ENG 4210Short Assignment #3 (Close Reading)
Length: 750-1000 words (2-3 pages, double-spaced, 1” margins, standard font)
DEADLINE:
Thursday, October 6
(either in class as a hard copy or emailed to by midnight)
For this assignment, you’ll write a close analysis of just one page of Richardson’s Pamela.
The requirements for this short assignment are the same as for your first, so you get the chance to revisit and improve those skills.
First, choose a page. Your best option is to choose a page that you already feel is doing something interesting or weird, perhaps something that surprised you. You may even choose a short passage of less than a page. The important thing is that you limit your attention so that you can go deeper.
Second, read this page through a few times, annotating as you go. You should be making sure that you understand what’s going on (the plot, who the characters are, who is speaking, etc.), but then, after a couple of readings, pay attention to what’s left out if you just pay attention to what’s going on. That is, start to notice the kinds of words that are used, repetition of language, the way that a character is speaking, etc. We call these kinds of aspects of the text its “form” (as opposed to its content). You may also want to look up words or references. (Just be sure to cite your sources if you do so.)
Finally, try to make sense of these observations you’ve made in step two in your writing. Do you see an interesting pattern that you’re starting to make sense of? Did you look up a few words and notice that they’re all from a certain kind of vocabulary (like military language or fashion language or travel writing, etc), and do you think that means something about the character using that kind of speech? You should be taking some risks here in your interpretation of these details (rather than just providing the details themselves). An interpretation offers an explanation of why those details are there, why the author might have made those choices. This interpretation is your argument about the page; it should be clear somewhere on the first page and should also be reflected in a descriptive title for your close reading (that is, not “Close Reading Paper”).
You should make it clear very early which passage you’re analyzing. Please also cite the novel properly, including a works cited (in MLA style) at the end of the paper.
Advice: This is not the place to play it safe. You should make your sentences count and your claims should be as bold as possible while still being supportable by the evidence of the text. That means eliminating fluffy generalizations (“Throughout time, authors have written about love” = BARF). Every claim about the page should be supported by textual evidence, and all evidence should be carefully explained for your reader. (How exactly do you read that line? That phrase? That word? We don’t live inside your head.) I’ve also posted on the course blog links to some helpful sites about writing a close reading. Look at these if you’re unfamiliar with the form. I’m also attaching an example of an ‘A’ close reading (of another Defoe novel) to give you a sense of what one might look like.