closereading

Closereading is a method of literary analysis that emphasizes careful interpretation of a text's language and form rather than its practical, biographical, or historical background. Practitioners examine diction, syntax, imagery, rhythm, point of view, and structural organization to reveal how formal choices shape meaning and effect. The aim is to show, with precise textual evidence, how a text generates its ideas and responses.

Closereading gained prominence with mid-20th-century schools such as the New Criticism and British formalism, which argued that literature should be treated as an autonomous artifact. By focusing on the text itself, these approaches sought to minimize authorial intention and historical context as primary sources of interpretation. The method remains influential in teaching and criticism, though many scholars now integrate contextual analysis as well.

Methodologically, close reading proceeds passage by passage, asking questions about word choice, connotation, syntax, figurative language, and pattern. Analysts trace motifs, ironies, and tensions between form and content, and examine how parallel structures or shifts in tone contribute to meaning. Claims are supported with close reading of specific lines or phrases rather than broad generalizations.

Applications include classroom instruction, where close reading trains students to cite textual evidence; literary criticism across genres; and editorial work that scrutinizes language and form in editions. In digital humanities, researchers may complement close reading with annotation tools, corpus analysis, or visualizations, but the core practice remains focused engagement with the text itself.

Critics contend that close reading can overlook historical, social, or authorial context and may privilege subjective readings of ambiguous passages. Proponents reply that attentive analysis of linguistic and formal features yields defensible interpretations, and that close reading can be combined with contextual approaches and larger theoretical frameworks to broaden interpretation.