The Rainy Day ( A Poem)

Title: The Rainy Day

Poem By: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Author's Background: Born on February 27, 1807, in Portland, Maine, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow became a Harvard scholar versed in several European languages. He was heavily influenced by Romanticism and made a name as a poet and novelist with works like Hyperion, Evangeline, Poems on Slavery and The Song of Hiawatha. He was also known for his translation of Dante’s The Divine Comedy. Longfellow died on March 24, 1882, in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Source: https://www.biography.com/people/henry-wadsworth-longfellow-9385673

My Analysis: The poem was in first person point of view, since the author stated that " My Life is cold, and Dark , and Dreary" where he uses the themes of lost and renewed hope. The poem was about how life can be tough sometimes, where we might face challenges or obstacles in our life that will truly test ourselves. That these challenges and obstacles can have an impact about how we feel and think, but this challenges and obstacles are mere tests that can be overcome and we can prevail and see the bright light a head of us.

A Night In The Hills

Title: A Night in the Hills

Author: Paz Márquez-Benítez

Author's Background: Born to the prominent Marquez family of Quezon Province, Marquez Benitez belonged to the first generation of Filipinos trained in the American educational system. She was a student of University of the Philippines, graduated at 1912 acquiring a degree of Bachelor of Arts. A mentor to the first generation of Filipino writer in English., inspiring her students to pursue Philippine literature in English.

Source:http://pagaduanalyssa.blogspot.com/2015/11/a-filipino-female-author-paz-marquez.html

Vocabulary:

• carreton – a cart with firewood being pulled by a horse
• camisa de chino – an undershirt
• misas de gallo – an event in the Philippines during Christmas season

Characters: 

• Gerardo Luna - the jewelry store salesman
• Ambo - and orchid gatherer who buys jewelry
• Gerardo's wife - the owner of the shop
• Ate Tere - The one who wants to make Gerardo marry Peregrina
• Peregrina - the one who wants to marry Gerardo

Setting: Intramuros, Philippines

Exposition: The story starts introducing Gerardo and how he always dreamed of going to the forest. Then introduced Ambo a buyer of the shop and told Gerardo about his trip in the forest.

Rising Action: After Ambo telling him about his trip, Gerardo had a conversation with his wife about wanting to go with Ambo to follow his dreams, but his wife brushes it off, thus he forget about the dream. His wife then dies.

Climax: The climax of the story is when Gerardo finally went to the forest to follow his dream, and he experiences things that he has never though about the forest.

Falling Action: He then realizes that the forest that he was always dreaming of didn't meet his expectations. That the dream that he had when he was a child wasn't really true, because he realized that he had bad experiences in the forest.

Ending: Gerardo then went back home sad and disappointed about the forest, and feels that he should go back to reality.

Symbolism: The symbolism that I have found in the story was the Forest, this symbolizes life or dreams. That not everything that we see or imagine is true or will meet the expectations you want, that there will be challenges and obstacles to be able to attain that dream.

Theme: The theme of the story was, that things are not always as they appear to be, this means that not everything we think of that is perfect will really be perfect once we encounter or see it.

Lesson: The lesson of the story is to be ready for any challenges and obstacles that you will face even though you are not expecting it.

To Whom Shall I Tell My Sorrow

Title: To Whom Shall I Tell My Sorrow

Author: Anton Chekhov

Author's Background: Anton Chekhov was born on January 29, 1860, in Taganrog, Russia. Through stories such as “The Steppe” and “The Lady with the Dog,” and plays such as The Seagulland Uncle Vanya, the prolific writer emphasized the depths of human nature, the hidden significance of everyday events and the fine line between comedy and tragedy. Chekhov died of tuberculosis on July 15, 1904, in Badenweiler, Germany. 

Source:https://www.biography.com/people/anton-chekhov-9245947

Vocabulary:

• Budge - make or cause to make the slightest movement.
• Bustle - move in an energetic and busy manner.
• Cranes - stretch out one's body or neck in order to see something.
• Jocose - playful or humorous.

Characters:

• Iona Potapov – the cab driver, the father that lost his son.
• The Horse - The horse of the cab driver
• The Officer - He was the first encounter of the cab driver
• The three drunk men - They were the second encounter of the driver
• House porter - He was the third encounter of the driver
• The young cab man - He was the fourth encounter of the driver

Setting: A winter night in Russia

Exposition: The story starts off introducing Iona Potapov and his horse, and describes the setting of the story which was a dark winter night in Russia. Iona and his horse starts roaming the city to look for passengers to be able to get his fare.

Rising Action: After the cab driver and his horse roams the city for a passenger, Iona encounters two passengers, one was an officer, the other was the group of drunk men, where Iona tried to tell them about his son's death, and how he feels.

Climax: Iona then stops and tries to engage to a house porter that is delivering a package, but tells him to go. He then gives in to his misery and goes back to the yard, he then realize that he doesn't have enough money to feed him and his horse.

Falling Action: In the yard, he then sees a young cab man. Again he tries to engage and tell his sorrows but the young cab man fell asleep. He then went to his horse to check on it.

Ending: He feeds his horse with hay, and talks to the horse. He continues talking to the horse until he told him about everything that he wanted to say and how he feels.

Symbolism: The symbolism that i have found was the environment or the setting of the story, where the story describes the place as a dark winter night, which represents the emotions that he is feeling or the sadness that Iona is experiencing.

Theme: The theme of the story was grief, which revolved around the protagonist of the story where he is isolated from the people around him because he has no one to talk to about his sorrows. We can relate this in real life were people is too busy or doesn't even care about other people's emotions or about their problems.

Lesson: The lesson of the story is that we shouldn't keep our emotions or sorrows to ourselves, that we have a lot of people to talk to, or even animals or object. We shouldn't let our emotions overcome ourselves because this may cause more sadness.