Date post: | 15-Jul-2015 |
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A Literary Exploration on
A poem
written by Edith Tiempo
Rose Katherine H. Javier
Discussant
The Author:
Edith L. Tiempo(April 22, 1919 – August 21, 2011
Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya )
poet, fiction writer, teacher and literary
critic was a Filipino writer in the English language.
founded (in 1962) and directed the Silliman National
Writers Workshop in Dumaguete City together with
her late husband, writer and critic Edilberto K.
Tiempo
She has two children, Rowena and Maldon
conferred the National Artist Award for Literature in
1999
Two of her most anthologized pieces are “Lament
for the Littlest Fellow” and “Bonsai”
The PieceBonsaiEdith Tiempo
All that I love
I fold over once
And once again
And keep in a box
Or a slit in a hollow post
Or in my shoe.
All that I love?
Why, yes, but for the moment-
And for all time, both.
Something that folds and keeps
easy,
Son’s note or Dad’s one gaudy tie,
A roto picture of a queen,
A blue Indian shawl, even
A money bill.
It’s utter sublimation,
A feat, this heart’s control
Moment to moment
To scale all love down
To a cupped hand’s size
Till seashells are broken pieces
From God’s own bright teeth,
And life and love are real
Things you can run and
Breathless hand over
To the merest child.
Definition of Terms
• Bonsai- art of cultivating ornamental,
artificially dwarfed trees and shrubs.
The literal translation of bonsai is 'plant
in a tray,' but the practice of bonsai is
more than the cultivation
of dwarf trees; rather it
is a re-creation of nature
in miniature.
• Roto (Rotoscoping)-a technique where
individual frames of an actor’s filmed
performance are projected onto sheets of
paper and traced to create a series of
drawings.
• Sublimation- the channeling of impulses or
energies regarded as unacceptable,
especially sexual desires, toward activities
regarded as more socially acceptable,
often creative activities
Definition of Terms
Criticism Lenses:
• Theory 1:
Moral- Philosophical Theory
• Theory 2:
Structuralism and Formalism
• Theory 3:
Feminism
Theory 1: Moral-
Philosophical
Bonsai
Sentimentality
Loyalty
Responsibility
Self- control
Moral- Philosophical
Theme
Unified Theme:
Objects and memories preserve love. Handing
over of morals from generation to generation
will further strengthen the kind of love given.
Theme:
Loving involves
sentimentality, loyalty, self-
control and responsibility.
These morals help in making
love last.
Theme:
Love could be shared and
propagated, however, it still
entails disciplining one’s
self. Morals passed on to
generations will be good
foundation in loving.
Theory 2: Structuralism and
Formalism
Elemental
Criticism
Structure
Imagery
Style
Structuralism
Signifier
Signified
Structuralism and Formalism
ThemeTheme:
( via Formalism)
Love could be scaled
down to simple objects
and memories so that it
could be preserved by
passing it on to another.
Theme:
( via Structuralism)
One’s value serves as
foundation to a lasting love.
Handing it over to offspring
will make the legacy last.
Unified Theme:
Love, in its vastness, should be scaled to little things,
memories and values that we may keep so that when the
time comes it could be passed on to another.
Theory 3: Feminism
Bonsai
Feminism
Theme:
A woman’s love is present
socially, economically and
morally. She regards her
mementos, memories and values
important in giving love. She is
also expected to act with
acceptable behavior that she
could pass on to the younger
generation.
SYNTHESIS
FROM THE THREE THEMES COMBINED
COME FORTH THE UNIFYING GRAND
THEME:
“Love, just like a bonsai,
needs to be scaled down to
simpler forms
so it would
last longer and
would not overwhelm a person.”
- End-
Thank You
To God be the Glory!
-rkhjavier-