Basic Textual and Contextual Reading Approaches, 21st Century Literature from the Philippines

and the World

Figures of Speech

Objective
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to identify the different figures of speech.

What are figures of speech?

Why do literary writers use figures of speech?

Figures of Speech
Figures of speech, also referred to as figurative language, are words or phrases that express meanings in a
nonliteral way. These expressions are often used for comparison and for conveying emotion.

Literary writers use figures of speech to enhance the artistic quality of their works. Figures of speech bring vividness
and liveliness to the work, and they also emphasize the message that the writer wants to convey. The use of these
expressions also allows readers to feel a connection with the literary work by sparking their imagination and
arousing their emotions.

There are numerous figures of speech, and these can be classified into different categories. Among these categories
are the following:

 Figures of relationship
 Figures of emphasis
 Figures of sound

Figures of Relationship
Figures of relationship include simile, metaphor, metonymy, and synecdoche.

 Simile
A simile compares two unlike things with a common quality. The comparison is done using words such
as like or as.

Example:
O my Luve's like a red, red rose,
That's newly sprung in June;
–from "A Red, Red Rose" by Robert Burns

Explanation:
The persona in the poem compares his love to a red rose that blooms in springtime.

 Metaphor
A metaphor is a comparison that is done by stating that one thing is another in order to suggest their
similarity or shared qualities.

Example:
Trees are poems the earth writes upon the sky.
–Khalil Gibran

Explanation:
In the given quote, trees are likened to poems, and the comparison does not use words such as like or as.

 Metonymy
1
 Metonymy refers to using a thing or idea that is not referred to by its own name but by a different one, a
name of something with which it is closely associated.

Example:
I’m mighty glad Georgia waited till after Christmas before it seceded or it would have ruined the Christmas
parties.
–from Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

Explanation:
In the given line, Georgia is not used to refer to the place or state but rather the people making up the state:
its citizens and government officials.

 Synecdoche
A synecdoche uses a part of something to represent the whole or the whole to represent a part.

Example:
His eye met hers as she sat there paler and whiter than anyone in the vast ocean of anxious faces about her.
–from "The Lady, or the Tiger?" by Frank Stockton

Explanation:
The word faces is used to refer to people.

Figures of Emphasis
Among the common figures of emphasis are hyperbole, oxymoron, and paradox.

 Hyperbole
Hyperbole uses intentional exaggeration to achieve emphasis or produce a comic effect.

Example:
I had to wait in the station for ten days–an eternity.
–from Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

Explanation:
The use of the word eternity to describe a wait of ten days is an exaggeration. It simply emphasizes that the
persona feels that he waited for so long.

 Oxymoron
An oxymoron is a word or a combination of words with contradictory meanings, as in bittersweet and open
secret.

Example:
Why, then, O brawling love! O loving hate!
O anything, of nothing first create!
–from Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

Explanation:
The phrase loving hate is an oxymoron, as it makes use of two contradictory terms.

 Paradox
A paradox is a statement that appears to hold contradictory ideas but may actually be true.

Example:
The Child is father of the Man.
–from "My Heart Leaps Up When I Behold" by William Wordsworth
2
 Explanation:
The given statement may appear silly at first, but what it conveys is that the experiences of the child shape
who he/she becomes and how he/she acts as an adult.

Figures of Sound
Among the figures of sound are alliteration and onomatopoeia.

 Alliteration
Alliteration refers to the use of closely spaced words that have the same initial sounds.

Example:
Doubting,  dreaming  dreams no mortals ever  dared to  dream before
–from "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe

Explanation:
The neighboring words doubting, dreaming, dreams, dared, and dream begin with the d sound, giving the
line a musical quality.

 Onomatopoeia
Onomatopoeia is the use of words that imitate the sound of what they are referring to.

Example:
ARIEL:
Hark, hark!
Bow-wow.
The watch-dogs bark!
Bow-wow.
Hark, hark! I hear
The strain of strutting chanticleers
Cry, ‘cock-a-diddle-dow!’
–from The Tempest by William Shakespeare

Explanation:
The words bow-wow and cock-a-diddle-dow are examples of onomatopoeia, as they are animal sounds.

