Close reading

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 5

Goals today: 30th  Nov  

You read for 10 minutes in the Great Gatsby=> 5th Dec end chpt 7 

Homework check 

You will start to take steps to prepare for analysis of a passage 

Close reading practise 

We will start to practise the skill of close reading and annotation and note taking. You do this before you start to plan your essay. 

How to do close reading 

The skill called "close reading" is fundamental for interpreting literature. "Reading closely," means developing a deep understanding and a precise interpretation of a literary passage that is based first and foremost on the words themselves. But a close reading does not stop there; rather, it embraces larger themes and ideas evoked and/or implied by the passage itself. It is essential that we distinguish between doing a close reading and writing one. Doing a close reading involves a thought process that moves from small details to larger issues. Writing an essay after close reading begins with these larger issues and uses the relevant details as evidence. 

 

the relevant details as evidence.

Step 1 

1. Getting Started: Treat the passage as if it were complete in itself. Read it a few times, at least once aloud. Concentrate on all its details and assume that everything is significant. Determine what the passage is about and try to paraphrase it. Make sure that you begin with a general sense of the passage’s meaning.

 

What is this passage about? 

What is the passage about? Paraphrase it in a couple of sentences.

Step 2

 Write directly on the passage!

-Write at least two questions in the margins as you re-read. Write at least two opinions in the margins: you might write your opinion of a character, an idea, the writing style, etc.

Write your a question and a statement (opinion)

Step 3

Word meaning: Determine the meanings of words and references. Also, note (and verify) interesting connotations of words. Look up two words you do not know or

which are used in unfamiliar ways. (Laziness in this step will inevitably result in diminished comprehension.)

Write your two words and their definitions.

Step 4

Consider the diction (word choice) of the passage. What mood does it invoke? How would you describe the feeling a reader would get from reading Nick’s descriptions of Gatsby and Daisy in the passage?

Using your thesaurus find vocabulary to describe the mood. 

Positive 

negative 

Vocabulary to describe
the mood (post words separately)

Describe the mood (use a thesaurus to find the right word)

Step 5

Imagery: What sort of imagery is invoked? (What images can you see in your head ?)

How do the images relate to those in the rest of the text? Are they similar or different and how?  

What happens to the imagery over the course of the passage?

Find techniques that the author has used to convey a vivid image. For example - metaphor, simile, personification, descriptive language, pathetic fallacy, semantic field

What are your findings or ideas about the imagery of the passage?

Step 6

Construct a Thesis: Based on all of this information and observation, construct a thesis that ties the details together. Determine how the passage illuminates the concerns, themes, and issues of the entire text it is a part of. Ask yourself how the passage provides insight into the text. Try to determine how the passage provides us a key to understanding the character of Gatsby and the work as a whole.

Your thesis (premise/argument) about the passage?

Starting out ...

1. Read the extract once or twice to develop an overview of it. 

2. What are the purposes of the extract?  For example, is the author portraying characters, place or action? What kinds of feelings and attitudes does the author seem to be encouraging in the reader? 

3. Think about the context. Where in the novel does this extract appear? How is what happens important? What aspects of the characters are illustrated? Are any of the novel's themes evident? Do any elements in the extract echo, or contrast with, other parts of the novel? 

Narrative point of view 

1. first-person or third-person, omniscient, limited? 

2. Narrative voice = how the narrator speaks to the reader (particularly important in first-person narrations). 

3. Relationship between the narrator and the reader. Is the reader addressed directly? 

Dialogue 

1. How is the dialogue presented = direct/indirect /free direct/free indirect

Direct speech = He asked, "How are you?"

Indirect speech = He asked her how she was 

Free direct speech = No accompanying explanation or comment from the narrator. = "How are you?"

                        "I'm fine."

Free indirect speech = Words spoken are not quoted and the author is also missing = He told her he was pleased to see her. How was she? 

Dialogue 

1. How close is the dialogue to natural speech? 

2. How does the speech of individual characters differ? 

3. How do characters interact? What does the dialogue reveal about relationships between characters? 

4. How does the narrator's accompanying commentary influence the way we interpret the dialogue? 

5. Are characters' thoughts presented - if so, how? 

Diction 

1. How formal or informal is the diction = the register. 

2. Is any vocabulary non-standard? 

3. What are the connotations of individual words? Are there groups of words with similar connotations = semantic field 

4. Is there any use made of imagery, simile, metaphor and personification?

5. How are the impressions we form of the characters influenced by the diction used? 

6. Does the diction reflect the period in which the text was written or the time in which it is set? 

Grammar 

1. What types of words (word class) are used, and to what effect? Verbs, adjectives, adverbs, nouns, pronouns, prepositions etc. 

2. What types of sentences are used? =  declarative(statement), interrogative, imperative, exclamatory

3. Sentence length - long or short or simple, compound, complex sentence structure.

4. Syntax/ word order = parallelism, repetition. Is there a rhythmic effect? 

5. Is the tense significant? 

Extract structure 

1. How is the extract organised, and how does it develop?

2. Is the end or beginning of the extract particularly significant?

3. Is the paragraphing significant? Do changes in paragraph correspond with changes in perspective, point of view, tone or mood? 

Whilst reading ...

a. –Answers rooted in the text

b. –re-reading: 2 passes through the material

c. –main idea

d. –inference

e. –generalization

f. - prediction 

g. –vocabulary choice, diction, connotation

h. –choice of detail

i. –tone (feeling)

j. –rephrasing, restate an idea

k. –contrast

Discuss with your partner ...

Discuss with your partner your understanding of the passage. Discuss your understanding of the questions. Look up in a dictionary (can be online) any vocabulary you do not understand. 

Write answers to all the questions 

Answer each question using at least one complete sentence. Use more, if necessary. Do not answer in bullet point or note form.