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ENGLISH
QUARTER 3-MODULE 4
Literary Criticism

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 DAY 1

What I Know (Pre-Test)

Directions: Read each item carefully and choose the letter of your answer. Write
the letter on a separate sheet of paper.

1. This is the interpretation, analysis, classification, and judgment of literary

works.
A. literature B. literary works C. literary criticism D. critiquing

2. This is the study of the text that focuses on the form and structure
A. formalism B. feminism C. historical D. reader - response

3. All of these are elements of poetry, EXCEPT :

A. rhyme scheme B. sound devices C. characters D. stanza

4. This refers to the patterns of stressed and unstressed syllables.

A. line B. meter C. stanza D. rhyme

5. This pertains to a word or phrase that possesses a separate meaning from its
literal definition.
A. sound devices B. alliteration C. rhyme scheme D. figure of speech

6. This is a figure of speech that expresses comparison between two unlike

objects without the use of like, similar to, as, or resembles.
A. simile B. irony C. apostrophe D. metaphor

7. All are sound devices used by poets in creating a poem, EXCEPT:

A. rhythm B. consonants C. assonance D. alliteration

8. This refers to the occurrence of the same sounds in words at the end of
matching lines of poetry.
A. repetition B. rhythm C. rhyme scheme D. rhyme

9. This is a figure of speech that attributes human traits or traits of other living
things to inanimate objects.
A. irony B. hyperbole C. personification D. metaphor

10. This refers to a group of lines in a poem.

A. stanza B. meter C. line D. rhyme

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 11. This is an approach in literary criticism that focuses on the reader and
his/her experience of a literary work.
A. formalism B. feminism C. historical D. reader - response

12. This is a literary device utilized by writers to create mental pictures with the
use of descriptive language.
A. rhyme scheme C. sensory imagery
B. sound devices D. figures of speech

13. This pertains to the sound or sense of hearing.

A. tactile B. olfactory C. visual D. auditory

14. He was the writer of the very popular poem entitled Trees.
A. Langston Hughes C. Guy De Maupassant
B. Joyce Kilmer D. Elizabeth Barrett Browning

15. All of these are guide questions in studying a text using the reader –
response approach, EXCEPT:
A. What is the plot of the text?
B. What is your overall reaction to the text?
C. How well did you enjoy the text as a work of art?
D. What does the text have to do with you personally?

Lesson Formalism/Structuralism
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General Instruction: In all of the activities, write your answers on separate sheets
of paper.

What I Need To Know

At the end of this lesson, you are expected to:

 discuss the overall artistic value of the structure and elements of the
selection (structuralist/formalist);
 explain how the elements specific to a selection build its theme; and
 compose an independent critique of a chosen selection.

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What’s New
Are you familiar with this nursery rhyme? Sing it then answer the questions that
follow.

Row, row, row your boat

Gently down the stream.
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily
Life is but a dream.

Questions;
1. What words are repeated in the song? a.___________ b. _____________
2. What words rhyme? a. ____________ b. _______________
3. What figure of speech is used in the last line? ____________

What Is It

What you have just done in the previous activity is the initial step in conducting a
literary criticism.

Literary Criticism is the interpretation, analysis, classification, and ultimately, the

judgment of literary works. Literary works can be a poem, a short story, etc. There
are many methods or approaches in critiquing a literary work, and one of them is
formalism or structuralism.

Formalism or Structuralism approach seeks out meaning for any work of

literature by giving attention to the form or structure. It is the study of the text
without taking into account any outside influence like the text’s historical,
biographical, and cultural context. Each literary work has its own form or
structure. The structure refers to the way it is presented to the reader.

In poetry, the structures or elements are listed below, although some forms of
poetry do not necessarily include all of them.
A. Stanza – a group of lines in a poem
 Stanzas of 2 lines are called a couplet
 3 lines are called a tercet
 4 lines are called a quatrain
 5 lines are called a cinquain
 6 lines are called a sestet
 7 lines are called a septet
 8 lines are called an octave

B. Line – individual line in a poem; it does not have to complete a sentence or

thought
C. Meter – patterns of stressed and unstressed syllables
D. Rhyme scheme – the pattern of rhymes at the end of the lines

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 You mark rhyme in a poem with the letters of the alphabet. For instance, in
this stanza:
Whose woods these are think I know, (a)
His house is in the village though; (a)
He will not see me stopping here (b)
To watch his woods fill up with snow. (a)
The rhyme scheme is aaba (because “know,” “though,” and “snow” rhyme,
they are marked “a,” while “here” is another rhyme, and is marked “b”).

