This document provides an introduction to critical reading skills for analyzing literature. It discusses examining the title for clues, considering word choice and definitions, analyzing the narrator and point of view, and annotating texts with comments and questions. The goal is to read closely and interpret works on multiple levels beyond just plot, focusing on aspects like titles, diction, narration, and changes explored through annotating example passages. Mastering these skills will allow more in-depth analysis to incorporate into writing about literary works.

1. ANALYZING LITERATURE: CRITICAL
READING SKILLS
Week 1

2. Critical Reading Skills
■ You have likely been reading since you were a young child, so why would we need
to talk about reading skills in a literature course? Reading critically involves using
analytical skills that focus on not only what the text says (plot, characters, etc.) but
also how it can be interpreted. A close reading of a literary work is required before
attempting to write about it. The more closely you observe a literary passage, the
better able you will be able to gather information and consider what it might add
up to, which will then lead to your own analysis of the text.
■ This learning activity will provide you with tools to critically analyze and read a text.

3. Titles
■ First, closely examine the title and anticipate possible questions that you
might look for an answer to as you approach the text. For example, if you
are reading “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, you might
consider the words ’young’ and ‘good’ and formulate questions to help you
to read actively. These are possible questions you might consider:
■ Why would the author specify that Goodman Brown is young? Should I look
for significance of his youth when I read? Is Goodman Brown the
character’s name? Is there something significant about the author using
the word “good”? Brown seems like a plain name; is the character plain, or
is this noteworthy?

4. Diction (Word Choice)
■ Next, consider word choice. Authors, poets particularly, painstakingly
choose a word to express the precise meaning intended; therefore,
be sure to look up an unfamiliar word to gain a clear understanding
of both its connotative and denotative meaning. For example, in the
story “Neighbour Rosicky”, Cather chooses the word “protested”
when describing Rosicky’s reaction to finding out he has a bad heart.
Think about all of the associations of the verb to protest. How does
the use of this term as opposed to object affect the reader’s
interpretation?

5. Narration
■ Further, it is important to consider how the story comes to readers. In other words,
who is telling the story—the narrator. What does the narrator know about the
characters and events in the story? Is the narrator a participator in the story’s
events? For example, Franklin’s “Way to Wealth” begins with a narrator who
addresses the reader specifically as “Courteous Reader”. Then, the narrator
provides a bit of background, and identifies himself as a writer of almanacs.
However, the reader soon finds out that this narrator is relating an incident that he
witnessed, and the majority of the remainder of the text is of another narrator
(note the use of quotation marks to show this point). Here we have a narrator
within a narration. This makes for multiple levels of narration, which might have a
bearing on the reader’s interpretation of the work, and it is important to take note
of.

6. Annotating
■ Finally, read with a pen or pencil in hand. Whether you annotate the text by
underlining or highlighting key words or phrases or choose to use a reading journal,
you will begin to find yourself paying close attention and begin to think and read
critically! When you annotate, you might make use of all of the aspects that we
have examined: the title, diction, narration, etc. Below you will see an example of a
possible annotation of the introduction to Irving’s “Rip Van Winkle”.
“Whoever has made a voyage up the Hudson,
must remember the Kaatskill mountains. They
are a dismembered branch of the great
Appalachian family, and are seen away to the
west of the river, swelling up to a noble height,
and lording it over the surrounding country.
Every change of season, every change of
weather, indeed, every hour of the day,
produces some change in the magical hues and
shapes of these mountains, and they are
regarded by all the good wives, far and near, as
perfect barometers.”
My thoughts about this passage:
Interesting because the history of families are often
represented as family trees and the mountains are
described in such a way.
The word “noble” makes me think of kings and
“lording it over” as a ruler of some sort.
Just in this one sentence, ‘change’ is repeated three
times. Repetition is important to notice, so I wonder
how this might be noteworthy—this is an aspect I
might look for as I read on.
Somehow, the mountains are described as
barometers, so they predict something to do with the
weather?

7. Now that you have these skills in your repertoire, you will begin
to learn how to incorporate quotes into your own writing and
how to correctly format both in-text and end reference
citations.
Happy reading and analyzing!