WHAT IS LITERATURE?
Essay- a short work of writing that treats a topic
-is a “performance in words” -Robert Frost
-is life which presents human experience. -Arsenia
Tan of UST
-consists of “writings which interpret the meanings of
nature and life, in words of charm and power,
touched with the personality of the author in artistic
forms of permanent interest. ” -Henry Van Dyke
IMPORTANT
-Literature improves your command of language.
It teaches you about life, cultures, and experiences
of people in other parts of the world
-It gives you information about other parts of the
world which you may never be able to visit in your
lifetime
-It entertains you and provides useful occupation of
your free time
-It makes you a wiser and a more experienced
person by forcing you to judge, sympathize with, or
criticize the characters you read about.
(Shimmer Chinodya, 1992)
FORMS OF LITERATURE
1.Prose- It applies a natural flow of speech, and
ordinary grammatical structure, rather than rhythmic
structure, such as in the case of traditional poetry.
Normal everyday speech is spoken in prose, and
most people think and write in prose form.
A. Fiction - is prose writing that tells about imaginary
characters and events. It is the product of
imagination of the writer.
1. Short Story- a brief prose narrative that can be
read in one sitting.
2. Novel – consists of a long story written in prose.
3. Drama- a narrative prose intended to be played
on stage.
4. Fable- a brief story usually with animal characters
that teaches a lesson or moral
5. Parable- a short narrative that is at least in part
allegorical and that illustrates a moral or spritual
lesson.
6. Legend- reflects the people’s identity or cultural
values.
7. Myth - fictional tale, originally with religious
significance that explains the action of gods or
heroes, the causes of natural phenomena or both.
8. Fairy Tale – a story featuring folkloric characters
such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, etc.
B. Non Fiction
1. Autobiography – from the greek words auton-
‘self , bios- ‘life and graphein-’ write, is a biography
written by the author about himself.
2. Biography - from the greek words bios- ‘life and
graphein-’write, is a genre of literature based on
written accounts of individual lives.
3.
from an author’s personal point of view. It is the most
common form of literature.
4. Diary or Journal- a book of writing discrete
entries arranged by date reporting on what has
happened over the course of a day or other periods.
2. Poem- a composition usually written in verse.
Does not adhere to grammatical standards.
Kinds of Poetry
A. Narrative Poetry -tells a story in verse
1. Epic- retells in a continuous narrative the life and
works of a heroic or mythological person or
group of persons. It is considered the oldest form
of literature since its existence is known to be
along the ancient history. Examples: Ibalon from
Bikol, Hinilawod from Panay.
2. Ballad- a song like poem that tells a story , often
one deal ing w ith adventure or romance.
Examples: Sarung Banggi from Bicol
3. Metrical Tale- a narrative poem that relates to
real or imaginary events in simple,
straightforward language, from a wide range of
subjects, characters, life experiences and
emotional situations.
Examples: BAYANI NG BUKID by Al Perez
B. Lyric Poetry -expresses the emotions, feelings,
and observations of the writer.
1. Folksongs (Awiting Bayan). These are short
poems intended to be sung. The common theme is
love, despair, grief, doubt, joy, hope and sorrow.
Example: CHIT-CHIRIT-CHIT
2. Sonnets. This is a lyric poem of 14 lines dealing
with an emotion, a feeling, or an idea. Example:
SANTANG BUDS by Alfonso P. Santos
3. Elegy. This is a lyric poem which expresses
feelings of grief and melancholy, and whose theme
is death. Example: THE LOVER’S DEATH by
Ricaredo Demetillo
4. Ode. This is a poem of a noble feeling, expressed
with dignity, with no definite number of syllables or
definite number of lines in a stanza.
5. Psalms (Dalit). This is a song praising God or the
Virgin Mary and containing a philosophy of life.
C. Dramatic Poetry - speaks through a
character.The poem is written through dialogue.
1. Comedy. The word comedy comes from the
Greek term “komos” meaning festivity or revelry.
This form usually is light and written with the purpose
of amusing, and usually has a happy ending.
2. Melodrama. This is usually used in musical plays
with the opera. Today, this is related to drama just
as the farce is to comedy. Characters are often
stereotyped in this genre.
3. Tragedy. This involves the hero struggling
mightily against dynamic forces; he meets death or
ruin without success.
4. Farce. This is an exaggerated comedy. It seeks
to arouse mirth by laughable lines; situations are too
ridiculous to be true; the characters seem to be
caricatures and the motives undignified and absurd
Elements of Fiction
1. Character -In fictional literature, authors use
many different types of characters to tell their stories.
Types of Characters:
a. Dynamic - A dynamic character is a person who
changes over time, usually as a result of
resolving a central conflict or facing a major
crisis. Most dynamic characters tend to be
central rather than peripheral characters,
because resolving the conflict is the major role of
central characters.
b. Static - A static character is someone who does
not change over time; his or her personality does not
transform or evolve.
