Close Reading, Literary Devices, Myth, and Critical Theories
Close Reading and Interpretation
Close Reading: Deep analysis of a text (novel, poem, film, song, image) focusing on word choice, literary devices, structure, and themes. The goal is to study a text carefully, make an evidence-based interpretation, and support claims with key moments (“proof”).
Death of the Author
Death of the Author: Roland Barthes (1967) argues that meaning belongs to the reader, not the author; the author’s intention is irrelevant or unreliable, and all interpretations are valid if the text supports them.
New Historicism
New Historicism: Posits that context matters (history, culture, ideology) in shaping art; the author’s biases and biography are relevant, and readers also bring their own historical position, meaning no single objective interpretation exists.
Literary Devices
Literary Devices: Elements used to create narrative and meaning. When close reading, ask how a device is used, how it enriches meaning, and whether it is repeated.
Myth and Myth Studies
Myth: Foundational stories of a culture that explain natural or social phenomena, often originating from oral traditions and changing over time. Myths are studied here as literary stories, not truth claims.
Myth Studies: Notes that many myths were lost, altered, or mistranslated; oral tradition led to variations (e.g., debates such as the Trojan Horse).
Greek Mythology
Greek Mythology: (earliest sources: 900–800 BCE) focuses on origins, nature, and gods/humans, with the gods often behaving like flawed humans.
16th-Century England
16th-century England (Queen Elizabeth I’s reign) was relatively stable but had low literacy (7–16%) and a strong patriarchy.
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare (1564–1616), from a working-class background, wrote 38 plays and 154 sonnets, and invented 1,700+ words. He reinvented the sonnet (three quatrains + final couplet).
John Donne
John Donne (1572–1631) was a Metaphysical poet known for paradox and complexity; born Catholic, he later became an Anglican cleric.
Petrarchan Sonnet
Petrarchan Sonnet: A 14-line poem: Octave (ABBAABBA) and a sestet. The sestet commonly employs patterns such as CDECDE or CDCDCD.
Literary Movements
Literary Movements: Bodies of written works grouped by shared features, perspectives, and aesthetics, always in communication with the art of the past.
Romanticism
Romanticism (late 1700s) values emotion, imagination, individualism, and nature, rebelling against Enlightenment rationality and industrialization and often promoting social justice.
The Sublime
The Sublime: (Burke, 1757) An experience of awe and terror that exceeds human understanding, making the viewer aware of their insignificance.
Wordsworth and Keats
Wordsworth helped pioneer Romanticism and was inspired by the French Revolution’s early ideals, though the revolution’s culmination in the Reign of Terror disillusioned many Romantics. John Keats, a second-generation Romantic, wrote during illness and heartbreak, making the sublime more intimate.
Gothic Movement
Gothic Movement: (late 1700s) A sub-genre of Romanticism that focuses on the supernatural, terror, and passion, featuring tropes like the Byronic hero in settings such as castles and manors. Edgar Allan Poe was a major American figure in Gothic fiction and an early detective fiction pioneer.
Asylums, Hysteria, and The Yellow Wallpaper
Asylums: (18th–19th centuries) Shifted from family care to institutionalization and were notorious for abuse.
Hysteria: A historical diagnosis rooted in the idea of the “wandering womb.”
The Rest Cure: Silas Weir Mitchell (1850s) prescribed women bed rest and no intellectual activity. The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman was inspired by that treatment; Gilman survived the cure and the story helped end the treatment, though she was also a eugenicist.
Harlem Renaissance
Harlem Renaissance: (1920s), fueled by the Great Migration, was a Black cultural explosion encompassing art, politics, and the roots of ballroom.
Double Consciousness: Defined by W.E.B. Du Bois as seeing oneself through the eyes of a racist society.
Key Figures:
- Waring Cuney — vernacular poet
- Langston Hughes — often called the father of Jazz Poetry, celebrating working-class Black life
- Robert Hayden — first Black U.S. Poet Laureate, advocating self-love
Marxist Criticism and Ecological Literature
Marxist Literary Criticism: Examines class struggle, wealth, labor, and power, asking who benefits and what the cost of profit is.
Ecological Literature: (late 20th century) Focuses on nature, climate, and human responsibility, sharing thematic DNA with Romanticism (e.g., Hayao Miyazaki, influenced by Shintoism, and nature-centered poet Mary Oliver).
EXTRA CREDIT ANSWERS: William Wordsworth, Achilles, The Lion King.
30. The Yellow Wallpaper & My Last Duchess
30. “The Yellow Wallpaper” & “My Last Duchess”: In The Yellow Wallpaper, the wallpaper symbolizes the narrator’s confinement and the pressures placed on her by her husband. Its chaotic pattern reflects how she feels trapped in her role and in the “rest cure.” She sees a woman behind it trying to escape, mirroring her own situation. In “My Last Duchess,” the Duke’s portrait of his late wife represents his desire to control her even after death. He can display or hide the painting as he chooses, something he could not do with the living Duchess. Both objects reveal how men exert power over women: the husband’s medical and domestic control leads to psychological collapse, and the Duke’s possessiveness leads to implied violence. Each aesthetic object exposes the consequences of male dominance.
31. Wordsworth’s “We Are Seven”
31. Wordsworth’s “We Are Seven”: The poem contrasts the adult narrator’s logical worldview with the child’s spiritual perspective. The adult believes death should reduce the number of siblings, but the girl insists, “we are seven” because she still feels connected to her dead brother and sister. Their disagreement shows how reason alone cannot capture emotional or spiritual truth. The girl’s viewpoint reflects Romantic values — intuition, imagination, and a sense that bonds continue after death — while the adult’s rational perspective feels limited by comparison.
32. Spirited Away — Symbolism of Pigs
32. Spirited Away — Symbolism of Pigs: Pigs in Spirited Away symbolize greed, excess, and the loss of identity through materialism. Chihiro’s parents transform into pigs because of their uncontrolled appetite, showing how desire can literally dehumanize people. Other pigs in the spirit world reflect similar themes of gluttony. This motif supports Miyazaki’s critique of consumer culture: the bathhouse operates like a profit-driven system where spirits indulge and workers serve consumption. Chihiro’s ability to resist these pressures shows the film’s belief in compassion, self-control, and remembering who you are.