Reading is both a pleasurable pastime and an academic skill. To get the most out of any reading, whether it is a relaxing novel, a textbook, or a report from your employer, you must be able to read it carefully and comprehend it fully. This is called close reading. For this assignment, you will choose one passage from a piece of literature, just a couple of paragraphs, and do a close reading of it to increase your understanding and hone your abilities to get the most out of anything you read.
Instructions: Read Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost. Choose a section where the writer makes the experience meaningful, striking, or revealing. Examine this section for evidence of revealing a depth that reaches beyond the poem. In 2-3 pages, address the following prompts/questions:
- Name three literary tools used in this piece and briefly describe how they are used. Examples are theme, tone, mood, symbolism, foreshadowing, irony, imagery.
- What does Frost tell us about the character at this moment? What does he leave out?
- How does the character communicate (through words, gestures, or other means,) and what does he/she say?
- How does the writer convey the character’s identity and culture? What symbols are used to communicate gender, race, class, occupation, and/or other identity categories?
- How does this passage relate to the human experience overall? How do you relate as a reader?
