In literary criticism, close reading describes a sustained attention to the text, looking at word choice, syntax, and particular images, to reveal meaning. This methodology came out of New Criticism and does not rely on historical or biographical research, intending to analyze the complexities of the individual text instead. | In literary criticism, close reading describes a sustained attention to the text, looking at word choice, syntax, and particular images, to reveal meaning. This methodology came out of New Criticism and does not rely on historical or biographical research, intending to analyze the complexities of the individual text instead. |