Context and Text’s Meaning

Reading literary pieces becomes a challenge to a student like you. But as

the years go by, changes happened even in the literary genre.
Understanding the selection you read takes time, but if you will familiarize
yourself with the context of the literary piece, appreciation comes along.

Below is a poem written by Danton Remoto, a Filipino author. Read and try
to discover what this poem wants to convey. Then, answer the essential
questions that follow.

Padre Faura Witness The Execution of Rizal

Author: Danton Remoto
(Poetry)

I stand on the roof

Of the Ateneo municipal, And on this day
Shivering With the years beginning to turn,
On this December morning. Salt things my eyes.
Months ago, I see Pepe,
Pepe came to me A blur
In the observatory. Between the soldiers
I thought we would talk With their Mausers raised And
About the stars the early morning’s
That do not collide Star:
In the sky: Still shimmering
Instead, he asked me about Even if millions of miles away,
purgatory The star itself
(His cheeks still ruddy Is already dead
From the sudden sun
After the bitter winter
In Europe

Essential Questions: (NOTE: For Class Romulo and Quezon, skip this
activity)
1. Who are the characters in the poem? Write a piece of short
information about each character.
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2. Who speaks in the poem? Extract a sentence from the poem to prove
your answer.
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3. Discuss the form/structure of the poem.

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4. What was the situation when Padre Faura stood in the balcony of
Ateneo de Manila?
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5. What was the situation of our country based on the poem? Prove your
answer by extracting a line from the poem.
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6. To whom the poem is addressed? Explain your answer.

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7. How do you feel while reading the poem, that Padre Faura witnessed
the execution of his former student?
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8. What was the feeling displayed by the author in the poem?

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9. What was the message that Danton Remoto wanted to convey in this
poem?

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Context originates from the notion of weaving together. It is defined as the

circumstances that form the setting of events, statements, or ideas and in
the way of which it can be fully understood and assessed. Reading a literary
piece may contribute to the production of the author and the reception of
the reader as they appreciate and explore.

• The writer's context is knowing about the writer's life, values,

assumptions, gender, race, race, sexual orientation, and the
political and economic issues related to the author.

• Reader's context is about the reader's previous reading

experience, values, assumptions, political and economic issues.

• The text's context is about its publishing history. It is part of the

larger text such as newspaper, history, events, translated in it.

• Social context and socio-cultural of a text feature the society in

which the characters live and in which the author's text was
produced.

In this lesson, you will unravel what goes with the poem.

The structure of the poem refers to words that are put together or arranged
such that they make sense.

Imagery is creating a picture in the reader's mind by using words that

appeal to the senses. There are types of Imagery that are used in this
module. (Menoy 2016))

• Visual imagery produced by the use of words that appeal to the

sense of sight.
• Auditory Imagery produced by the use of words that appeal to
the sense of hearing.
• Kinesthetic imagery produced by the use of words that appeal
to the actions and movement.

Literary Techniques are methods the author or writer of a literary piece

used to convey what they want to impart to the reader, such as Flashback

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where the events have taken place before the present time the narration is
following.

Activity 1. Understanding the Text

To understand a piece of literature, answering the given questions enable
the readers to appreciate literature more.

Multiple Choice. Read each question. Choose and write the letter of
the best answer on a separate sheet of paper.
1. Who was Fr. F. Faura to Jose Rizal?
a. His godfather
b. His uncle
c. His teacher
d. His friend

2. What was the nickname given to Jose Rizal mentioned in the poem?
a. Star
b. Mauser
c. Ruddy
d. Pepe

3. Why Padre Faura expected that they would talk about the stars?
a. Because Padre Faura worked in the observatory
b. Because Pepe was a star
c. Because Pepe just arrived from Europe
d. Because Pepe was fascinated in the observatory

4. Why Padre Faura was in the observatory when Pepe visited him?
a. It was the only place where they could talk.
b. He was in-charged in the observatory.
c. The observatory was near the Ateneo De Manila
d. The observatory was near Bagunbayan.

5. Why instead of stars, Pepe asked about purgatory to Padre Faura?

a. Pepe was interested in the after-life.
b. Padre Faura was sick.
c. Pepe was hopeless
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 d. Pepe was about to be executed

Asessment 1. Getting familiar with texts’ meaning

Direction: Read the poem and make the necessary responses to the
following instructions given below.

1. A multitude gathered along with Wan Chai District in Hongkong to

protest the new policy there and to call to ban some products.
Thousands of protesters were arrested. Multitude in this sentence
means_______.
a. A few in number of people
b. A great number of people
c. Some people
d. Several numbers of people

2. In the poem, Earnest Wish, identify the words that suggest the
meaning of the word, multitude.
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3. The author used imagery in the poem, such as visual, auditory, and
kinesthetic imagery. Write the words that suggest:

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Visual _______________________
Imagery _______________________
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Auditory _______________________
Imagery _______________________
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Kinesthetic _______________________
Imagery _______________________
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4. Discuss the structure of the poem, the stanza, lines, rhyme scheme.

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5. Discuss how the author presented the ideas of the poem up to the
point where the message was presented.
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Activity 2. Understanding the Context

Directions: Look at each picture below. In Column A, each picture
depicts the event presented in the poem. In Column B, based on your
understanding of the poem, write what event happened in each picture
and how do you feel about it.
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A B

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Assessment 2. Finding the Purpose

1. What was the situation when the author wrote this poem?
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2. How did the author present the events in the poem?

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3. How did the author present her willingness to attain her fervent wish?
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4. What nearly impossible things or difficult tasks the author was willing
to do?
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5. What do you think was the main reason why the author wrote this
piece?

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Activtity 3. Knowing Author’s Context

Lydia Sapitanan-Villanueva hails from the agricultural town of
Imus, Cavite. Her parents were farmers and her residence is in the midst of
the agricultural property of her in-laws in Malagasang 1A, City of Imus.
She holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Southeast Asian Studies from Centro
Escolar University and Master of Arts in Teaching Language and Arts from
Philippine Normal University. She is currently the Vice-President and one
of the founders of School Paper Advisers Movement, Inc., a national non
profit organization of campus journalists and advisers with members from
elementary to college. She is also a CPD resource speaker for Action
Research. Dr. Villanueva is a Master Teacher 1 since she joined
Department of Education in 2016. During the pandemic caused by Covid-
19 and during community quarantine, Dr. Villanueva wrote several poems
including Earnest Wish. Her profound love for writing started during her
primary years. She always believes that experiences and surroundings play
a strong influence on the prolific mind of a writer. Write now or forget it
forever drives her to write about her environment.

Reflect on the importance of a biographical context in understanding a text.

1. Discuss the environment that surrounds the author while writing the
poem. Prove your answer.
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2. Discuss the occurring event in the society during that time that
influences the author in writing the poem.
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3. Discuss the message of the author in the poem.

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