Detailed Lesson Plan/Self-Instructional Packet (SIPack)

SY 2020 - 2021

Subject/Level English 10 Quarter 3 Week 3

Name of Student Lesson No: 3
Grade/ Section Submission Dates

Content Standard: The learner demonstrates understanding of how world literature and other text
types serve as sources of wisdom in expressing and resolving conflicts among
individuals, groups and nature; also how to use evaluative reading, listening and
viewing strategies, special speeches for occasion, pronouns and structures of
modification.
Performance Standard: The learner skillfully delivers a speech for a special occasion through utilizing
effective verbal and non-verbal strategies and ICT resources.

I. Learning Competencies
1. Critique a literary selection based on the following approaches
 Structuralist/formalist
 Moralist
 Marxist

II. Objectives
1. Raise questions and seek clarifications on issues discussed in the text;
2. Explain how the elements specific to a selection build its theme; and,
3. Critique a literary selection based on the following approaches
 Structuralist/formalist
 Moralist
 Marxist

III. CONTENT:
Literary Criticism Approaches
 Structuralist/formalist
 Moralist
 Marxist

SONG OF AUTUMN by Charles Baudelaire

LEARNING RESOURCES
References:
English 10 Diversity (Celebrating Multiculturism Through World Literature)
Additional materials from Learning Resource (LR) portal
Other Learning Resources: Pictures, video clips, links
https://www.slideshare.net/agavemountain/extended-definitions-11328331
https://www.tuchemnitz.de/phil/english/sections/linguist/independent/kursma
erialien/TechComm/acchtml/def.html
https://umd.instructure.com/courses/1171792/pages/11-techniques-for-
writing-extended-definitions
https://www.yeyebook.com/en/song-of-autumn-poem-by-charles-baudelaire-english-text-eng/
https://www.biography.com/writer/charles-baudelaire
https://www.deviantart.com/rosengeist/art/Winged-A-Day-in-the-Country- 185059197

IV. PROCEDURE
 DAY 1
A. Reviewing Previous Lesson or Presenting the New Lesson

In the previous week, you were able to practice and apply cohesion and coherence in
writing and use expanded definitions of words. Furthermore, the text you read helped you know

1
 nature better and realize that there are natural phenomena that are inevitable. You just have to
remember to respond to these appropriately.
This week, expect to read more as you will critique different texts using different
approaches. Moreover, know that nature is a gift from God. It provides us with everything we need
in everyday life. And as caretakers of the Earth, we are bound to protect and nurture it for the next
generations to come. This lesson allows you to see the importance of nature and realize that even
nature has its own limits. It cannot maintain its natural state without proper human intervention.

B. Establishing a Purpose for the Lesson

As you continue your journey of learning, the skills that you are expected to develop
become more critical as we will dig deeper into reading and writing. You are going to raise
questions and seek clarifications on issues discussed in the text this week. In addition, you
will explain how the elements specific to a selection build its theme. Lastly, you are expected
to critique a literary selection based on the structuralist/formalist approach, moralist
approach, and Marxist approach.

C. Presenting Examples/Instances of the New Lesson

 Literary Theory and Schools of Criticism
A very basic way of thinking about literary theory is that these ideas act as different lenses
critics use to view and talk about art, literature, and even culture. These different lenses allow
critics to consider works of art based on certain assumptions within that school of theory. The
different lenses also allow critics to focus on particular aspects of a work they consider important.
For example, if a critic is working with certain Marxist theories, he/she might focus on how the
characters in a story interact based on their economic situation. If a critic is working with post-
colonial theories, he/she might consider the same story but look at how characters from colonial
powers (Britain, France, and even America) treat characters from, say, Africa or the Caribbean.
Hopefully, after reading through and working with the different literary theories, you will gain new
ammunition in your battles of literary analysis.

a. New Criticism (Formalism/Structuralism)

The first critical theory we will examine is called Formalism or Structuralism (known as New
Criticism today). Actually, this theory is well known to students because it dominated the study of
literature from the 1930s to the 1970s. For many of you, this was the method taught to you as
soon as you began to read.

What is the New Criticism Method?

As its earlier names suggest, New Criticism explores the formal elements and structures in
literature: genre conventions, character, plot structure, conflict, images, symbols, themes etc.
New Critics feel literary texts have their own type of knowledge, and to understand that
knowledge, readers must explore the relationships and connections between a work's many
structures. By examining the structures together, New Critics argue, one can uncover the
"intended meaning(s)" of a text.

What Questions do New Critics Ask?

