NAME: Ervin C. Verdillo Course/Block: BSE - English III Subject Code and Title: SEE 21 - Literary Criticism Instructor: Albert C. Bulawat Ed.D

NAME: Ervin C.
Verdillo
Course/Block: BSE – English III
Subject Code and Title: SEE 21 – Literary Criticism
Instructor: Albert C. Bulawat Ed.D
Literary Piece 1: Forgiving my Father by Lucille Clifton
QUESTIONS
1. How does the title relate to the poem? (That is, how is the title at odds with what the
poem says?) List the statements in the poem that do not sound “forgiving.”
- The title relates to the poem because the poem tells how the speaker was able to
forgive his father despite his wrongdoings. Contrary to the title, through the lines, she
blamed his father for being poor by calling him old lecher, pauper and a liar. Lines like
“old man” do not sound forgiving. It seems that he calls her father “old man” to detach
herself emotionally from him. The statement “today is payday, payday old man”
sounds like she was putting all the blame on her father for their monetary problem. In
the line no. 10 she said that “I wish you were rich”, this statement sounds like she was
wishing for another father and doesn’t sound forgiving at all.
2. What is the significance of “collecting” in line 21? How is this word like “accounting”
and “open” in line 23? In what sense is the speaker “collecting”?
- The word “collecting” in line 21 emphasizes her realization of letting go of her
hatred toward her father. The speaker is “collecting” in the sense by blaming and
pointing a finger at the faults of her father. Then, she realized the blaming and ranting
will not benefit the situation. It doesn’t collect anything. In line 23, she retells that
there’s no hope for her parents to pay their debts.
3. What reasons does the poem offer for forgiving the father?
- The poem offers forgiveness to the father by stating “but you were the son of a
needy father, the father of a needy son,” in line 12 and 13. These lines suggest that the
father is also a victim of a corrupt situation. Her father’s father was also poor and it was
the reason why he has this behaviour. The poem introduced that the culprit was an
inherited bad family culture.
4. How is the poem’s conflict resolved? Is the phrase “forgiving a debt” relevant to this
poem?
- The poem conflict resolved when the speaker realized that she has to forgive
her father. The phrase “forgiving a debt” is relevant to the poem as she forgives her
father’s debt for her. She forgives her father’s debt of being a bad father, a bad husband
to her mom and for being a bad person.
5. How would you state the theme of this poem in one sentence?
- Forgiveness is the understanding of the situations that some things are needed
to let go for us to free ourselves from the cage of hatred.
Literary Piece 2: My Father’s Martial Art by Stephen Shu-Ning Liu
QUESTIONS
1. Where is the poem’s speaker located? How does this location relate to what he
remembers?
- The speaker was located in the Mountain O Mei and at his home. In his
home, he remembers his father tells about his life as a martial artist and
the things about his master.
2. What has happened to his father? What does line 25 suggest? Why does it seem
especially appropriate that the “smog” comes between them?
- His father died on the cliff of Mt. O Mei. Line 25 suggest that his father
together with his master died and their funeral was located on the high
cliffs of the Mountain. The smog that deepens between them signifies the
distance between the speaker and his father that even though you cannot
touch or reach it, you know that he’s still there.
3. What do you make of the name of the mountain? What might the oncoming
traffic symbolize?
- The name of the mountain is very sentimental for the speaker as it is the
place where his father train for most of his life. The oncoming traffic
symbolizes the obstacles that his father might face while travelling in the
afterlife as the beliefs of the Buddhist.
4. In each of the following pairs, which quality is embodied in the poem?
Closeness, distance Presence, absence Power, impotence Light, heavy Spiritual,
mundane
- The pair of power and impotence was deeply embodied in the poem as
the poem shows how his father was so powerful when he is alive. His
father was powerful enough to break a pumpkin with his fingers and
drop a hawk using bamboo arrows. But later on, become impotence
because his father even being a martial artist wasn’t strong enough to
defend himself from being killed.
5. Do you think the word “Infrequently” in line 20 is significant? How does it

contribute to the poem? (Does it simplify things? Make them more complex?)
- The word “infrequently” is important as it shows how his father was so
devoted to his training as a martial artist that there’s no time for him to
teach. The passage in line 20 simplifies things as it shows how his father
was eager to be in that kind of lifestyle.
6. What is the speaker struggling against in the poem? How is the struggle
resolved? How is the resolution ambiguous and complex?
- He is struggling to cope up with the loss of his father. He resolves it by
reminiscing his great memory about his father. He handles it by adoring
how great his father is as a martial artist. The resolution was unclear
because the poem didn’t include the real reason why his father died.
Literary Piece 3: The Parable of the Prodigal Son (c. 90 CE)
QUESTIONS
1. The speaker of this story (or parable) is of course Jesus, as reported in The Gospel
of Luke, and the context is that Jesus has been accused by “the Pharisees and
scribes” of “welcoming sinners” and even eating with them. The parable answers
this charge—that Jesus spends time in the company of sinners. Does an
awareness of that context affect your reading of the parable? How?
- It doesn’t affect my reading as I am already aware of that context. The
parable is for the sinners as it serves as a hope for them and encourages
them to repent and follow Jesus.
2. What irony do you find in the story?

- The irony that in the parable was when the father was all arms to accept
his son despite spending all his inherent money through bad leisure.
3. How does a phrase like “the fatted calf” (in this translation) affect the tone of this
parable? What other words and phrases do you find that contribute to the voice
here?
- The phrase “the fatted calf” is a metaphor for a festive celebration for
someone. This phrase affects the parable by emphasizing how the father
was longing for his son that he even made a celebration for his coming.
4. What is the unifying idea of this parable?
- The main idea of the parable was whatever how bad our sins are, Jesus is
ready to forgive. We just need to admit that we committed that sin.

NAME: Ervin C. Verdillo Course/Block: BSE - English III Subject Code and Title: SEE 21 - Literary Criticism Instructor: Albert C. Bulawat Ed.D

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NAME: Ervin C. Verdillo Course/Block: BSE - English III Subject Code and Title: SEE 21 - Literary Criticism Instructor: Albert C. Bulawat Ed.D

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NAME: Ervin C.

Literary Piece 1: Forgiving my Father by Lucille Clifton

Literary Piece 2: My Father’s Martial Art by Stephen Shu-Ning Liu

5. Do you think the word “Infrequently” in line 20 is significant? How does it

Literary Piece 3: The Parable of the Prodigal Son (c. 90 CE)

2. What irony do you find in the story?

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