c. Round - A rounded character is anyone who has
a complex personality; he or she is often portrayed
as a conflicted and contradictory person.
d. Flat - A flat character is the opposite of a round
character. This literary personality is notable for one
kind of personality trait or characteristic.
2. Plot –- the major events that move the action in a
narrative. It is the sequence of major events in a
story, usually in a cause-effect relation.
Exposition-Setting are expose the Character
3. Conflict- the struggle that characters have to
contend to
Types of conflict: Man vs. Self, Man vs. Man, Man
vs. Society, Man vs. Nature, Man vs. Machine.
4. Setting –- The combination of place, historical
time, and social conditions that provide the general
background for the characters and plot of a literary
work. The general setting of a work may differ from
the specific setting of an individual scene or event.It
also includes the mood or atmosphere-- the feeling
created at the beginning of the story.
5. Theme(s) -- The central and dominating idea (or
ideas) in a literary work. The term also indicates a
message or moral implicit in any work of art.
6. Point of View -- the vantage point from which a
narrative is told. A narrative is typically told from a
first-person or third-person point of view. In a
narrative told from a first-person perspective, the
author tells the story through a character who refers
to himself or herself as "I." Third –person narratives
come in two types: omniscient and limited. An author
taking an omniscient point of view assumes the
vantage point of an all-knowing narrator able not
only to recount the action thoroughly and reliably but
also to enter the mind of any character in the work
or any time in order to reveal his or her thoughts,
feelings, and beliefs directly to the reader. An author
using the limited point of view recounts the story
through the eyes of a single character (or
occasionally more than one, but not all or the
narrator would be an omniscient narrator).
1st – I, We
2nd – You
3rd – He, She, It, They
First Person Peripheral the narrator is another
character in the story, one who witnesses the main
character's story and conveys it to the reader. The
peripheral narrator may be a part of the action but he
is not the focus.
Second Person: This is the point of view you take
when you are speaking directly to the reader. You
address them directly as “you.” Example: You are
not the kind of guy who would be at a place like this
at this time of the morning. But here you are, and you
cannot say that the terrain is entirely unfamiliar,
although the details are fuzzy. Jay McInerney,
“Bright Lights, Big City Third Person: For our
purposes, we will simply define third person as when
you do not refer to the reader directly. Instead of
saying “you, ” you speak of them as if they are not
part of the conversation.
The third- person point of view belongs to the
person (or people) being talked about. The third-
person pronouns include he, him, his, himself, she,
her, hers, herself, it, its, itself, they, them, their,
theirs, and themselves. Example: The buyer will love
this product because he will be able to use it to save
time
Third Person Omniscient and Third Person Limited
A trick to remembering the difference between
omniscient and limited is if you think of yourself (the
writer) as a kind of god. As such, you're able to see
everyone's thoughts—you are omniscient, or all-
knowing. If on the other hand, you're a mere mortal,
then you only know what is going on inside the heart
and mind of one person. Therefore, your perspective
is limited
Third Person Objective POV “Third Person
Objective” is the opposite of Third Person
Omniscient – the narrator describes only what
happens or what a character does, but never what
they’re thinking or feeling. Character emotions and
thoughts must be inferred by what they say and do.
Pros: This POV makes it easy to keep information
from the reader. It also makes it difficult to ‘tell’
emotions rather than show them. Cons: Readers
lose that direct link with the characters. Example:
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
TYPES OF CHARACTER - uses for its subject matter the exploits of historical
and legendary heroes
1. Character According to.. – folk narratives, i.e. epics and folk tales are varied,
exotic and magical;
a. Development
- Dynamic SPANISH-COLONIAL PERIOD
- Round Spaniards occupied Philippines in early 15 th
b. Personality century. The First Filipino alphabet is Alibata.
- Round – when Spanish colonized Philippines they changed
- Flat alibatas into Roman alphabet. Spaniards banned the
use of Alibata because they believed that it is a work
of evil. So they fully introduced the Spanish literary
ELEMENT OF THE STORY language using many Spanish terms.
1. Exposition The European literature was brought by the
2. Rising Action Spaniards and are assimilated in Filipino songs and
3. Climax indigenous themes. The early printing press in the
4. Falling Action Philippine is run and monopolized by the Spaniards
5. Resolution/Denouement friars.
During Spanish colonization Filipinos felt that they
MOOD VS TONE being harassed by the Spaniards. Then the Birth of
-bring up with atmosphere the Propaganda movement and La Solidaridad.
Then Filipino fought and introduced Tagalog to be
Tone- For Author the language of revolution of the nationalist
Mood- For Reader movement.
Diction – Choice or Words