E. Figure of Speech – word or phrase that possesses a separate meaning from

its literal definition. Some of the most commonly used figures of speech are:
 Simile – an expressed comparison between two unlike objects, the
comparison being made using words like, as, similar to, resembles.
 Metaphor – like the simile, it expresses comparison, but without the
use of like, similar to, or as. It equates the two things compared.
 Personification – is attributing human traits or traits of other living
things to inanimate objects
 Apostrophe – words are addressed to a person or thing that is
absent yet as if present or to a personified idea, such as death, truth,
or nature.
 Irony – conveys the exact opposite meaning of what is literally being
said
 Hyperbole – exaggeration of words to create impressiveness or for
aesthetic purposes
F. Sound Devices – elements of literature that emphasize sound
 Rhyme – the occurrence of the same sounds in words at the end of
matching lines of poetry
 Rhythm – the recurrence of accented and unaccented syllables in a
regular or nearly regular pattern which gives the poem a sense of
rhythm
 Alliteration – the repetition of a consonant sound, usually at the
beginning of two or more words in a line of verse or in a sentence.
 Assonance – the repetition in lines of verse of the same vowel sound
accompanied by unlike consonant sounds, sometimes used in place of
rhyme
 Repetition – word, line, or entire statement is repeated for emphasis

Sample literary criticism using the formalist/structuralist approach:

Trees
by Joyce Kilmer

1 I think that I shall never see

2 A poem lovely as a tree.

3 A tree whose hungry mouth is pressed

4 Against the earth’s sweet flowing breast;

5 A tree that looks at God all day,

6 And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

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 7 A tree that may in Summer wear
8 A nest of robins in her hair;

9 Upon whose bosom snow has lain;

10 Who intimately lives with rain.
11 Poems are made by fools like me,
12 But only God can make a tree.

Formalistic Criticism of the Poem Trees by Joyce Kilmer

Joyce Kilmer’s “Trees” is a poem of 12 lines. Each line consists of 8 syllables

in Iambic tetrameter except lines 2 and 11 which possess 7 syllables. The poem is
organized in rhyming couplets aa bb cc dd ee aa. Grammatical units in the original
poem are separated by semicolons. Such pauses have rhythmic effects. They show
a sequence of descriptive sentences. Alliteration in line 6 in “lifts” and “leafy” and
line 8 in “her” and “hair” and line 11 in “made” and “me” has rhythmical effect. The
poet uses many imageries. The second line employs simile with the comparison of
poem and tree using the word “as”. Personification is highly utilized in the poem.
The tree is depicted as a female that presses its mouth to the earth’s breast raising
leafy arms to pray to God. The earth also is personified as a female nursing the
tree. The (human) female physical attributes are given to both the tree and earth.

To help you understand and appreciate the poem, do the following:

First, read through the poem silently, quickly. Note the words you don’t
seem to understand.
Next, read the poem out load and slowly. Make sure that your stressing and
phrasing are correct.
Now, read the poem again for its substance. Have the unfamiliar words
gained meaning through context?
Look up in the dictionary the words which you still cannot understand.

What I Can Do
Directions: Read the poem closely. In one to two paragraphs, analyze and interpret
the poem using the formalistic method.

Dreams
by Langston Hughes

1 Hold fast to dreams

2 For if dreams die
3 Life is a broken-winged bird
4 That cannot fly.

5 Hold fast to dreams

6 For when dreams go

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 7 Life is a barren field
8 Frozen with snow.

What I Have Learned

Direction: Complete the given statements.

The interpretation, analysis, classification, and ultimately, the judgment of

literary works is called __________________________________.
Some of the structures or elements of poetry are a. ___________, b. _________,
c. ____________, d. ____________, and e. ____________.

DAY 2

Reader – Response

What I Need To Know

At the end of this lesson, you are expected to:

 express the personal significance of the selection to the reader (reader-
response); and
 compose an independent critique of a chosen selection.