 What do they do?
 Who are the protagonist and the antagonist? How are they characterized?
 What is the conflict?
 What themes does the work include?
 How are symbols, images and other poetic devices used?
 What role does “setting” play in the work?
 Trace the plot structure (rising action, climax, resolution etc.)
 Examine how genre forms affect the content, (i.e. how does the short story form/structure
affect how the work is written, or how details are arranged)

New Critics read a text many times to answer these questions. Then, the critics try to find
connections between the many structures. For example, they may look how setting affects
character development, how imagery and metaphor describe the conflict, or how the antagonist
drives the plot. These, of course, are just a few of the possible connections in a text.

2
 What New Critics Believe
New critics believe that the text is the only authority, meaning that what the author intended is
not as important as how the many structures work together to create meaning. They believe
that as one rereads a work, one begins to see connections and to grasp the way large and
small elements of a work relate to each other. New Critics believe the knowledge of a text is
important to all people, so they tend to look for issues (themes) of universal significance, such
as relationships, love, aging, death and dying, faith, doubt, fear etc.

The Strengths of New Criticism

Repetitive close readings make us better readers and make our experiences with texts richer.
Because it deals with traditional literary conventions, it is easily taught and not theory heavy. Its
insistence on close reading of "the words on the page" allows us to read without letting our
personal emotions or beliefs affect the interpretation.

Concerns with New Criticism

It does not explore authorial intent or historical, social, and political conditions surrounding
the work. It does not allow much space for many different interpretations. New popular culture
works often don't work well with New Criticism because these new works rarely feature many of
the traditional literary structures.

b. Structuralist Criticism (Structuralism)

“Structuralists believe that the structuring mechanisms of the human mind are the means by
which we make sense out of chaos, and literature is a fundamental means by which human
beings explain the world to themselves, that is, makes sense of chaos” (Tyson 208).

Description of Theory:
Structuralism wants to know ‘what is the big picture not stated?’ in a text.  It basis its
premise as everything is ‘textual’ composed of signs through language given meaning in a series
of patterns related to how other texts are presented.  This theory paved the way for
Deconstructive Criticism through the use of binary oppositions where one has privilege over the
other i.e. good/bad, sweet/bitter, etc. 

Structuralism focuses on the privileged binary patterns or repetition within literature genres and
individual stories and how if they are mirrored in society.

Benefit of Theory:
By looking at the larger outcome towards society and how material is repeated the reader can
pattern tropes within society or a particular culture.

Disadvantage of Theory:
Language and meaning are cultural.  What a language sign means in one, may not be for
another so perceived repeated themes can be misinterpreted.

Questions of Structuralist Theorists to Interpret a Text:

These questions of Structuralism are important because they reveal that every piece of literature
reflects the reality of society.
 What themes or patterns are constantly repeated in literature?
 How does this relate to culture as a whole?

 Notable Theorist/s:
Ferdinand de Saussure is considered the “Father of Structuralism.”
He developed the idea of studying the language of literary texts by
focusing on the words and grammar play.  Saussure believed
language preexists ideas because language is what births ideas and
therefore culture which creates society.  His greatest creation of
Structuralism is the Sign broken down into the idea (the signified) and
image (the signifier) which creates the arbitrary (given by society)
concept of meaning.
 
Claude Levi-Strauss developed the structuralist idea of studying
the common factors in the differences of human cultures which links
3
 humans together, i.e. myths which are the same overall story and similar in language, but come
from different cultures.

Structuralism, in a broader sense, is a way of perceiving the world in terms of structures. It

suggests the interrelationship between “units” and “rules”.

 A structure can be defined as any conceptual system that has three properties:
 “wholeness” – the system functions as a unit
“transformation” – the system is not static, t is dynamic
“self-regulation” – the transformations of which a structure is a capable never lead beyond
structural system.

Suppose, we are analyzing a story in which a boy leaves home after quarrelling with his father,
sets out on a walk through the forest in the heat of the day and falls down a deep pit. The father
comes out in search of his son, peers down the pit, but is unable to see him because of the
darkness. At that moment the sun has risen to a point directly overhead, illuminates the pit's depths
with its rays and allows the father to rescue his child. After a joyous reconciliation, they return home
together.

Three Points May Be Noted About the Method

1. It does not matter to structuralism that this story is hardly an example of great literature.
2. Structuralism is a calculated affront to common sense.
3. If the particular contents of the text are replaceable, there is a chance in which one can
say that the “content” of the narrative is its structure

Structuralism argues that what we experience through human life can only be made "intelligible," or
understandable, through the ways in which these experiences relate to each other. More specifically,
the ways in which these experiences relate make up a structure, a structure guided by “laws of
abstract culture.”

For example, through structural criticism, a student might judge that the "authors of West Side Story
did not write anything ‘really' new, because their work has the exact same structure as
Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet," such as a boy and girl story and the fact that both the boy and the
girl belong to two different opposing groups.