THEME VS SUBJECT LITERATURE UNDER SPANISH COLONIAL

Specific General
Connceptual Topics
Literatures of the Philippines
“We enter the future, bringing with us our past”
-Jose Rizal
Philippine Literature will help us..
• trace our rich heritage of ideas, handed down to us
by our forefathers
• appreciate our heritage
PERIODS IN PHILIPPINE LITERARY HISTORY
• Pre-Colonial Times
showcase a rich past through their folk speeches,
folk songs, folk narratives and indigenous rituals and
mimetic dances that affirm our ties with our
Southeast Asian neighbors.
has vast collection of folk speeches such as:
– riddle or tigmo in Cebuano; bugtong in Tagalog
paktakon in Ilongo patototdon in Bicol
– proverbs or aphorisms
- express norms or codes of behavior, community
beliefs or they instill values by offering bits of wisdom
in short, rhyming verse
– tanaga- a poem expressing insights and lessons
on life – folk song
- expresses the hopes and aspirations, the people's
lifestyles as well as their loves; often repetitive and
sonorous.
– narrative song
PERIOD
ORAL LITERATURE
DRAMA
SONGS
RELIGIOUS DRAMA
SONG
A song is a composition for voice or voices,
performed by singing. A choral or vocal song may be
accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be
unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs.
The lyrics (words) of songs are typically of a poetic,
rhyming nature, though they may be religious verses
or free prose.
• LERON LERON SINTA
This song depicts humbleness. It's the story of a
man who tries to show what he got to win the heart
of his beloved one.
• SARUMBANGGI
a Kundiman which means “one night” or “one
evening” in Bicol. A kundiman is a Filipino love song
traditionally sung by a man wooing the woman of his
dreams.
RELIGIOUS DRAMA
The religious drama, as setting forth events
recorded in the Bible or moral lessons to be drawn
from religious teaching, is distinctively medieval in
character , and in origin is closely connected with
the services of the Church.
PANUNULUYAN
(Tagalog for "asking for lodgings") is a Philippine
Christmas dramatic ritual narrating the Holy Family's
search for a place to stay in Bethlehem for Jesus
Christ's birth through song.
DRAMA
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represente d in
performance. The enactment of drama in theatre,
performed by actors on a stage before an audience,
presupposes collaborative modes of production and
a collective form of reception.
Bakit Babae ang Naghuhugas ng Pinggan
“Why Women Wash the Dishes ” is a play that
depicts a betting game between couple whom either
one would not like to wash the dishes. The play is
filled with humor and antiques.
POETRY
Poetry is an imaginative awareness of experience
expressed through meaning, sound, and rhythmic
language choices so as to evoke an emotional
response. Poetry has been known to employ meter
and rhyme, but this is by no means necessary. The
very nature of poetry as an authentic and individual
mode of expression makes it nearly impossible to
define.
FLORANTE AT LAURA
The story is about the love and determination of the
Duke Florante and the Princess Laura of Albania
while being pursued by Count Adolfo.
SHORT STORIES
A short story is a brief work of literature, usually
written in narrative prose. A classic definition of a
short story is that one should be able to read it in one
sitting
CONVICT’S TWILIGHT
The short story revolves around one thing –
Freedom. Or more clearly, it seeks to define what is
freedom, and what sense it makes to those who are
not free; slaved for the atonement of their sins.
JOSE RIZAL
He is considered one of the national heroes of the
Philippines. Studying in Europe, he was the most
prominent advocate for reform in the Philippines
