SURVEY OF PHILIPPINE LITERATURE IN ENGLISH

LITERATURE IN GENERAL

What is Literature?

 Literature is from Latin word “litterae” (pl) which means letters. The term literature
literally means “things made from letter”.

 Literature is the imaginative work that pictures the human life in society which can be
enjoyed, understandable, and used by the society.

 Literature is an art of written work.

What is/are the importance of literature?

Why do we need to study literature?

Introduction to Poetry and Prose

POETRY
 A piece of literature written by a poet in meter or verse expressing various emotions
which are expressed by the use of variety of techniques including metaphors, similes and
onomatopoeia.
 The art of apprehending and interpreting ideas by the faculty of imagination; the art of
idealizing in thought and in expression.
 The emphasis on the aesthetics of language and the use of techniques such as repetition,
meter and rhyme are what commonly used to distinguished poetry from prose.
BASIC ELEMENTS OF POETRY
a. RHYTHM- music made by the statements of the poem, which includes the syllables in
the lines.
b. METER- basic structural make-up of the poem.
c. STANZA- defined as a smaller unit or group of lines or a paragraph in a poem.
d. RHYME- the last words or sounds of the lines match with each other in some form.
e. THYME SCHEME- the pattern of rhyme.
f. ALLITERATION- also used in several poems for sound effect.
g. SIMILE- method of comparison using the words “as’ or “like”.
h. METAPHOR- method of comparison where the words “as” or “like” are not used.
i. THEME- what the poem is all about
j. SYMBOLISM- often poems will convey ideas and thoughts using symbols
 k. IMAGERY- used by the poet for readers to create an image in their imagination.
DIVISIONS AND TYPES OF POETRY
1. LYRIC POETRY
-the utterance of the human heart is in poetic form. Lyric poems were meant to be sung to the
accompaniment of musical instrument known as the lyre.
a. Simple Lyric- This embraces a wide variety of poems and is characterized by subjectivity,
imagination, melody, and emotions.
b. Song- This is a short lyric poem which has a specific melodious quality and is intended to be
sung and can be set easily to music. It can be religious or secular.
c. Sonnet-It is a lyric poem of 14 lines with a formal rhyme.
d. Elegy- It is a poem expressing lament or grief for the dead. It may express the personal sorrow
of the author over a loss of a loved one or it may be a form of meditation on death in general.
e. Ode- This is the most splendid type of lyric poetry. It is exalted in tone, projects deep feelings
and expresses high praise for some person, objects, events or ideas.
2. NARRATIVE POETRY
- It tells a story following an order of events. It includes the ballad, metrical tale, metrical
romance and the epic.
a. Ballad- It is a short simple narrative poem composed to be sung, and is orally told from
one generation to another. The folk, primitive or popular ballads are kinds of ballad
which were written anonymously.

b. Metrical Romance- A narrative poem which is written in verse and can be classified
either as a ballad or metrical romance. It is a long rambling love story in verse which is
centered around the adventures of knights and lords, and their royal ladies during the age
of chivalry.

c. Epic- This is a long majestic, narrative poem which tells the adventures of a traditional
hero and the development of a nation.

DRAMATIC POETRY
-This poetry has elements that are closely related to drama because it is written in dramatic form
or makes use of a dramatic technique. It may suggest a story but more emphasis is placed on the
characters rather than the narration.
a. Dramatic Monologue- This is a combination of drama and poetry which presents the
speech of a character in a particular situation at a critical moment.
 b. The Soliloquy- This is a passage spoken by the speaker in a poem or by a character in a
play except that there is no one present to hear him except the reader or the audience.

c. Character Sketch- This is a poem classified by Laurence J. Zillman, in which the writer
is concerned less with complete or implied matters of a story, but rather with arousing
sympathy or antagonism for, or mere interest in an individual. The poets serve as an
observer and commentator.

PROSE
 A literary piece which is written in the form of ordinary written in the form of ordinary
written or spoken language and within the common flow of a conversation.
 The word prose is derived from the Latin word ‘prosa’ meaning straightforward.

TYPES OF PROSE
1. Biography
- The story of a real person’s life written by someone other than that person.
2. Short Story
- This is a brief, artistic form of prose fiction which is centered on a single main
incidents and intended to produce a single dominant impression which may be
sadness, surprise, sympathy, terror, or other reactions.

Elements of Short Story

a. Setting- the place or time where the story happens.

b. Character- the participants/artist/actors in the story
Types of Characters
1. Protagonist: the main character of the story
2. Antagonist: the so-called “villain” that opposed the actions and decisions
conducted by the protagonist.
c. Plot- The brief sequencing of events and incidents of which a story is composed
5 Essential Parts of Plot
1. Introduction- The beginning of the story where the characters and the
settings are revealed.
2. Rising Action-This is the event of the story become complicated and the
conflict is revealed.
3. Climax- The highest point of the story
4. Falling Action- This is the event of the story where the conflict begins to
resolve
5. Denouement- The final outcome of the story.
d. Conflict
4 Kinds of Conflict
1. Man vs. Man (Physical)- the leading character struggles with his physical
strength against other man, forces of nature or animals.
 2. Man vs. Circumstances(Classical)- the leading character struggles against
fate or the circumstances of life facing her/him.
3. Man vs. Society (Social) – the leading character struggles against ideas,
practices on customs of other people.
4. Man vs. Himself/Herself(Psychological)- The leading character struggles
with himself/herself with his/her own soul, ideas of right and wrong, physical
limitations, choices, etc.
e. Theme- The central idea or belief in the story.
3. Novel
- This is a more extensive form of prose. It’s length extends to hundreds of pages.
4. Anecdote
- A short story about an interesting or funny event or occurrence.
5. Essays
- The essays is a prose composition of moderate length, usually expository in nature,
which aims to explain an idea, a theory, an impression or a point of view.
- The essay may be classified as formal and informal.
Formal Essay
- It deals with serious and important topics such as philosophy, theology, science,
politics, morality and others. It is primarily addressed to the intellect of an individual.
Informal Essay
- This may deal with any subject, even the ordinary and commonplace. The main
source of interest is the personality of the author which is revealed in the style and
treatment of the subject.
6. Fable
- A story where the animals speak and act like human being and teaches a lesson.
7. Parable
- Usually short fictitious story that illustrates a moral attitude or a religious principle.
8. Legend
- A story of origin, where things came from and believed by many people but cannot be
proved to be true.

9. Fairy Tale
- Is a short story in which there occurs some supernatural or magical event
10. News
- A report of daily events in society, government, or in Science and Industry
11. Play
- A piece of created work presented on stage. It is usually divided into acts.
DRAMA
- The word drama comes from the Greek word dran which means “to do”. It is the art of
imitating human action or a story presented on stage by actors impersonating characters
in a given situation
- The drama can be written either poetry or in prose, or a mixture of both.
- The drama is traditionally classified into tragedy and comedy.
QUALITIES OF LITERARY MASTERPIECE
1. ARTISTRY
- This appeals to our sense of beauty.

2. INTELLECTUAL VALUE
- A literary work stimulates thoughts.

3. SUGGESTIVENESS
- This is associated with the emotional aspect of literature.

4. SPIRITUAL VALUE
- Literature puts our spirits high by bringing out the understanding of moral values which
lead us to become better people.

5. PERMANENCE
- A great work of literature can endure the test of time.

6. UNIVERSALITY
- Great literature observes no limit.

7. STYLE
- This is the unique way in which the writer views life, forms his/her ideas and expresses
them.