When analyzing literature based on structuralism, as authors Allen Brizee and J. Tompkins point out
in the article “Structuralism and Semiotics," you are generally asking these types of questions:
 What is the text's genre?
 What are the patterns of the text that make it fit in with a specific genre?
 What's the relationship between the text and culture?
 What patterns in the text are also patterns present in culture?
 Can we also connect the patterns in the text related to the text’s specific culture to other
cultures to show how the text relates to the greater “'human' experience”?

Four Characteristics of Structuralism

1. A literary work is viewed as a unity as a totality.
2. Structuralism does not analyze surface structure and the deep structure what is seen and what is
heard are not the real structure but only the evidence exist.
3. The analysis done by the structuralism involves synchronic structure not a diachronic one.
4. Structuralism is an anti-causal approach.

Structuralism, in a broader sense, is a way of perceiving the world in terms of structures.

It is the belief that “things cannot be understood in isolation, they have to be seen in the context of
larger structures they are part of”, The contexts of larger structures do not exist by themselves, but
are formed by our way of perceiving the world.

Horror Stories
Almost all horror stories follow the same pattern. You start out with an innocent person going about
their daily lives, they then hear a strange sound either outside or on the other side of a door. They go
to check out the sound and are brutally murdered. The end.

Love Stories
4
 The main character somehow meets the love of his/her life. They experience a whirlwind
relationship but are torn apart for some reason. They eventually reunite, get married and then die.
The end. 

 Day 2
D. Discussing New Concepts and Practicing New Skills #1
In this part of the lesson, two more literary approaches shall be discussed:
 Moral
 Marxism
c. Moralist Criticism
This is a type of literary critique that judges the value of the literature based on its moral
lessons or ethical teachings. In simpler terms, it determines the worth of literature by seeing if it
encourages good out of the reader.
Aspects of Moralist Criticism
1. Literature that is ethically sound and encourages virtue is
praised.
2. Literature that misguides and/or corrupts is condemned.

Moral/philosophical critics believe that the larger purpose of

literature is to teach morality and to probe philosophical issues. There is the belief that literature
should combine “the sweet and the useful” mixing pleasure at reading with moral instructions.
However, the way literature interacts with moral values is not always simple.
Benefits of Moral Criticism
1. This approach is useful for such work which does present an obvious moral philosophy
2. Readers can fruitfully interrogate a text from this point of view.

Moral approach has become less popular and influential during the last few decades. This may
be due to being too judgmental and one difficulty with evaluating a text’s ideas from a moral
perspective is that it is not always easy to discern a character intention as good or bad -- or both
in separate contexts.

Limitations and Critiques of Moral Criticism

Plenty of the critics point to dangers inherent in applying moral values to the evaluation of
literature. This idea that literature is moral and good if it portrays morally correct behavior and
immoral and bad if it portrays morally corrupt behavior has thus been with us a long time.

Critics may also examine the moral effect or value of a work in a more general way, considering
how the image, events, character and even styles in work affects its reader as moral being.

For Matthew Arnold, literature is a supremely important source of moral guidance and spiritual
inspiration. In seeing literature as a worthy substitute for religion, he takes an extreme position.
His insistence on the moral and religious significance of literature, however, is very much in
harmony with critical tradition.
Questions to Answer using the Moral Approach
 Does the literature seek corruption or negative influence?
 How does the text play out ethical principles?
 Is a practical, moral or philosophical idea being presented?

d. Marxism

Marxism is the system of socialism of which the dominant feature

is public ownership of the means of production, distribution, and
exchange.
Marxism is saying that there is no such thing as private property
and that everybody publicly owns everything. Everybody, in
theory, works and produces as much as they can and in return,
they receive exactly what they need.

5
Marxist Literary Theory
This focuses on the representation of class distinctions and class conflict in literature. It also
centers more on social and political elements than artistic and visual (aesthetic) elements of a
text.

Questions Raised by the Marxist Literary Lens

1. How does the author’s social and economic class show through the work?
2. Does the work support the economic and social status quo, or does it advocate change?
3. What roles does the class system play in the work?
4. What role does class play in the work; what is the author’s analysis of class relations?
5. How do characters overcome oppression?
6. What does the work say about oppression; or are social conflicts ignored or blamed
elsewhere?

How to apply Marxist Literary Theory to texts?

 Expose class conflict
 Determine the dominant class
 Identify the beliefs of the dominant class and how do they impose it on others
 Show how the working class is trapped
 Show how the working class is oppressed
 Show how the working class can end their own oppression

Key Terms in Analysis

 Proletariat
 Bourgeoisie
 Capitalism
 Classism

 Example of Marxist Literary Theory in text

The Three Little Pigs

Once upon a time there was an old mother pig who had three little
pigs and not enough food to feed them. So when they were old
enough, she sent them out into the world to seek their fortunes.