Literary Techniques

Objective
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to identify different literary techniques.

What are literary techniques?

Why do writers use literary techniques?

Literary Techniques
 Literary techniques or devices refer to specific methods writers employ in their works to convey messages.
Readers, on the other hand, look for several literary techniques when examining or analyzing a text or simply
evaluating a text’s artistic value.
 Keep in mind that literary techniques or devices are different from literary elements. Literary elements are
essential to a narrative as writers make use of these components to serve as the structure of and to develop
a story. These elements refer to the plot, setting, characters, point of view, and theme, among others.

 Anaphora
 Anaphora, sometimes called epanaphora, refers to the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of a
sentence to create an artistic or heightened effect. It adds rhythm to a particular line or paragraph, making it

3
 easier to memorize or remember. Anaphora is also used for emphasis or to stir emotions among the
audience.

Example:
 Hamlet (An Excerpt)
By William Shakespeare

 'Tis a fault to heaven,

A fault against the dead, a fault to nature
To reason most absurd. . . .

 (Hamlet by Shakespeare, Act 1 Scene 2)

Explanation:
 The line above was delivered by Claudius while talking to Hamlet. Claudius was trying to convince his
nephew to end his mourning for his father, emphasizing that it is “a fault” against heaven, the dead, and
nature to do so since death is inevitable.

 Antihero
 An antihero is a fictional character who does not possess the traits, such as pride and valor, expected of a
hero. Often, antiheroes are portrayed as foolish and usually find themselves in mischief.

Example:
Don Quixote (An Excerpt)
By Miguel Cervantes

One of those, however, that stood near him, fancying he was mocking them, lifted up a long staff he had in his
hand and smote him such a blow with it that Sancho dropped helpless to the ground. Don Quixote, seeing him
so roughly handled, attacked the man who had struck him lance in hand, but so many thrust themselves
between them that he could not avenge him. Far from it, finding a shower of stones rained upon him, and
crossbows and muskets unnumbered levelled at him, he wheeled Rocinante round and, as fast as his best
gallop could take him, fled from the midst of them, commending himself to God with all his heart to deliver
him out of this peril, in dread every step of some ball coming in at his back and coming out at his breast, and
every minute drawing his breath to see whether it had gone from him.

Explanation:
 The passage above shows that Don Quixote, despite considering himself as a knight-errant, is a coward.
Instead of helping his squire Sancho from the mob, he fled to save himself.

 Cliff-hanger
 Cliff-hanger is a literary technique used by the author to arouse curiosity among readers by ending a
chapter or story abruptly. Most of the time, the characters are confronted with a difficult or an unsettling
situation. Instead of providing a resolution, the author would end it. Furthermore, this technique is often
found in serialized works. Writers utilize cliff-hangers in their works to keep the readers focused and
interested as to what will happen next.

Example:
 Divergent (An Excerpt)
By Veronica Roth

I turn the gun in my hands and press it into Tobias’s palm.

He pushes the barrel into my forehead. My tears have stopped and the air feels cold as it touches my cheeks. I
reach out and rest my hand on his chest so I can feel his heartbeat. At least his heartbeat is still him.

The bullet clicks into the chamber. Maybe it will be as easy to let him shoot me as it was in the fear landscape,
as it is in my dreams. Maybe it will be just a bang, and the lights will lift, and I will find myself in another world.
I stand still and wait.

4
 (Roth, Veronica. Divergent. New York: Katherine Tegen Books, 2011)

Explanation:
 The main character Tris Prior was in an intense situation as Tobias, under a simulation, was about to shoot
her. However, the author did not divulge whether Tobias did it or not until the next chapter.

Juxtaposition
 Juxtaposition is a technique authors use in their works to compare two different things, or two contrasting
ideas to be able to emphasize their differences, such as good and evil, life and death, truth and lies, among
others. This technique is also used to develop a character, resolve a conflict, or clarify various concepts.

