Art of Close Reading Handout
The Art of Close Reading
As writers we close read a poem not to just understand it better (as readers do) but to comprehend how it was put together, a reverse engineering, of how to give the experience to the reader so we can emulate it.
If we think of a poem that has the following components: The meal = The poem. The ingredients = Words. Craft = Cooking. Form = Presentation. Muse = Inspiration+unique schema.
As readers we eat the meal. As writers we try and figure out what it took to make.
Step One: cold read the poem…
Here and now what is your experience?
Can you feel it? Are you “in” it?
Step Two: read it again….
Start to identify language elements.
What language is the poem in?
Formal/ informal/ regional?
Is it associated with a time period?
Is there scansion?
Is there a sonic rhythm?
Does the language enhance the syntax, or is it juxtasposed?
What orientation does the speaker take? 1st person, 2nd, 3rd or omnipresent?
Step Three: read it a third time…
Start to identify craft elements.
Form…
Is there a specific form that this poem is housed in? Sonnet, Pantoum etc
Or is it free verse?
Are there patterns or specific stanza lengths eg. couplets, tercets etc
that are employed in this poem?
Craft Tools…
What craft tools are employed in the poem?
eg, Alliteration
Enjambement
Repitition
Anaphora
etc….
The Spine…
Does this poem use the craft technique of repeatedly striking an object to create a spine for the poem to spiral around?
Can you identify the Object (artifact), Hinge, Schema activation within the poem?
(spaces where you would insert your own imagination eg. where an adverb or adjective would usually be placed)
(TAKE 3 HIGHLIGHTERS/COLOURED PENCILS AND COLOUR CODE THESE ASPECTS)
Identify…
Location vs Setting vs Stage:
• Location = physical geography.
• Setting = time, place, cultural context.
• Stage = where the action is enacted.
Symbology…
Is there any symbology used in the poem?
eg. Tarot, birds (eg. albatross), landscapes, weather…
What schematic associations did you make with words, imagery, or other aspects of the poem?
Can you identify where you make any assumptions or bias to the poem? What happens if you read it again without those?
Step Four: read it a fourth time…
Ask yourself these questions…
What is my experience when i read this poem?
Is it a mental (imagistic) experience? And emotional experience?
Somatic experience?
WHAT”S AT STAKE? - where is the vulnerable point the speaker creates a door for the reader to enter the poem? Where did you enter into the experience?
What are the craft elements used in the poem that stimulate this experience?
What in the poem POPS out at you?
What in the poem HITS you in the experience?
Was there a curiosity in the poem that stood out to you? Why do you think this happened?
(This means… where did you stop or step out of the experience? Maybe
it’s a word, or an image, or another language that is used that you had to look up.)
For fun…
Look at the bio of the writer.
Ascertain from the collection/date of the poem where in their life and writing career they were at.
Can you see an arc in their career for types of writing vs life circumstances? (Rilke is a great example of this)
Does this information give you a deeper understanding as to WHY the writer decided to write this poem at that time? How does that awareness overlay onto YOUR writing? Eg. where are you at? How is your writing evolving with your life experiences.