The first little pig was very lazy. He didn't want to work at all and he
built his house out of straw. The second little pig worked a little bit
harder but he was somewhat lazy too and he built his house out of
sticks. Then, they sang and danced and played together the rest of the
day. The third little pig worked hard all day and built his house with
bricks. It was a sturdy house complete with a fine fireplace and
chimney. It looked like it could withstand the strongest winds.

The next day, a wolf happened to pass by the lane where the three little pigs lived;
and he saw the straw house, and he smelled the pig inside. He thought the pig would
make a mighty fine meal and his mouth began to water.
So, he knocked on the door and said:
"Little pig! Little pig!
Let me in! Let me in!"

But the little pig saw the wolf's big paws through the keyhole, so he
answered back:
"No! No! No! Not by the hairs on my chinny chin chin!"
Then the wolf showed his teeth and said:
"Then I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your house down."

So he huffed and he puffed and he blew the house down! The wolf
opened his jaws very wide and bit down as hard as he could, but the first little pig escaped
and ran away to hide with the second little pig.

The wolf continued down the lane and he passed by the second house made of sticks;
6
 and he saw the house, and he smelled the pigs inside, and his mouth began to water as
he thought about the fine dinner they would make.
So he knocked on the door and said:
"Little pigs! Little pigs!
Let me in! Let me in!"
The wolf chased them down the lane and he almost caught them. But they made
it to the brick house and slammed the door closed before the wolf could catch
them.

The three little pigs were very frightened, they knew the wolf wanted to eat them.
And that was very, very true. The wolf hadn't eaten all day and he had worked
up a large appetite chasing the pigs around and now he could smell all three of
them inside and he knew that the three little pigs would make a lovely feast.

So, the wolf knocked on the door and said:

"Little pigs! Little pigs!
Let me in! Let me in!"
But the little pigs saw the wolf's narrow eyes through the keyhole, so they answered back:
"No! No! No!
Not by the hairs on our chinny chin chin!"

So, the wolf showed his teeth and said:

"Then I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your house down.”
Well! he huffed and he puffed. He puffed and he huffed. And he huffed, huffed,
and he puffed, puffed; but he could not blow the house down. At last, he was so out of
breath that he couldn't huff and he couldn't puff anymore. So he stopped to rest and
thought a bit.

But this was too much. The wolf danced about with rage and swore he
would come down the chimney and eat up the little pig for his supper. But
while he was climbing on to the roof the little pig made up a blazing fire and
put on a big pot full of water to boil. Then, just as the wolf was coming down
the chimney, the little piggy pulled off the lid, and plop! in fell the wolf into
the scalding water.

So, the little piggy put on the cover again, boiled the wolf up, and the
three little pigs ate him for supper.
Source: https://americanlietrature.com/childrens-stories/the-three-little-pigs

 Analysis using Marxist Criticism

1st Analysis
Bourgeoisie – The Wolf
Proletariat – The Pigs

In “The Three Little Pigs”, the first symbolism that was used to display a Marxist idea is
after the first little pig has built his house. When the wolf comes along he sounds very nice and
sweet but in reality, he is a mean and nasty person. In this particular scene the wolf is
symbolizing the upper-class capitalist. He seems nice at first when in reality, he is a mean, and
deceitful person who wants only to use other people to accomplish what he wants.
The first pig however, symbolizes the worker who realizes that the upper-class capitalist is
not good, but can’t do anything to stop him. The next pig has almost the exact same encounter
with the wolf. He comes up to the door, tries to sweet talk the little pig to let him in and then
when she doesn’t, he overpowers her and takes her away from her house. The third pig has a
very different encounter with the wolf.
The third pig made his house out of bricks so when the wolf came up and tried to get into
the house, he will not be able to do it. After another attempt the wolf resorted to climbing up on
the roof and tried to go down the chimney, but, the third pig was prepared.
This scene symbolizes how the worker, the third pig, can, and has to, stand up to the
capitalist and stop him from abusing all the workers. The wolf’s death however, symbolizes that

7
 even though the capitalists are more powerful, the workers decide that they are not going to
tolerate any more abuse.
Essentially, the subliminal story in “The Three Little Pig” is that, the abused workers have to
stand up and not let the upper-class capitalists push them around whenever they please.

