21st Century Literature from the Philippines and

the World
Quarter 1 – Module 2
Canonical authors and Works of Philippine National
Artists in Literature

WHAT I NEED TO KNOW

After your journey towards your quest for knowledge, you are now
aware that there are more to discover about poetry.

Many people are intimidated by the mention of the word “poetry.” It

is often perceived as something that is hidden and beyond understanding. But
there are some pieces of information that can help us to grasp poetry whether
we are just starting to learn about analyzing it or trying to find our own poetic
voice. Poetry has often reflected the voice of the time. Meaning, subject matter
and language choices may change with whatever is considered an everyday
concern in the current society’s expectations. Not many contemporary poems
will use the same language as Shakespeare, but that does not mean that they
are any less valid and likewise, poetry that lasts through the transition of time
still resonates with the reader in some way.

In this module, you will learn about Canonical authors and Works
of Philippine National Artists in Literature. Your answer to the activities given
will help you understand better about the contributions of the Canonical
authors to Philippine Literature. You are now ready to get to the second phase
of your search for knowledge. Have fun while learning!

Learning Competencies

EN12 Lit-Ia-21 Writing a close analysis and critical interpretation of literary

texts and doing an adaptation of these require from the
learner the ability to identify representative texts and
authors from each region ( e.g. engage in oral history
research with focus on key personalities from the students’
region/ province/ town.)

At the end of the module, you should be able to:

Knowledge: determine representative texts and authors from each region (

e.g. engage in oral history research with focus on key
personalities from the students’ region province/town.)

Skills: 1 through citing the elements,

analyze a literary text
and traditions;
Attitude: appreciate the contributions of the Canonical Filipino
writers to the development of National literature.
 Please take note that all answers shall be written in your activity
notebooks, and that there should never be any markings placed in this
module.

WHAT I KNOW

Let’s try to find out if you can still remember the elements of poetry.
Read and analyze the given stanza and answer the questions that follow.

The Sea
By Esteria J. Macajelos

God created you vast and wide

Home of creatures that play with tide.
Blushing, sparkling, lying with pride, Sight
to hold, mysterious and might.

Sunrise colors your face a sight Gold,

yellow, and orange delight People stare
with awe and wonder With such
beauty no words compare

1. What are the words that rhyme at the end of each line?
2. Give at least 5 words that appeal to the senses?
3. What is the rhythm or beat established by the poem?
4. List words that have the same initial sound.
5. List words which have the same middle vowel sounds
6. How many syllables does each line have?
7. How many lines are there in each stanza?

WHAT’S IN

In module 1, you have learned to identify the geographic, linguistic

and ethnic dimension of Philippine literary history. This time, let us try to
explore the different texts written by canonical authors from different regions.
Here’s one from Manila. Read the poem and answer the questions
that follow.
Third World Geography
By: Cirilo F. Bautista
Manila
2
A country without miracles
sits heavy on the map,
thinking of banana trees rotting in
the sunlight.
The man who watches over it
has commandeered all hopes,
 placed them in a sack,
and tied its loose end.
He goes around carrying it on
his back.
When asked what is inside,
he says, “Just a handful of feathers, just
a handful of feathers.”
That’s how light the burden
of government is in peace time—
any tyrant can turn it into a metaphor.
You kneel on the parched earth
and pray for rice. Only the wind
hears your useless words.
The country without miracles tries
to get up from the page,
but the bold ink and sharp colors hold
it down.

1. The figure of speech used in the lines “A country without miracles sits
heavy on the map, thinking of banana trees rotting in the sunlight” is
.
a. Metaphor
b. Personification
c. Simile
d. Hyperbole

2. What has happened to hope in the poem as described by the lines

“The man who watches over it has commandeered all hopes, placed
them in a sack, and tied its loose end. He goes around carrying it on his
back.”
a. It has been killed.
b. It has been conquered.
c. It has been stolen
d. It has been silenced.

3. What are the “feathers” discussed in the poem supposed to be a

metaphor of?
a. The burden of government
b. The dashed hopes of people
c. The feathers of dead birds
d. The poverty in the country

4. “You kneel on parched earth and pray for rice.” This implies that the
people in the poem are .
a. Angry
b. Depressed
c. Hungry
d. Thirsty

5. The persona speaking in the poem is .

3
a. A character in the poem
b. An unbiased observer
c. The author
d. The man who watches over the country

6. The poem is written with a sarcastic tone. Explain your answer with
 lines from the poem.

7. Describe the dramatic situation of the poem in no more than four

sentences.

8. List the allegorical elements in the poem and what this could relate to.

9. Discuss in no more than five sentences how Bautista uses the idea of
weight in the poem and how it affects the personalities in it.

