Transcript Close Reading Poetry - John Marshall High School

Close Reading Poetry
• The process of close reading is twofold:
• First, read the text
• Second, interpret your reading.
Close Reading Poetry
• A close reading does not mean a close
description - the reading element indicates
activity on the part of the reader.
• Basically, I assume that you have read it and
can describe it. I am not interested in that.
Close Reading Poetry
• This activity should be thought of in terms of the
analysis, synthesis, and interpretation of the
poem’s formal features.
• ‘Formal’ features (the ‘form’ of a poem) includes
the poem’s shape on the page, language used,
rhythm (stressed words/syllables), metre (rate at
which it is read), sound, tone, voice.
What are YOU Doing?
• Read/listen to the poem once.
• Read/listen a second time. This time, with a highlighter
or pen, annotate. (Focus on specifics).
• Look up the meanings of any words you are not sure of.
• Using your notes, construct an argument/interpretation
of the poem.
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Don’t just describe. Ask “Why?”
“Why did the author choose this particular word or phrase?”
OR
“What do I think it means?”
Things to look for
• Metre, rhythm, rhyme? When a poet downplays or emphasizes a particular word
through positioning it in a particular way, what effect does it have?
• What is the structure of the poem? Are there abrupt changes or a progression from
one idea to another?
• Are there any words you don’t understand? Look them up.
• Grammatical features: tenses, conditional constructions, the passive voice. PoV?
Perhaps there are tense or person shifts; what effect do these produce?
• Are some words repeated or synonymous?
• What is the language? Formal? Informal? Conversational? Prose? Sarcastic?
Solemn?
• Are there any rhetorical features? Metaphor, simile, hyperbole, personification?
• Look at punctuation.
• Allusions and references.
• What is the tone of the poem? Is it homiletic, comic, anxious, joyful, melancholy or
ironic? How?
The End Result
• What you come up with should look
something like this…
• “The meaning/purpose/lesson of (the poem’s
name) is __________. This can be seen
because it uses _____________ to _________.
It also uses ___ to _______. Its overall tone is
_______
First Poem
“Do Not Go Gentle into that Good night”
By Dylan Thomas
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H68l9Q3Ej
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mRec3Vb
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