--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To call for close reading, in fact, is to…" description: "\"“To call for close reading, in fact, is to do more than insist on due attentiveness to the text. It inescapably suggests an attention to this rather th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/648/terry-eagleton-1660_close-reading_to-call-for-close-reading-in-fact-is-to_492734.jpg" --- # To call for close reading, in fact, is to do more than… ![“To call for close reading, in fact, is to do more than insist on due attentiveness to the text. It inescapably suggests an attention to this rather than to something else: to the ‘words on the page’ rather than to the contexts which produced and surround them. It implies a limiting as well as a…” quote by Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/648/terry-eagleton-1660_close-reading_to-call-for-close-reading-in-fact-is-to_492734.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/648/terry-eagleton-1660_close-reading_to-call-for-close-reading-in-fact-is-to_492734.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/648/terry-eagleton-1660_close-reading_to-call-for-close-reading-in-fact-is-to_492734.jpg) > ““To call for close reading, in fact, is to do more than insist on due attentiveness to the text. It inescapably suggests an attention to this rather than to something else: to the ‘words on the page’ rather than to the contexts which produced and surround them. It implies a limiting as well as a focusing of concern - a limiting badly needed by literary talk which would ramble comfortably from the texture of Tennyson’s language to the length of his beard. But in dispelling such anecdotal irrelevancies, ‘close reading’ also held at bay a good deal else: it encouraged the illusion that any piece of language, ‘literary’ or not, can be adequately studied or even understood in isolation. It was the beginnings of a ‘reification’ of the literary work, the treatment of it as an object in itself, which was to be triumphantly consummated in the American New Criticism.”” [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Close reading demands focusing on the text itself, limiting external context to avoid endless digression. **In simple terms:** Focus on the text, limit outside distractions. Key Takeaway Prioritize textual analysis over peripheral details. Themes literary analysis focus methodology Mood analytical critical Type educational scholarly When to use this quote - academic essays - book clubs - writing workshops - critical teaching - null Key Concepts new criticism formalism contextual limitation Questions to Reflect On - When should context be included in interpretation? - How does limiting focus affect understanding? A Different Perspective Over‑emphasis on text can ignore valuable historical and cultural influences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Close reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/close-reading/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [What was needed was a literary theory which, while preserving the formalist bent of New Criticism, its dogged attention to literature as aesthetic object…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/what-was-needed-was-a-literary-theory-which-while-preserving-the/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) > [I would be wonderful with a 100-year moratorium on literature talk, if you shut down all literature departments, close the book reviews, ban the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/i-would-be-wonderful-with-a-100-year-moratorium-on-literature-talk-if/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-aragon/it-is-time-to-return-to-close-reading-to-a-serious-and-painstaking/) [Louis Aragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-aragon/) > [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/) > [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. 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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/) > [Reading is not a straightforward linear movement, a merely cumulative affair: our initial speculations generate a frame of reference within which to interpret what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/reading-is-not-a-straightforward-linear-movement-a-merely-cumulative/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) > [“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/) > [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/) ## More by Terry Eagleton > [Nations sometimes flourish by denying the crimes that brought them into being. Only when the original invasion, occupation, extermination or usurpation has been safely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/nations-sometimes-flourish-by-denying-the-crimes-that-brought-them/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) > [Literature transforms and intensifies ordinary language, deviates systematically from everyday speech. 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Civilisation means rational reflection, material wellbeing, individual autonomy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/we-face-a-conflict-between-civilisation-and-culture-which-used-to-be/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) [Explore all 215 Terry Eagleton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) ## More Close reading quotes > [“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/) > [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 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/) > [“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/) > [“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/) > [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/) > [“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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-aragon/it-is-time-to-return-to-close-reading-to-a-serious-and-painstaking/) [Louis Aragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-aragon/) [Browse all 11 Close reading quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/close-reading/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“To call for close reading, in fact, is to do more than insist on due attentiveness to the text. It inescapably suggests an attention to this rather than to something else: to the ‘words on the page’ rather than to the contexts which produced and surround them. It implies a limiting as well as a focusing of concern - a limiting badly needed by literary talk which would ramble comfortably from the texture of Tennyson’s language to the length of his beard. But in dispelling such anecdotal irrelevancies, ‘close reading’ also held at bay a good deal else: it encouraged the illusion that any piece of language, ‘literary’ or not, can be adequately studied or even understood in isolation. 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