Department of Education

21st Century Literature from the

Philippines and the World/Grade
11
Writing a Close Analysis and Critical
Interpretation of Literary Texts
Second Quarter – Module 1: Week 1 and 2

Almira Xenia N. Cunado

Writer
Ana Liza C. Canilang
Validator

Editor and Layout

Schools Division Office – Muntinlupa City

Student Center for Life Skills Bldg., Centennial Ave., Brgy. Tunasan, Muntinlupa City
(02) 8805-9935 / (02) 8805-9940
 This module has been prepared based on the most essential learning
competencies identified by the Department of Education. It will serve as your guide in
writing a close analysis and critical interpretation of literary texts.

To accomplish the aforementioned terminal objective, you must be able to:

1. identify the literary and critical reading approaches,
2. identify representative texts and authors from Asia, North America,
Europe, Latin America, and Africa, and
3. apply certain reading approaches to analyze and interpret a literary genre.

Directions: Read carefully each statement and choose the best word that fits the
description. Write the letter of your answer.
1. This partially pertains to the “biographical, social, cultural, and historical
circumstances in which the text is made.”
a. Context b. Story c. Text d. Piece
2. It is the literary work that transcends itself by embedding the world in it.
a. Context b. Story c. Text d. Piece
3. It is an approach to interpret a material considering the author’s creative intent or
purpose.
a. expressive b. mimetic c. pragmatic d. objective
4. It is an approach to interpret a material considering literature as a “mirror” of the
world and reality.
a. expressive b. mimetic c. pragmatic d. objective
5. It is an approach to interpret a material considering the effect of literature on the
readers.
a. expressive b. mimetic c. pragmatic d. objective
6. It is an approach to interpret a material considering only the literary work itself.
a. expressive b. mimetic c. pragmatic d. objective
7. It is a perspective where literature or the material highlights the social
categorization between the capitalists and the working class, the ruler and its
members, and the rich and poor.
a. Feminism b. Historicism c. Marxism d. Postcolonialism
8. It is a perspective that explores the roles of the women, and how they
are”empowered or discriminated against” in the literary piece.
a. Feminism b. Historicism c. Marxism d. Postcolonialism
9. It is a perspective that deals with the history that basically shaped the piece of
literature.
a. Feminism b. Historicism c. Marxism d. Postcolonialism
10. It is a perspective that focuses on the “changes in the attitude of the post colonies
after the colonial period highlighting how the people lived their (in)dependence”.
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 a. Feminism b. Historicism c. Marxism d. Postcolonialism
11. It is a perspective that examines the roles played by the queer or the third
gender.
a. Queer Theory b. Historicism c. Marxism d. Postcolonialism
12. It is a perspective that focuses beyond “the history when the piece was created,
but also how the history happened.”
a. Feminism b. New Historicism c. Marxism d. Postcolonialism
13. This literary piece features people faced with conflicts, and their struggles to
overcome these conflicts (or be overcome by them) are explored in an extended
narrative in chapters and sections.
a. Novella b. Short Story c. Epic d. Novel
14. In fiction, this is often described as an authentic rendition of reality.
a. Naturalism b. Realism c. Social Realism d. Romanticism
15. In reading a text or writing a critique, we must be careful not to include our
“personal beliefs or ideologies.”
a. True b. False c. Does not follow. d. It depends.

In the previous quarter, you were able to utilize the different contextual
reading strategies showing your thorough understanding of the elements and
contexts of the 21st century Philippine literature from the regions.

BIOGRAPHICAL SOCIOCULTURAL LINGUISTIC READER

CONTEXT CONTEXT CONTEXT RESPONSE
CONTEXT
This context This context This context This context
requires the reader requires the reader requires the requires the
to analyse the life, to analyse the reader to analyse reader to consider
experience and social, economic, the language, the effect of the
creative purpose of political, and form, and literary piece on
the author to cultural standpointy structure of the the readers
understand the of the literary text. text itself. themselves.
literary text.

The concept of context is a necessary tool in interpreting literary

pieces. Hence, we keep them in mind as we acquaint ourselves with the
literary reading approaches in this module.
By this time, you have already learned to use the contextual reading approaches
in creating your outputs. Now, you are ready to engage into the literary reading
approaches. In this module, you will understand the different literary reading
approaches. This will help you in writing your critical interpretation of international literary
texts using certain approaches.

