HOLY NAME UNIVERSITY

CITY OF TAGBILARAN
BASIC EDUCATION DEPARTMENT
Senior High School Level
S Y. 2021 -2022

English for Academic and Professional Purposes

TOPIC 2: Writing the Reaction Paper/ Review/Critique
Lesson 2: CRITICAL APPROACHES IN WRITING A CRITIQUE
Competencies:
• Uses appropriate technique in writing a critique such as formalism, feminism, etc.
• Writes an objective/balanced review or critique of a work of art, an event or a
program
Concept Notes
• FORMALISM APPROACH
• FEMINISM APPROACH
• READER-RESPONSE CRITICISM
• MARXIST CRITICISM APPROACH

D I S C U S S I O N
CRITICAL APPROACHES IN WRITING A CRITIQUE
Critical approaches, sometimes called lenses, are different
perspectives we can consider when looking at a piece or several
pieces of Literature. Their purpose is to help us answer the
following questions, as well as helping us interpret and understand
literary works:
1. What do we read?
2. Why do we read?
3. How do we read?
There are various ways or standpoints by which you can analyze and critique a certain material. You can
critique a material based on its technical aspects, its approach to gender, your reaction as the audience, or
through its portrayal of class struggle and social structure.

Here are some of the approaches.

FORMALISM APPROACH

Formalism seeks out meaning from a work by giving attention to the structure of a work and literary
devices operating in it. Meaning, in examining a text through formalism, the social, historical, cultural, and
political realities inside the text is neglected. So, do you mean in formalism, we are like judging the book by
its cover? Yes, because in formalism, the one being examined is the text itself - - - its form and structure.

Read a sample formalist critique of Dead Stars, a classic Filipino short story by Paz Marquez Benitez

The title of the work already gives an idea as to what it means. In physics, it is stated that the light and energy of
the stars have to travel light years to reach us. Since they are millions of miles away and light has to travel this large
distance, it is highly possible that the star has already exploded while its light is still travelling towards us. Therefore,
it is possible that a bright light we see at night actually comes from a dead star. In the story, this metaphor is used
to refer to Alfredo's love for Julia, a woman he meets and falls for one fateful summer. Not only is the title an
 indicator of what is to come, even the fate of the characters in the story can already be seen through their names.
Alfredo's name means counselor of elves in Spanish and suggests someone who is wise. In the story, it is indicated
that Alfredo is a lawyer, a person who counsels. Still, his name denotes a certain irony; despite his supposed wisdom,
Alfredo's actions, especially his covert courtship with Julia while being engaged to another, are anything but
sensible. Julia's name, on the other hand, refers to someone who is youthful, which is how Alfredo sees her for
eight years until he is confronted by reality.

FEMINISM APPROACH
It focuses on how literature presents women as subjects of socio-political, psychological, and economic
oppression. It also reveals how aspects of our culture are patriarchal, i.e., how our culture views men as
superior and women as inferior. Feminist criticism focuses on the roles, positions, and influences of women
within literary texts. It focuses on the ways female consciousness is written by both female and male
authors.
Though a number of different approaches exist in feminist criticism, there exist some areas of
commonality. This list is excerpted from Tyson (92):
1. Women are oppressed by patriarchy economically, politically, socially, and psychologically;
patriarchal ideology is the primary means by which women are oppressed.
2. In every domain where patriarchy reigns, woman is other: she is marginalized, defined only by her
difference from male norms and values.
3. All of Western (Anglo-European) civilization is deeply rooted in patriarchal ideology, for example, in
the Biblical portrayal of Eve as the origin of sin and death in the world.
4. While biology determines our sex (male or female), culture determines our gender (scales of
masculine and feminine).
5. All feminist activity, including feminist theory and literary criticism, has as its ultimate goal to change
the world by prompting gender equality.
6. Gender issues play a part in every aspect of human production and experience, including the
production and experience of literature, whether we are consciously aware of these issues or not.

THREE TENETS OF FEMINIST CRITICISM:

■ Western civilization is patriarchal.
■ Patriarchal ideals pervade Literature.
■ Most Literature throughout time has been gender-biased (because most lasting Literature has been
written by men).

