21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World

LESSON TIMETABLE
MODULE : THE PHILIPPINE LITERARY HISTORY

COURSE/SUBJECT : 21ST CENTURY LITERATURE FROM PH AND THE

WORLD

DURATION : FOUR (4) Hours Lecture; ________ laboratory

CONTENT/TOPIC STRATEGY/ REFRENCE/ EVALUATION

DURATION
ACTIVITY TOOLS OUTPUT
Introduction
• Opening Prayer
(Optional)
• Introducing the
instructor
Laptop
• Leveling/
Lecture-Disc Module
30 minutes Motivation
ussion Power Point
• Articulating the Presentation
desired learning
outcomes for the
session
• Presenting rules
and regulations
Presentation
• Pre-Colonial
Period Lecture-Disc
ussion
• Spanish Colonial
Laptop
Period
Module
2 hours • American Oral Recitation
Question Power Point
Colonial Period
and Answer Presentation
• Japanese
Colonial Period
• Contemporary
Period
Application
• Reinforcement
Laptop
• Recap of Recitation 15-item
Module
1 hour Learning insights Objective Type
Power Point
• Assessment lecture of Written Test
Presentation
• Closing Prayer
(Optional)

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21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World

SESSION PLAN
Program/Year Level : ABM, HUMSS, STEM, TVHE, TVIA - 11

MODULE : Introduction to Literature

Sub-Module : 1.0 Nature and Meaning of Literature
1.1 Elements of Literature
1.2 Types of literature
1.3 Contemporary Forms of Literature

COURSE/SUBJECT : 21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the

World

DURATION : Four (4) Hours Lecture; ________ laboratory

LEARNING OUTCOMES (LOs):

At the end of the lesson, the students will be able to:

• Identify the Periods of Literature in Philippine history;
• Determine the influence of each literary period to the Literature of today; and
• Relate the importance of literature on their lives.
LEARNING AIDS:
• Laptop / Computer
• Module
• Powerpoint Presentation
REFERENCES:
• Datu, Paulyn Alaer. 21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World, 2017
PH: CB Cronica

I. INTRODUCTION

Preparatory Activities
• Opening Prayer
• Introducing the instructor
• Leveling/Motivation

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21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World

Developmental Activity

Accomplish the K-W-L Chart writing what you know, you want to know and what
you will learn about The Philippine Literary History. Work on the first two columns first before
discussion, and work on the third column after discussion.

What you KNOW What you WANT to What you LEARNED

KNOW

II. PRESENTATION

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21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World

THE PHILIPPINE LITERARY HISTORY

PRE-COLONIAL PERIOD (--BC to 1564)

The precolonial literature includes all literature produced before the Spanish
colonization like chants, proverbs, songs, and folk narratives. These were all passed down
from generation to generation by word of mouth.

▪ Salient Characteristics of Literature in this Era:

➢ Based on oral traditions
➢ Crude on ideology and phraseology

▪ Literary Forms

➢ Riddles (bugtong) – battle of wits among participants

➢ Proverbs (salawikain) – wise sayings that contain a metaphor used to teach
as a food for thought
➢ Tanaga - a mono-rhyming heptasyllabic quatrain expressing insights and
lessons on life is "more emotionally charged than the terse proverb and thus
has affinities with the folk lyric."
➢ Folk Song – a form of folk lyric which expresses the hopes and aspirations,
the people's lifestyles as well as their loves. These are often repetitive and
sonorous, didactic and naive
➢ Folk Tales
❖ Myths – explain how the world was created, how certain animals
possess certain characteristics, why some places have waterfalls,
volcanoes, mountains, flora or fauna
❖ Legends – explain the origin of things
❖ Fables – used animal characters and allegory

SPANISH COLONIAL PERIOD (1565 – 1863)

The Spanish missionaries taught the gospel through the native language, so they
hired natives to translate Spanish religious instructional materials. Eventually, the
natives became fluent in Spanish and became known as ladinos.

