIRST, how they lead to interpretive conclusion