What’s In
Instructions: Rearrange the jumbled letters to form a word. The first letter is done
for you.

M I L F S R M O A

Answer: F_________________

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What is the definition of the word that you have just formed?
_________________________________________________________________________________.

What’s New

Directions: Listen to this song and take note of the lyrics. Then do the tasks that
follow.

There You'll Be
by Faith Hill

When I think back on these times,

And the dreams we left behind,
I'll be glad cause I was blessed to get,
To have you in my life,
When I look back on these days,
I look and see your face,
You were right there for me.
In my dreams I'll always see you soar above the sky,
In my heart there'll always be a place for you,
For all my life,
I'll keep a part of you with me,
And everywhere I am there you'll be,
And everywhere I am there you'll be,
Well you showed me how it feels,
To feel the sky within my reach,
And I always will remember all,
The strength you gave to me,
Your love made me make it through,
Ohh, I owe so much to you,
You were right there for me.
In my dreams I'll always see you soar above the sky,
In my heart there'll always be a place for you,
For all my…

Questions:
1. What did you feel after hearing the song?
2. What made you feel that way?

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Write your ideas about an exciting and memorable experience which you can relate
to the song. Use the thought balloons below.

My Past My Present
My Future

What Is It

Reader-response approach in literary criticism focuses on the reader (or

“audience”) and their experience of a literary work, in contrast to other approaches
that focus attention primarily on the author or the content and form of the work.
The text is influenced by the reader’s understanding and perception. The reader
has an active role in shaping the text.

Readers are encouraged to critically evaluate and interpret the text on the basis of
their personal experience, previous knowledge and opinion.

The following are some guide questions that you can use in analyzing and
interpreting the text employing the reader-response method:

 What does the text have to do with you, personally, and with your life
(past, present or future)? It is not acceptable to write that the text has
NOTHING to do with you, since just about everything humans can write has
to do in some way with every other human.

 How much does the text agree or clash with your view of the world, and
what you consider right and wrong? Use several quotes as examples of
how they agree with and support what you think about the world, about
right and wrong, and about what you think it is to be human.
 How did you learn, and to what extent were your views and opinions
challenged or changed by this text, if at all? Did the text communicate
with you? Why or why not? Give examples of how your views might have
changed or been strengthened (or perhaps, of why the text failed to convince
you, the way it is). Please do not write "I agree with everything the author
wrote," since everybody disagrees about something, even if it is a tiny point.
Use quotes to illustrate your points of challenge or where you were
persuaded.
 How well does it address things that you, personally, care about and
consider important to the world? How does it address things that are
important to your family, your community, your ethnic group, to people of
your economic or social class or background, or your faith tradition? If not,

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 who does or did the text serve? Did it pass the "Who cares?" test? Use
quotes to illustrate.

 Critique the text. Reading and writing "critically" does not mean the same
thing as "criticizing," in everyday language (complaining or griping, fault-
finding, nit-picking). Your "critique" can and should be positive and
praise the text if possible, as well as pointing out problems, disagreements
and shortcomings.

 How well did you enjoy the text (or not) as entertainment or as a work
of art? Use quotes or examples to illustrate the quality of the text as art or
entertainment. Of course, be aware that some texts are not meant to be
entertainment or art--a news report or textbook, for instance, may be neither
entertaining or artistic, but may still be important and successful.

 To sum up, what is your overall reaction to the text? Would you read
something else like this, or by this author, in the future or not? Why or why
not? To whom would you recommend this text?

Below is an example of a literary criticism of a the very popular story utilizing the
reader-response approach.

Reader-response Criticism of Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare is said to be one of the greatest works of
classic literature and the epitome of romance writing. Though now personally I find
the work a bit over-dramatic and an unrealistic view of love and life in the time
period but can understand how depending on the age group reading this work and
the personal experiences of the reader can drastically affect how the work is viewed.

I first read Romeo and Juliet during my freshman year of high school when I was 14
years old, the same age as Juliet. That was my first encounter with the work, and
at the time I believed that it was exactly how love is and how love worked. It was
my inexperience and naivety like Juliet’s that lead me to feeling that way. It took
the harsh realities of living that showed me that love and life is not and cannot be
like that. One relationship should not be worth dying for at such a young age.

