A Child of Sorrow by Zoilo Galang (Biographical-Historical Analysis)

 Zoilo Galang,a Filipino author,was born in Bacolor on 27th of June,1895. He learned typing and English accurately and then became the first author of the Philippine novel written in the English language Literature. He took special courses at the University of the Philippines in 1925, then went to Columbia University for further studies in Literature. He also became a Filipino encyclopedist and the 1st Filipino novelist in English-language with his work," A Child of Sorrow."

 " A Child of Sorrow" was first published in 1921. It is a counterpart of Zoilo Galang's personal life and his time. It depicts the social and intellectual mood of his endeavor.The novel is indeed called as "Pandora's Box"... A representation of wonder, simplicity, beauty, urbanity, language, and history.

The story is brought about by two people who met under the colonization of Americans and along the naivity of the country to traditions. Lucio,a man who loves to read,knew Rosa having no legitimate father which discouraged him to fight for her. As part of such government, high positioned people are the most powerful and it became more tragic for Rosa's father was the governor but only little people know of that truth. This made them separated. The lady was arranged to marry Oscar,a rich guy who was in love with her. The relationship among the three people ; Lucio, Rosa, and Oscar, lead to a desperate one. The three circled from emotional downfall and mental abuse. Rosa died of sadness; Oscar suicided after Rosa; and it ended with Lucio growing full of regrets and the realization of himself as being a child of sorrow.

Galang,inflicted by the way his life lives,chose love as the novel's main theme which is within the social context, economic and political living of people. Thus,with respect to his American educator to follow provincial and universal themes combination.

It was during the middle of 18 to 19th century,there was a sentimentalist movement in Europe and it greatly affected the literary traditions of all writers in the world and one of them was Galang. Sentimentalism during those times, is "a European idea that emphasized feelings and emotions, a physical appreciation of God, nature, and other people, rather than logic and reason". The impact on the people was that love became as important in marriage as financial considerations. This pertains to the influence from the view of Galang about love, life, and time. The whole story ignites the feeling of simplicity as of tradition and culture,and love as the magnifying state of every emotion pulled through an individual.

"Naming of the Parts" ( Formalist Approach)

 A formalist approach to the poem "Naming of the Parts" might take us to different versions of story as to where a person's imagination will reach between the two worlds such as the world of nature and the world of war. Each stanza provides imageries that conjures connotations and denotations. In the first stanza, "like coral in all of the neighboring garden", this image of Japonica plants glistening,opposes the imagery of the rifle. In the second stanza, "piling the swivel",this missing image contradicts the image of the peaceful tree branches mentioned. The "silent" sets up an opposition to the soldiers,in release of the rifles. These gestures also contradict with the "fragile and motionless" blossoms and reiterates "using their finger" phrase that educes sexual connotation. In the fourth stanza, images such as "easing the spring" with that of the bees and "assaulting and fumbling the flowers" can be referred sexually as to flowers are the passive victims and bees as to sexual predators. As the imagery being "played" and emphasized as "easing the Spring", the other speaker is thinking about sexual release like bees pollinating flowers. The last stanza stands as the summary of the imageries. It accentuated that natural images repeated are associated with sexual implications.

The Lady and her Five Suitors ( Mimetic Analysis)

The story was all about trickery for getting what you want and having what you love. The truth about this story is it is happening in real life. The trickery. This story in Persia, where a lady’s lover is put into jail. To help her lover get out of the prison, the lady used her beauty to lure the suitors. In real life,having an advantage is very useful. You can use it to seduce or persuade other people. In the story where all five suitors obeyed to the request of the lady without noticing that they were being tricked. In our world, it is quite common that there are people who can be easily lured by what they see or just to get what just they had seen. As the story continues,the climax where they are put into a cabinet because they fear each time when someone knocks on the door of the lady's logde, it'd be the lady’s husband. There is where realization strikes that grabbing something aggressively can give you struggles,and while you struggle more,it will get you more trap than it seems. It ended when the lady leaves the city with her lover. And in short,you will run away to escape and face not what's ahead.

"The Sick Rose" by William Blake (Formalist Approach)

"The Sick Rose" by William Blake would take us to another view of love and its state. The poem is about the 'rose' in its own pomp and the secrecy that the 'worm' contributes tainted it. The rose,an object of beauty,symbolizes love and its natural presence. The worm resounds a tempting lover and it can also be an equivalent to a male sexual organ. It symbolizes mortality since it is earthbound. The bed,where the worm creeps denotes the earth,a flowerbed or simply,a lover's bed. The "crimson joy" can be both sexual happiness or shame. Shame for 'crimson' is dark and grim. As the imagery suggests,love is the only thing that can recognize its state but our culture infects it with shame and secrecy.