Close reading... But not too close
Theoretically a complete or total explication would require you to explain the meaning and implications of each word and every line -- a technique that obviously would be exhaustive (and exhausting).It would also be self-defeating, for writing about everything in great detail would prohibit you from using your judgment and deciding what is important.
I remember doing "close reading" essays in high school that required me to come up with as many different meanings as possible for poems or passages within longer works of literature, so it was a relief to learn that I can concentrate on one theme at a time, instead.
Comments
First off, did Dr. Jerz discuss sports for a minute?!?! I have now seen the other side of the earth (just kidding). Close reading assignments are not easy because you are completely breaking a poem down to its core, and finding a true meaning behind it with the piece you already broke up. If you want, I did a close reading assignment on Walt Whitman's "I Hear America Singing" last semester. It wasn't easy, but hopefully we get a chance to do somewhat of a revision so that we can learn those skills that Dr. Jerz speaks about.
Posted by: Jason Pugh | February 2, 2006 12:24 AM
Don't alond i think there are a few of us that are confused, you are not the only one. I have never wrote like this before so this is a first for me and i gave it my best shot, hopefully it is done correctly, worst case i will fix it up and learn for the next time. Each time you will improve a bit more. Good Luck!!
Posted by: Melissa Lupari | February 1, 2006 7:46 PM
Good point, Chris. Your teacher was introducing you to the skill of close reading, just as my son's Bantam Basketball coach introduced a gym full of squirming six- and seven-year-olds to such skills as dribbling and the bounce pass. The coaches set up a little game that involved nothing but dribbling and passing across a neutral space in the middle of the court -- a team got points by passing the ball to a team member on the other side of the neutral zone. There was no shooting, no 30-second clock, no positions, no layups... it was an artificial setup designed to teach a particular skill.
I might do something like that in class, but if I did, it would be in order to help you find an idea that you wanted to run with.
Posted by: Dennis G. Jerz | February 1, 2006 9:35 AM