September 12,2018
Contexts from the poem “Justice” by Ralph Semino Galan
From the second and third stanza of the poem mentions “the blindfold symbolizing
impartiality; a golden pair of scales measuring the validity”. The Literary Context I
determined was that the author used the Figurative Speech of Metonymy. Because there was the
blindfold that represented the unfairness of the system. You will not look into the person’s
position whether he is poor or rich. The people will be in equal state. Second is the golden pair of
scales this line also uses Metonymy because the color gold symbolizes something valuable and
positive. While the scales measures the validity, deciding which crime weighs more. From the
fifth and sixth stanza that states “the double-edged sword that pierces through the thick
fabric of lies;” also uses the Figure of Speech Metonymy. The double edged sword symbolizing
braveness.
Next line which states “Thoth's feather of truth which ultimately determines whether
The defendant's life is worth saving”. This line uses Allusion because the author mentioned a
literature character. As taught, Thoth is an Egyptian God and Deity, this also tackles the justice
between good and bad. “In J. Elizalde Navarro's oil painting titled Is this Philippine Justice?
The figure of the Roman goddess Justitia slowly fades into thin air, swallowed by
pigments”. The line mentioned a goddess named Justitia. This line also uses Allusion. Following
this is the stanza “cloudy as doubts. In my uncertain country where right and wrong are
cards that can be shuffled like a pile of money bills,” I think the line uses the Figurative
language of Simile. Yes it used the word “as” and “like” and it is stating similarities. This line is
pertaining that the line “In my uncertain country” as written by the author is quietly mentioning
our country, which is the Philippines. It states that here in our country the right and wrong are
like cards because it is easy to manipulate. If you have money, you can easily manipulate many
situations regarding justice. Lastly is the last line “even the land's Chief Magistrate is not
immune from culpability; found guilty he has to face the music of derision” The underlined
sentence uses Irony. Mainly because music was supposed to be pleasant to the ears yet it is said
that even the highest in the house cannot escape this fate, but only has to endure the mockery of
others. He has to face the penalty of the crimes he made. That is the Literary context of the
poem.
The Biographical Context is that Ralph Semino Galán is a literary critic and
translator.He is an Associate Professor of Literature, the Humanities, and Creative Writing at the
UST Faculty of Arts and Letters and the UST Graduate School. He has an A.B. in English Major in
Literature and a magna cum laude. His works are both creative and critical which have been
published in numerous national and international anthologies and literary journals. The personal
information of the author regarding his life remains private. But based on the photos he looks
like a person who lived nobly and have experienced the problems of the past administrations
here in the Philippines.
The Sociocultural Context of the poem based on my opinion is that the environment
today revolves around political issues. The government are neglecting the top priorities and that
includes the countrymen’s survival. Yet the media and the government are focusing on such
issues like on today was Trillanes and his amnesty. The environment of the poem by the time
Ralph Semino Galán was creating his poem was probably the time when the issue of the
impeachment of the former Chief Justice Renato Corona on December 12,2011 was causing an
uproar in the news. I think this issue sparked and influenced the author Ralph Semino Galan to
produce a poem that tackles about the justice system in the Philippines.
As for the Linguistic Context of the poem. The author uses technical words not heard in a
student’s daily basis. Example of the words the author used are; accoutrements and derision. By
using these the author created a great flow of emotions in his poem. Giving the readers an impact
of emotions while reading it. The genre of his poem was somewhat dramatic yet realistic.