Example:
The Cask of Amontillado (An Excerpt)
By Edgar Allan Poe

It was about dusk, one evening during the supreme madness of the carnival season, that I [Montresor]
encountered my friend [Fortunato]. He accosted me with excessive warmth, for he had been drinking much. The
man wore motley. He had on a tightfitting parti-striped dress, and his head was surmounted by the conical cap
and bells. I was so pleased to see him, that I thought I should never have done wringing his hand. . . .

At the most remote end of the crypt there appeared another less spacious. Its walls had been lined with human
remains, piled to the vault overhead, in the fashion of the great catacombs of Paris. Three sides of this interior
crypt were still ornamented in this manner. From the fourth the bones had been thrown down, and lay
promiscuously upon the earth, forming at one point a mound of some size. Within the wall thus exposed by the
displacing of the bones, we perceived a still interior recess, in depth about four feet, in width three, in height six
or seven. . . .

Explanation:
 Edgar Allan Poe used juxtaposition in “The Cask of Amontillado.” In the first paragraph, the carnival season,
including Fortunato’s motley, symbolizes life and merrymaking. Meanwhile, the catacombs and bones
symbolize what would become of Fortunato.

Foreshadowing
 Foreshadowing refers to lines or dialogues in a story which give the reader an idea of what is about to
happen without spoiling or explicitly stating the plot’s entirety. When writers use this technique, especially in
mystery or thriller novels, they provide “red herrings” (misleading or false clues) to divert the readers’
expectations.

Example:
The Iliad (An Excerpt)
By Homer

Then Thetis spake unto him, shedding tears the while: “Doomed then to a speedy death, my child, shalt thou
be, that thou spakest thus; for straightway after Hector is thine own death ready at hand."

Explanation:

 Achilles was devastated upon learning about Patroclus’ death in the hands of Hector. He wished to avenge
his fallen comrade, but his mother, Thetis, warned him of his impending death should he kill Hector in battle.

Catharsis
 Catharsis is derived from the Greek word katharsis, which means “purification” or “purgation.” It refers to the
emotional release or cleansing of the characters, or audience or readers, from strong emotions usually
brought by learning of the truth or when confronted with difficult situations. This technique is commonly
found in tragedies, such as Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and Sophocles’ Oedipus the King.

5
 Example:
 Oedipus the King (An Excerpt)
By Sophocles

 Second Messenger:

 (. . . .) Guided his footsteps; with a terrible shriek,

As though one beckoned him, he crashed against
The folding doors, and from their staples forced
The wrenched bolts and hurled himself within.
Then we beheld the woman hanging there,

A running noose entwined about her neck.

But when he saw her, with a maddened roar
He loosed the cord; and when her wretched corpse
Lay stretched on earth, what followed—O 'twas dread!
He tore the golden brooches that upheld
Her queenly robes, upraised them high and smote
Full on his eye-balls, uttering words like these:
"No more shall ye behold such sights of woe,
Deeds I have suffered and myself have wrought;
Henceforward quenched in darkness shall ye see
Those ye should ne'er have seen; now blind to those
Whom, when I saw, I vainly yearned to know.

Explanation:
 The excerpt above pertains to the scene where it was revealed that Oedipus married his mother Jocasta and
killed his father Laius. Upon learning of the truth, Jocasta committed suicide while Oedipus thrust his
mother’s golden brooches into his eyes, thus causing him to become blind.

Stream of Consciousness
 Stream of consciousness, sometimes referred to as interior monologue, is a literary technique that is
usually associated with Modern writers. The plot is developed based on the characters’ reminiscence or
recollection of events and thought fragments. Instead of using dialogues to show the characters’ reaction or
emotion, writers make use of stream of consciousness to show each character’s complex nature. More so,
readers are taken into the depths of the characters’ mind and witness how these characters process their
thoughts when faced with a particular situation or emotion.

Example:
 Mrs. Dalloway (An Excerpt)
By Virginia Woolf

 Mrs. Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself. . . .

 For Lucy had her work cut out for her. The doors would be taken off their hinges; Rumpelmayer's men were
coming. And then, thought Clarissa Dalloway, what a morning--fresh as if issued to children on a beach.