I personally do enjoy the story, I love the language and the diction and found the
humor marvelous, but I also found it soppy and overly dramatic. But the story also
brought up several other personal correlations into my real modern life. Dancing
with people that you do not know, being concerned for the family name, and that
there are some people you are simply not to associate with. I understand the fear of
being associated with someone the family considers to be a threat or just unworthy.

There are other concerns I had with looking at Romeo and Juliet the fact that this
story happens in such a short amount of time, the story is said to take place in
only one week. In one week, this couple meets, marries, and dies for each other. I
have a hard time accepting the idea that a couple in one week’s time was infatuated
enough to die for within one week.

Love at first sight was a concept I was willing to accept until recently. Talking with
others about the topic, I find that some are willing to admit that they believe in it
and others scoff at the very idea. Perhaps the issue is societal. That when we are

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young, we are willing to entertain the notion of extremes in love and our society
allows it. As if our society knows that all it will take is that first serious break up to
snap us back to our senses and back to the reality that this is not how life works.
We then snap out of it and our hearts harden. We then cannot accept the idea of
love at first sight and a love so strong and so fiery that we are willing to die for it or
cannot live without it.

In closing, Romeo and Juliet is a fantastic work of literature written by the world’s
most famed playwright. This is considered a classic love story but has been met
with increasing cynicism and skepticism about its relevance in today’s society.
Enjoying this piece through reader-response criticism allows each reader to draw
their own personal conclusions and be affected by their own personal biases which
create a unique reading experience from person to person.

What I Can Do
Directions: Read the selection below. In one to two paragraphs, write an analysis
of the short story using the reader - response method.

The Necklace
by Guy De Maupassant

The story takes place in France a long time ago. Mathilde Loisel lives in a flat with
her husband, who works as a clerk for the Minister of Education. Their lives are
not luxurious, but they are not poor, merely simple. Mathilde, however, longs to be
rich. She envies her friend Jeanne who has a large house and lots of jewelry.

One day her husband brings home an invitation to a ball. He thinks his wife will be
excited to attend such a fancy party, but instead she is upset. She complains that
she has nothing suitable to wear to such an extravagant occasion. Her kind
husband agrees to give her the four hundred francs that he had been saving to buy
a new rifle to get herself a gown.

The week of the party, Mathilde seems anxious again. When her husband asks her
why, she frets that she has no jewelry to wear with her dress. He suggests that
perhaps she could borrow something from her friend Jeanne Forestier. Mathilde
goes to Jeanne's house and picks out a sparkling diamond necklace to borrow.

She and her husband attend the gala and have a fabulous time. She loves amazing
and dances all night. Finally, they head home in the wee hours of the morning.
When they arrive home, Mathilde realizes that the necklace is missing. They
wonder if it fell off in the carriage that they took home, but neither of them noticed
the number. Her husband goes out to search the streets but returns empty
handed. To stall for time, Mathilde writes to her friend that she broke the clasp and
is having it repaired. In the meantime, they find another necklace that matches the
missing one, but it costs thirty-six thousand francs. Her husband fortunately
inherited eighteen thousand francs from his father, but they will need to borrow the

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rest of the money. Finally, they have enough to purchase the replacement necklace
and Mathilde gives it to Jeanne who doesn't even look at it.
The next ten years Mathilde's life changes dramatically. They move to a smaller
apartment where she has to cook and clean for herself. She also does work on the
side while her husband works multiple jobs to pay back all the money they
borrowed. After the ten years, the money is all paid back, but Mathilde has aged a
great deal.

One day she sees Jeanne Forestier on the street. She decides to tell her the truth
about the necklace. Jeanne is stunned by Mathilde's rough and very poor
appearance. Mathilde explains that it is indirectly because of Jeanne since she lost
the necklace she borrowed from her and had to pay for a replacement. Shocked,
Jeanne confesses that the necklace Mathilde borrowed was a fake, made of paste,
worth no more than five hundred francs.

What I Have Learned

Direction: Complete the statement below.

Reader-response approach focuses on the_________________________ and

their ____________________ of a literary work.

