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Formalism Approach

The Road Not Taken

BY ROBERT FROST
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

A Checklist of Formalistic Critical Questions:

1. How is the work structured or organized?

2. What is the word’s plot? How is its plot related to its structure?

3. How do various elements of the work reinforce its meaning?

4. . How does repetition reinforce the theme(s)?

5. How does the writer’s diction reveal or reflect the work’s meaning?
6. What is the effect of the plot, and what parts specifically produce that effect?

7. What figures of speech are used? (metaphors, similes, etc.)

8. . Is there a relationship between the beginning and the end of the story?

9. What tone and mood are created at various parts of the work?

10. .How do the various elements interact to create a unified whole?

11. What are the time and place of the work – the setting?
 Feminism Approach

Phenomenal Woman
BY MAYA ANGELOU
Pretty women wonder where my secret lies. Men themselves have wondered
I’m not cute or built to suit a fashion model’s size What they see in me.
But when I start to tell them, They try so much
They think I’m telling lies. But they can’t touch
I say, My inner mystery.
It’s in the reach of my arms, When I try to show them,
The span of my hips, They say they still can’t see.
The stride of my step, I say,
The curl of my lips. It’s in the arch of my back,
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me. The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
I walk into a room The grace of my style.
Just as cool as you please, I’m a woman
And to a man, Phenomenally.
The fellows stand or Phenomenal woman,
Fall down on their knees. That’s me.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees. Now you understand
I say, Just why my head’s not bowed.
It’s the fire in my eyes, I don’t shout or jump about
And the flash of my teeth, Or have to talk real loud.
The swing in my waist, When you see me passing,
And the joy in my feet. It ought to make you proud.
I’m a woman I say,
Phenomenally. It’s in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
Phenomenal woman, the palm of my hand,
That’s me. The need for my care.
’Cause I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
A Checklist of Feminist Critical Questions:

1. Is jealousy very controversial among all women?

2. In line 30-31, Maya Angelou states, "men themselves have wondered what they see in me."
Explain the content of these lines.

3. What is the inner mystery in line 34?

4. What is pride?

5. Does bodily gestures define the identity of the woman?

6. Does physique define your personality?

7. How does the clothing women wear lead false judgement to men?
 Reader Response Criticism

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

A free bird leaps on the back
Of the wind and floats downstream
Till the current ends and dips his wing
In the orange suns rays
And dares to claim the sky.

But a BIRD that stalks down his narrow cage

Can seldom see through his bars of rage
His wings are clipped and his feet are tied
So he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings with a fearful trill

Of things unknown but longed for still
And his tune is heard on the distant hill for
The caged bird sings of freedom.

The free bird thinks of another breeze

And the trade winds soft through
The sighing trees
And the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright
Lawn and he names the sky his own.

But a caged BIRD stands on the grave of dreams

His shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
His wings are clipped and his feet are tied
So he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings with

A fearful trill of things unknown
But longed for still and his
Tune is heard on the distant hill
For the caged bird sings of freedom.
A Checklist of Feminist Critical Questions:

1. How does the meaning of a text change as you reread it?

2. How do your values alter your perceptions of the text?

3. How have readers in different time periods interpreted the text?

4. How is the informed reader’s response to the text shaped by the reader and the text?

5. Which of your personal experiences or memories is affecting your perceptions of the story?

6. What was the work’s original intended audience? To what extend are you similar or different
from that audience?
 Marxist Approach