 What a lark! What a plunge! For so it had always seemed to her, when, with a little squeak of the hinges, which
she could hear now, she had burst open the French windows and plunged at Bourton into the open air. How
fresh, how calm, stiller than this of course, the air was in the early morning; like the flap of a wave; the kiss of a
wave; chill and sharp and yet (for a girl of eighteen as she then was) solemn, feeling as she did, standing there
at the open window, that something awful was about to happen; looking at the flowers, at the trees with the
smoke winding off them and the rooks rising, falling; standing and looking until Peter Walsh said, "Musing
among the vegetables?"--was that it?--"I prefer men to cauliflowers"--was that it? . . .

Explanation:
 From the passage above, we see how Mrs. Dalloway’s thoughts wandered from present to past. All these
came into her head while she was on her way to buy flowers.

6
  Hamartia
 Hamartia, or tragic flaw, is a technique commonly found in Greek tragedies. It refers to the tragic hero’s
error in judgment, which leads to his or her downfall. Most of the time, this error is committed unknowingly,
such in the case of Oedipus when he killed his father Laius and married his mother Jocasta. Hamartia is used
to have the audience identify themselves with the protagonist (that he or she has weaknesses too) and to
provoke pity because of the miserable turn of events he or she went through. Additionally, it is used to
impart a moral objective among readers or audience to improve or change for the better so as to avoid the
tragedy that has befallen the protagonist.

 Example:
 Medea (An Excerpt)
By Euripides

 An easy answer had I to this swell

Of speech, but Zeus our father knoweth well,
All I for thee have wrought, and thou for me.
So let it rest. This thing was not to be,
That thou shouldst live a merry life, my bed
Forgotten and my heart uncomforted,
Thou nor thy princess: nor the king that planned
Thy marriage drive Medea from his land,
And suffer not. Call me what thing thou please,
Tigress or Skylla from the Tuscan seas:
My claws have gripped thine heart, and all things shine.

 Explanation:
 Medea’s hamartia or tragic flaw was her excessive love for Jason, who left her and their children to marry
Creon’s daughter, Glauce. This led Medea to cast her revenge to Glauce, poisoning her, and to kill their
children as she knew how greatly it would hurt Jason.

Literary Reading through a Biographical Context

Objective
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to analyze a literary text through a biographical context.

What is a biographical context?

How do we analyze a literary text through its biographical context?

Biographical Context
 A biographical context refers to the author’s life and the factors that influenced and shaped it, such as social,
political, and economic conditions during his or her time. This also includes his or her educational
background, religion, ethnicity, among others. When you read based on a biographical context, you employ
a biographical criticism.
 In analyzing a text based on its biographical context, you should consider not only how the factors
mentioned earlier have caused an impact to the author, but also how these factors were reflected in, and
have helped shape, his or her work(s).
 It is important to take into consideration the literary background of the author. You must research about
who and which the author reads as these may have also influenced him or her and his or her work(s).

However, one should not mistake a biographical analysis from a biography. Remember that when you analyze a text
based on the biographical context, you gather information about the author’s life as it can help you understand
some difficult concepts or extract profound meanings in an author’s work. Moreover, a biographical analysis helps
you understand the relationship of the author and his or her work(s), not produce a detailed account of his or her
life–thus, a biography. Literature, aside from being form of expression, can be based on real or orchestrated events.
These events included by the author in his or her work(s) are sometimes different from what really transpired in real
life. Sometimes these events are a reimagination, exaggeration, or wishful thinking.

Example:

7
Manuel E. Arguilla’s “How My Brother Leon Brought Home a Wife” is a story told through Baldo’s, Leon’s brother,
point of view. He narrated how Leon brought his soon-to-be wife, Maria, in their hometown (Nagrebcan, La Union)
to meet his family. To analyze this story, let us first consider some facts about Arguilla:

 Arguilla was born on June 17, 1911 in Bauang, La Union to Crisanto Arguilla and Margarita Estabillo.
 He was the fourth child and his family owned a small piece of land in their town.
 He was married to Lydia Villanueva, who was from Ermita, Manila.