2nd Analysis
Bourgeoisie – The Pigs
Proletariat – The Wolf

In this version, the wolf is the proletariat - he is homeless, hungry and fed up of not having
access to the basic rights he needs, such as food, shelter and protection from harm.
Unfortunately for the wolf, his circumstances have led him to behave in such a way which is
damaging to others (in this case, the pigs).
The pigs here are the bourgeoisie. They are all able to build their own homes, provide for
themselves and lead, therefore, a happy and comfortable life.
As the wolf sees the first pig erecting his home, he feels a wave of jealousy and destroys it
- 'After all', he feels, 'If I can't have basic rights, why should the bourgeoisie?’
Marxists would possibly view it as a celebration of proletariat strength. Along with the wolf
destroying the second pig's home too, Marxists may suggest that life for the proletariat is
becoming more fair - the wolf finally has some of his own control. However, the ending would
engulf the positivity of these suggestions.
Once the third pig, the wealthiest of all the bourgeoisie, has built his brick house, the wolf
attempts to complete his jealous rage. Although, the brick of the third pig's home is much too
strong. The proletariat wolf attempts to force his way inside the home, only to be foiled by the
luxuries of the bourgeoisie (specifically, the chimney).
The life of the wolf was taken by the pigs, a Marxist metaphor for the bourgeoisie ALWAYS
being 'better' and more powerful than the vulnerable proletariat.

E. Discussing New Concepts and Practicing New Skills #2

As mentioned, nature is a gift from God. It provides us with everything we need for everyday
living. As a caretaker of the earth, we are bound to protect and nurture it, for the next generations to
come.
This lesson allows you to see the importance of nature and realize that even nature has its
own limits. It cannot maintain its natural state without proper human intervention, and it can
definitely get devastated. And if this happens, who will be affected? Aren’t you worried of what will
happen to nature? What can you do to prevent it from happening and how can you make a
difference to help save the earth?
Charles Baudelaire was a French poet best known for his controversial
volume of poems, Les Fleurs du mal (The Flowers of Evil). He was a French
poet born on April 9, 1821, in Paris, France. In 1845, he published his first
work. Baudelaire gained notoriety for his 1857 volume of poems, Les Fleurs
du mal (The Flowers of Evil). His themes of sex, death, lesbianism,
metamorphosis, depression, urban corruption, lost innocence, and alcohol not
only gained him loyal followers, but also garnered controversy. The courts
punished Baudelaire, his publisher and the book's printer for offending public morality, and as such,
suppressed six of the poems. Baudelaire died on August 31, 1867 in Paris.
(French poetry with English translation)
Brief Introduction to Poetry

“Song of Autumn” is a lyric poem by Charles Baudelaire contained in the ‘Spleen et Ideal‘ section of the
poetry collection: “The Flowers of Evil.”
a. the man is chained “between the seasons” of life that inexorable pass, the falling wooden logs
remember the passing time, summer is too short, the cold of winter advances, the heart freezes, the

8
 danger of humanity is the loss of sensibility. Who stops to observe, conscious and dismay dies more
quickly?
b. Not even the beauty of your green eyes, not even your love is enough to save man which understood
the passage of time and the seasons. “Yet, love me, tender heart! be a mother, even to an ingrate, even
to a scapegrace; Mistress or sister, be the fleeting sweetness of a

gorgeous autumn or of a setting sun…” although aware of its brevity I can still taste the moment and the
ephemeral enchantment, albeit in a short, melancholy regret: “Taste the sweet, yellow rays of the end of
autumn…”
(From: introduction to poetry, by Michael Serye).
Source: https://www.yeyebook.com/en/song-of-autumn-poem-by-charles-baudelaire-english-
text-eng/
Song of autumn
By: Charles Baudelaire
(Chant d’automne)

Soon we shall plunge into the cold darkness;  

Farewell, vivid brightness of our short-lived summers!  
Already I hear the dismal sound of firewood  
Falling with a clatter on the courtyard pavements.

All winter will possess my being: wrath,  

Hate, horror, shivering, hard, forced labor,  
And, like the sun in his polar Hades,  
My heart will be no more than a frozen red block.

All atremble I listen to each falling log;  

The building of a scaffold has no duller sound.  
My spirit resembles the tower which crumbles  
Under the tireless blows of the battering ram.

It seems to me, lulled by these monotonous shocks,  

That somewhere they're nailing a coffin, in great haste.  
For whom? — Yesterday was summer; here is autumn  
That mysterious noise sounds like a departure.

II

I love the greenish light of your long eyes,  

Sweet beauty, but today all to me is bitter;  
Nothing, neither your love, your boudoir, nor your hearth  
Is worth as much as the sunlight on the sea.

Yet, love me, tender heart! be a mother,  

Even to an ingrate, even to a scapegrace;  
Mistress or sister, be the fleeting sweetness  
Of a gorgeous autumn or of a setting sun.

Short task! The tomb awaits; it is avid!

Ah! let me, with my head bowed on your knees,
Taste the sweet, yellow rays of the end of autumn,
While I mourn for the white, torrid summer!