Ladinos mainly wrote devotional poetry. Two of them were Fernando

Bagongbanta and Gaspar Aquino de Belen. Bagongbanta wrote “Salamat nang
walang hanga/gracias de sin sempiternas,” which appeared in Memorial de la vida
cristiana en lengua tagala (1605), a book containing basic Catholic doctrines. On the
other hand, de Belen wrote “Ang Mahal na Passion ni Jesu Christong Panginoon
natin na tola” (1704), the earliest version of pasyon.

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21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World

Also, the native drama called the komedya or moro-moro was popular. It
depicted the war between Christians and Muslims, wherein the former always wins.
The poet Jose de la Cruz (1746–1829) was a master of such art form.

Native literature continued. Though the Spaniards destroyed the written literature
in their effort to replace it with their own, the oral tradition survived and flourished in
areas beyond the reach of the Spaniards.

o Francisco Baltazar (1788-1862), the master of traditional Tagalog poetry,

became well-known for his work Florante at Laura (1838–1861), the most
famous metrical romance of the country.
o Pedro Paterno (1857–1911) wrote Sampaguitas y poesias varias (1880), the
first poetry collection in Spanish by a Filipino; and the novel in
Spanish Ninay (1885), considered to be the first Filipino novel.
o Jose Rizal (1861–1896), a prominent ilustrado and the country’s national
hero, is famous for the novels Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo. These
novels portray the corruption and abuse of the Spanish officials and the clergy.
o Andres Bonifacio (1863–1897), the founder of the Katipunan, wrote the
poem “Pag-ibig sa Tinubuang Lupa.” This poem appeared in the Kalayaan, the
official newspaper of the Katipunan, in March 1896.
o Leona Florentino (1849–1884), known as the “mother of Philippine women’s
literature,” was a poet in both Ilocano and Spanish. Twenty of her poems were
preserved and exhibited in Europe. The poems were included in the
Encyclopedia International des Oeuvres des Femme in 1889.

Philippine Literature during the Spanish occupation was mostly influenced by

Christianity as well as the European ideals of liberty and freedom through trade.
Filipino writers either wrote in Spanish or in their own tongue or both.

▪ Salient Characteristics of Literature in this Era:

➢ It has two distinct classifications: religious and secular
➢ It introduced Spanish as the medium of communication

▪ Literary Forms

➢ Religious Literature - Religious lyrics written by ladino poets or those

versed in both Spanish and Tagalog were included in early catechism and
were used to teach Filipinos the Spanish language.
❖ Pasyon – long narrative poem about the passion and death of Christ.
The most popular was “Ang Mahal na Passion ni Jesu Cristong
Panignoon Natin” by Aguino de Belen
❖ Senakulo – dramatization of the pasyon, it shows the passion and
death of Christ

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21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World

➢ Secular (non-religious) Literature

❖ Awit - colorful tales of chivalry made for singing and chanting
Example: Ibong Adarna

❖ Korido – metrical tale written in octosyllabic quatrain

Example: Florante at Laura by Francisco Baltazar

It is during latter part of this period that PROPAGANDA MOVEMENTS and

REVOLUTIONS emerged. Filipino writers opted to use Filipino than Spanish as medium
of instruction. Literary pieces aimed to plant seeds of NATIONALISM among Filipinos.
Most write-ups helped inflame the spirit of revolution.

AMERICAN COLONIAL PERIOD (1910 – 1945)

The US established a civil government in 1901. Free public education was

introduced. Also, English was the medium of instruction. In 1934, President Roosevelt
signed a bill making the Philippines a commonwealth. On May 14, 1935 Manuel L.
Quezon was elected president.

▪ Salient Characteristics of Literature in this Era:

➢ Filipino Writers imitated English and American models
➢ Poems written were amateurish and mushy, which phrasing and diction is
awkward and artificial

The production of literary works in English is the direct result of the American
colonization of the Philippines. The first collection of poetry in English is Filipino
Poetry (1924), edited by Rodolfo Dato. The short story “Dead Stars” (1925) by Paz
Marquez Benitez is considered as the first Filipino modern short story in English. A Child
of Sorrow (1921) by Zoilo M. Galang is the first Filipino novel in English. The novel His
Native Soil (1940) by Juan C. Laya won first prize in the First Commonwealth Literary
Awards in 1940.

