2. What you
“should”
know by
now
How to analyze
a work based
on your
emotional
response
How to analyze
based on
historical time
period
How to analyze
based on
rhetorical
function
How to find
literary and
rhetorical
devices
4. Step 1
Focus on the
Text
Focused on the variety and degree of certain literary devices,
specifically metaphor, irony, tension, and paradox.
Emphasized “close reading” as a way to engage with a text.
Focused on form and meaning rather than an emotional
reaction
Emotions are extremely important, but…objective meaning more
important.
Objective = that which can be proved by referencing information in the
text
Has its limitations: lacks attention to text context, but
is a place to start before using more subjective critical theories
such as Feminist Theory and Deconstruction Theory which focus
on context.
* Subjective means based on the personal perspective or preferences of a
person—the subject who’s observing something.
*Objective means not influenced by or based on a personal viewpoint—based on
the analysis of an object of observation only.
5. The Basics
This presentation uses information directly from a web article titled
“How to Teach Close Reading: Demystifying Literary Analysis for
undergraduates” by Jarrell D. Wright, University of Pittsburgh
The text boils literary analysis down into three
simple steps:
(0) Understanding
◦ What is happening; what does it mean
(1) Noticing and
◦ How is ‘what’ shown to the reader; purposeful
use of lit. devices/element
(2) Explaining
◦ Why does the ‘how’ (use of lit. devices) help the
reader understand the ‘what’ (support meaning)
6. (0) Understanding “The What”
“What is happening; what does it mean”
Understanding a text’s surface meaning is ‘step zero’. Summary and paraphrase
inadequate substitutes for close reading, BUT…
One must be able to summarize or paraphrase accurately before analyzing the work.
• reading between the lines, “against the grain”, before understanding the lines
themselves, “with the grain”, often leads to misinterpretations.
One needs to UNDERSTAND what the text is about before deeper meaning
is analyzed.
7. (1) Noticing “The How”
“How is ‘what’ shown to the reader”
“A common mistake
that students make
is an error of focus.
Concentration on
the “what” rather
than the “how” and
“why”
First, understand
than large-scale
features like plot
points and general
character profiles
(archetypes) and
types.
Then, examine
small-scale details in
a text
Word choice,
punctuation, use of
characterization,
dialogue, and
figurative language
A great deal of
analytical work can
be done with
seemingly minor
authorial choices,
Beyond a basic
understanding of the
story, there is
relatively little to
analyze when
focusing on the
large-scale.
Authorial choice is
important
It helps explain why
minor details matter.
All writers make
carful choices that
are worth
examining.
8. (2) Explaining “The Why”
“Why does the how help the reader understand the what”
Explaining is moving beyond what is interesting to what is significant in the text.
Use what you notice to construct an argument about how particular authorial choices affect
the text.
Don’t read the author’s mind about regarding choices; instead, the aim is to reveal effects of
those choices.
The purpose of literary analysis is to present an argument that any careful reader of the
text can understand, not simply “what I think”
Literary arguments should be controversial. An interpretation that is obviously true is basically
a summary. Aspire to provide a reasonable thesis that readers could either agree or disagree.
9. Watch Out for the “Quicksand”
Avoid searching for so-called
“hidden meanings.”
Authors usually do not plant
secret “Easter eggs” into their
texts
Author’s make choices through
attention to textual details.
We are analyzing those details
not deciphering a puzzle
Avoid a moralistic approach of
searching for “life lessons”
We do this in a high school-level
English class.
Less appropriate for college-level
work.
Focus on how texts work (how it
says what it says) rather than what
texts teach us (only what it says)
Avoid the mistake of
“relating” to a text.
The goal of close reading is
to provide insights about the
the text rather than insights
about its reader.
Do this by avoiding claims
about what the text means
“to me.”
10. The Kiss
by Edvard Munch (1897)
Apply:
Step 0 “What is happening; what
does it mean”,
Step 1 “How is ‘what’ shown to
the reader” , and
Step 2 “Why does the how help
the reader understand the what”
by
first jot down notes
then discuss with partner
after that, class discussion
12. “Good Bones”
Life is short, though I keep this from my children.
Life is short, and I’ve shortened mine
in a thousand delicious, ill-advised ways,
a thousand deliciously ill-advised ways
I’ll keep from my children. The world is at least
fifty percent terrible, and that’s a conservative
estimate, though I keep this from my children.
For every bird there is a stone thrown at a bird.
For every loved child, a child broken, bagged,
sunk in a lake. Life is short and the world
is at least half terrible, and for every kind
stranger, there is one who would break you,
though I keep this from my children. I am trying
to sell them the world. Any decent realtor,
walking you through a real shithole, chirps on
about good bones: This place could be beautiful,
right? You could make this place beautiful.
Maggie Smith
Pg. 808
Follow close reading steps
Jot down notes
Discuss: what is the poem about?
How does it show this meaning to
the reader? (focus on choices)
Editor's Notes
Attention to large-scale features, particularly by students who are new to close reading, is likely to lead to summary and paraphrase rather than analysis.
