GRADE 11 HAND-OUTS
Blog – from the words “web log” is a created
APPROACHES IN ANALYZING LITERATURE
Literature comes from the Latin word
“Literatura”, which means “writing formed with
letters.” However, literature is not only
enclosed in that meaning. Literature is anything
and everything that reproduces life
experiences. It collects, organizes and sums up
the entirety of humanity, occasionally adding
color to it. When other people read literature ,
they are not just being told of stories; they are
being told of stories; they are being shown
events, conflicts and perspectives, as if being
physically present in the literature itself.
Elements of literature
Form – talks about the general structure of the
literary piece. Form is the first aspect of
literature that attempts to connect with the
reader. From the title of a literary work, to the
way the words or sentences creates a visual
impact, every part of it is literature. Therefore,
it is through form that the literature first
communicates its message.
Any literature has a unifying theme that holds
all of its other elements in place
Literature is created to share stories, ignite
passion, and thrust readers forward to feel
more of life.
Effective stories , be it a fantasy story or a
persuasive essay are always being led by
effective characterization. Characters in
literature could be products of the writer’s
imagination, or they could be the very
compelling point of view that the writer thinks
in.
Style – refers to the specific techniques and
designs that a literary employs to prolong his or
her grip of the reader’s interest.
CONTEMPORARY FORMS OF LITERATURE
1. HYPERPOETRY – sometimes called
cyberpoetry present poems that include verses
or lines linked through hyperlink mark ups. This
type of poetry is very visual, as it oftentimes
uses graphics to convey meaning
2.
website created to contain and manage user-
made articles or post that are updated regularly
Text Tula – is a poem produced and shared
through the use of mobile phones messaging
application. Usually this poems are either in the
form of “tanaga” a Filipino poem consisting of
four lines with seven syllables each with a
rhyme scheme of AABB. The developed text
Tula freely uses other dual rhyme schemes or
free style rhyme scheme forms.
Chick lit – is a genre fiction that was made
popular in the late 1990s. It generally talks
about women and their struggles, specifically
staged in modern times. Themes in this writing
genre aare treated humorously and lightly.
Speculative fiction – is a fiction genre that
dwells on issues of alternate imagine scenarios.
It uses the appeal of conspiracy themes, fantasy
science fiction and dystopian societies to create
imaginative stories.
Flash Fiction – Is a fiction genre that presents
one sitting long of reading text . The longest
text in the genre fiction is only said to be 1000
words.
COMMON FORMS OF LITERATURE ACCROSS
TYPES
 DRAMA - a drama is divided into
“acts” and “scenes” foming a text
filled dialogues and directions for the
actors movement.
 NOVEL –
 SHORT STORY -
 POETRY
 ESSAY
 EPIC
FORMALISM - The formalist perspective
concentrates on the form of the literature itself.
“Formalist criticism regards literature as a
unique form of human knowledge that needs to
be examined on its own terms” (Kennedy 1468).
Questions that may be answered from a
formalist perspective include:
What is the structure of the piece?
What imagery is used?
What symbols help convey a message?
What is the theme?
A Formalist View of Literature Discounts or
Ignores Certain Aspects of Literature
*The name of the author is not important.
*The time in which the author lived is not
important.
*Any cultural impact on the author’s life is not
important.
*The political beliefs of the author are not
important.
*The actual reader is not important.
A Checklist of Formalist Critical Questions
1. How is the work structured or organized?
How does it begin? Where does it go next? How
does it end? What is the work’s plot? How is its
plot related to its structure?
2. What is the relationship of each part of the
work to the work as a whole? How are the parts
related to one another?
3. Who is narrating or telling what happens in
the work? How is the narrator, speaker, or
character revealed to readers? How do we
come to know and understand this figure?
Who are the major and minor characters, what
do they represent, and how do they relate to
one another?
4. What are the time and place of the work – its
setting? How is the setting related to what we
know of the characters and their actions? To
what extent is the setting symbolic?
5. What kind of language does the author use to
describe, narrate, explain, or otherwise create
the world of the literary work? More
specifically, what images, similes, metaphors,
symbols appear in the work? What is their
function? What meanings do they convey?
FEMINISM
A concern with women’s role in society as
portrayed through text.
What do Feminist critic do?
1. rediscover text written by women.
2. Revalue women’s experience
3. Examine representations of women in
literature.
4.Challenge the view of woman as other.
5. Discuss language as a tool of gender
construction.
6. Discuss social vs. Biological difference.
What questions might a feminist critic ask?
1. In what ways is patriarchy present in a
particular work? How are the effects of
patriarchy evident in the lives and
attitudes of the characters?
2. Do female characters show signs of
resistance to patriarchy? If so, how is
this resistance portrayed?
3. How are the concerns unique to women
in a particular place/time portrayed in
the work? To what extent does this
portrayal value those concerns?
Marxist criticism
1. Concerned with differences between
economic classes and implication of a capitalist
system
2. Emphasize the role of class (social and
economic standing) and ideology (main
underlying principles) as they reflect, promote,
and sometimes challenge the prevailing social
order. They often focus how those in power
seek to maintain that power, in part by
justifying it through art and literature. They
also focus on the struggle that exists between
the working class and the ruling (elite) class
Economic Determinist/Marxist Critical
Questions
What is the economic situation of the
characters, and what happens to them as a
result of this status?
To what extent are the lives of characters
influenced or determined by social (i.e. how an
individual is expected to behave in a given
circumstance), political (i.e. the directives of the
state), and economic (i.e. the interplay between
production, supply, and demand) forces?
1. What social forces and institutions are
represented in the work?
2. To what extent does the work overlook
the economic, social, and political
implications of its material?
Reader Response
• Is a response that focuses on the
readers experience from a literary
work. Reader-Response theory accepts
that a reader’s background knowledge
and experiences impact his/her
interpretation of a text.
“A response paper expresses what you
experienced in reading and think about the
assigned text…. [and] should reflect your
background, values, and attitudes in response
to the work, not what the instructor thinks
about it” (Kennedy 1397).
• Reader-Response Theory encourages
the reader to explore his/her emotional
response to a literary work.
•
The Role of the Reader in Reader-Response
Theory
• A reader should not passively accept a
text, but should actively make meaning
of the work.
• No work of literature ever comes alive
until it is read and contemplated by the
reader. The reader “completes” the
work.
 • The reader builds a connection with the
text by reflecting on his/her mental
perceptions based upon the text.
• The reader seeks common ground with
other readers while learning from each
person’s unique response to the
literature (Lynn 69).
• What has happened to me in my life
that helps me understand this text?
• Does this work change the way I see the
world? My life? My goals?
• What impact does the text have on me?
• Does this text make me re-evaluate
perceptions of what has happened to
me in the past?

