Philippine Poetry
Philippine Poetry
Philippine Poetry
• Is a way for you to analyze the poem by carefully reading and rereading a text
until you find its interpretation.
Step 1: Read the passage.
• Take notes as you read. Mark anything that seems relevant or interesting to
you – even if you are unsure why a particular section of the text stands out.
Step 2: Analyze the passage.
• Diction:
• What words are being used here?
• Are any words repeated in this passage?
• What adjectives are used? What nouns do they describe? How do they alter
your understanding of these nouns?
• Are any two (or more) words used in this passage connected in some way?
Step 2: Analyze the passage.
• Narrative Voice
• Who is speaking in this passage?
• What narrative perspective is being used in this passage?
• What does the narrative voice tell you?
• What characters does it give you access to?
Step 2: Analyze the passage.
• Tone:
• Is the speaker being straightforward, factual, open?
• Is he or she taking a less direct route toward his or her meaning?
• Does the voice carry any emotion? Or is it detached from its subject?
• Do you hear irony (what is said is different from what is meant)? If so,
where?
Step 2: Analyze the passage.
• Rhetorical and Literary devices:
• Do you notice any figurative language, such as metaphors and
similes?
• Do you observe any imagery?
• Is the sound of the language and sentences important (e.g., rhyme,
repetition, choppy or long sentences)?
• What is the effect of these devices and techniques? (e.g., do they add
emphasis or connect key ideas?)
Step 3: Develop a descriptive thesis.
• use your observations to construct a descriptive thesis.
• For example, you could argue that a passage is using short, simple sentences,
or that it is using irony or a combination of these things. Your descriptive
thesis should attempt to summarize the observations you have made about
HOW language is being used in your passage.
Step 4: Construct an argument about the
passage.
• This step is essential to a successful close reading. It is not enough to simply
make observations about language use – you must take these observations and
use them to construct an argument about the passage.
• What kinds of words are used (intellectual, elaborate, plain, or vulgar)? Why
are words being used in this way?
Step 4: Construct an argument about the
passage.
• Why are sentences long or short? Why might the author be using complicated or
simple sentences? What might this type of sentence structure suggest about what the
passage is trying to convey?
• Who is the narrator? What is the narrative voice providing these particular
descriptions? Why are we given access to the consciousness of these particular
characters? Why not others?
• What images do you see in the passage? What might they represent? Is there a
common theme?
• Why might the tone of the passage be emotional (or detached)?
• To what purpose might the text employ irony?
• What effect/impact is the author trying to create?
Step 5: Develop an outline based on your
thesis
• After you have established your thesis, you’ll need to write an essay that
supports this argument with examples and analysis.