Department of Education

21st Century Literature from

the Philippines and the World
Grade 11/12
Writing a Close Analysis and Critical
Interpretation of Literary Texts
First Quarter – Week 1 and 2

Almira Xenia N. Cunado

Writer
Josephine M. Montero
Ana Liza C. Canilang
Ma. Carmen D. Solayao
Quality Assurance Team

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”.
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
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 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 Historicis c. Marxis 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 requires the reader requires the requires the
reader to analyse to analyse the reader to analyse reader to consider
the life, experience social, economic, the language, the effect of the
and creative political, and form, and literary piece on
purpose of the cultural structure of the the readers
author to standpoint of the text itself. themselves.
understand the literary text.
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.

“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

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 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?

Lesson1. Important Critical Reading

Approaches

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

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 motiv
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.
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.
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 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.

Lesson 2. Writing a Critical Paper

What is a Critique?

A critique is a genre of academic writing that briefly summarizes and critically

evaluates a work or concept through careful analysis. Critiques can be used to
carefully analyze a variety of creative works such as novels, exhibits, films, images, and
poetry.

How To Write A Critique

• Before you start writing, it is important to have a thorough understanding

of the work that will be critiqued.
• Study the work under discussion.
• Make notes on key parts of the work.
• Develop an understanding of the main argument or purpose being
expressed in the work.
• Consider how the work relates to a broader issue or context.

Structure of a Critique
1. Introduction
• Name the work being reviewed as well as the date it was created and the
name of the author/creator.
• Briefly summarize the main points. This summary should not be the
focus of the critical evaluation.
• Describe the main argument or purpose of the work.
• Explain the context in which the work was created. This could include
the social, political, psychological, moral, or biographical contexts.
• Have a concluding sentence that signposts what your evaluation of the
work will be. For instance, it may indicate whether it is a positive,
negative, or mixed evaluation.
2. Critical evaluation
• This section should give a systematic and detailed assessment of the
different elements of the work using a particular literary theory, evaluating
how well the creator was able to achieve the work’s purpose. For example,
consider the plot structure, characterization, and setting or context of the
novel.
• To support the evaluation, provide evidence from the work itself, such as
particular lines or scenes and explain how these evidences support your
evaluation of the work.
3. Conclusion
• A statement indicating the overall evaluation of the work
• A summary of the key reasons, identified during the critical evaluation as
why this evaluation was formed.
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 4. Reference list
Include all resources cited in your critique.

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
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?
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 Imaginary
Real World
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 experiences?

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.

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 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:
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.
Rubric for Literary Critical Analysis

Points 4 3 2 1
Reading:Compre Provides an Provides a Provides a Provides a
hension of Key accurate mostly accurate generally minimally
Ideas and Detail analysis/com commentary of accurate accurate
mentary of what the text analysis/comm analysis/com
what the text says explicitly entary of what mentary of
says explicitly and the text says what the text
and inferentially explicitly or says
inferentially Cites text inferentially Cites textual
Cites evidence to Cites text evidence
convincing support the evidence Shows limited
text evidence analysis Shows a basic comprehensio
to support the Shows extensive comprehension n of ideas
analysis comprehension of ideas expressed in
Shows full of the ideas expressed in the the text
comprehensio expressed in the text
n of the tex
complex ideas
expressed in
the tex
Writing:Develop Addresses the Addresses the Addresses the Addresses the

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ment prompt prompt. prompt prompt
Provides Provides Provides some Develops the
effective effective development of thesis and its
development of development of the thesis and claims
the thesis and the thesis and its claims minimally
its claims. its claims Uses Uses some clear Uses limited
Uses clear and clear reasoning, reasoning, reasoning,
convincing details, and details, and details, and
reasoning, text-based text-based text-based
details, and evidence appro evidence evidence
text-based priate to the Somewhat Limited in
evidence task, purpose, appropriate to appropriatene
Consistently and audience the task, ssto the task,
appropriate to purpose, and purpose, and
the task, audience audience
purpose and
audience
Writing: Demonstrates Demonstrates Demonstrates Demonstrates
Organization purposeful coherence, some limited
coherence, clarity, and coherence, coherence,
clarity, and cohesion Inclu clarity, and/or clarity,
cohesion Incl des an cohesion Inclu and/or
udes strong introduction des an cohesion
introduction and introduction
and conclusion and
conclusion Includes a conclusion
Includes well- logical Includes
executed progression of logically
logical ideas grouped ideas
progression of
ideas
Writing:Diction Establishes Establishes and Establishes and Limited
and Style and maintains maintains an maintains a effectiveness
effective style effective style mostly effective of style
Uses precise Uses mostly style Uses limited
language precise Uses some descriptions
consistently language precise and phrases
Uses Uses descriptivelanguage Uses limited
descriptive words and Uses descriptive words to
words and phrases words and indicate tone
phrases Uses words to phrases
Uses words to indicate tone Uses words to
indicate tone indicate tone
Writing: Demonstrates Demonstrates Demonstrates Demonstrates
Mechanics, command of command of inconsistent limited
Usage, the theconventions command of the command of
andGrammar conventions of of English conventions of the
English A few English conventions
Few minor distracting A few patterns of English
errors in errors in of errors in Multiple
grammar and grammar and grammar and distracting
usage usage usag errors in
grammar and
usage

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.

REMEMBER:
Be objective. Avoid presenting your opinions. Always introduce your work.

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)

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

Writing a Critique. https://www.citewrite.qut.edu.au/write/critique.jsp

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

https://studylib.net/doc/6752562/literary-analysis-rubric

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