Colegio de Sta. Rosa Conchu, TreceMartires City, Cavite Tel. (046) 419-2568 Email Add: colegiodesta.rosatrece@yahoo.com LEARNING MODULE IN 21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World GRADE 11 & 12| Q1 This module belongs to: _______________________________________________________________ PREPARED BY: ALDRIN TERRENCE A. GOCO, LPT Colegio de Sta. Rosa-Cavite Brgy. Conchu, Trece Martires City, Cavite Colegio de Sta. Rosa Conchu, TreceMartires City, Cavite Tel. (046) 419-2568 Email Add: colegiodesta.rosatrece@yahoo.com LEARNING PLAN (SHS) Subject Teacher: Aldrin Terrence A. Goco Subject: 21st Century from the Philippine and the World School Year: 2020-2021 Quarter: 1st Module 4 Content Unit Title: Philippine Literary History from Pre- Colonial to Contemporary Lesson: Critical Approaches in 21st Century Literature CONTENT STANDARD The Learners demonstrate understanding of: • The learner will be able to understand and appreciate the elements and contexts of 21st century Philippine literature from the regions. PERFORMANCE STANDARD The Learners shall be able to: • The learner will be able to demonstrate understanding and appreciation of 21st Century Philippine literature from the regions through: • a written close analysis and critical interpretation of a literary text in terms of form and theme, with a description of its context derived from research; and • an adaptation of a text into other creative forms using multimedia. LEARNING STANDARD OF COLOEGIO DE STA. ROSA (LSCSR) The learning standard focuses on… The learning standard focuses understanding and appreciating the elements and contexts of 21st century Philippine literature from the regions so that they will be able to demonstrate understanding and appreciation of 21st Century Philippine literature from the regions through: • • a written close analysis and critical interpretation of a literary text in terms of form and theme, with a description of its context derived from research; and an adaptation of a text into other creative forms using multimedia. FORMATION STANDARD The learners shall become… This formation standard focuses on being intellectually competent so that in the long run, the learners become Christ-centered Rosena. LEARNING COMPETENCIES: • Writing a close analysis and critical interpretation of literary texts and doing an adaptation of these require from the learner the ability to identify: o the geographic, linguistic, and ethnic dimensions of Philippine literary history from pre-colonial to the contemporary o representative texts and authors from each region (e.g. engage in oral history research with focus on key personalities from the students’ region/province/town • Compare and contrast the various 21st century literary genres and the ones from the earlier genres/periods citing their elements, structures and traditions. • Discuss how different contexts enhance the text’s meaning and enrich the reader’s understanding. • Produce a creative representation of a literary text by applying multimedia and ICT skills. • Do self- and/or peer-assessment of the creative adaptation of a literary text, based on rationalized criteria, prior to presentation. SPECIFIC LEARNING OUTCOMES: ✓ Differentiate the Literary Approaches according to their functions and analysis strategies ✓ Identify the different literary approaches ✓ Analyze a 21st century literary text using Literary Approaches Lesson Outline: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. INTRODUCTION MOTIVATION INSTRUCTION DELIVERY PRACTICE ENRICHMENT EVALUATION MATERIALS RESOURCES TEACHING-LEARNING PROCESS DATE:August Sep 14-17, DATE: 24-28,2020 2020 INTRODUCTION Your Journey Starts Here LESSON 4: Literary Approaches in 21st Century Literature Your Objectives: ✓ Differentiate the Literary Approaches according to their functions and analysis strategies ✓ Identify the different literary approaches ✓ Analyze a 21st century literary text using Literary Approaches -Ronald Wardhaugh MOTIVATION MEMORY Midnight Not a sound from the pavement Has the moon lost her memory She is smiling alone In the lamplight The withered leaves collect at my feet And the wind begins to moan Memory All alone in the moonlight I can smile happy your days (I can dream of the old days) Life was beautiful then I remember the time I knew what happiness was Let the memory live again Every street lamp seems to beat A fatalistic warning Someone mutters and the street lamp gutters And soon it will be morning Daylight I must wait for the sunrise I must think of a new life And I mustn't give in When the dawn comes Tonight will be a memory too And a new day will begin Burnt out ends of smoky days The still cold smell of morning A street lamp dies, another night is over Another day is dawning Touch me, It is so easy to leave me All alone with the memory Of my days in the sun If you touch me, You'll understand what happiness is Look, a new day has begun Source: LyricFind Songwriters: Andrew Lloyd Webber / Trevor Nunn / T.S. Eliot / Zdenek Hruby https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWoQW-b6Ph8 You can access the song through the link above What do you think of the song? ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ INSTRUCTION DELIVERY Below are some of the common critical theories used in responding to literature: 1. Formalism - As the name of the approach suggests, formalism involves examining the formal elements of a cultural production in order to arrive at its meaning. If we are dealing with a short story, then we examine its setting, characters, plot, theme, and point of view in order to create meaning out of it. In a similar manner, a poem's persona, dramatic situation, and figurative language also give rise to a particular meaning. The same process applies in examining paintings, films, sculptures, and other works of art. Thus, what is important in formalism is the close reading or careful scrutiny of all the works elements in order to generate meaning. When examining a text using formalist lenses, we take into consideration the following: A. What are the formal elements of the text or work? B. How do the formal elements of the text contribute to meaning or message created by the text? 2. Psychoanalytic Approach - This approach is inspired by the work of the highly esteemed psychologist Sigmund Freud who introduced the process of introspection, or looking into past experiences and latent desires, in order to understand the rationale behind human behavior. He identified three sections of the human psyche, namely the id, or the repository of deepest secret desires of humans, the ego, which informs humans on how to act in a socially acceptable manner, and the superego, which represents people's altruistic tendencies. Thus, when a text is examined using the psychoanalytic approach, we try to look into either the author's psychological state and his or her possible motivations, may they be obvious or latent, which may have been influenced by his or her past, or the possible reasons why the characters in a story behave the way they do. The questions below are usually asked when examining a work through Freudian psychoanalysis: A. What childhood/past experiences influenced a character's present behavior? B. How are the writer's issues in life and biases reflected in the text at hand? C. What Freudian tendencies do the characters exhibit? (e.g. son's hatred towards the father / mother, longing for unrequited love, etc.) D. What repressed tendencies are the characters dealing with? 3. Feminism Since its conception in the later 19th century, feminism has been dealing with issues on how women are being oppressed in the different social realms. For instance, in the family, it is said that the wives are at a great disadvantage. If a man works, then he is no longer expected to help in the household chores. A woman, on the other hand, is somewhat required to do all these chores because it is believed that it is her primary role in the home even if she is also involved in income generating activities. In a similar manner, it has been observed that in North America, Europe, and some other parts of the world, women are not paid as generously as men because of the assumption that they are simply inferior. Because of these instances of oppression, feminists have always fought for the recognition of equal rights between the sexes. When looking at a work through feminist lenses, we can ask the following questions: A. What gender ideologies / stereotypes does the text promote / critique? How are these manifested through the characters? B. What patriarchal attitudes or beliefs are present in the text? How do these affect the flow of a story? 4. Lesbian / Gay/ Queer Criticism - Although this approach to reading has Bever Huances, queer criticism (can also be called as gay or lesbian) examines how certain works display fear of the unknown, especially homophobia, or the fear of the LGBTQ (Lesbians, Gays, Transgenders, Bisexuals, and Queer) community, which leads to the repression. For instance, a particular text may show certain homoerotic tendencies, or strong sexual desire for a member of the same sex, but these tendencies only remain as such because such an idea is deemed as taboo by the society in general. Aside from homoerotic tendencies, a text may also display homosocial relationships, or intimate, non sexual relationships between the same sex, which can either possibly be as mere friendship or later on transcend this stage and become a homoerotic relationship. The questions below may help you examine a work using gay / lesbian / queer criticism: A What homophobic tendencies are present in the text? What do these say about the society in general? B. Are there homoerotic and homosocial relationships present in the text? Do they provide a social critique? Are these repressed? 