10. What could the act of “getting up” refer to in the final lines of the
poem? Discuss in no more than five sentences.

WHAT’S NEW

About the author

Edith L. Tiempo (April 22, 1919 – August 21, 2011), poet, fiction writer,
teacher and literary critic was a Filipino writer in the English language.
Tiempo was born in Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya. Her poems are intricate verbal
transfigurations of significant experiences as revealed, in two of her much
anthologized pieces, "Halaman" and "Bonsai." As fictionist, Tiempo is as morally
profound. Her language has been marked as "descriptive but unburdened by
scrupulous detailing." She is an influential tradition in Philippine Literature in
English. Together with her late husband, writer and critic Edilberto K. Tiempo,
they founded (in 1962) and directed the Silliman National Writers Workshop in
Dumaguete City, which has produced some of the Philippines' best writers. She
was conferred the National Artist Award for Literature in 1999.
What do you value in life? Do you value the same thing the persona in
the poem holds dear?
Read the poem and discover if you have the same experience with
the persona.

Bonsai
Edith Tiempo

All that I love

I fold over once And once again And keep in a box
Or a slit in a hollow post Or in my shoe.

All that I love?

Why, yes, but for the moment- And for all time, both.
Something that folds and keeps easy,
Son’s note or Dad’s one gaudy tie,
A roto picture of a queen, A blue Indian shawl, even A money bill.

It’s utter sublimation,

A feat, this heart’s control
Moment to moment To scale all love down
To a cupped hand’s size 4
Till seashells are broken pieces From God’s own bright teeth,
And life and love are real Things you can run and Breathless hand over
To the merest child.
Questions:

1. Who is the poetic persona of the poem?

2. What is that line in the first stanza that is repeated in the second? What is
the difference in meaning between the two? Why is there a
question mark?
3. We have the lines “Till seashells are broken pieces/From God’s own bright
teeth” in the last stanza. What does this imply? How does God show His
great love? Can you cite evidences or stories that affirm His love?
4. How is love being portrayed in the poem?
5. In the third stanza, why do you think the speaker mentions that all love is to
be scaled down? How do you scale down your love?
Give examples.

WHAT IS IT

Elements of Poetry
Imagery is the concrete representation of a sense impression, feeling, or idea
that triggers our imaginative ere-enactment of a sensory experience. Images
may be visual (something seen), aural (something heard), tactile (something
felt), olfactory (something smelled), or gustatory (something tasted). Imagery
may also refer to a pattern of related details in a poem. Alliteration is a
repetition of the same consonant sounds in a sequence of words, usually at the
beginning of a word or stressed syllable: “descending dew drops;” “luscious
lemons.” Alliteration is based on the sounds of letters, rather than the spelling
of words; for example, “keen” and “car” alliterate, but “car” and “cite” do not.

Assonance is the repetition of similar internal vowel sounds in a sentence or a

line of poetry, as in “I rose and told him of my woe.” is the repetition of similar
internal vowel sounds in a sentence or a line of poetry, as in “I rose and told
him of my woe.”

Denotation refers to the literal meaning of a word, the "dictionary definition."¨

For example, if you look up the word snake in a dictionary, you will discover
that one of its denotative meanings is "any of numerous scaly, legless,
sometimes venomous reptiles¡ Khaving a long, tapering, cylindrical body and
found in most tropical and temperate regions."
Connotation, on the other hand, refers to the associations that are connected
to a certain word or the emotional suggestions related to that word. The
connotative meanings of a word exist together with the denotative meanings.
The connotations for the word snake could include evil or danger.

Symbolism is the use of symbols to signify ideas and qualities, by giving

them symbolic meanings that are different from their literal sense.

Theme is defined as a main idea or an underlying meaning of a literary work,

which may be stated directly or indirectly.

Repetition is a literary device that repeats the same words or phrases a few
times to make an idea clearer and more memorable.
Figurative language is a form of language use in which the writers and
speakers mean something other than the literal meaning of their words. Two
figures of speech that are particularly important for poetry are simile and
metaphor. A simile involves a comparison between unlike things using like or
as. For instance, “My love is like a red, red rose.” A metaphor is a comparison
between essentially unlike things without a word such as like or as. For
example, “My love is a red, red rose.” Synecdoche is a type of metaphor in
which part of something is used to signify the whole, as when a gossip is called
a “wagging tongue.” Metonymy is a type of metaphor in which something
closely associated with a subject is substituted for it, such as saying the “silver
screen” to mean motion pictures. Personification is a figurative comparison
endowing inanimate things.

WHAT'S MORE

To understand further, more questions are given below to test your knowledge
in the poem “Bonsai”.

Are you ready? Let’s begin.

1. What image does the speaker in the poem begin to present in the first
stanza?
2. What does “Bonsai”, symbolize?
3. What is the message/ theme of the poem?
4. What figurative language is presented in this line? To a cupped hand’s
size” in the third stanza.

WHAT I HAVE LEARNED

Directions: Review the lesson on Canonical authors and Works of Philippine

National Artists in Literature. Then write your reflection in your notebook by
finishing up the unfinished statements below.

I have learned that

I have realized that

I will apply
 WHAT I CAN DO
I

You have just tried giving your ideas about the different literary works of
Canonical authors. What you will learn in the next set of activities will also
enable you to grasp fully your understanding on the concept of poetry.

Instructions: Translate the poem, “Bonsai”, using our dialect. Identify at

least two figurative language in the poem.

ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES

Here is your additional task.

Task. Interpret the meaning of the poem, “ Bonsai” through a drawing

or a poster.