Name: Tiffany Joy R.

Sandigan Subject: EAPP

Yea & Section: STEM 12-B Instructor: Ms. Lorraine E. Puyos

1. TRUE
2. TRUE
3. TRUE
4. FALSE
5. TRUE
6. FALSE
7. FALSE
8. TRUE
9. TRUE
10. FALSE

Critique Paper on Dead Stars

The "Dead Stars," written by Paz Marquez Benitez, is a poem and a story of "what ifs." The poem came
from her fictional story. Alfredo Salazar was engaged to Esperanza. But his affection for her fades, and it
is caused by Julia Salas. Alfredo was deeply in love with Julia. But because he’s engaged to Esperanza, he
chose to pursue the marriage. But regrets and "what ifs" came along as he kept on longing for Julia.
Throughout the years of clinging to his feelings for Julia, he came to realize that her feelings for him
were just like dead stars. The plot of Dead Stars revolves primarily around the concept of romanticism
and the responsibilities and regrets that come with it. Other than that, the Dead Stars show how
unpredictable love and life are.

In the poem, the writer used metaphors and a sad tone to express Alfredo’s extreme sadness and mixed
emotions just, like how Paz mentioned Venus and Mars in her poem. Metaphors aim to explain an idea
or make a comparison to provide greater impact to the readers, and the author’s usage of metaphors
did make a huge impact on the readers. The poem also used a sad tone to fully express the regrets and
sadness of Alfredo Salazar. By having such a tone, the readers can easily feel the emotions that the
author is trying to convey.

In terms of context, the poem mainly emphasizes the sadness, longing, and regret the character feels.
The poem shows how love can be unpredictable, and we sometimes feel regret about the decisions and
choices we make. The author uses the word "if" to convey how the character wonders what could have
happened if he had made different choices and taken different actions. Also, in the phrase "I’ll never
know, because I didn’t ask." It pertains to the "what ifs" of Alfredo Salazar and how these could never be
answered. He’ll never know what the outcome could have been if he had made different choices and if
he had chosen Julia rather than Esperanza. He’ll never know because he can never turn back time to
take actions for his "what ifs" and change his choices and decisions. This is how unpredictable life and
love are.

The poem Dead Stars focuses on the concept of romanticism as well as the responsibilities that come
with it. Other than that, the poem also conveys how unpredictable love and life are. The poem is
excellent in terms of the use of metaphors and tone to express the sadness, longing, and different
emotions the character is feeling. The poem had conveyed the context very well. How the main
character considers the infinite possibilities if he were to express his feelings for the girl she loves and
make different life choices. But no matter how he wonders, he can never know what the outcomes are
because he can never go back in time and make changes to his decisions. That’s how unpredictable life
is. We make choices and decisions, and we sometimes regret them. There are countless "what ifs" in our
heads. But no matter how much we regret it, we can’t go back in time. What we should all do is enjoy
life to the fullest and make choices that could make us happy. It’s better to have bad outcomes after
trying than to regret not trying.