DAY 3

Sensory Imagery

What I Need To Know

At the end of this lesson, you are expected to:
 express appreciation for sensory images used; and
 distinguish the different approaches in literary criticism.

What’s In

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How do you see a mango?

Amazon.in

Write one sentence which is the most likely thought or perspective for each of the
individuals listed below. The first one is done for you.

1. seller – “I will earn a lot from selling these mangoes.”

2. health conscious person -
__________________________________________________
3. buyer -
____________________________________________________________________

Most of the time, we look at things from different perspectives. Just like in looking
at the same mango fruit, there are varied points of view.

In analyzing any literary work, there are also different approaches. Day 1 of this
module talks about formalism, and Day 2 on reader-response method. Below is an
analogy on the difference between these two approaches.

In looking at the mango fruit, a formalist would think: What shape and diameter is
the mango fruit?
while a reader-response theorist would ask: What does the mango taste like?
What does the mango remind us of?

In literary criticism, how you study and analyze a particular literary work depends
on the kind of method or approach that you use. There are still many other
methods you need to explore as you advance in your studies.

What’s New

Identify items in the picture that

appeal to your senses. These items
can be seen or imagined. Write them
in their respective categories below.
The first item is given for your
guidance.

a. Sight – flowers, _____________

b. Sound – laughter of the
children, _____________
c. Smell – scent of the grass,
___________________
d. Touch – soft hair of the cat, ____
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e. Taste – sweet taste of apples,
____________
Shutterstock.com

What Is It
In the previous activity, you identified objects in the picture that appeal to your
senses. You can also imagine these things by using words alone, without any aid of
a picture. Pictures created in your mind with the use of words are called sensory
images.

Sensory imagery is another literary device writers employ to engage a reader’s

mind to create mental pictures, with the use of descriptive language. It explores the
five human senses, namely:

1. Sight – visual – appeals to the sense of seeing

Examples: a host of golden daffodils, flickering fireflies

2. Sound – auditory – appeals to the sense of hearing

Examples: the squeak of spinning wheels, the tolling of the bells

3. Smell – olfactory – appeals to the sense of smelling

Examples: cherry blossoms filled the air, acrid fumes of burning wax

4. Touch – tactile – appeals to the sense of feeling

Examples: the piercing rays of the noon day sun,
the baby’s breath was warm on my face

5. Taste – gustatory – appeals to the sense of taste

Examples: mouth-watering chicken joy, the tang of salt spray from the
sea

What I Can Do
Direction: Classify each of the following sensory images to its proper column.

Sensory Images

Sight Sound Smell Touch Taste

1. swirls of bittersweet chocolate 9. soft satin fabric

2. bright stars lit up the sky 10. aroma of brewed coffee

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 3. cinnamon – scented candle 11. the golden sunset in Manila Bay
4. chirping of birds 12. warm summer air
5. gust of cold wind 13. the flashing blue lights
6. muffled cry of a woman 14. cracking of wood splitting
7. fragrance of spring flowers 15. sour lemonade
8. sweet and juicy orange

What I Have Learned

Direction: Complete the sentence below.

Sensory imagery is a _____________ device used to create ___________

in your mind.

DAY 4

What’s More

Directions: Read the poem, then do the tasks that follow.

Out in the Fields with God

by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

1 The little cares that fretted me

2 I lost them yesterday,
3 Among the fields, above the sea,
4 Among the winds at play;
5 Among the lowing of the herds,
6 The rustling of the trees;
7 Among the singing of the birds,
8 The humming of the bees.
8888…
9 The foolish fears of what may happen,
10 I cast them all away
11 Among the clover-scented grass,
12 Among the new-mown hay;
13 Among the rustling of the corn,
14 Where drowsy poppies nod,
15 Where ill thoughts die and good are born –

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 16 Out in the fields with God.

Task A. Answer these questions pertaining to the poem.

1. How many stanzas are there in the poem?
2. Write five pairs of words that rhyme.
Example: me – sea
3. What figure of speech is used in these lines?
a. Singing of the birds - _________________
b. Drowsy poppies nod - ________________
4. Write beside the given line the sense that it best appeals to.
Example: among the fields – sight
c. Among the winds at play - __________
d. Lowing of the herds - __________
e. Humming of the bees - __________
f. Clover-scented grass - __________
g. Rustling of the corn - ___________
5. What is the message of the poem?
6. Can you relate yourself to the message? When you encounter difficult
trials in life, how do you cope with them?

