21st Century literature from the Philippines and the World

Quarter 2

Writing a Close Analysis and Critical Interpretation of Literary Texts Applying a Reading Approach

Objectives:
1. Write a close analysis and critical interpretation of literary texts using a reading approach and identify
representative text from Africa and Asia;
2. Create/Produce a creative presentation of a literary text by applying multi-media skills;
3. Show appreciation of different representative literary texts.

Different Reading Approaches

1. Skimming
2. Scanning
3. Extensive Reading

Contextual Reading Approaches

1. Biographical Context- Reading a literary work through a biographical context requires the reader to analyze
the life and experience of the author to understand the literary text.

There are reasons to read literature through the biographical context (Gioia and Kennedy 2007):

 Understanding the author’s life can help you understand his or her work thoroughly.
 Reading the author’s biography or autobiography helps you see how much his experiences shape his or her
work directly and indirectly.

Here are biographical strategies that you may use:

 Research on what the author believes in and also what he or she does not.
 Analyze how the author’s belief system is reflected in his or her work.
 Look at the author’s other works and analyze if there is a pattern with regard to the theme that is indicative
of his or her life and beliefs.

When you are reading literature through a biographical context:

 In what year was the text written and published?

 Is there anything significant that happened in the author’s life during this time? What were
the circumstances that happened to the author before the writing of the text?
 Were there several drafts of the text? What can you say about the changes that the author made? What
aspects do you think the author struggled with during the revision? What is the effect of the revisions to the
published text?
 Are there characters and situations in the text that could be representative of or are similar to the ones in
the author’s life?
 How will knowing about the author amplify your appreciation of the work?

2. Sociocultural Context - Reading a literary work through a sociocultural context requires the reader to
analyze the social, economic, political, and cultural standpoint of the literary text.
 According to the critic Wilbur Scott, “Art is not created in a vacuum; it is the work not simply of a person, but of
an author fixed in time and space, answering a community of which he is an important, articulate part.” In reading
using the sociocultural context, you will examine the factors that affect the writing of the literary text and how the
work was received by the readers during the time it was written.

The following are reasons to read literature through sociocultural context (Gioia and Kennedy 2007):

 Reading using the sociocultural context helps you understand the social, economic, political, and cultural
forces affecting the work that you are reading.
 Analyzing the sociocultural context of the text makes you examine the role of the audience (readers) in
shaping literature.

How can we analyze a text through a sociocultural context? Here are guide questions that you may answer when
you are reading literature through the sociocultural context:

 What is the relationship between the characters or the speakers in the text and their society?
 Does the text explicitly address issues of gender, race, or class? How does the text resolve these issues?
 Who has the power? Who does not? What is the reason for this setup?
 How does this story reflect the nation? What does this say about the country and its inhabitants?
 Who has the economic or social power? Is there oppression or class struggle? How do the characters
overcome this? Does money or finances play a large role in the narrative?
 What is the prevailing social order? Does the story or poem accept or challenge it?

When reading a text or writing a critique through the sociocultural context, set aside your personal
political ideologies. Say for example, if you greatly believe that boys should only like girls and vice versa, it
should not hinder you from analyzing a text using the queer theory in an objective way. Your personal
 ideologies may lead you to overread the text according to what you believe in even if the text is not related
to your political inclinations. Do your best to be unbiased in reading.

3. Linguistic Context - Reading a literary work through a linguistic context requires the reader to analyze the
language, form, and structure of the text.

Here are some reasons to read literature through the linguistic context:

 Reading the text on its own, regardless of the author’s biography and sociocultural context, may help you
understand the literary text through analyzing the words, sentences, patterns, imagery, etc. of the text.
 Analyzing the literary text’s grammar, syntax, or phonemic pattern may help you find the meaning of the text
within its form and help you interpret it by simply analyzing the content of the literary work.

The following are some strategies you may use to read a text through the linguistic context:

 Analyze the diction or choice of words in the text.

 Examine the texts’ syntax or use of sentences, clauses, phrases, line cuts, etc.
 Observe the use of figurative language.
 Analyze the mood and tone of the text.
 Observe the text’s overall structure.
 Analyze the content of the text.

Here are guide questions that may help you when you read literature through the linguistic context:

 What were the striking words in the text? What words were unfamiliar to you? Which words attracted your
attention? What words were dramatic?
 What nouns are the most prominent? Are these concrete or abstract nouns? What about verbs? Does the
author use common words or lofty diction? Are the words short or long? Is there any word that has two or
more meanings?
 Are the sentences in the usual order of subject-predicate? What are the dependent clauses? What are the
independent clauses? If you restructure a sentence or a phrase, would it make a difference? Is the voice
active or passive? Is there a rhythm in the sentence structure in relation to the length of the sentences or
lines?
 What literary devices are used? Are there images? Do those images stand for anything aside from their
literal meaning?
 What is the tone? Is the speaker happy about the subject? Is the tone negative or positive?
 What is the structure of the text? Is it a narrative? Is it linear or nonlinear? What is the point of view of the
text? Is it a poem? What type of poem is it?
 Does the language help in delivering and understanding its content? Is there a theme? What is it saying
about its subject matter? How do the literary elements contribute to the effectiveness of the text?
 What is the text saying about the world in general?