CLOSE READING
CLOSE READING
Examining models
CLOSE READING
In “Insanity: Two Women,” Kanaka Sathasivan examines a poem (Emily Dickinson’s “I felt a Funeral, in my Brain”) and a short story (Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper”) to discover a disturbing common theme in the work of these two American women writers. The essay, written in a formal academic style, uses a structure that examines the works individually, drawing comparisons in a final paragraph. Note, in particular, how Sathasivan manages the close reading of the poem by Emily Dickinson, moving through it almost line by line to draw out its themes and meanings. Here’s the text of “I felt a Funeral, in my Brain.”
I felt a Funeral, in my Brain,
And Mourners to and fro
Kept treading — treading — till it seemed
That Sense was breaking through —
And when they all were seated,
A Service, like a Drum —
Kept beating — beating — till I thought
My Mind was going numb —
And then I heard them lift a Box
And creak across my Soul
With those same Boots of Lead, again,
Then Space — began to toll,
As all the Heavens were a Bell,
And Being, but an Ear,
And I, and Silence, some strange Race
Wrecked, solitary, here —
And then a Plank in Reason, broke,
And I dropped down, and down —
And hit a World, at every plunge,
And Finished knowing — then —
You can find the full text of “The Yellow Wallpaper” by searching online by the title. One such text is available at the University of Virginia Library Electronic Text Center: http:/
Reading the Genre
Like any skillful academic paper, Sathasivan’s “Insanity: Two Women” follows a great many conventions in structure, style, and mechanics. Go through the essay paragraph by paragraph and list as many of these moves as you can identify — right through the works cited page. Compare your list with those produced by several classmates.