Task B. In one to two paragraphs, compose a literary criticism of the poem Out in
the Fields with God. Indicate the method and the title of the literary work. You may
use the formalistic or reader-response approach. Be guided by the criteria below.

Literary Criticism using __________________ Approach

Title of the Poem: __________________ by _______________________

Criteria for evaluation:

Content - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - 15 points
(sound understanding, interpretation, and analysis of the
literary work)
Organization - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 10 points
(compelling introductory and concluding sentences, and skillful
use of transition words and phrases)
Mechanics - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 10 points
(correct spelling, punctuations, and capitalization usage)
TOTAL 35 points

DAY 5

Assessment (Post-Test)

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Directions: Read each item carefully and choose the letter of your answer. Write
your answers on a separate sheet of paper.

1. This is the interpretation, analysis, classification, and judgment of literary

works.
A. literature B. literary works C. literary criticism D. critiquing

2. This is the study of the text that focuses on the form and structure
A. formalism B. feminism C. historical D. reader – response

3. This is an approach in literary criticism that focuses on the reader and

his/her experience of a literary work.
A. formalism B. feminism C. historical D. reader - response

4. All of these are elements of poetry EXCEPT ___________.

B. rhyme scheme B. sound devices C. characters D. stanza

5. This pertains to a word or phrase that possesses a separate meaning from its
literal definition.
B. sound devices B. alliteration C. rhyme scheme D. figure of speech

6. This is a figure of speech that expresses comparison between two unlike

objects without the use of like, similar to, as, or resembles.
B. simile B. irony C. apostrophe D. metaphor

7. This refers to the occurrence of the same sounds in words at the end of
matching lines of poetry.
B. repetition B. rhythm C. rhyme scheme D. rhyme

8. This is a figure of speech that attributes human traits or traits of other living
things to inanimate objects.
B. irony B. hyperbole C. personification D. metaphor

9. This refers to a group of lines in a poem.

B. stanza B. meter C. line D. rhyme

10. This is a literary device utilized by writers to create mental pictures with the
use of descriptive language.
C. rhyme scheme C. sensory imagery
D. sound devices D. figures of speech

Classify each of the given sentences the predominant sense that it appeals to.
Write
only the letter.
A. sight B. sound C. smell D. touch E. taste

11. He felt uncomfortable because his breath reeked of garlic. - ___

12. The sunset was the most gorgeous they’d ever seen; the clouds were edged
with pink and gold. - ___

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 13. The familiar tang of his grandmother’s cranberry sauce reminded him of his
youth. - ___
14. The concert was so loud that her ears rang for days afterward. - ___
15. The tree bark was rough against her skin. - ___

References
Books

Almonte, Liza R., et.al. Celebrating Diversity through World Literature.

Philippines: Rex Bookstore Inc., 2015.
Appleman, Deborah. Critical Encounters in High School English. New York:
Teachers College Press, 2009.
De la Cruz, Edna M., et.al. The New Dimensions in Learning English. Manila,
Philippines: Rex Bookstore Inc., 2003.
Websites

https://amandaactually.wordpress.com/2018/07/30/reader-response-
criticism-romeo-and-juliet/

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/introliterature/chapter/reader-
response-criticism/
https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/subject_specific_writing/writing_in_literature/l
iterary_theory_

http://utminers.utep.edu/omwilliamson/engl0310/readerresponse.htm

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/320911543_A_Formalist_Analysi
s_of_Joyce_Kilmer's_Trees_with_Reference_to_Translation_into_Arabic

Acknowledgement

English – Grade 10
Quarter 3- Module 4: Literary Criticism

Contextualizer: ROCELYN F. SIONO – MT I, Pardo National High School

Evaluators: ROQUESA B. SABEJON PSDS, North District 7

ELEANOR D. GALLARDO, Assistant Principal, Quiot NHS

Editors: SHERYL D. COMEROS - Teacher III, Cebu City NSHS

MARY JANE J. GAMBA - MT 1, Ramon Duterte MNHS
JULIETO L. DUEÑAS - MT II, Ramon Duterte MNHS

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