— William Aggeler, The Flowers of Evil (Fresno, CA: Academy Library Guild, 1954)

Source: https://www.yeyebook.com/en/song-of-autumn-poem-by-charles-baudelaire-english-text-eng/

ACTIVITY 1. YOUR DISCOVERY TASKS.

Read and analyze the given poem. Answer the following questions below.
1. Why was the poem entitled Autumn? What ideas and/or feeling/s does it evoke?

9
 2. Autumn is described as in-between summer and winter, what thing/s events could best represent these
two seasons?
3. How could you relate the title of the poem to what is happening now to the Earth?
4. What do the following lines suggest?
a. That somewhere they’re nailing a coffin, in great haste
b. Sweet beauty, but today all to me is bitter
c. Yet, love me, tender heart, be a mother,
d. Even to an ingrate, even to a scapegrace.
5. How do you see that even nature has its own limits? How do you deal with it?

 Day 3
F. Developing Mastery (Leads to Formative assessment)
From the discussion given, I hope you did understand well what literary criticism is all about. In
addition, structuralism is one of its approaches which I know was explained in the previous part of
this lesson. Let us try, practice and see how well we understood structuralism in relation to literary
criticism. Let us go back to the first literary text we had for this quarter. The text is entitled, A Day in
the Country, by Anton Checkhov. Remember this beautiful story of Fyokla and Danilka? Yes, you
are going to read again this literary text but this time you are to analyze it using one of the lenses of
literary criticism which is structuralism.
ACTIVITY 2. Structuralist Structure: Answer the question in each of the dialog to point out factors
from the story that make Anton Checkhov a structuralist. Write your answer on a pad paper.

A Day in the Country by Anton Chekhov

What patterns
in the text are
What is the
also patterns in
text genre? the culture?

What are the patterns of

the text that make it fit in
with a specific genre?
What is the relationship
between the text and culture?

https://
www.deviantart.com/rosengeist/art/Winged-A-Day-in-the-Country-185059197

ACTIVITY 3. Structure Connects: Answer the question below on your pad paper.
Can we also connect the patterns in the text related to the text’s specific culture to other
culture to show how the text relates to the greater “human experience”?
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
As a review of the previous part of the lesson, we can say that a formalist critic examines the
form of the work as a whole, the form of each individual part of the text (the individual scenes and
chapter), the characters, the settings, the tone, the point of view, the diction, and all other elements of
the text which join to make it a single text. After analyzing each part, the critic then describes how they
work together to make or give meaning (theme) to the text.
Again, the literary text of Anton Checkhov, A Day in the Country will be used for you to analyze
and critic as a formalist by accomplishing the activity below.
10
ACTIVITY 4: Connect and Kinect: Use the chart below to analyze the short story “A Day in the
Country”. Use the questions provided as your guide.
Title: ________________________________ Genre: _______________________

Element Description
1. Character(s): Who are the characters in the story?
2. Setting: Where and When does the story take
place?
3. Conflict: What is the main problem in the story?
4. Plot: What is happening in the story? What is the
story about?
5.Tone/Mood: What is the author’s attitude toward
the subject? What kind of emotion or feeling do you
get after reading the story?
6. Point of View: Who is telling or narrating the
story? Is one character acting as a narrator (first
person), or someone telling what is going on (third
person)
Describe how these elements work together to make or give meaning (theme) to the text.
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______

https://www2.bellevuecollege.edu/artshum/materials/engl/silano/fall2005/101lsb/formalistlitanalyassgn.htm
Celebrating Diversity Through World Literature, Learner’s Material, page 287

 Day 4
G. Finding Practical Applications of Concepts and Skills in Daily Living

ACTIVITY 5. MULTIPLE CHOICE. Recall your lesson about the literary approaches discussed.
Answer the following questions with the letter of the correct answer.
1. According to Plato, what is the moral purpose of art?
a. To connect human beings with a higher ideal
b. To entertain those who enjoy it
c. To criticize society through satire
d. To bring to light social oppressions

2. How did the New Critics view literature?

a. As an aesthetic object that is independent of historical context
b. As an aesthetic object that is influenced by historical context
c. As a historical object that is also aesthetic
d. As a historical object that is not necessarily aesthetic

3. What do structuralist and formalist critics have in common?

a. Both sets of critics reject the importance of historical context in studying literature.
b. Both sets of critics look for an objective way to view texts.
c. Both sets of critics study the underlying forms of texts.
d. Both sets of critics focus on evaluating literature in a scientific manner.