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 “It is inevitable that people will ponder, discuss,
and analyze the works of art that interest them.”
X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia,
Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama

Reading the 21st century literature requires standard critical thinking tools. These
tools allow you to ask about, interpret, analyze, synthesize and evaluate the literary
pieces as you ponder on, explore, and discuss about them. Let us now discover what
they are and how they work.

First, what are critical approaches? Often considered “lenses,” they are various
perspectives we can consider when reading a piece or some literary pieces. They help
us interpret and understand literary works by looking at the following questions: (1) What
do we read? (2) Why do we read it? and (3) How do we read it?

Important Critical Reading Approaches

https://www.miamiartscharter.net/ourpages/auto/2015/8/23/47442232/Critical%20Approaches%20to%20Literature.p

1. Formalist Criticism highlights the “form of a literary work to identify its meaning.”
What makes a work of art depends highly on how “all of its elements (style, structure,
imagery, tone, genre) work together to offer to the reader’s experience (thought, feeling,
reactions, etc), not by any context such as the era, social setting, and author’s
background.

2. Biographical Criticism puts premium on the importance of the author’s life, and
background when reading a text. Aside from the author’s background, understanding the
author’s difficulties, strategies used to modify hisor her experience can help in
appreciating the literary work.

3. Historical Criticism proves that every literary piece is a by-product of its time/
period and its world. This will provide a glimpse to the background information how the
text was see during that era, as well as how they reflect the ideas, belief systems and
attittudes of the people at that time.
4. Psychological Criticism is grounded on Sigmund Freud’s paradigm. Each text is
considered as a “reflection of the author’s mind and personality, including his/her ulterior
motives.”

5. Deconstructionist Criticism defends the premise that since there is no single

meaning of any given word, there is no single meaning of any given text. Thus, all texts
have multiple, valid meanings based on the reader’s interpretation, often different from
that of the writer’s point of view, making all literay texts exist without any stable meaning.

6. Reader-response Criticism describes the “internal workings of the reader’s

mental processes, affirming that reading is indeed a creative act and process. The
meaning of a text highly depends on how the reader responds to it. The interpretation is
likely influenced by one’s experiences, culture, and period of time.
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 7. Sociological Criticism interprets literature grounded on its cultural, economic,
and political context. It shows how the author relates with his or her society at that time
when the work was created, or how his or her socio-economic, and political played in
shaping the literary work.

Two of itnfluential types are Marxist Criticism, and Feminist Criticism.

a. Marxist Criticism, based in the political ideology of Karl Marx and Friedrich
Engels, focuses on the economic and political elements of the literary piece.It always
features the disparity between the rich, powerful and the poor and oppressed.

b. Feminist Criticism examines on how women and their roles, and positions are
explored in the literary text. The female consciousness is highlighted by both female
and male writers proving the gender biases of culture and society overtime.

8. Gender Criticism and the Queer Theory explore the literary work as influenced
by the gender and gender roles, mainly queer sexualities. Since gender roles were highly
patriarchal, the queer sexualities are often considered ‘rebellious.’

9. Postcolonial Criticism is relatively new and an emerging type of criticism that

explores on literary pieces written in areas that used to be colonized by the Europeans
(white). It intends to present the violent and destructive effects of colonization and how
this led the non-Western, colonized cultures to thrive and develop their own literature.

The Background
Coraline is a children’s novel that deals with the macabre, as reflected
in the mirror, images of reality. These images are reflections of the
protagonist’s own desires. It seems to be filled with fantasy, but it is also
psychological journey inside the main character’s heart and mind. It was
later adapted into an animated film by Focus features. Explore the
website, http://www.focusfeatures.com/coraline, as you prepare for the reading of the
excerpt, “The Other Mother.”
Immersing into the Story
The story you are about to read is about Coraline and her “other parents.” She
discovers a forbidden door in her new house and enters the living room that eerily looks
familiar like hers, but quite is quite different.
Here is a link to the excerpt “The Other Mother” of the novel, Coraline you may
access for reading.
https://www.bookbrowse.com/excerpts/index.cfm/book_number/1103/Coraline or

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https://www.bookbrowse.com/excerpts/index.cfm/book_number/1103/index.cfm/fuseaction/printable/
book_number/1103/coraline

Remember to carefully consider the following guide questions.

1. What kind of person is Coraline? How does she like to

spend her time?

2. The excerpt began showing Coraline being locked in the

mirror, how does the author describe her feelings?