5. Marxism - is a social philosophy developed by Karl Marx and Frederick Engels in the 19th century. For Marxists, the ultimate basis of the social relations we experience is the material conditions by which we live. Thus, those who have access to material wealth are also the ones who wield political power and the capacity to produce and enjoy works characteristic of the high culture which may include music, paintings, and other literary forms. Because of this, it can be said that a person's economic base determines the cultural superstructure which he or she belongs. In general, Marxists see capitalism as a social evil because in this system, the capitalists or those who possess material wealth that may serve as means of production of economic goods and services, exploit the proletariat, or the working class in order to preserve the unequal social conditions. It is only when the proletariat unites and overthrows the ruling class that utopia or absolute justice can be achieved; this utopia is characterized by the existence of a classless society. However, to prevent such a revolution from taking place, the capitalists employs ideological state apparatuses such as schools, the media, etc., or institutions that, through their teachings, keep the proletariat contented with their current state and repressive state apparatuses such as the police and military to penalize those who will challenge the social order. When looking at a text from a Marxist point of view, we can ask the following questions: A. What material conditions / economic realities are present in the text? How do these affect the characters' behavior and the plot? B. How is social stratification exhibited in the text? Is the relationship between a person's economic base and cultural superstructure clearly manifested in the text? C. How does the text address the issue of class struggle? 6. New Historicism: Michel Focault, one of the major proponents of new historicism, contests the idea of traditional or old historicism wherein history is taken in as fact. For Focault, history largely depends on who is telling it and his or her agenda or ulterior motives. Seen in this light, history becomes a process of myth making in that it is constructed to serve the purposes of whoever is narrating it. When looking at a work through the lenses of New Historicism, we can ask the following questions: A. In what ways does the text critique / challenge the prevailing social ideologies? B. What social ideologies / myths does the text promote/ challenger Whose voice/s do/es the text represent? C. How is the text usually interpreted? Whose interests are favored by such interpretation? D. Is there any way by which the text can be reread, this time using another point of view? E. What is at stake in telling the story? 7. Post-colonialism Since the age of exploration until the turn of the 20th century, several European powers, Great Britain being the most prominent among them, had been establishing colonies in Africa, Asia, and Australia in order to exploit natural and human resources needed to expand their respective empires. To justify this act of colonizing, the Europeans, who were mostly whites, convinced themselves that they are playing a missionary, civilizing role whenever they conquered new lands, that one of their primary objectives was to bring civilization to areas, which, as far as they were concerned, were not yet civilized. This is what came to be known later on as the white man's burden. On the other hand, the cultures of the peoples in the colonies, to further rationalize colonial activities, have been demonized or exoticized – that is, they were regarded as either evil, inferior, or strange, and thus, should be transformed into the likeness of the white man. As Edward Said puts it, the people in the colonies became the other while the whites became the us; this means that in many respects, the ways of the people in the colonies are strange and even inferior. However, after several nationalist uprisings and other similar movements, these former colonies have already been liberated from the direct control of Europeans. Despite this, several traces of imperialistic and Eurocentric ideals are still celebrated in former colonies; to give them a semblance of high social status and prestige they adopt the values, attitudes, and ways of their former colonizers. Others, on the other hand, are set on resisting such a tendency. Thus, it can be said that the usual reaction to the act of colonization is either the adoption or resistance of the colonizer’s values. The concepts described above are what a reader or critic looks for when examining a tex from a post-colonial perspective. Some questions that may help you examine a work from postcolonial viewpoint are as follows: A. Does the text promote or critique a white supremacist ideology? If yes, how is it able to do so? B. Who are the protagonists of the text? How are they portrayed physically and psychologically? C. Who are the villains in the text? How are they portrayed physically and psychologically? (demonization) D. How is the