during the Spanish colonial era. He was wrongly
implicated as the leader of the Katipunan
Revolution, and that led to his execution on
December 30, 1896, now celebrated as Rizal Day, a
national holiday in the country.
MI ULTIMO ADIOS
A poem written by Philippine national hero Dr José
Rizal on the eve of his execution on 30 December
1896. This poem was one of the last notes he wrote
before his death; another that he had written was
found in his shoe but because the text was illegible,
its contents remains a mystery.
MARCELO H. DEL PILAR
He was a celebrated figure in the Philippine
Revolution and a leading propagandist for reforms in
the Philippines. Popularly known as Plaridel, he was
the editor and co-publisher of La Solidaridad (The
Solidarity).
DASALAN AT TOCSOHAN
This is a satire on the friars' hypocrisy,
licentiousness and greed, which consists of parodies
of the Sign of the Cross, the Act of Contrition, the
Lord's Prayer, the Hail Mary, and the catechism.
Rizal considers this as a model of classical prose
and an excellent example of Tagalog humor, wit, and
sarcasm.
ANDRES BONIFACIO
He was a founder and later Supremo of the
Katipunan movement which sought the
independence of the Philippines from Spanish
colonial rule and started the Philippine Revolution
“Father of the Philippine Revolution, "
PAG-IBIG SA TINUBUANG LUPA
This poem which was first published in the Diariong
Tagalog. As the title indicates, the theme is directed
to the Filipinos in order to arouse their spirit of
nationalism and self-dependence.
AMERICAN -COLONIAL PERIOD
Philippine literary production during the American
Period in the Philippines was spurred by two
significant developments in education and culture.
One is the introduction of free public instruction for
all children of school age and two, the use of English
as medium of instruction in all levels of education in
public schools.
Free public education made knowledge and
information accessible to a greater number of
Filipinos. Those who availed of this education
through college were able to improve their social
status and joined a good number of educated
masses who became part of the country’s middle
class.
The use of English as medium of instruction
introduced Filipinos to Anglo-American modes of
thought, culture and life ways that would be
embedded not only in the literature produced but
also in the psyche of the country’s educated class. It
was this educated class that would be the wellspring
of a vibrant Philippine Literature in English.
Philippine literature in English, as a direct result of
American colonization of the country, could not
escape being imitative of American models of writing
especially during its period of apprenticeship.
LITERATURE under AMERICAN COLONIAL family brings hope the woman he intends to marry.
PERIOD The story is told in the first person by Leon's younger
Tagalog Novel brother
Romantic Poetry
Short Stories CONTEMPORARY PERIOD
Beginning of Phil Lit in English • The flowering of Philippine literature in the various
languages continue especially with the appearance
3 STAGES OF PERIOD of new publications after the Martial Law years and
1. Re-Oriented -Teacher the resurgence of committed literature in the 1960s
2. Imitation – Duplication their Action and the 1970s
3. Discovery and Self Growth • With the requirement by the Commission on Higher
Education to teach Philippine Literature in all tertiary
TAGALOG NOVEL schools in the country, the teaching of the vernacular
A novel is a long prose narrati ve that describes literature or literatures of the regions was
fictional characters and events in the form of a emphasized.
sequential story, usually. A Tagalog novel is a novel
written in, of course, Tagalog.