Sample feminist critique of Dead Stars

The story is a study of power imbalance brought about by gender. In the beginning. Dead Stars already clearly
illustrates the gender roles ingrained in Filipino society. Don Julian and the judge are portrayed as the male leaders
of the household, taking up lofty professions such as business and law white the women are portrayed
accomplishing domestic tasks such as tending to children and preparing food. The most note-worthy display of
imbalance in power, however, lies on the central theme of Alfredo's love for Julia as simply a dead star. Eight years
after their forbidden love and after getting married to another woman, Alfredo still holds Julia as an object of
affection, thus creating a distance between him and his wife, Esperanza. In their relationship as a wedded couple,
the power lies in Alfredo, not only because patriarchal society designates him as the head of the household, but
also because he remains unreachable to his wife by harboring feelings for another woman. Moreover, the
realization that his love for Julia is simply a dead star is brought about by his treatment of Julia as simply an illusion
and an object of affection, and not as a woman. This gender imbalance leads to a tragic epiphany for the characters.
but is also a reflection of how men are viewed to dominate not only in the household but also in their relationship
with women.

READER-RESPONSE CRITICISM
It is concerned with the reviewer’s reaction as an audience of a work. This approach claims that the
reader’s role cannot be separated from the understanding of the work; a text does not have meaning until
the reader reads it and interprets it. Readers are therefore not passive and distant, but are active consumers
of the material presented to them. Reader-Response Criticism argues that the meaning of a text is
dependent upon the reader’s response to it.

Sample reader response critique of Dead Stars

Despite being limited in length, Dead Stars manages to evoke various feelings which ultimately build up the ending.
While Alfredo is the center of the story, as a woman reader it is hard not to feel greatly for Esperanza. Esperanza
can only be seen through the perspective of Alfredo. This does a disservice to her, as we can only know her through
the description of someone who does not love her anymore. Still, it is also through Alfredo's descriptions and his
unfaithfulness that Esperanza gains sympathy from the reader. During all the moments when Alfredo and Julia are
together, the thought of Esperanza looms in the background-does she know? How will she react? What will happen
now? The sympathy only increases when they get married, for it is clear that Alfredo is detached from her and is
still harboring feelings for Julia. While the end certainly evokes a feeling of loss at Alfredo's epiphany, it is the feeling
of betrayal for Esperanza that stays.

MARXIST CRITICISM APPROACH

It is concerned with differences between economic classes and implications of a capitalist system, such
as the continuing conflicts between the working class and the elite. Hence, it attempts to reveal that the
ultimate source of people’s experience is the socioeconomic system.
Marxist criticism focuses on economic and social conditions and is based in the political theory of Karl Marx
and Friedrich Engels. It focuses understanding how power, politics, and money play a role in literary texts
and amongst literary societies and characters.

Two most important focuses of Marxist criticism:

■ The ways in which dominant groups (or majority groups) exploit those deemed as subordinate (or minority
groups)
■ The ways in which people are alienated from one another because of power, money, and politics

Sample Marxist criticism of Dead Stars

The imbalanced societal power play is evident in the short story in the form of the treatment of the characters
based on their class. This is most easily evident in the conversation between Alfredo and his fiancée. Esperanza,
about Calixta, their note-carrier who grew up in the latter's family. The scene depicts a parallelism in the
circumstance of Alfredo and his new love, Julia, and Calixta and her live-in partner. However, while no one blatantly
frowns upon the budding relationship between Alfredo and Julia, except for some whispered rumors that reach
Esperanza, Calixta is dubbed "ungrateful to her master for doing such an act. Alfredo does not have to answer to
anyone for his unfaithfulness, but Calixta is responsible not only for what her family might think, but also for the
members of her master's family. Despite the same circumstances, the two people are regarded differently based
on their positions in life.

Note that these are not the only critical approaches you can use. Other approaches in writing a critique include
postmodern criticism, post-colonial criticism, structuralism, psychological criticism, gender criticism, ecocriticism,
biographical criticism, historical criticism, mythological criticism, and deconstructionist criticism.

Source:

• Barrot, J., & Sipacio, P. (2016). Communication Today English for Academic and Professional Purposes for Senior High
School

Prepared by: MS. RUBY ANN MARIE OCULAR, LPT