THIRD-QUARTER:
Elements of a Short Story:
● Short story; a brief fictional prose narrative that is shorter than a novel and
that usually deals with only a few characters.
○ The short story is usually concerned with a single effect conveyed in
only one or a few significant episodes or scenes.
Examples of short stories:
1. “A Christmas Carols” by Charles Dicken
2. “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson
3. “The Gift of the Magi” by O. Henry
4. “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant
5. “Three Little Pigs” by James Phillips
6. “Little Red Riding Hood” by Charles Perrault
Characters; the participants in the story.
● A person, animal, even a thing or imaginary creature in a story.
○ Protagonist
○ Antagonist
○ Dynamic = characters that change throughout the story.
○ Static = characters that stay the same throughout the story.
○ Round = unpredictable characters.
○ Flat = predictable/cliche characters.
Qualities of a character are shown through
- Appearance;
- What the character says;
- What they do;
- What others say about them; and
- Direct statements in the narrative.
Setting; where and when the story takes place.
● There are instances where a story happens because of the setting.
Plot; the chain of events that make up the story, play, or narrative poem.
● Centered around a conflict that must be resolved or ended as the story
finishes.
Exposition > Rising Action > Climax > Falling Action > Resolution.
- Denoma/denouement = the ending.
Theme; pertains to the central message or meaning of the story.
● Usually expressed as a generalization about people or life.
● Often indirectly presented.
Conflicts; seen/happen in the climax
- Man vs man
- Man vs nature
- Man vs society
Literary Criticism and Approaches:
Literary Criticism; the analysis of a literary text through various lenses that highlight
authorial stance, purpose, and perspective.
- Analyzation is possible with the help of various literary approaches.
● Reader-Response Theory:
○ Focuses on the reader and their experience of a literary work, in
contrast to other theories that focus attention primarily on the
author or the content and form of the work.
Tyson explains that reader-response theorists share two beliefs:
1. The role of the reader cannot be omitted from our understanding of
literature; and
2. That the readers do not passively consume the meaning presented to them
by an objective literary text; rather they actively make the meaning they
find in literature.
Typical Questions:
- How does the interaction of text and reader create meaning?
- What does a phrase-by-phrase analysis of a short literary text, or a key
portion of a longer text, tell us about the reading experience pre-structured
by (built into) that text?
- How might we interpret a literary text to show that the reader’s response
is, or is analogous to the topic of the story?
- What does the body of criticism published about a literary text suggest
about the critics who interpreted that text and/or about the reading
experience produced by that text?
Moralist Literary Approach: Five (5) Types of Feminism:
● Moralist Literary Criticism; aims to determine if the story has a 1. Liberal Feminism
philosophical or moralist view. 2. Radical Feminism
○ More concerned with the values the readers gain and if the 3. Marxist Feminism
meaning of the text is significant and true. 4. Socialist Feminism
○ Views a story as a material where morality should be visible. 5. Black Feminism

Typical Questions:
Strengths Weaknesses
- How is the relationship between men and women portrayed?
Useful in presenting moral philosophy. Can be too judgemental. - What are the power relationships between men and women (or characters
assuming male/female roles)?
A way to consider themes. Too much attention on the moral and - What constitutes masculinity and femininity?
philosophical content rather than the - How do characters embody these traits? Do characters take on traits from
Recognizes literature as a tool … artistic way of executing the story. opposite genders? How so? How does this change others’ reactions to
(HINDI KO NA SS SHUTA) them?
- What does the work reveal about the operations (economically, politically,
socially, or psychologically) of patriarchy?
Typical Questions: - What does the work imply about the possibilities of sisterhood as a mode
1. What ideas does the work contain? of resisting patriarchy?
2. How strong does the work show its philosophy? - What does the work say about women’s creativity?
3. How may the ideas be evaluated intellectually? - What does the history of the work’s reception by the public and by the
critics tell us about the operations of patriarchy?
Feminist Literary Criticism:
- Feminism focuses on the roles, positions, and influences of women. Structuralist/ Formalist Literary Approach (Video lesson):
● Structuralism began its movement in the 1950s in France.
Three (3) Waves of Feminism: Ferdinand de Saussure (1857-1913) - Swiss Linguist, “Father of Structuralism”
1. First Wave (19th century)
a. Focused on the promotion of equal contract and property rights; In addition, this theory emerged from theories of language and linguistics
and where it looks at the underlying elements and structures in culture and literature
b. Gaining political power and right to women’s suffrage. that can be used as a channel to further interpret the surface meaning of the text or
idea.
2. Second Wave (the 1960s–1970s)
a. Raised the issues of equality and justice. Basic Tenet #1: Structuralists believe that in order to fully understand a concept or
b. The civil rights movement was made. idea one must look at its underlying elements and structures and see the common
pattern involved.
3. Third Wave (1990s–present)
a. Focuses on the influence of culture on stereotyping. Language is just a complex system of signs. All words we say, all human
b. Aims to redefine ideas that have an impact on gender and sexuality. activities, even our perception, and thoughts are constructed and it is not natural.
(Saussure)
Language is a system that helps people to understand things commonly in the same How do you prepare a eulogy?
context. And a perfect reason why it is arbitrary (it constitutes the word). Because - Work in the appropriate tone.
there is no inherent or innate connection between the word and the concept or - Write with the audience, especially the family, in mind.
between the signifier and the signified. - Introduce yourself.
● Signifier; the word itself - Say something specific about the family of the deceased.
● Signified; the mental/abstract concept in mind - Be concise and organized.

Basic Tenet #2: language is relational. Delivering a Eulogy:

Paradigmatic chain; is a particular way of perceiving or organizing our thoughts in - Practice the delivery
relationship to complex objects or situations being compared. - Relax and control your emotions
Basic Tenet #3: Language is constitutive. It means that language constitutes or sets - Have a standby.
the world we live in. simply, it directs our view and understanding of the world. - Use proper volume, be conscious of the rate of your speech, and use a
conversational tone.
That is why one way of viewing literary text is by looking at its larger system or nu
looking at its genre. For instance, the plot of the tragedy is different from the plot of Preparing And Giving Welcome And Closing Remarks:
romance or horror. ● Welcoming Remarks; an opening remark or welcoming address warms up
● Langue is the larger structure of the system of the language or the language and captures the attention of the audience for an event.
itself. ○ It is usually given to welcome and thank the audience for coming to
● Parole is the individual expressions of the language or the words we utter. the event, acknowledge guests, and inform everyone of the
program and goal/s of the event.
Three (3) Basic Tenets
1. Language has structure; literary texts have systems that underline them. ● Closing Remarks; it may be a part of an inspirational speech or can be given
a. Sign (signifier and signified) by another person to close an event.
2. Language is relational; concepts or ideas cannot be described in isolation. ○ Usually, speakers bring the audience back to the beginning of the
a. Binary opposition speech to give the talk a strong conclusion.
b. Paradigmatic chain ○ Effective closing remarks challenge the audience to move forward
3. Language is constitutive; it constitutes the world we live in. on the topic of the speech to make a change or become involved.
a. Codes and conventions (culture)
b. Langue and parole Always apply appropriate prosodic features of speech:
c. Genre (literary texts) 1. Volume
2. Speech rate
Structuralism is an intellectual movement and a method rather than just being a 3. Juncture
group of thoughts and a theory. 4. Pitch
5. Projection
Preparing a Eulogy 6. Stress
● Eulogy; a speech given at a memorial service to pay tribute to the 7. Intonation
deceased. Meaningfuleulogies are brief but specific, heartfelt, and
thoughtful.