idea of othering manifested in the text? Literary Criticism: Guide Questions for a Variety of Approaches I. Formalistic Approach: This approach focuses on form. The analysis stresses items like symbols, images, and structure and how one part of the work relates to other parts and to the whole. A. How is the work’s structure unified? B. How do various elements of the work reinforce its meaning? C. What recurring patterns (repeated or related words, images, etc.) can you find? What is the effect of these patterns or motifs? D. How does repetition reinforce the theme(s)? E. How does the writer’s diction reveal or reflect the work’s meaning? F. What is the effect of the plot, and what parts specifically produce that effect? G. What figures of speech are used? (metaphors, similes, etc.) H. Note the writer’s use of paradox, irony, symbol, plot, characterization, and style of narration. What effects are produced? Do any of these relate to one another or to the theme? I. Is there a relationship between the beginning and the end of the story? J. What tone and mood are created at various parts of the work? K. How does the author create tone and mood? What relationship is there between tone and mood and the effect of the story? L. How do the various elements interact to create a unified whole? II. Philosophical Approach: This approach focuses on themes, view of the world, moral statements, author’s philosophy, etc. A. What view of life does the story present? Which character best articulates this viewpoint? B. According to this work’s view of life, what is mankind’s relationship to God? To the universe? C. What moral statement, if any, does this story make? Is it explicit or implicit? D. What is the author’s attitude toward his world? Toward fate? Toward God? E. What is the author’s conception of good and evil? F. What does the work say about the nature of good or evil? G. What does the work say about human nature? III. Biographical Approach: Focuses on connection of work to author’s personal experiences. A. What aspects of the author’s personal life are relevant to this story? B. Which of the author’s stated beliefs are reflected in the work? C. Does the writer challenge or support the values of her contemporaries? D. What seem to be the author’s major concerns? Do they reflect any of the writer’s personal experiences? E. Do any of the events in the story correspond to events experienced by the author? F. Do any of the characters in the story correspond to real people? IV. Historical Approach: This approach focuses on connection of work to the historical period in which it was written; literary historians attempt to connect the historical background of the work to specific aspects of the work. A. How does it reflect the time in which it was written? B. How accurately does the story depict the time in which it is set? C. What literary or historical influences helped to shape the form and content of the work? D. How does the story reflect the attitudes and beliefs of the time in which it was written or set? (Consider beliefs and attitudes related to race, religion, politics, gender, society, philosophy, etc.) E. What other literary works may have influenced the writer? F. What historical events or movements might have influenced this writer? G. How would characters and events in this story have been viewed by the writer’s contemporaries? H. Does the story reveal or contradict the prevailing values of the time in which it was written? Does it provide an opposing view of the period’s prevailing values? I. How important is it the historical context (the work’s and the reader’s) to interpreting the work? V. Psychological Approach: This approach focuses on the psychology of characters. A. What forces are motivating the characters? B. Which behaviors of the characters are conscious ones? C. Which are unconscious? D. What conscious or unconscious conflicts exist between the characters? E. Given their backgrounds, how plausible is the characters’ behavior? F. Are the theories of Freud or other psychologists applicable to this work? To what degree? G. Do any of the characters correspond to the parts of the tripartite self? (Id, ego, superego) H. What roles do psychological disorders and dreams play in this story? I. Are the characters recognizable psychological types? J. How might a psychological approach account for different responses in female and male readers? K. How does the work reflect the writer’s personal psychology? L. What do the characters’ emotions and behaviors reveal about their psychological states? M. How does the work reflect the unconscious dimensions of the writer’s mind? N. How does the reader’s own psychology affect his response to the work? VI. Sociological Approach: This approach focuses on man’s relationship to others in society, politics, religion, and business. (Feminism and Marxism) A. What is the relationship between the characters and their society? B. Does the story address societal issues, such