“The Necklace” by Guy De Mauppasant

Mathilde Loisel is “pretty and charming” but feels she has been born into a family of unfavorable
economic status. She was married off to a lowly clerk in the Ministry of Education, who can afford to
provide her only with a modest though not uncomfortable lifestyle. Mathilde feels the burden of her
poverty intensely. She regrets her lot in life and spends endless hours imagining a more extravagant
existence. While her husband expresses his pleasure at the small, modest supper she has prepared for
him, she dreams of an elaborate feast served on fancy china and eaten in the company of wealthy
friends. She possesses no fancy jewels or clothing, yet these are the only things she lives for. Without
them, she feels she is not desirable. She has one wealthy friend, Madame Forestier, but refuses to visit
her because of the heartbreak it brings her.
One night, her husband returns home proudly bearing an invitation to a formal party hosted by
the Ministry of Education. He hopes that Mathilde will be thrilled with the chance to attend an event of
this sort, but she is instantly angry and begins to cry. Through her tears, she tells him that she has
nothing to wear and he ought to give the invitation to one of his friends whose wife can afford better
clothing. Her husband is upset by her reaction and asks how much a suitable dress would cost. She
thinks about it carefully and tells him that 400 francs would be enough. Her husband quietly balks at the
sum but agrees that she may have the money.
As the day of the party approaches, Mathilde starts to behave oddly. She confesses that the
reason for her behavior is her lack of jewels. Monsieur Loisel suggests that she wear flowers, but she
refuses. He implores her to visit Madame Forestier and borrow something from her. Madame Forestier
agrees to lend Mathilde her jewels, and Mathilde selects a diamond necklace. She is overcome with
gratitude at Madame Forestier’s generosity.
At the party, Mathilde is the most beautiful woman in attendance, and everyone notices her. She
is intoxicated by the attention and has an overwhelming sense of self-satisfaction. At 4 a.m., she finally
looks for Monsieur Loisel, who has been dozing for hours in a deserted room. He cloaks her bare
shoulders in a wrap and cautions her to wait inside, away from the cold night air, while he fetches a cab.
But she is ashamed at the shabbiness of her wrap and follows Monsieur Loisel outside. They walk for a
while before hailing a cab.
When they finally return home, Mathilde is saddened that the night has ended. As she removes
her wrap, she discovers that her necklace is no longer around her neck. In a panic, Monsieur Loisel goes
outside and retraces their steps. Terrified, she sits and waits for him. He returns home much later in an
even greater panic—he has not found the necklace. He instructs her to write to Madame Forestier and
say that she has broken the clasp of the necklace and is getting it mended.
They continue to look for the necklace. After a week, Monsieur Loisel says they have to see
about replacing it. They visit many jewelers, searching for a similar necklace, and finally find one. It
costs 40,000 francs, although the jeweler says he will give it to them for 36,000. The Loisels spend a
week scraping up money from all kinds of sources, mortgaging the rest of their existence. After three
days, Monsieur Loisel purchases the necklace. When Mathilde returns the necklace, in its case, to
Madame Forestier, Madame Forestier is annoyed at how long it has taken to get it back but does not
open the case to inspect it. Mathilde is relieved.
The Loisels began to live a life of crippling poverty. They dismiss their servant and move into an
even smaller apartment. Monsieur Loisel works three jobs, and Mathilde spends all her time doing the
heavy housework. This misery lasts ten years, but at the end they have repaid their financial debts.
Mathilde’s extraordinary beauty is now gone: she looks just likes the other women of poor households.
They are both tired and irrevocably damaged from these years of hardship.
One Sunday, while she is out for a walk, Mathilde spots Madame Forestier. Feeling emotional,
she approaches her and offers greetings. Madame Forestier does not recognize her, and when Mathilde
identifies herself, Madame Forestier cannot help but exclaim that she looks different. Mathilde says that
the change was on her account and explains to her the long saga of losing the necklace, replacing it, and
working for ten years to repay the debts. At the end of her story, Madame Forestier clasps her hands and
tells Mathilde the original necklace was just costume jewelry and not worth anything.
A Checklist of Marxist/Cultural Critical Questions:

1. Who are the powerful people in the text?

2. Who are the powerless? Who receives the most attention?

3. Why do the powerful have the power? Why are the powerless powerless?

4. Is there class conflict and struggle?

5. Do the powerful in the text suppress the powerless? How?

6. What can you infer from the setting about the distribution of wealth?

7. What is the economic status of the characters?

8. What happens to them as a result of this status?

9. How do they fare against economic and political odds?

10.What other conditions stemming from their class does the writer emphasize? (e.g., poor
education, poor nutrition, poor health care, inadequate opportunity