You May Choose to Answer These Questions in

Your Reader Response Paper
• What does the text have to do with
you, personally?
• How much does the text agree or
disagree with your view of the world
and what you think is right and wrong?
Cite specific lines from the text to prove
your point.
• How well does the text address things
that you personally care about and
consider important in the world? Cite
specific lines from the text.
• What other texts does the this text
remind you of? Cite lines from the text
and explain the connection.
• What is your overall reaction to the
text?
 1. In the beginning of the movie how
women and men are portrayed?
(Portray - describe someone or
something in a particular way
;to play a character in the film)

2. Who is powerful in this narrative? how

and why?

3. Do female characters show signs of

resistance to patriarchy? If so, how is
this resistance portrayed

4. is the speaker, author or protagonist

female? If so,how is her point of view
determine? (to give an opinion about
something)

5. ? How does she treat others?

6. Are there any shifts in power and if so,

how do they occur, and are they
sustain?
7. In the end, is there a gender imbalance
in the movie? if yes why? if no? explain.

Femenist approach
is there social, economic or political exploitation
to women? Like division of labor in marriage,
the home, and work place ort are men and
women are sharing work (integration of roles?

is thye speaker, author or protagonist female? If

so ,how is her point of view determine? How
does she treat orhers? Does she celebrate
femenity and the roles of mothers, wives, and
independent women?

How women and men are portrayed

who is powerful in this narrative? how and
why?
Are there any shifts in power and if so, how do
they occur, and are they sustain?