Topic 3

Feminism
Objectives:
1. Define feminism
2. Explain how feminists interpret literary works
3. Discuss the significance of Feminism in interpreting a literary work
4. Evaluate one’s skills necessary to do a feminist reading of a literary work
5. Interpret a literary piece using feminist approach
In the previous lesson, we learned that formalism focuses exclusively on the
text detaching it from its context. In this lesson we will study a theory that considers
context in interpreting a literary work.

  Activity A
A. Read the poem below.

Mostly I Was
by Tita Lacambra-Ayala

All there
Head working
Like a mill
Hand wiping
Table tops
Turning pages
Cooking egg
And milk
But my feet
Abandoned me long
Ago
Bruising the hip
Of mountains
Kneeling for hours
In front of saint
Concrete pavement stained
With my walking
The world has turned
Into a home
Another country is the
Beach
The neighbors’ garden
A son’s friend
History happens
When a glass break
 B. Describe the “I” or speaker in the poem.

Gender: Supporting lines:

Age range: Supporting lines:

Past: Supporting lines:   

Present Supporting lines:

Does the “I”/speaker in the ‘past’ conform to or counter the norms of society? Explain your answer.

C. How do you feel about the “I”/speaker in the ‘past’? Would you exchange places with the
speaker in the past? Why?

D. Does the speaker in the ‘present’ conform to or counter the norms of society? Explain your
answer.

E. How do you feel about the speaker in the ‘present’? Would you exchange places with the
speaker in the present? Why?

F. What words would you use to describe the speaker then and now? Write your answer in the
table below.

I Was (Then) I Am (Now)

H. Interpret the poem using your answers in the previous questions.

G. What did you consider when interpreting the poem? Did you get out of the text when you interpreted
the poem?
Activity B

A. Using your own words briefly define:

a. Feminism 

B. Merge the two articles then prepare a sentence outline of the new article.

b. When reading a text using feminist lens, what elements/ideas stand out from the text? What
elements/ideas outside the text inform your reading?

c. How does a feminist critique of a literary piece enrich our understanding of it?

d. In terms of skills and knowledge needed to interpret a poem or story using feminist approach, how
do you rate yourself at the scale of 1 to 5? Explain your rating.

e. Write a brief critique of Ang Huling El Bimbo using feminist approach.