"Paradoxes and Oxymorons" by John Ashbery: Close Reading Reflection
(Link: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/50986/paradoxes-and-oxymorons)
Answer the following questions (550 words)
- What is close reading? How does "close reading" differ from simply "reading?"
- How might you begin to "close read" John Ashbery's poem, "Paradoxes and Oxymorons?" Where do you begin to find meaning?
- What strategies might you use to understand this poem?
- What do you think this poem is concerned with? Describe the tone and effect it has on you as a reader.