Explanation:
 Based on the facts presented above, we can infer that Arguilla’s “How My Brother Leon Brought Home a
Wife” was a creative retelling of how his then girlfriend Lydia Villanueva met his folks in La Union. Moreover,
Maria fondly calls Leon “Noel,” which also reads as Leon in a reverse manner or simply referring to the
author since his first name was “Manuel.”

 The Ilocano culture of calling an older woman or man manang or manong respectively was also evident.
Additionally, this story was published during the American occupation in the country. Since the country as a
whole was transgressing from its conservative roots, not to mention that the English language was widely
used then (which also lacks words to describe an elder sibling such as ate or kuya), perhaps this was
Arguilla’s way of preserving his Ilocano upbringing.

Literary Reading through a Linguistic Context

Objective
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to survey the English language situation in Philippine Literature in
English during the American Colonial Period of the Philippines.

How did the Filipino writers in English during the American Colonial Period of the Philippines handle English in their
writing?
How successful are the Filipino writers in infusing Filipino sensibilities in their works?

The English Language Situation during the American Colonial

Period (1898–1945)
In 1901, the Americans established public education in the Philippines with English as the medium of instruction.
This exposed Filipino writers to Anglo-American literature, culture, and ways of looking at the world. Hence, a period
of apprenticeship in the development of a new body of literature took place. The period of apprenticeship (1910–
1935) was characterized by writers imitating Western writers. The succeeding “period of emergence” (1935–1945)
saw writers gaining full command of English and finally giving shape to what is now the Philippine Literature in
English.

Example 1:
Dead Stars (An Excerpt)
By Paz Marquez-Benitez

Under straight recalcitrant hair, a thin face with a satisfying breadth of forehead, slow, dreamer's eyes, and astonishing
freshness of lips--indeed Alfredo Salazar's appearance betokened little of exuberant masculinity; rather a poet with
wayward humor, a fastidious artist with keen, clear brain.

Explanation:
“Dead Stars” (1925) by Paz Marquez-Benitez is considered as the first modern Philippine short story in English for its
maturity in subject and language. The prose is rich, a characteristic found in Western literature, which is often
verbose and elaborate. It uses deep words and figures of speech (e.g., “recalcitrant hair”). The sentence is quite long;
the author plays with the language, creating a more vivid characterization of Alfredo.

Example 2:
How My Brother Leon Brought Home a Wife (An Excerpt)
By Manuel E. Arguilla

8
She stepped down from the carretela of Ca Celin with a quick, delicate grace. She was lovely. She was tall. She looked
up to my brother with a smile, and her forehead was on a level with his mouth.

"You are Baldo," she said and placed her hand lightly on my shoulder. Her nails were long, but they were not painted.
She was fragrant like a morning when papayas are in bloom. And a small dimple appeared momently high on her
right cheek. "And this is Labang of whom I have heard so much." She held the wrist of one hand with the other and
looked at Labang, and Labang never stopped chewing his cud. He swallowed and brought up to his mouth more cud
and the sound of his insides was like a drum.

Explanation:
In “How My Brother Leon Brought Home a Wife” (1941), Arguilla writes in a simple and very fluid language, which is
easy for the readers to follow. He used simple figures of speech (e.g., “fragrant like a morning when papayas are in
bloom”). He also used borrowed Spanish words to express meanings more accurately. For example, he used
“carretela of Ca Celin” instead of “Mr. Celine’s carriage.” It places the story in a rural setting and gives it a distinct
native quality.

Literary Reading through a Sociocultural Context

Objective
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to identify and examine the sociocultural context in the works of two
major Filipino writers, Bienvenido Santos and N. V. M. Gonzalez.

What did Bienvenido Santos and N. V. M. Gonzalez write about mostly?

How did they present the Filipino in their works?

