Close reading essay over Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night.

Close Reading of a Literary Passage
(Adapted from: https://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/reading_lit.html& Marshalla Hutson)

Close readingis a close examination of a text for deeper meaning than what is on the surface. It looks beyond the story into symbolism, metaphor, and interpretation. Close reading is important because it is the building block for larger analysis. Your thoughts evolve not from someone else’s truth about the reading, but from your own observations. The more closely you can observe, the more original and exact your ideas will be.

When doing a close reading, analyze the text in fine detail, as if with a magnifying glass; you should ask yourself several specific questions. Below are some examples:

I. First Impressions:
• What is the first thing you notice about the text (beyond the story)?
• What is the second thing?
• Do the two things you noticed complement each other? Or contradict each other?
• What mood does the text create in you as a reader? Why/how?

II. Vocabulary and Diction:
• Which words do you notice first? Why did they stand out from the others?
• How do the important words relate to one another?Are there repeated words or phrases? What could the repetition mean?
• Do any words seem oddly used to you? Why? Is that a result of archaic language? Or deliberate weirdness?
• Do any words have double meanings? Do they have extra connotations? What are all the possible ways to read it?
• Look up any unfamiliar words. For a pre-20th century text, look in the Oxford English Dictionary for possible outdated meanings. Look up very common words as well, since they often have several possible meanings.

III. Discerning Patterns:
• Are there repeated imagery, symbolism or metaphors in the text? What is the effect of that repetition?
• Does an image here remind you of an outside image or story (one that occurs in another text, perhaps)? What’s the connection?
• What is the sentence rhythm like? Short and choppy? Long and flowing? Does it build on itself or stay at an even pace? How does that structure relate to the content?
• Look at the punctuation. Is there anything unusual about it? What about capitalization?
• How many types of writing are in the passage? (e.g., narration, description, argument, dialogue, rhymed or alliterative poetry inserted into the prose passage, etc.)
• Can you identify paradoxes in the author’s thought or subject?
• What is left out or silenced? What would you expect the author to say that the author seems to have avoided or ignored? What could the author have done differently? What is the effect of the author’s current choice?

IV. Point of View and Characterization:
• How does the text make you react or think about any characters or events within the narrative?
• Are there colors, sounds, or physical descriptions that appeal to the senses? Does this imagery form a pattern? Why might the author have chosen that color, sound, or physical description? Is it symbolic? Foreshadowing?
• Who speaks in the text? To whom does he or she speak?
• Does the narrator have a limited or partial point of view? Or does the narrator appear to be omniscient and knows things the characters couldn’t possibly know? (For example, omniscient narrators might mention future historical events, events taking place “off stage,” the thoughts and feelings of multiple characters, and so on). How does the narrator’s viewpoint help or hinder the reader’s comprehension?

V. Symbolism, Schemes, and Tropes:
• Are there metaphors, similes, or figures of speech? What kinds? Why might the author have chosen them?
• Is there one controlling metaphor? If not, how many different metaphors are there, and in what order do they occur? How might that be significant?
• How might objects represent something else?
• Do any of the objects, colors, animals, or plants appearing in the passage have traditional connotations or meaning? What about religious or biblical significance?
• If there are multiple symbols in the work, could we read the entire passage as having allegorical meaning beyond the literal level?

VI. Importance:
• Why is it important for the reader to know what you have just analyzed and explained?
• How does the passage you have chosen help the reader understand the work more completely?