Close reading — English definition
Sustained, patient attention to the exact words of a text — how each detail of diction, image, and syntax contributes to meaning.
Where it is taught
- Analyzing Complex Literature — Close Reading & Literary Analysis, English 12: Complex Texts, Independent Inquiry & Public Voice, Grade 12
In use
Close reading is the discipline: noticing how a single verb tilts a sentence, how an image returns subtly changed, how the shape of the syntax speeds up or stalls.
Analyzing Complex Literature