as race, gender, and class? C. How do social forces shape the power relationships between groups or classes of people in the story? Who has the power, and who doesn’t? Why? D. How does the story reflect the Great American Dream? E. How does the story reflect urban, rural, or suburban values? F. What does the work say about economic or social power? Who has it and who doesn’t? Any Marxist leanings evident? G. Does the story address issue of economic exploitation? What role does money play? H. How do economic conditions determine the direction of the characters’ lives? I. Does the work challenge or affirm the social order it depicts? J. Can the protagonist’s struggle be seen as symbolic of a larger class struggle? How does the microcosm (small world) of the story reflect the macrocosm (large world) of the society in which it was composed? K. Do any of the characters correspond to types of government, such as a dictatorship, democracy, communism, socialism, fascism, etc.? What attitudes toward these political structures/systems are expressed in the work? VII. Archetypal Approach: This approach focuses on connections to other literature, mythological/biblical allusions, archetypal images, symbols, characters, and themes. A. How does this story resemble other stories in plot, character, setting, or symbolism? B. What universal experiences are depicted? C. Are patterns suggested? Are seasons used to suggest a pattern or cycle? D. Does the protagonist undergo any kind of transformation, such as movement from innocence to experience, that seems archetypal? E. Are the names significant? F. Is there a Christ-like figure in the work? G. Does the writer allude to biblical or mythological literature? For what purpose? H. What aspects of the work create deep universal responses to it? I. How does the work reflect the hopes, fears, and expectations of entire cultures (for example, the ancient Greeks)? J. How do myths attempt to explain the unexplainable: origin of man? Purpose and destiny of human beings? K. What common human concerns are revealed in the story? L. How do stories from one culture correspond to those of another? (For example, creation myths, flood myths, etc.) M. How does the story reflect the experiences of death and rebirth? N. What archetypal events occur in the story? (Quest? Initiation? Scapegoating? Descents into the underworld? Ascents into heaven?) O. What archetypal images occur? (Water, rising sun, setting sun, symbolic colors) P. What archetypal characters appear in the story? (Mother Earth? Femme Fatal? Wise old man? Wanderer?) Q. What archetypal settings appear? (Garden? Desert?) R. How and why are these archetypes embodied in the work? VIII. Feminist Criticism: This approach examines images of women and concepts of the feminine in myth and literature; uses the psychological, archetypal, and sociological approaches; often focuses on female characters who have been neglected in previous criticism. Feminist critics attempt to correct or supplement what they regard as a predominantly male-dominated critical perspective. A. How are women’s lives portrayed in the work? B. Is the form and content of the work influenced by the writer’s gender? C. How do male and female characters relate to one another? Are these relationships sources of conflict? Are these conflicts resolved? D. Does the work challenge or affirm traditional views of women? E. How do the images of women in the story reflect patriarchal social forces that have impeded women’s efforts to achieve full equality with men? F. What marital expectations are imposed on the characters? What effect do these expectations have? G. What behavioral expectations are imposed on the characters? What effect do these expectations have? H. If a female character were male, how would the story be different (and vice versa)? I. How does the marital status of a character affect her decisions or happiness? PRACTICE Analyze the picture below by choosing one of the approaches you learned in this module. Choose an approach that you think fit for the picture. Analyze the picture by answering the questions found on your chosen approach. Do it in paragraph form. ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ENRICHMENT Write T if the statement is true; if it is false, underline the word/s that made it false and write on the line before the number the correct answer. 1. Formalism involves examining the how certain works display fear of the unknown. 2. Psychoanalytic approach focuses on themes, view of the world, moral statements etc. 3. Sociological approach focuses on man’s relationship to others in society, politics, religion and business. 4. Biographical approach focuses on connection of work to author’s personal experience. 5. Marxism examines the stereotypes that the text promotes. 6. Formalism also studies figurative language. 7. Post-colonialism contests the idea of traditional wherein history is taken in as fact. 8. Post-colonialism also examines if the text promotes white supremacy or colonial mentality. 