BANAAG AT SIKAT
is one of the first literary novels written by Filipino
author Lo pe K. Santos in the Tagalog language in
1906. As a book that was considered as the "Bible
of working class Filipinos" , the pages of the novel
revolves around the life of Delfin, his love for a
daughter of a rich

ROMANTIC POETRY
The dominant theme of Romantic poetry: the filtering
of natural emotion through the human mind in order
to create art, coupled with an awareness of the
duality created by such a process.
PAG-IBIG Jose Corazon De Jesus José Corazón de
Jesús , was a Filipino poet who
used Tagalog poetry to express the Filipinos' desire
for independence during the American occupation of
the Philippines, a period that lasted from 1901 to
1946. He is best known for being the lyricist of the
Filipino song Bayan Ko.

SHORT STORIES
A short story is a brief work of literature, usually
written in narrative prose. A classic definition of a
short story is that one should be able to read it in one
sitting

We Filipinos Are Mild Drinkers

This is a short story written by Alejandro Roces
during his freshman year in Arizona State University.
He was well known for his humorous stories and whit
in writing. “We Filipinos are Mild Drinkers” is dated
back to the 1940s.

Beginning of Philippine Literature in English

Philippine literature in English By 1901, public

education was institutionalized in the Philippines,
with English serving as the medium of instruction.
That year, around 600 educators in the S.S. Thomas
to replace the soldiers who had been serving as the
first teachers.
"How My Brother Leon Brought Home a Wife" A
story about an occasion that would be a big day in
the life of any family, the day one of the sons of the
CRITICAL APPROACHES TO THE STUDY OF LITERATURE
Critical Approaches are different perspectives we
consider when looking at a piece of literature.
Major Critical Approaches to Consider:
1. Reader-Response Criticism
2. Formalist Criticism
3. Psychological/Psychoanalytic Criticism
4. Sociological Criticism
5. A.Marxist Criticism
6. Biographical Criticism
7. Feminist/Gender Criticism
1. The Reader-Response Approach
*asserts that a great deal of meaning in a text lies with
how the reader responds to it.
*Focuses on the act of reading and how it affects our
perception of meaning in a text (how we feel at the
beginning vs. the end)
Deals more with the process of creating meaning and
experiencing a text as we read. A text is an experience,
not an object.
The text is a living thing that lives in the reader’s
imagination.
READER + READING SITUATION + TEXT = MEANING
2. The Formalist Approach
Two Major Principles of Formalism
- A literary text exists independent of any particular
reader and, in a sense, has a fixed meaning.
- The greatest literary texts are “timeless” and
“universal.”
3. The Psychological/ Psychoanalytic Approach
*views a text as a revelation of its author’s mind and
personality. It is based on the work of Sigmund Freud.
Also focuses on the hidden motivations of literary
characters
Looks at literary characters as a reflection of the writer
4. The Sociological Approach
*argues that social contexts (the social environment)
must be considered when analyzing a text.
Focuses on the values of a society and how those views
are reflected in a text
Emphasizes the economic, political, and cultural issues
within literary texts
Core Belief: Literature is a reflection of its society.
The Marxist Approach
Marxist Criticism emphasizes economic and social
conditions. It is based on the political theory of Karl
Marx concerned with understanding the role of power,
politics, and money in literary texts
4. The Biographical Approach
* argues that we must take an author’s life and
background into account when we study a text.
Three Benefits:
1. Facts about an author’s experience can help a
reader decide how to interpret a text.
2. A reader can better appreciate a text by knowing
a writer’s struggles or difficulties in creating that
text.
3. A reader can understand a writer’s
preoccupation by studying the way they apply
and modify their own life experiences in their
works.
5. Gender Criticism Approach:
-This approach “examines how sexual identity
influences the creation and reception of literary works.”
- Originally an offshoot of feminist movements,
gender criticism today includes a number of approaches,
including the so-called “masculinist” approach recently
advocated by poet Robert Bly. The bulk of gender
criticism, however, is feminist and takes as a central
precept that the patriarchal attitudes that have
dominated western thought have resulted, consciously
or unconsciously, in literature “full of unexamined ‘male-
produced’ assumptions.”
-Other goals of feminist critics include “analyzing how
sexual identity influences the reader of a text” and
“examin[ing] how the images of men and women in
imaginative literature reflect or reject the social forces
that have historically kept the sexes from achieving total
equality.
CONNOTATION VS. DENOTATION
Connotation
- is the emotional and imaginative association
surrounding a word.
- provides basis for SYMBOLISMS in literary pieces
- Symbolism is when you use one thing (usually, but
not always, a tangible physical thing) to represent
something else (usually, but not always, an
intangible idea)
- affected by the social, cultural, and personal
experiences of individuals. (POSTIVE, NEGATIVE or
NEUTRAL)
Denotation is the strict dictionary meaning of a word.
Regions in the Philippines: Short Story Tungkung Langit at Alunsina
By: Rene Villanueva
Why Women Wash the Dishes
By: Filomena Colendrino Place Originated: Panay, Quezon City

