Laughter

The message of the poem depends on how the readers will read it but in the case of "Laughter", the only thing you can feel, deep sadness. The pronouns "He and I(refers to the female speaker)" tell that there are only two persona in the poem. The author who happens also to be the speaker, started and ended the poem with the word "left me" which shows her situation and the feelings she wants to share with her readers. The title is very ironic. It tells what the speaker wants to achieve. And the tones of the first stanza up to the last are the same. this piece is very powerful that it can strike and change the mood of the readers.

Would I consider it as a good poem? The very fact that it's written in free verse and how did the author choose the best words, Definitely Yes! I consider it as a good poem. The simplicity of the words speaks of much depth of the piece. Sadness is what the poem has but when you read it all emotions will be felt.

All in(Tanaga)

All in

I'll roll the die, play or pass?

Shuffle the cards, take your chance

Lay your chips, make sure you'll win;

Because I'll give my all-in.

-Lara Christina M. Vizarra-

To Ma'am Eduarte and my Hum014 classmates,

I just want to make some clarifications about the poem I recited on class last Saturday. It was Henry "Wadsworth" Long fellow who wrote Psalm of Life and not William "Wordsworth". I got confused with their names. Again I'm sorry... There's one poem that I'm really sure that William Wordsworth wrote, entitled "I Wandered Lonely as Cloud" I recited this poem when I was on my fifth grade and I just want to share this poem to all of you. This is one of my favorite poems that I've recited.I hope you like it too.

I WANDERED LONELY AS A CLOUD
("The Daffodils")

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,A host of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine and twinkle on the Milky Way,
They stretched in never-ending linealong the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced;
but theyOut-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,in such a jocund company:I
gazed - and gazed - but little thoughtwhat wealth the show to me had brought:
For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

This poem was first published in 1807 and was revised in 1815.

Reference:(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Wandered_Lonely_as_a_Cloud)

Thanks for your kind consideration! See you on Tuesday!!!

A Servant Girl

The story was great. It's very real, very dramatic,very Filipino! I said "real" because like Rosa, the protagonist in the story, we have our own trials and sufferings. Our parents, bosses and mentors often times, scold us like Rosa's amo. Everytime that Rosa will make a mistake without any words her amo will spank and beat her. Sometimes when we fall down we think that nobody will help us to rise agin but we're wrong because there's always somebody who will help us in a unexpected way.

One scenario in A Servant Girl, when Rosa was walking, holding a basin filled with washed clothes accidentally, fell down and got hurt suddenly, a cochero came to rescue her and from that day on, she didn't forget the face of that guy and starting dreaming as if the cochero is dreaming of her too.

Estrella Alfon has the power in making a pumpkin into a grand beautiful coach(like what the fairy god mother did for Cinderella). Alfon used a very common "servant" character and turned the story into a heartbreaking one. She shoed that there are mreally masters who can hit and hurt their servants but what we don't know is that we servants can hurt our self more, much from our masters. She made Rosa to show us; Rich or poor: Master or servant the right to dream, to love nad be loved no matter who or what we are. "A Servant Girl" captured my heart. I liked it on first reading but I loved it more on my second!

Filipino Authors

Bienvenido N. Santos was known as a Filipino-American fictionist, poet and non-fiction writer. He first studied at the University with a degree in Bachelor of Arts and became a scholar to the United States of America. His works were not just good but superb! He’s considered as one of Pinoy’s pride for he got several awards here in the Philippines and also in America when his first book entitled “Scent of Apples” was published. He won an American Book Award in 1980. Santos could be remembered as a Pinoy who conquered the world with his own sword, his pen.

Resources:
(Wikipedia, free encyclopedia, June 23,2009)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bienvenido_Santos
http://images.google.com.ph/images

Estrella D. Alfon lived her life being a prolific writer who hailed in Cebu. Because of her limitations she had no choice but to take an A.A degree from the University of the Philippines. She wrote strictly in English. She published her first story and became the only woman member of the Veronicans, an avant grade group of writers. She touched a lot of people’s hearts in Servant Girl. She contributed a lot of braveness and boldness in the entertainment industry. She may be considered as one of the transparent writers on her generation.

Resources:

(Wikipedia, free encyclopedia, June 23,2009)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estrella_Alfon

http://images.google.com.ph/images

Literal Notation

Music, as they say, is an artful arrangement of sounds across time. For me, Literature can be defined as a written work of art. Feelings and thoughts are expressed in a lot of ways that the audience may understand. It has elements and forms that can easily tell the content of a composition just like Music. I do believe that this course (Phil. Literature) has its own melody and rhythm that can stress the point of every stories, poems, novels, etc. And it reminds us of the excellent works of the literati especially our fellow Filipinos.