Guidelines for 1st long literary essay Lit 14 B and Lit 14 L Summer 2012 Read "Manila" by Federico Licsi

Espino and write an essay that considers the function of metaphor in laying bare the poem's insight. Your essay will be graded according to the clarity and force of your argument, substantiation, organization, lucidity of language, and depth of insight. (For a more detailed articulation of assessment criteria, kindly see the grading rubric attached to syllabus.) Follow the format indicated in the syllabus. Word count: 1,250 (minimum), 1,500 (maximum). As a general guide to the writing process, you may follow the methods indicated in the supplementary readings (see latter part of reading packet: "Explaining the Text," "Interpretation," "Deciding What to Write About," "From Topic to Rough Draft," "From Rough Draft to Completed Paper," and "A Summary of the Process"). You may use the guide questions below to help unpack the poem; take note, however, that I do not expect you to answer these questions one by one: you should come up with your own argument (i.e., regarding the role of metaphor), body paragraphs in support of that argument, and a clear and coherent essay structure. DEADLINE: Monday, 30 April 2012, class time. You may discuss your outline and drafts with me; final day for consultation is Friday, 27 April 2012, 3.00 p.m.; no consultations will be entertained after that. 1. Elaborate on the various descriptions of the hermit crab. Pay attention to: a. the crab's location "beside the tide of times" (1); b. the "traces" of the crab's "former homes": for instance, the "shells of foreign cultures" (2-3); c. the crab's inability to find food (6); d. the mocking cry of the seagull (7, 9) e. the allusions to Joaquin (epigraph) and Dylan (11); and f. its "creeping, crabbing" movement along with "all its tragic flaws" (14). 2. Comment on the poem's tone: what is the speaker's disposition towards Manila? Which details suggest the poem's tone? 3. Elaborate on the central image of the hermit crab vis--vis Ezra Pound's and William Carlos William's notion of the image. What ideas and feelings are evoked (in an instant of time) by the hermit crab image? 4. Elaborate on the allusion "Dust and crabs, dust and crabs" indicated in the epigraph. 5. Elaborate on the allusion to [the poet] Dylan [Thomas] in line 11. 6. Elaborate on the allusion to the "pair of claws" image in T.S. Eliot's The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock (in reading packet). 7. You are highly encouraged to readand, if needed, engage with in your own essay the following texts: a. "Sa Loob ng Maynila" by Nick Joaquin (in Intramuros, ed. Nick Joaquin or The Likhaan Book of Philippine Literature in English, ed. Gemino Abad)

b. Manila, My Manila by Nick Joaquin c. "Blueprint for a City's Soul" by Paulo Alcazaren (in Philippine Centre for Investigative Journalism website) 8. Kindly refer to State and Society in the Philippines by Patricio N. Abinales and Donna J. Amoroso for any queries as regards general Philippine history. 9. You are also highly encouraged to read materials pertaining to the biological properties of the hermit crab, as well as accounts of natural life on the shore. Manila Federico Licsi Espino "Dust and crabs, dust and crabs." Nick Joaquin A hermit crab beside the tide of times, She bears the traces of her former homes, The shells of foreign cultures and the slime. Now she looks for food as small waves comb Upon the shore where bits of driftwood lie But she finds nothing in her hungry quest. Instead she hears the raucous seagull's cry Which is a shriek beyond the rock-ribbed nest. It mocks her as she crawls upon the sand The sidewise movement of the hermit crab Which Dylan saw on a deserted strand And used as a metaphor in runes that throb With life. Yes, this city is a pair of claws, Creeping, crabbing with all its tragic flaws.

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