Bienvenido Santos (1911–1996) became an exile twice. In 1941, he was studying in the US on government
scholarship when the Japanese attacked Manila in December; he was cut off from his family. During that time, he
wrote stories that later on appeared in his short story collections You, Lovely People (1955), The Day the Dancers
Came (1967), and Scent of Apples (1979). He was only able to return to the country in February 1946. Then in 1972,
he was with his wife Beatriz in San Francisco when President Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law. His novel The
Praying Man (1982), which is about the political corruption of the government, was banned by the government.
From 1973 to 1982, he was a writer-in-residence at Wichita State University. In 1976, he became a US citizen. He
returned to the Philippines for a visit in 1981.

Nestor Vicente Madali Gonzalez (1915–1999), simply known as “N. V. M.,” became a Rockefeller Foundation fellow
in 1948 and attended Stanford University in California and Columbia University in New York City. In 1950, he
returned to the country and began his teaching career. Then he went back to California in the 1960s to teach and
stayed there until 1983. Despite those travels, though, he never gave up his citizenship. Throughout his teaching
career, he produced fourteen books, including the short story collections Children of the Ash-Covered Loam (1954)
and The Bread of Salt and Other Stories (1993). He received many awards for his achievements including the National
Artist of Literature in 1997.

Example 1:
“Immigration Blues”
by Bienvenido Santos

“Immigration Blues” tells the story of Alipio Palma, a Filipino old-timer and a naturalized American citizen. A widower,
he lived alone in an apartment in San Francisco. One day during the summertime, two women came to his home. The
women were Antonietta Zafra and her sister Monica. Antonietta introduced herself to Alipio as the wife of Carlito. At
the mention of the name of his old buddy, Alipio became familiar. In their conversation, he talked about his late wife
Seniang. One of his fond memories of her is when he came home to see her wearing his jacket and slippers. Also, she
went to see him in his apartment and asked him without hesitation to marry her. She had to marry an American
citizen like Alipio at that time so that she could stay in the country. In return, she would take care of him. At first, Alipio
was not interested. Eventually, he agreed to marry her. By doing so, he thought that he would become more sensible
with his time and money and that he would be happier, and he would live longer.

For the same reason as Alipio’s late wife, Antonietta and her sister Monica came to see Alipio. At first, it was only
Antonietta who was working on Alipio for Monica. She was dropping hints during their conversation. The most obvious
one was when Alipio was telling the two women how he and Carlito had impressed women before with their gallantry
and that they were “fools on fire.” Antonietta responded with less subtlety by saying, “I’m sure you still got some of that

9
fire.” From that moment, Monica took her turn to work on Alipio herself. The story ends with Antonietta leaving Alipio
and Monica alone to go to a nearby grocery store for their dinner.

 In 1977, the short story won the best fiction award given by New Letters magazine. In 1980, it was included
in Scent of Apples, published by the University of Washington Press. The next year, Santos won the American
Book Award for that collection from Before Columbus Foundation.

Example 2:
“The Tomato Game”
by N. V. M. Gonzalez

“The Tomato Game” is written in an epistolary style. The narrator, a lecturer at a university called Transpacifica
University in the US, is writing to a man named Greg. In the letter, he tells about a colleague named Sophio
Arimuhanan, whom he refers to as Sopi, and his modus operandi. Sopi calls himself “Importer-Exporter of Brides,” that
is, he makes arrangements for people who wanted to get married. He is called “Attorney,” but he is not legally allowed
to practice law. One Sunday in the summertime, the narrator and Sopi went to a tomato farm. At first the narrator
thought they were going to watch a cockfight, but he soon found out that they were meeting an old man whom Sopi
referred to as “Lolo.” This old man was arranged by Sopi to marry a young Filipina named Alice. In their arrangement,
the old man would take Alice as his wife and some young man named Tony as his nephew. Then the old man would
send Tony to school. Hearing about the arrangement made the narrator angry. Later on, when the narrator realized his
role in Sopi’s scheme, he felt terrible. As hinted by Sopi, he would need the narrator’s help as he was a lecturer at
Transpacifica. The old man had already paid eight hundred dollars for Tony’s tuition in advance. Towards the end of
the letter, the narrator tells Greg what Sopi said to him when they left the farm. Sopi said, “To think that that old man
hasn’t even met the boy.”

