Don't Just Read, Close Read (Synthesis Post)

For part one of the synthesis of the material we have learned in class this year, let’s start with the important task of close reading, which we have spent so much time on.

How to start your close reading: look for the techniques the author used with our “handy dandy” pneumonic DIDLS. This awesome tool for looking at literature means:

Diction – the words, where are they on the continuum? Are they slang or epic or somewhere in between?  How are the words used?  Do they show a dialect or regionalism?  How about the connotations of the words?

Imagery – the images the words create, how vivid are they?  What senses do they appeal to?  Do they make the reader feel the exact same way as the character?

Details – the specifics the author includes, do they have a deeper meaning?  Did the author choose them for a reason?

Language – how does the author use language?  Are there: similes, metaphors, personification, analogies, hyperboles, irony, etc.?  Why does the author use these?

Syntax – how did the author construct the sentences? Are they short and choppy? Or are they long and flowing?  How about a mix of these?  What does the syntax emphasize?

Thanks to DIDLS we now have a good understanding of what the author was trying to do to create effects.  These effects are things like mood, setting, and tone.  How are these used by the author?  What sort of feel does the author create for the piece?

All of these techniques and effects that we identify in a piece all go towards the overall question we have been trying to ask ourselves, what does the author mean?  What is the meaning of the piece?  After we have identified all the techniques the author used (with DIDLS) and the effects we should have a better idea of what meaning the author gave to the piece.