In the Town of Sta. Rosa…… Characters:

Tungkung Langit (Pillar of Heaven)
Characters: Alunsina (The Unmarried One)
Hugo or Ka Ugong Breeze (Spy)
Imelda or Ka Maldang
Neighbor Alusina’s Jewels
Herbman Necklace (Stars)
Comb (Moon)
Crown (Sun)
We Filipinos are Mild Drinker
By: Alejandro R. Roces Indarapatra at Sulayman
By: Bartolome Del Valle
During the Filipino-Japanese War
Place Originated: Maguindanao
Characters
American Soldier or Joe Monsters:
Bario Guy Kurita (Many Limbs)
Datu (Carabao) Tarabusaw (Ugly Creature in the form of man, usually
seen in Mt. Matutum)
Vocabulary use. Pah (enormous Bird, usually seen in Mt. Bita)
Dreadful Bird/ Balbal (Seven head, usually seen in Mt.
GI- stands for "Government Issue" which is printed Gurayn)
all over American soldiers' equipment; it means a
private soldier in the US Army.
The Chieftest Mourner
Pie-eyed- very drunk By: Aida Rivera Ford

Stoned- under the influence of; very drunk Place Originated: Manila, Philippines

Torpedo juice- American slang for an alcoholic Characters:

beverage, first mixed in World War II, made from Aunt Shopia
pineapple juice and the 180-proof grain alcohol fuel Mistress
used in United States Navy torpedo motors
How my Brother Leon brought home a Wife
Jungle Juice- powerful or roughly prepared alcoholic By: Manuel E. Arguilla
liquor; lamabanog.
Place Originated: Nagrebcan, Bauang La Union Province
Amok- behave uncontrollably and disruptively
Characters.
Berserk- out of control with anger or excitement; wild Baldo (Narrator/Noel’s Brother)
or frenzied. Noel or Leon (Baldo’s Brother/ husband of Maria)
Maria (Noel’s Wife)
Labang (Albino Carabao)
Biag ni Lam-ang Urong and Celin (Twin)
By: Pedro Bucaneg
Waig (Way to home/Shortcut)
Place Originated: Ilocos Camino Real (Right Route)
Father & Mother
Story: Nalbuan, La Union
Dead Stars
Characters: By: Paz Marquez Benitez
Don Juan (Father)
Namongan (Mother) Place Originated: Lucena City, Quezon Province
Ines Kannoyan (Wife)
Rooster and Gray Dog (Pets) Characters:
Sumarang (Suitor) Alfredo Salazar
Berkakan (Sea Monster who killed Lam-ang) Alfredo’s Sister
Marcus (Life Saver) Esperanza (Alfredo’s Fiancé)
Julia Salas (Alfredo’s Affair)