--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is time to return to close reading, to…" description: "\"It is time to return to close reading, to a serious and painstaking examination of an author's methods, of his style. Do not be deterred by headaches. ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea6/louis-aragon-11961_books_it-is-time-to-return-to-close-reading-to_3210924.jpg" --- # It is time to return to close reading, to a serious and… ![“It is time to return to close reading, to a serious and painstaking examination of an author's methods, of his style. Do not be deterred by headaches. First of all, this would be proof of your lack of stamina. And then, migraines, piercing pain and sudden stabs at the temples are more likely the…” quote by Louis Aragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea6/louis-aragon-11961_books_it-is-time-to-return-to-close-reading-to_3210924.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea6/louis-aragon-11961_books_it-is-time-to-return-to-close-reading-to_3210924.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea6/louis-aragon-11961_books_it-is-time-to-return-to-close-reading-to_3210924.jpg) > “It is time to return to close reading, to a serious and painstaking examination of an author's methods, of his style. Do not be deterred by headaches. First of all, this would be proof of your lack of stamina. And then, migraines, piercing pain and sudden stabs at the temples are more likely the effects of syphilis than of hard work.” [Louis Aragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-aragon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Deep, focused analysis of texts is essential despite physical discomfort. **In simple terms:** Close reading is vital despite pain. Key Takeaway Persist in thorough study. Themes literature focus stamina Mood determined introspective Type advice motivational When to use this quote - academic research - creative writing - self‑study - intensive coursework Key Concepts critical analysis discipline Questions to Reflect On - Do you prioritize health over depth? - How can you mitigate fatigue while studying? A Different Perspective Physical health may limit sustained effort. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Close reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/close-reading/) [Criticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criticism/) [Hard work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard-work/) [Migraine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/migraine/) [Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) [Piercings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/piercings/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Stamina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stamina/) [Style](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/style/) [Temples](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/temples/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“To call for close reading, in fact, is to do more than insist on due attentiveness to the text. It inescapably suggests an attention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/to-call-for-close-reading-in-fact-is-to-do-more-than-insist-on-due/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) > [Close reading of tough-minded writing is still the best, cheapest, and quickest method known for learning to think for yourself... Reading, and rigorous discussion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/close-reading-of-tough-minded-writing-is-still-the-best-cheapest-and/) [John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/) > [“Author’s note: what is “close reading? The short answer: without context. Before”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-marselle/author-s-note-what-is-close-reading-the-short-answer-without-context/) [Terry Marselle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-marselle/) > [But the feeling I have, you know, is that I'll never come close to reading all, or even a thousandth- a billionth- of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/but-the-feeling-i-have-you-know-is-that-i-ll-never-come-close-to/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [“Refrain from giving background context or substantial instructional guidance at the outset. It may make sense to notify students that the short text is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-marselle/refrain-from-giving-background-context-or-substantial-instructional/) [Terry Marselle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-marselle/) > [“The cognitively unsound concept of “close reading” Author”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-marselle/the-cognitively-unsound-concept-of-close-reading-author/) [Terry Marselle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-marselle/) > [I think going back to school, studying as much as you can, especially literature and close reading some of the most beautiful works. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masiela-lusha/i-think-going-back-to-school-studying-as-much-as-you-can-especially/) [Masiela Lusha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masiela-lusha/) > [Early readers assumed the Book of Mormon people ranged up and down North and South America from upstate New York to Chili. A close…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bushman/early-readers-assumed-the-book-of-mormon-people-ranged-up-and-down/) Richard Bushman > [“I’ve always thought that a close-reading course should at least be a companion, if not an alternative, to the writing workshop. Though it also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-prose/i-ve-always-thought-that-a-close-reading-course-should-at-least-be-a/) [Francine Prose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-prose/) > [Elements of the Christian fundamentalist right are one of the strongest components of "support for Israel" - support in an odd sense, because they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/elements-of-the-christian-fundamentalist-right-are-one-of-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) ## More by Louis Aragon > [ As \[John Heartfield\] was playing with the fire of appearance, reality took fire around him... The scraps of photographs that he formerly manoeuvred for… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-aragon/as-john-heartfield-was-playing-with-the-fire-of-appearance-reality/) [Louis Aragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-aragon/) > [As if one could do what one wanted with one's own body!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-aragon/as-if-one-could-do-what-one-wanted-with-one-s-own-body/) [Louis Aragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-aragon/) > [Your imagination, my dear fellow, is worth more than you imagine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-aragon/your-imagination-my-dear-fellow-is-worth-more-than-you-imagine/) [Louis Aragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-aragon/) > [Geniuses are like ocean liners: they should never meet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-aragon/geniuses-are-like-ocean-liners-they-should-never-meet/) [Louis Aragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-aragon/) > [There are strange flowers of reason to match each error of the senses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-aragon/there-are-strange-flowers-of-reason-to-match-each-error-of-the-senses/) [Louis Aragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-aragon/) > [Reality is the apparent absence of contradiction. The marvelous is the eruption of contradiction within the real.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-aragon/reality-is-the-apparent-absence-of-contradiction-the-marvelous-is-the/) [Louis Aragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-aragon/) > [No more painters, no more scribblers, no more musicians, no more sculptors, no more religions, no more royalists, no more radicals, no more imperialists,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-aragon/no-more-painters-no-more-scribblers-no-more-musicians-no-more/) [Louis Aragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-aragon/) > [O months of blossoming, months of transfigurations, May without cloud and June stabbed to the heart, I shall not ever forget the lilacs or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-aragon/o-months-of-blossoming-months-of-transfigurations-may-without-cloud/) [Louis Aragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-aragon/) > [The authors of book reviews would consider themselves dishonored were they to mention, as they should, the subject of the book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-aragon/the-authors-of-book-reviews-would-consider-themselves-dishonored-were/) [Louis Aragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-aragon/) > [I shall always rebel against any attempt to reduce a human being to a kind of mannequin, whose deeds and questions would be comprehensible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-aragon/i-shall-always-rebel-against-any-attempt-to-reduce-a-human-being-to-a/) [Louis Aragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-aragon/) > [I demand that my books be judged with utmost severity, by knowledgeable...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-aragon/i-demand-that-my-books-be-judged-with-utmost-severity-by-knowledgeable/) [Louis Aragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-aragon/) > [We know that the nature of genius is to provide idiots with ideas twenty years later.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-aragon/we-know-that-the-nature-of-genius-is-to-provide-idiots-with-ideas/) [Louis Aragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-aragon/) > [Error is certainty's constant companion. Error is the corollary of evidence. And anything said about truth may equally well be said about error: the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-aragon/error-is-certainty-s-constant-companion-error-is-the-corollary-of/) [Louis Aragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-aragon/) > [Most people have never known solitude… But there are a few of the other kind who can go back to their rooms anywhere and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-aragon/most-people-have-never-known-solitude-but-there-are-a-few-of-the/) [Louis Aragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-aragon/) > [I must confess that I and a few others are burdened with heavy responsibilities regarding the future of criticism. I am certainly, if not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-aragon/i-must-confess-that-i-and-a-few-others-are-burdened-with-heavy/) [Louis Aragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-aragon/) [Explore all 46 Louis Aragon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-aragon/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. Krebs > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) Markus Herz > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is time to return to close reading, to a serious and painstaking examination of an author's methods, of his style. Do not be deterred by headaches. First of all, this would be proof of your lack of stamina. 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