SH1601

Critical Approaches
I. Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements and ideologies that share a common goal: to define,
establish, and achieve equal political, economic, cultural, personal, and social rights for women.
This includes seeking to establish equal opportunities for women in education and employment.

Feminism is one (1) of the approaches to literature that examines how sexual
identity influences the creation and reception of literary works.
Feminist critics believe that culture has been so completely dominated by men
that literature is full of unexamined male-produced assumptions. They see
their criticism correcting this imbalance by analyzing and combating
patriarchal attitudes.
Source: http://home.olemiss.edu/~egjbp/spring97/litcrit.html

II. Formalism
Formalism refers to critical approaches that analyze, interpret, or evaluate the inherent features of a
text. These features are not limited with grammar and syntax but also the literary devices such rhyme,
meter, elements of plot, figurative language, historical, cultural, and biographical context.

Historical Context the social setting or political situation when the literary work had been
published.

Example: The message of Jose Rizals Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, both dwell
on the oppression of the Spaniards over the Filipinos and the hope of the Filipinos to end that
suffering and have their freedom.

Cultural Context refers to the cultural orientation of the writer when he wrote the literary
work or the cultural orientation of the people when a particular literary work had been
published.

Example: The song Mahal Kita Pero by Janella Salvador shows that even if we are in the
21st Century set up where technological innovations are ubiquitous, a Filipina still possesses
qualities like being prim, proper, modest, and obedient.

Biographical Context refers to the significant event in the life of the writer that propelled
him/her to write or publish a particular literary work.

Example: The poem by Amado V. Hernandez entitled Isang Dipang Langit narrated his
plight when he was jailed in 1953. It was a masterpiece of metaphor that considers the place a
piece of heaven. Through this literary work, readers might ask what happened to him or
perhaps the reason why he was jailed.

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