Effective close reading requires active reading, an exchange between the reader and the text that eventually reveals layers of meaning. You must read and reread, but you also must “talk back,” interrogate, make comments. In other words, have a conversation with the text.
Interrogating the text is important. Always consider the choices rhetors make by asking why they chose the words or sentence patterns they did. You don't always need to know the answers to your questions; sometimes, just asking them will give you insights into a writer’s choices.
Take a look at this excerpt from Ralph Ellison’s “On Bird, Bird-Watching and Jazz,” an essay in which the writer considers the legend—and style—of jazz saxophonist and composer Charlie Parker, nicknamed Yardbird. In the essay, which was published in the Saturday Review in 1962, Ellison refers to both Robert Reisner’s Bird: The Legend of Charlie Parker (a collection of interviews of Parker’s friends, family, and colleagues) and Roger Tory Peterson’s A Field Guide to Birds (the bird-watcher’s bible) as he comments on jazz as art and examines the myths surrounding Parker’s nickname.
To the right are some questions about Ellison’s style that might come to mind in relation to diction (the choice of words) and syntax (the way the words are arranged).
"On Bird, Bird-Watching, and Jam," from Shadow and Act by Ralph Ellison, copyright 1953, 1964 by Ralph Ellison. Used by permission of Random House, Inc. and Professor John F. Callahan, literary executor of the estate of Ralph Ellison. American jazz musician and composer (1920-1955), a developer of bebop.
When analyzing diction, look for interesting or powerful vocabulary, but also make sure to consider figures of speech such as metaphors, similes, personification, and hyperbole.
When analyzing syntax, notice interesting constructions such as parallelism, juxtaposition, and antithesis, along with sentence types (simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex) and sentence styles (loose and periodic).
Look, too, at the pacing of a piece: Does the writer reveal details quickly or slowly? How does the writer build suspense?
Here are some questions to ask when you analyze diction:
1. What type of words draw your attention? Do they tend to be a particular part of speech, such as verbs, nouns, adjectives, or adverbs? Is the language general and abstract or specific and concrete?
2. Is the language formal, informal, colloquial, or slang?
3. Are some words nonliteral or figurative, creating figures of speech such as metaphors?
4. Are there words with strong connotations? Words with particular emotional punch?
When you analyze syntax, you might ask:
1. What is the order of the parts of the sentence? Is it the usual order (subject-verb-object), or is it inverted (object-subject-verb, or any other pattern that is out of the ordinary)?
2. What are the sentences like? Are they periodic (moving toward something important at the end) or loose (beginning with an important idea and then adding details)?
3. Are many of the sentences simple? Complex? Compound? Compound-complex? Are the sentences long or short?
4. Does the writer ask questions?
5. How does the writer connect words, phrases, and clauses?
These questions do not have simple yes or no answers. They lend themselves to discussion; as you discuss them, be sure you can support your ideas with evidence from the text. Coming up with answers to questions like these will put you well on your way toward making an analysis of an author’s style and how that style helps the author make his or her point.