4. Which of the following descriptions best defines the literary theory known as formalism?
a. An approach that emphasizes literary devices in a text
b. An approach that emphasizes the historical context of a text
c. An approach that emphasizes the biographical intent of a text
d. An approach that emphasizes racial issues in a text

5. Which of the following figures is considered to be the father of the linguistic theory
known as structuralism?
a. Claude Lévi-Strauss
b. Ferdinand de Saussure
c. Friedrich Engles
11
 d. Charles Baudelaire

ACTIVITY 6. TRUE OR FALSE. Write TRUE if the statement is correct about the given type of
criticism and FALSE if it is not.
 MARXISM
_________1. In Marxism, there is no such thing as private property because everyone owns
everything publicly.
_________2. Marxist Theory focuses on the characteristic of the character.
_________3. Social class distinction and conflict are emphasized in stories that adopted the
Marxist Theory.
_________4. Marxist Theory focuses more on social elements rather than political elements.
_________5. In this theory, people in the society work and produce as mush as they can and in
return, they receive enough for what they need.

 MORALISM
_________6. The Bible may be a form of Moral literature.
_________7. Moral literature teaches the reader to be ethical.
_________8. Moralism became less popular and influential in writing literature because it is too
difficult to determine the character’s intentions.
_________9. Moral criticism is based on the idea that people should be treated similarly in similar
situations and the same norms should be applied to all the people in a similar situation.
_________10. Plato considered literature capable of fostering virtue.

H. Making Generalizations and Abstractions about the Lesson

In this lesson, you learned three types of Literary Criticism. Each of it has a feature that makes
it unique. In the graph below, write a word that will summarize how you understood the type of
literary criticism and write a one-sentence explaining it.

Structuralist/Formalist Explanation:

Moralism Explanation:

Marxism Explanation :

 Day 5
I. Evaluating Learning
ACTIVITY 7. QUICK WRITES. Critiquing a short story is usually in the form of an essay. It is an in-
depth evaluation of the story for the purpose of giving the reading public insight into the story. Writing
a critique requires you to reassemble the elements in such a way that your intended audience has a
better understanding of the story’s flaws and highlights.

Read the text below and answer the following questions that will lead you to the different
12
literary approaches discussed.
STRUCTURALIST APPROACH
1. What is the genre of the text?
2. What are the patterns of the text that make it fit in with a specific genre?
3. What patterns in the text that are also patterns present in culture?
https://sites.wp.odu.edu/tatum-fisherengl333/theory-7/

FOMALIST APPROACH
1. Who are the characters in the text? Describe each.
2. What is the theme of the text?
3. Were there imagery or symbols used in the text? If yes, cite these sentences.

MARXIST APPROACH
1. What is the social status of the family of Mario?
2. What was the main reason why Mario consider stealing an apple?
3. How did status and power work in the society?

MORALIST APPROACH
1. What ethical teachings the text has given you?
2. What is your honest perspective on what Mario did?
What moral lesson you gain from the text?

THE WORLD IS AN APPLE

By: Alberto S. Florentino

Characters: Mario, Gloria, Pablo

Time: Late afternoon
Scene: A small and poor home behind a portion of the Intramuros walls. There are two wooden
boxes on either side of the doorway. At left is an Acacia tree with a wooden bench under it.
Mario enters from the street at the left. He is in his late twenties, dressed in old and worn out and
with hair that seems to have been uncut for weeks. He puts his lunch bag on the bench, sits
down, removes his shoes and puts them beside his lunch bag.

Gloria: (calls from inside) Mario! (no answer) Mario, is that you?
Mario: Yes.
(Gloria, a small woman of Mario's age, with long hair and a thin body, comes out wiping her hands
on her dress.)
Gloria: I'm glad you're home early.
Mario: How is Tita? (Without waiting for an answer, he enters the dwelling.)
Gloria: (crosses to bench) Don't wake her up, Mario. She's tired; she's been crying all day.
Mario: (reappears and crosses to bench and sits on one end) Has she been eating well?
Gloria: She wouldn't eat even a mouthful of lugao. I'll buy her some biscuits. Maybe she'll eat
them. (She slips her fingers into his breast pocket.) I'll take some money—

Gloria: But what? Where's your pay for the week?

Mario: I don't have it.
Gloria: What? I waited for you the whole day and you tell me—
Mario: (angry) —that I have nothing! Nothing! What do you want me to do, steal?
Gloria: I'm not asking you to do a thing like that! All I want to know is what you did with your pay.
Mario: (sits on the bench) Nothing is left of it.
Gloria: What happened?
Mario: Oh, I had a few drinks with my friends. Before I knew it, I had spent every centavo of it.
Gloria: (eying him closely) Mario, do you think you can make a fool of me? Haven't I seen you
drunk before, crawling home like a wounded snake and smelling of alcohol like a hospital? You
don't smell or look drunk.
Mario: All right, so I didn't go drinking.
Gloria: But your pay, what happened to it?