3. Coraline meets the ghosts of the children the other mother

trapped. How does the author describe her reaction to the
ghosts?

4. When warned to run away from the other mother by the ghosts, what does
Coraline reply? What does this tell us about her character?

5. How is Coraline treated by her parents? Compare and contrast her life in the
other world with the real world using a Venn Diagram. Which does she find
appealing?
Imaginary World Real World

6. How does the writer develop the character of the other mother?

QUOTATION WHAT DOES THIS TELL US?

Her hair was wriggling like lazy snakes on a
warm day.
She had pushed through the mirror as if she
were walking through nothing more solid
than water.
“I love you. I will always love you… smell
the lovely breakfast I’m making for you.”
“How do I know you’ll keep your word?”

7. The other mother promises to release everyone if Coraline can find her parents
and the souls of the ghost children. Why do you think does she agree to this?

8. How does the writer make the other mother an effective villain in this chapter?

9. Do the mirrors Coraline encounters in the real world and the other world reflect
reality or illusion? How do you know? What is the importance of mirrors in
Coraline’s life?

10. What reality about families was reflected in the excerpt? What could be the
author’s purpose in using Coraline’s experience?

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 Complete this Story Elements
Graphic Organizer based on the
Excerpt, The Other Mother (of
Coraline)

https://www.pinterest.ph

1. The use of the literary or critical reading approaches allows the readers
to examine, argue, and analyze the excerpt and deepen their
understanding of human nature and the complexity of the human
condition.
2. Literary reading approaches include the following criticisms: formalist,
biographical, historical, deconstructionist, reader response,
sociological, Marxist, feminist, gender and post-colonial.

After exploring the “Other Mother,” an excerpt from

Coraline, this is your chance to examine the
elements, culture, and traditions of the “The Boy
named Crow,” an excerpt from Kafka on the Shore
by Haruki Murakami. (cf.
https://www.harukimurakami.com/chapter_sample/kafka-
on-the-shore-excerpt). Use the Story Elements and
the All about the Main Character graphic
organizers for practice.
Be mindful of the following guide questions:

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1. Describe the main character.

2. What is the importance of crows in the life of Kafka?

3. What is the relationship between Kafka and Sakura? How is it important in the
development of the story?

4. “Time rules don’t apply here. Time expand, then contracts, all in tune with the
stirrings of the heart.” Why has Murakami chosen to repeat this statement in
the excerpt?

5. How different is The Boy named Crow with The Other Mother? In which parts
are they similar and different? Explore these in another Venn Diagram.

Perfomance Task: Write a critical analysis on the Boy named Crow or the Other
Mother, following the given instructions. Be mindful of the different literary /critical
reading approaches as basis for your understanding and appreciation of the literary
piece.
Now that the passage explored has been carefully studied, the critique can be written
using this critical analysis template.
.
REMEMBER: Be
objective. Avoid
presenting your
opinions. Always
introduce your work.

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 https://www.tru.ca/__shared/assets/Critical_Analysis_Template30565.pdf

(1) What is the over-all value of the material? (2)What are its strengths and
weaknesses? Support your observations with evidences (quote from the text).
Your purpose is not merely to inform or appreciate but to gauge the value of the
work following the set standards (Information, Interpretation, and evaluation)

Your work will be graded based on this criteria:

ITEM EXCELLENT GOOD MAY STILL
5 4 IMPROVE
3
Content (Complete with
Introduction, Summary, Analysis
and Conclusion)
Organization
Depth of Research
Discussion (Objectivity)
Depth of Analysis with
evidences
Presentation (Creativity)
Has unique style and voice

Electronic References:
https://sites.google.com/site/estesinversos/Home/uesc---universidade-estadual-de-santa-
cruz/anglophone-literature/critical-approaches-to-literature

https://www.miamiartscharter.net/ourpages/auto/2015/8/23/47442232/Critical%20Approaches%20to%
20Literature.pdf

https://www.harukimurakami.com/chapter_sample/kafka-on-the-shore-excerpt

https://sites.google.com/site/estesinversos/Home/uesc---universidade-estadual-de-santa-
cruz/anglophone-literature/critical-approaches-to-literature

https://www.miamiartscharter.net/ourpages/auto/2015/8/23/47442232/Critical%20Approaches%20to%
20Literature.pdf

https://www.tru.ca/__shared/assets/Critical_Analysis_Template30565.pdf

https://www2.southeastern.edu/Academics/Faculty/elejeune/critique.htm