9. In Marxism, access to material wealth determines a person’s class. 10. In psychoanalytic approach, one looks at past experiences and repressed feelings. EVALUATION Choose a literary approach that you think can best present the analysis of the short story below. Answer the guide questions from the approaches above to easily make paragraphs. Write ONLY 5 paragraphs for your analysis. Make it concise. Prelude by Daryll Delgado A man died singing. He had sung a total of three songs before he heaved his last breath and collaps"d o.r u chair. It happened at the Municipal Hall. The time was three in the afternoon-. The sun was high. Heat seeped into people's bones. Tuba warned their blood even more. Someone's ninth death anniversary was being celebrated. Another man's life in that party ended. It ended on a high note. At that very moment, Nenita the wife, was at home, picking leaves for a medicinal brew. Earlier that day, Nenita had been lying on the sofa, slipping in and out of an afternoon sleep she should not have heeded, embracing Willy Revillame in her dreams. She had had n-o plans of taking a nap. She had just wanted to catch a glimpse of Willy after she sent off her grandson for the city, just before she resumed her cooking. At the sala, she opened the window to let some breeze in. But the air was so dry. Outside it was very quiet. Everyone was at the Hall, to attend the ninth death anniversary of the juez. Most of them bore the judge a grudge, but they were all there anyway, eager to see what kind of feast his children had prepared. The children had all come home from America and Europe for this very important occasion in the dead man's journey. Nenita herself did not mind the judge really, even if she had always found him rather severe. It was the wife whom Nenita did not feel very comfortable with. There had been some very persistent rumors involving the judge's wife that Nenita did not care so much for. As soon as Nenita was certain that her grandson had left, she positioned the electric fan in front of her, sat on the sof4 and turned on the TV to catch the last segment of her favorite show. The next thing she knew, Willy Revillame was pulling her into his arms, soothing her with words of condolences, before handing her some cash and offering his left cheek for a kiss. There was a huge applause from the studio audience, even if they were all weeping with Willie, shaking their heads in amazement. Nenita forced herself out of the dream and the motion brought her entire body up and out of the sofa. She found herself standing in the middle of the sala, face-to-face with a teary-eyed Willy. Her heart was beating wildly. Her armpits were soaked in sweat. Her hair bun had come undone. She looked around guiltily, she thought she heard her husband swear at her. She felt her husband's presence in the living room with her, even if she knew he was at the death anniversary parry. She quickly turned off the TV and made her way to the kitchen. She should not have taken that nap, Nenita berated herself. There was an urgent order for ten dozens of suman she had to deliver the next day, for the judge's daughters who were leaving right after the anniversary. There was already a pile of pandan leaves on the kitchen table, waiting to be washed and warmed, for wrapping the sweet sticky rice rolls with. She had spent all night until early morning boiling the sticky rice and mixing it with anise, caramel and coconut milk, until her hands trembled and the veins swelled. By the time she was almost done, she had to prepare breakfast and brew a special tea concoction for her grandson who had spent all night drinking. Her grandson had very barely made it home-drunk as a fish, crying out a woman's name like a fool—early that morning. Nenita then remembered that she also had to prepare the medicinal tea her husband needed to take with his dinner. She had yet to complete the five different kinds of leaves, Ampalaya, Banaba, Bnyabas, Dumero, Hierba Buena; the last one she purchases from a man who only comes to town on Thursdays. She was getting ready to pick Ampalaya and Bayabas leaves from her garden when she heard her husband's voice again his singing voice. She realized that the sound was coming all the way from the Hall. The sound was very faint, but more than perceptible, and certainly unmistakable to her. It was the only sound she could hear when she stepped out of the house and started picking the leaves. Everything else around her was quiet and still .It seemed as though the entire town-the dogs, the frogs, and the birds included-had gone silent for this very rare event her husband singing again. She had not heard her husband sing this way in a very long time, ever since he became ill-when the sugar and alcohol in his blood burned the sides of his heart, almost getting to the core of it. Since there he would get out of breath when he sang. And he also easily forgot