13
Mario: It's better if you don't know, Gloria.
Gloria: Look, Mario, I'm your wife. I have the right to half of everything you get. If I can't have my
share, I have the right to know at least where it went!
Mario: All right (rises). I spent it all on another woman.
Gloria: Another woman? I don't believe it. I know you wouldn't do such a thing.
Mario: I didn't know you had so much faith in me.
Gloria: No, Mario! What I mean is, you wouldn't spend all your money when you know your
daughter may need some of it. You love her too much to do that.
(Mario sits down and buries his head in his hands. Gloria crosses to him and lays a hand on his
shoulder.)
Gloria: What's wrong, Mario?
Mario: (turns his face away) Nothing, Gloria, nothing.
Gloria: (sits beside him) I know something is wrong, Mario. I can feel it. Tell me what it is.
Mario: (stares at the ground) Gloria, I've lost my job.
Gloria: (rises, surprised) Oh, no!
Mario: (looks up at her) It's true, Gloria.
Gloria: What about your pay for the whole week?
Mario: I lost my job a week ago.
Gloria: Have your sinful fingers gotten you into trouble again?
Mario: Now, now, Gloria! Don't try to accuse me, as they did!
Gloria: What did they accuse you of?
Mario: Just what you meant to say. Pilfering, they call it.
Gloria: What else would you call it? What, according to them, did you steal?
Mario: (low) It was nothing much, really nothing at all.
Gloria: What was it?
Mario: It was an…an apple.
Gloria: An apple! You mean-
Mario: An apple! Don't you know what an apple is?
Gloria: You mean, you took one apple?
Mario: Yes, and they kicked me out for it. For taking one, single apple, not a dozen, not a crate.
Gloria: That's what you get for not stopping to think before you do something.
Mario: (sits down) Could I have guessed they would do that for one apple, when there were
millions of them? We were taking them to the warehouse. I saw one roll out of a broken crate. It
was that big. (demonstrates) It looked so delicious. Suddenly I found myself putting it in my lunch
bag.
Gloria: That's the trouble with you. When you think of your own stomach, you think of nothing
else.
Mario: (rises) I was not thinking of myself!
Gloria: Who were you thinking of, me? Did I ever ask you to bring home apples? I am not as
crazy as that.
Mario: I was thinking of our child.

Gloria: Mario, I know he has talked to you and tried to poison your mind again, but don't go with
him. This is still the better way of life. If things have not been turning out well, you must know that
God is not letting us down. He is only trying us.

Gloria: (pulls away from him) You're going! I can see that you want to go with him! Ohhhh…(cries)
you'll leave me here again wondering whether you'll be…shot in the heart or sent to jail!
Pablo: (behind the tree) Don't worry about him, Gloria, he's safe with me. He won't come
anywhere near jail. I've got connections.
Gloria: (rushes madly at him and claws his face) You hideous beast! You—get out!
Mario: (pulls her away) You stay there, Pablo. I'll be with you in a minute.
(Leads her to the steps.)
(Pablo fixes his clothes, cursing)
Mario: (firmly) Gloria. I'm going with him.
Gloria: Don't, Mario, don't!
Mario: You can't make me stop now, I've been thinking about this since last week.
Gloria: Mario…(holds fast to him)
Mario: (loosens her hold) You take care of yourself and our child and I'll take care of myself. Don't
wait up for me. (Mario walks away with Pablo. Gloria stares dumbly at them, then shouts.)
14
 Gloria: Mario!
(She covers her face with her dress and cries into it. The daughter, from inside, joins her in crying
as the curtain falls.)

Original Story from Literature in Focus, First Year, Rosario I. Alonzo and Carolina S.A. Rionda
Adapted for Aborlan National High School, Aborlan, Palawan
By: Ma'am Haifa Ortega and Peace Corps Volunteer Marie Stumpf, Batch 269
2011
______________________________________________________________________________
Source:https://www.google.com/amp/s/ischoolsericsonalieto.wordpress.com/2012/03/23/the-world-
is-an-apple-by-alberto-s-florentino/amp/

Read the full version of the play here: http://ubdlibrary.wikidot.com/the-world-is-an-apple

J. Additional Activities for Application or Remediation

ACTIVITY 8:
Read again the poem “Song of Autumn.” From the discussed literary criticism approaches, which
do you think is the most appropriate approach to use in critiquing the poem? Using the guide
questions under that certain approach, construct a paragraph with 10-15 sentences in critiquing
the poem.

Review your critique from the previous activity (Activity 7). Go back to the details and justify your
points by citing lines from the text. Complete the table below.

Statements from the Details from the Text Citations (Line No.)
Critique

15