 In 1972, the short story “The Tomato Game” won the first prize in the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for
Literature. In 1993, the short story was published along with other works in the collection The Bread of Salt
and Other Stories.

Explanation:
 Bienvenido Santos and N. V. M. Gonzalez presented different facets of the Filipino immigrant experience. In
“Immigrant Blues,” Santos portrayed a lonely old-timer who wanted a companion and a woman who chose
to marry an old-timer out to avoid deportation. In “The Tomato Game,” Gonzalez portrayed Filipinos trying
to make it in the US. One is a lecturer who regrets to be part of a scheme that deceives an unsuspecting old
man, while another, an unlicensed lawyer, deceives people for a living.

Critical Reading Strategies in Literature

Objective
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to explore and apply different reading strategies in literature.

What is critical reading?

Why is it important?
What are the different critical reading strategies in literature?

Critical Reading
Critical reading has an academic or professional purpose. Unlike reading for pleasure, it requires critical thinking
skills like doing analysis, developing an argument, and doing an evaluation.

Critical reading strategies in literature vary in purpose and focus.

Previewing a Text
Previewing a text enables a reader to get the sense of what the text is all about and how its parts are organized. A
reader can take a look at the facts about the author and the work and the title of the work.
10
Example:
Consider the book Tales from the Jazz Age by F. Scott Fitzgerald. You can find out more about the Jazz Age and F.
Scott Fitzgerald. By checking the Table of Contents, you can see how the author classifies the stories and what
inspired him to write each one.

TALES FROM THE JAZZ AGE

BY

F. SCOTT FITZGERALD

1922

A TABLE OF CONTENTS

FANTASIES

THE DIAMOND AS BIG AS THE RITZ.

These next stories are written in what, were I of imposing stature, I should call my "second manner." "The Diamond as
Big as the Ritz," which appeared last summer in the "Smart Set," was designed utterly for my own amusement. I was in
that familiar mood characterized by a perfect craving for luxury, and the story began as an attempt to feed that
craving on imaginary foods.

One well-known critic has been pleased to like this extravaganza better than anything I have written. Personally, I
prefer "The Offshore Pirate." But, to tamper slightly with Lincoln: If you like this sort of thing, this, possibly, is the sort of
thing you'll like.

Contextualizing
Contextualizing a text is considering the time and place in which the text was produced. A reader can read about the
writer’s life to see how his or her experiences shape the writing. Also, a reader can examine how a text reflects the
society or culture. Lastly, a reader can consider the significant events in history that influence the text.

Example:
Again, consider the book Tales from the Jazz Age by F. Scott Fitzgerald. As the title suggests, the stories in the
collection were written during the Jazz Age. A reader may consider the society or culture in that period of time in
reading the stories.

Asking Questions
Asking questions about a text allows one to understand and remember the content of a piece of literature. A reader
asks questions about the main ideas or literary elements; and such questions are answered in his or her own words.

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1. Who are the main characters in the short story?

2. What is the plot of the short story?
3. What is the conflict?
4. What are the theme, motifs, and symbols used by the writer?

Reflecting
Reflecting on a text involves examination of the reader’s personal responses to the text. The reader relates the new
learning to his or her previous learning as well as to his or her own beliefs.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

1. Have you had experiences similar to that of the character of the story?
2. What feelings did you have as you read the story?
3. Which character do you feel a connection with and why?
4. Is there any part of the story that you find difficult to understand?
11
5. How did the story change your way of thinking?
6. Making an Outline and a Summary
7. Making an outline and a summary of a text involves identifying its important ideas. An outline is a list of
the main ideas and supporting ideas of the text, while a summary is a brief statement of the most
important information of the text.

8. Evaluating the Argument

9. Evaluating the argument made in a text involves assessing the validity of its claim and support. A reader
examines the main idea, opinion, or point of view of the writer if it is well supported by enough credible
evidence or proof.

10. Making a Comparison and Contrast of Related Texts

11. Making a comparison and contrast of related texts is the strategy of identifying the similarities and
differences between texts of similar issue or approach .

12