Close Reading without Readings

This collection of 13 essays by influential scholar Stephen Booth includes some heretofore unpublished conference papers and some previously published works. As a deconstructionist pioneer, Booth discusses the unsettled meanings in literary works, some 'irritants,' and insists (as Prospero does with Miranda) that readers must be attentive to primary texts. Booth offers, for example, close readings of Julius Caesar-a play that 'makes fools of its audience'-and the 'editor-made text' of Hamlet. Booth also explores Marlowe's Hero and Leander, Milton's Paradise Lost, and Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra, Romeo and Juliet, The Winter's Tale, Twelfth Night, and Othello. In all of the essays, Booth's tone is humorous and vital, even visceral. As in every perfect piece of literature, form and content meet in this book as Booth uses stylistic practices similar to those he explores. For example, in 'Witty Partition of A Midsummer Night's Dream,' Booth uses a conversational, direct address challenging the audience to experience the beauty in literature. A demanding writer, Booth admits to offering 'painful exercises' in these readings and unapologetically commands readers to 'engage in some [them]selves.' Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty. * CHOICE *
There is much to learn from this collection, especially for students new to the game. As ever, the lesson is simple: pay attention to the object of literary art-not just to its subject-and to the behavior of your mind as it pays attention. Read Booth's book, therefore, and again and again; and, this time, may the lesson take. * Modern Philology *