Close Reading: The Steps I Recommend
1. Choose a Passage: This sounds easier than one would think. Choose a passage that is significant to the development of the narrative OR a passage that "struck" you when you first read it.
2. Think about Context: Where and when does this passage occur in the text? What has recently happened, and what will happen shortly after this passage? Why is this passage where it is in the text?
3. Think about Form: How is the passage written? Is it a letter, a conversation, a monologue? Why is this form ideal for what the passage conveys? What does having this particular form do for what the passage means or says?
4. Think about Words and Phrases: Assume every word (or set of words) has an intention and a place in this passage. What are they? Why use these words specifically? How do these words function? How do they relate to what you've already addressed in thinking about form and context?
5. Make Connections (pull it all together): Now that you've collected information about context, form, and the words themselves, are there any recurring themes or conclusions you can develop? Remove what seems extraneous or unnecessary, and keep the essential pieces of information. You can now begin to write about this passage as a close reading in your literary analysis.
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