Literary Criticism Midterm Exam

COLEGIO DE DAGUPAN
Arellano Street, Dagupan City

School of Humanities
Literary Criticism
Midterm Exam
Set A
Bustillo, Princess Joy B.
BSED-III
I. Read the poem, “I’m” wife”—I’ve finished that” by Emily Dickinson and
write a brief criticism using the Feminist Approach.
I’m “wife”—I’ve finished that (199)

By Emily Dickinson
I’m “wife”—I’ve finished that—
That other state—
I’m Czar—I’m “Woman” now—
It’s safer so—
How odd the Girl’s life looks
Behind this soft Eclipse—
I think that Earth feels so
To folks in Heaven—now—
This being comfort—then
That other kind—was pain—
But why compare?
I’m “Wife”! Stop there!

Write your criticism here:
“I’m” wife”—I’ve finished that”
Emily Dickinson
Feminist Approach
In order to critique this piece, I will take a feminist approach. Emily shows during the first
stanza that if she marries, she will finish what she's started. The punctuation marks,
capital letters, and quotation marks at the end distinguish the names and descriptions
provided to women (Wife) with what a woman cannot be but a man can be (Czar).
The transition a woman goes through from early life: (female) to womanhood: (Wife) is
characterized by an (Eclipse) in the second stanza, demonstrating the inequality
between men and women. I think it's common for "woman" to stop at "wife" because as
a wife, a woman must follow her husband's lead. It is not as liberating as being a
woman who can do whatever she wants without interference from others.
A woman may become a "Czar," but a "wife" remains a wife with her husband as her
affection. We often witness the intimidation of a woman by her husband in their home.
Her husband would have complete control over her life. Emily Dickinson takes a
complex approach to marriage in her work. “I'm ‘wife' – I've finished that / I'm ‘Woman'
now – It's safer so,” she writes in the first stanza, implying that now that I am married, I
have become a complete woman.
I believe the meaning that she is attempting to convey is that every girl needs to get
married for her to be a complete woman. Dickinson seems to be pro-marriage in the first
three lines. However, in the last line of stanza 1, she writes, "It's safer so," and this is
where the ironic message is delivered. It was the norm/expected for a girl to marry,
have a family, have children, and live a traditional lifestyle in the mid-nineteenth century.
As a result, in the final paragraph, she mocks society for pressuring girls to marry. Emily
referred to marriage as an "eclipse" of the woman in the second stanza, albeit a soft
one due to her dissatisfied yet culturally obligated feelings about marriage. The
transformation a woman goes through from childhood to womanhood: "girl" to "wife"
marked by an "Eclipse" exemplifies the inequality between men and women.
Dickinson is attempting to be a feminist. She is saying it is better to be “Woman” rather

than “Wife”. When you realize this, you will see things in the same way that the dead
see life on Earth. But she may be referring to the normal progression of a woman's life
from willfulness to marriage as "the soft eclipse," as though marriage were a refuge
from pain.
She compares the single-married topic to the earth-heaven scenario in this stanza. The
lines “This being comfort-then/ The other kind was pain” begin this stanza, and these
two lines send a mixed message, implying that marriage is finally pain-free or the exact
opposite.
All things considered, I believe this poem is intended to mock the sexist society of the
mid-nineteenth century, which pushed girls to marry, have a family, have children, and
live a traditional lifestyle.
II. Read the poem, “The Mice by Lydia Davis” and write a brief criticism using the
Formalist Approach.
“The Mice”
By Lydia Davis
Mice live in our walls but do not trouble our kitchen. We are pleased but cannot
understand why they do not come into our kitchen where we have traps set, as they
come into the kitchens of our neighbors. Although we are pleased, we are also upset,
because the mice behave as though there were something wrong with our kitchen.
What makes this even more puzzling is that our house is much less tidy than the
houses of our neighbors. There is more food lying about in our kitchen, more crumbs on
the counters, and filthy scraps of onion kicked against the base of the cabinets. In fact,
there is so much loose food in the kitchen I can only think the mice themselves are
defeated by it. In a tidy kitchen, it is a challenge for them to find enough food night after
night to survive until spring. They patiently hunt and nibble hour after hour until they are
satisfied. In our kitchen, however, they are faced with something so out of proportion to
their experience that they cannot deal with it. They might venture out a few steps, but
soon the overwhelming sights and smells drive them back into their holes,
uncomfortable and embarrassed at not being able to scavenge as they should.
Write your criticism here:
“The Mice”
Lydia Davis
Formal Approach
This poem will be critiqued using the Formalistic Approach. Davis wrote this story using
flash fiction, which is a genre of flash fiction that consists of very short pieces of fiction.
She concentrates on a single event, while this story focuses on a series of unrelated
events.
Davis employs unusual wording in her writing. She avoids flowery phrases in favor of
using vocabulary that the normal person would use in their own thoughts to get to the
heart of inner voice and conversation. Davis's characters (Mice) are realistic, but
straightforward, from sentence structure and length to word choice.
Lydia Davis wrote "The Mice" in a style that is simple to read and comprehend for her
audience. Davis is a writer who gets right to the point and doesn't go into too much
detail about her characters. Davis' thoughts that bounce off the page and are constantly
given to the reader are a specific specialty of hers that I enjoy reading.
Davis' “The Mice” is also notable for being quite repetitive, not necessarily in terms of
her sentences, but rather in terms of her thoughts (symbolism and images).
Finally, Davis' style is characterized by small images, blurbs, and bits that, when
combined, shape a wider, coherent narrative. The reader must conclude or determine
what to fill in the blanks. While it is expected of all good literature to leave the reader
curious, Davis has mastered the art of leaving the reader wondering and questioning.
Rubric for Literary Analysis
The rubric was created with the help of iRubric from RCampus.com
Prepared by:
Renato J. Gabriel Jr. MDC RN

Instructor

Literary Criticism Midterm Exam

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Literary Criticism Midterm Exam

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Literary Criticism Midterm Exam

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

COLEGIO DE DAGUPAN

Arellano Street, Dagupan City

I’m “wife”—I’ve finished that (199)

I’m “wife”—I’ve finished that—

That other state—

I’m Czar—I’m “Woman” now—

It’s safer so—

How odd the Girl’s life looks

Behind this soft Eclipse—

I think that Earth feels so

This being comfort—then

That other kind—was pain—

But why compare?

I’m “Wife”! Stop there!

Dickinson is attempting to be a feminist. She is saying it is better to be “Woman” rather

uncomfortable and embarrassed at not being able to scavenge as they should.

Write your criticism here:

Renato J. Gabriel Jr. MDC RN

You might also like