Notes

first principles or literary study
-language is unstable
-every literary work is doing a number of things at the same time, there's a theme, sets of images that create/support -the theme, the form that does the same, the allusions, the rhythm.

what is close reading?
-reading and critical response
-focus on the literature itself
-this is not dissecting the work but rather it is an exploration of how the work, works

strategies'
-poetry is about art and when analyzed should be considered more like a scientific method.
-focus on a primary theme if there's multiple and is there evidence to support that theme you've chosen. make sure to go in depth about what you pick ex: love, maybe think about love more in depth.

Themes?
-not about the lesson or moral the author is telling us.
-most texts aren't about something extremely narrow; example would be "this story is about a sick patient" theres usually more to it and that one line isn't just the story.
-a theme is the concept that an author is exploring.

Meanings within literature.
-meanings that shape a theme make sure everything is coming from within the text itself.
-don't impose a meaning on the poem find out what the poem is focused on
-look at what's inside the text without external sources.

pitfalls to avoid.
-author is a speaker
-poet is a narrator
-don't talk about characters like they're real people.
-don't speculate beyond the confines of the text.
-don't think about or be influenced by the authors intention (what W.S. "meant) doesn't matter!

language, images, and patterns
-close reading focuses on identifying the strategies that an author uses to develop the theme of their work.
-identifying patterns of images
-how the language is
-shape of the text choice of narrative perspectives, paragraphs, use of quotations.

strategies for close reading.
-the focus is always on analysis "the how" not the "what"
-ask how the author develop the theme
-read over the selection with pencil.
-flag questions and connections
-read again: focus on specific words and combinations
-read with dictionary.
--look over a third time: focus on questions on reading sheet.
-speaker?, POV?, structure?, repeated images?, theme?, emphasis?.
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