A Poetry Analysis
Janelle Roa Cabrera ENG 4 – W
2008 – 07276 Professor Emmanuel V. Dumlao
Poetry Analysis: “Justice” by Khrystyne Carmel Villan
About the Author
Khrystyne Carmel S. Villan, a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Arts student in the University of the Philippines Los Baňos, is a Writing major who is currently at her third year level. The poet drew her inspiration in writing the poem from the tragic death of rape-slay victim Given Grace Cebanico. In the piece “Justice”, the author included victims of notorious crimes in the Philippines who encountered at least any of the following: kidnap, rape, hazing, manslaughter, massacre, and murder.
The literary piece “Justice” by Khrystyne Carmel Villan is a poem written in the form of concrete poetry known as carmen figuratum, in which the words are typographically arranged in such a manner that a visual image is formed. In using shaped verse, the poet creates an illustration of a lifeline. The rises and falls, or the peaks (to represent the highs) and valleys (to represent the lows) of the fluctuation of the lifeline, which in electrocardiography (a noninvasive medical procedure for recording electrical activities of the heart) indicates that a certain individual is still living as characterized by his/her active heartbeat, are composed of names of victims murdered in the Philippines. The linear portion of the lifeline after a series of waves, however, is made up of iterations of the word justice, which is written in a repetitive way for emphasis and further retention to the memory of the readers. In electrocardiography, the flat line implies that the beating of the heart has already terminated, thereby causing death. According to the author, the reason for the placement of the names within the dynamic part of the lifeline is to depict that the cases pertaining to the concerned people are yet unsolved and unclosed, or still withheld and hanging. As a result, the memory of the demise of the
2008 – 07276 Professor Emmanuel V. Dumlao
Poetry Analysis: “Justice” by Khrystyne Carmel Villan
About the Author
Khrystyne Carmel S. Villan, a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Arts student in the University of the Philippines Los Baňos, is a Writing major who is currently at her third year level. The poet drew her inspiration in writing the poem from the tragic death of rape-slay victim Given Grace Cebanico. In the piece “Justice”, the author included victims of notorious crimes in the Philippines who encountered at least any of the following: kidnap, rape, hazing, manslaughter, massacre, and murder.
The literary piece “Justice” by Khrystyne Carmel Villan is a poem written in the form of concrete poetry known as carmen figuratum, in which the words are typographically arranged in such a manner that a visual image is formed. In using shaped verse, the poet creates an illustration of a lifeline. The rises and falls, or the peaks (to represent the highs) and valleys (to represent the lows) of the fluctuation of the lifeline, which in electrocardiography (a noninvasive medical procedure for recording electrical activities of the heart) indicates that a certain individual is still living as characterized by his/her active heartbeat, are composed of names of victims murdered in the Philippines. The linear portion of the lifeline after a series of waves, however, is made up of iterations of the word justice, which is written in a repetitive way for emphasis and further retention to the memory of the readers. In electrocardiography, the flat line implies that the beating of the heart has already terminated, thereby causing death. According to the author, the reason for the placement of the names within the dynamic part of the lifeline is to depict that the cases pertaining to the concerned people are yet unsolved and unclosed, or still withheld and hanging. As a result, the memory of the demise of the