ENG 252H1F: Guide to Close Reading

In literary criticism, a close reading is a careful, sustained interpretation of a discrete portion

of a text. Close reading involves analyzing the textual details in a passage, paying attention to
both form and content, and examining how these textual details speak to the broader themes
and concerns that preoccupy the text as a whole. Below, you will find some tips and strategies
on how to perform a close reading.

To get started, read the passage in question more than once, annotating the text as you go. Pay
attention to its details and assume that everything is significant. Link elements of style, tone,
form, and structure to the overall meaning of the selected passage. In particular, pay attention to
the following:
• Word order and sentence structure: Is the sentence structure (syntax) remarkable in any
way? Are sentences long or short? In poetry, do lines have strong end-stops or do they
enjamb (i.e., run into one another), and do they follow an identifiable rhyme scheme and/or
meter? What effect does this have on the text? What role does punctuation play in the text?
Is it conventional or unconventional? To what effect?
• Keywords, diction (word choice): What are the words that stand out to you and why?Are
there any words with multiple or ambiguous meanings? Do repeated words carry the same
meaning each time they are used or does the meaning change? What is distinctive about the
word choice? Does the author seem to have a kind of style (elaborate, simple,
conversational, descriptive, etc.?)
• Point of view or shifts in point of view: Who speaks? If it is a first-person point of view,
is the speaker’s subject position (i.e., their gender, race, class, or other personal
particularities) relevant to the meaning of the passage? Who is being addressed? Is the
point of view omniscient or is it limited omniscient? Does the point of view shift? If it
does, what is the significance of this?
• Tone: What attitude does the “voice” of the text take toward the subject of the text? Is the
tone serious, ironic, amorous, argumentative, intimate, conversational, etc.? Does the tone
change throughout the text? Is it clear or ambiguous?
• Use of figurative language (metaphors, similes, personification, etc.)
• Use of verbs (passive or active voice? conditional mode? past or future tense?imperative
mode?)
• Ambiguities, contradictions, etc.
• Imagery: How does the text evoke sense experience? How does the text represent sensory
experiences (vision/sight, smell, hearing/auditory, taste/gustatory, touch/tactile)?What
pictures or senses are captured in the words of the text? What imagery, if any, is most
striking or frequent?
• The particularities of a character’s speech
• Descriptions of body language and setting
 • The extent to which the passage fits into or departs from the text’s overall style and
genre.

Annotating the text: circle key terms; link elements that are joined together semantically
or contrast each other; note whether certain elements of the passage point to other points in
the text or beyond it; look up significant words in the OED to flesh out hidden connotations
and/or historical meanings (this is especially advisable when dealing with historical texts).

Make a plan:

Based on the process described above:

• Decide on the focus your close reading will have. If the passage you select is going to
be used in an essay, decide how it will fit into your argument or how it will shape the
thesis of your essay.
• Have a rationale for your selection of the passage: why is this passage
or image important? This will help you contextualize your close reading, and,
in the case of your essay, strengthen your thesis statement.
• You cannot possibly discuss every single detail of the selected passage, so select the
passage while keeping in mind how much close analysis you can provide within the
limited length of an essay, or the limited time you have when doing a close reading as
part of an in-class writing exercise.
• Formulate a thesis that 1) addresses what you consider to be the central
preoccupations of the text in question and 2) articulates how this passage relates to
those central concerns.
• Note that the order in which you discuss the specific aspects of the passage does not
have to follow the order in which they appear in it. The order of elements to be
discussed should follow the logic of your argument.

To expand on some of the points listed above:

• Pay attention to recurring motifs or images in the passage selected and analyze
how the connect to the broader themes of the text in question.

• Pay attention to the overall structure of the passage. For example: How does it
present the main ideas/images? How is it organized? Are there climaxes and turning
points? Are things / ideas presented in the form of a catalogue? Is it marked by
contrasts, ambiguities, or contradictions? Etc.

• Pay attention to its tone and diction. For example: Is it articulated in lofty rhetoric or
quiet terms? Is the language used colloquial or formal? What is the speaker’s attitude
toward her or his subject and /or hearers? Is it ironic? Does it convey anger, shock,
surprise, pleasure? How are such feelings reflected in the use of language?

• How is the historical period of the text registered in the passage? What does the
 passage reflect about the speaker? Is there more than one speaker? What / whom are
they addressing? Is the passage meditative? Intended to produce some action?

• What difference do various aspects of identity (i.e., gender, race, age, cultural
background, class) make?

• Does the passage / image point to other texts or via allusions? If yes, why? How do
such references contribute to the meaning of the piece?

*For more tips and strategies on how to perform a close reading, plese visit this excellent
resource: http://web.uvic.ca/~englblog/closereading .