the lyrics, especially to the Italian classics, and some of the Tagalog Kundiman he used to be very well known for. Nenita herself never understood all the fuss about her husband's singing, and the fuss his brothers and sisters made when he stopped singing. She could not even understand half of the songs he sang. They were mostly in ltalian; Spanish, and Tagalog. He rarely sang Bisaya songs, the ones she could understand, and actually liked, even if she herself could not carry a tune to save her life. Thankfully, their grandson was there to indulge her husband in music talk. She was happier listening to the two of them talk and sing, and strum guitar strings, from the kitchen. She used to feel slighted whenever her siblings-in-law recalled with such intense, exaggerated regret, the way their brilliant brother squandered his money and his talent and oh, all the wrong decisions he made along the way. Including, though they would never say directly, his decision to marry Nenita. They liked to remind their brothel, themselves, and anyone who cared to listen, of what their brother used to be what he could have been, whom he could have been married to. Nenita ceased to mind this, and them, a long time ago. She had forgiven all of them. They were all dead now save for one brother who lived in the city. She never stopped praying for their souls, but she was not very sorry that they died. Nenita knew that her husband was happy the way he was. She never heard him complain. He had nothing to complain about. She took him back every time his affairs with other women turned sour. She took care of him when he started getting sick, when the part of his heart that was supposed to beat started merely murmuring and whistling. Thankfully, her friend, the herbalista, had just the right concoction for this ailment. Even the doctors were delighted with her husband's progress. Nenita took her husband back again when, with the money her in-laws sent for his medication he went away to be with one of his women. People say her husband went to Manila with the judge's widow. Nenita never confirmed this. Nenita never asked- She just took her husband back. Nursed him back to health again. After that, tough, Nenita noticed that he spent more and more time alone, in the toilet. And when she asked if he needed help with anything, he would just mumble incoherently. So she let him be. She could have prepared him then that other brew her herbalista friend had suggested at the time, the one that would make his balls shrink, give him hallucinations, make his blood boil until his veins popped. But she didn't, of course. She did buy and continued to keep the packet of dried purple leaves said to be from a rare vine found only in Mt. Banahaw. She didn't even know where Mt. Banahaw was, only that it was up there in the North. She did know that she would never use the herbs, even if she wanted to keep, see, touch, and feel the soft lump of leaves in her palm, every now and then. She derived some sense of security, a very calming sense of power, in knowing that she had that little packet hidden in one of the kitchen drawers. She listened more closely to her husband's singing. She closed her eyes and trapped her breath in her throat, the way she did when she listened to the beats and murmurs of her husband's heart at night. Listening to the air that carried her husband's voice this way, she almost caught the sound of his labored breathing, and his heart's irregular beating. He was singing a popular Spanish song now about kissing someone for the last time. Nenita remembered being told by her husband that that was what it was about. Kiss me more, kiss me more, that was what the man wanted to tell the woman he loved. Nenita found that she could enjoy this one; the song was recognizable. She laughed lightly as she found herself swaying in slow, heavy movements, to the music of her husband's voice. She started imagining herself as a young woman, dancing with this beautiful dark man who eventually became her husband. And then she heard him choke, heave a breath before he sang: Perderte. Long pause. Perderte. Another Pause. Despises. And then there was applause, in which Nenita joined, still laughing at her silliness. After that, all was quiet again. Nenita gathered the leaves and went back inside the house. Just as well, because it was starting to be very, intolerably, hot outside. Certainly hot enough to boil an old man's blood and pop his veins, she thought. WRITE YOUR ANALYSIS BELOW: Example of the title: A Formalistic Reading of Daryll Delgado’s Prelude (Remember, choose the best literary approach) RESOURCES/REFERENCES: Tan, Ann Debbie L. (2016) 21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World. Don Bosco Press, Inc; Makati City, Philippines Uychoco, Marikit Tara A. (2016) 21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World. Rex Bookstore; Manila City, Philippines Well done! Keep the fire burning! Your journey for the week ends here.