Filipino writers in English during the apprenticeship period (1900–1930) imitated

American writing. The poet Fernando Maramag writes in the Romantic tradition in his
sonnet “Moonlight on Manila Bay” (1912). Filipino fictionists copied Sherwood Anderson,
William Saroyan, and Ernest Hemingway. Jose Garcia Villa used the Anderson pattern.
Manuel Arguilla and N. V. M. Gonzalez were influenced by Anderson and Hemingway.
Francisco Arcellana was influenced by Saroyan.

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21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World

JAPANESE COLONIAL PERIOD (1942 - 1960)

• On December 8, 1941, the Japanese attacked Manila.

• On January 2, 1942, Japanese occupied Manila. They set up a Council of State in the
country and started propaganda to remold the Filipinos.
• In October 1943 the Japanese declared the Philippines “independent.” On September
20, Jose P. Laurel was elected president.
• MacArthur and his Allied forces returned to the country in 1944. They landed on Leyte
on October 20, and the biggest naval battle in history ensued.
• The Japanese surrendered formally on September 2, 1945.

▪ Salient Characteristics of Literature in this Era:

➢ Tagalog poets broke away from the Balagtas tradition and instead wrote in
simple language and free verse
➢ Fiction prevailed over poetry

During the occupation, publications were censored by the military. Also, Tagalog was
declared an official language (together with Nihonggo). In effect, Philippine literature in
English came to a halt. Some Filipino writers then turned to writing in Filipino.

The Tagalog short story reached its maturity during the period. The best works were
compiled by the Liwayway magazine editors in Ang Pinakamabuting Maikling Kathang
Pilipino ng 1943, which came out in 1944. It is a collection of stories that won a contest
sponsored by the Japanese. The top four stories were “Lupang Tinubuan” by Narciso G.
Reyes, “Uhaw ang Tigang na Lupa” by Liwayway Arceo, “Nayon at Dagat-dagatan” by N.
V. M. Gonzalez, and “Suyuan sa Tubigan” by Macario Pineda.

The American occupation of the Philippines spurred the writing of Filipinos in

English. On the other hand, the Japanese occupation censored literary works yet
contributed to the maturity of the Tagalog short story.

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21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World

CONTEMPORARY PERIOD (1960 – PRESENT)

▪ Salient Characteristics of Literature in this Era:

➢ Martial Law repressed and curtailed human rights, including freedom
of the press
➢ Writers used symbolisms and allegories to drive home their
message, at the face of heavy censorship
➢ Theater was used as a vehicle for protest, such as the PETA (Phil.
Educational Theater Association) and UP Theater.
➢ From the eighties onwards, writers continue to show dynamism and
innovation

After World War II, the Philippines had to deal with the economy and the
need for rehabilitation and reconstruction of infrastructures. There was political,
economic, and social confusion, as well as great poverty, and these issues found
their way into the short stories and novels during that time.

During the postwar period, Filipino writers got their inspiration from American
teachers and were able to learn their techniques, which also helped in mastering
the English language.

Writers wrote fiction that focused on courageous deeds as well as the

sacrifices and suffering in the lives of Filipinos. It was also common for writers to
write about the experiences of the Filipino people under the Spanish and American
rule and the Japanese Occupation. Other subjects and themes include:

• religious faith
• superstitions
• fantasy
• social problems
• poverty
• politics
• nationalism
• morality

REINFORCEMENT ACTIVITY

How well you understand this chapter? Briefly answer the following questions:

1. What do the periods of literature in the Philippines have in common?

2. How did they influence the 21st century literature (the present form of
literature) in the Philippines?

3. What do you think are the characteristics of this century’s Philippine

literature?

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21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World

III. ASSESSMENT

Identify the LITERARY PERIOD that is described in each statement.

____________________ 1. In this Period, fiction prevailed over poetry.

____________________ 2. Literary pieces in this era are crude in ideology.

____________________ 3. It is when free public education was introduced to the

Philippines

____________________ 4. In this literary period, literary pieces aimed to plant

seeds of nationalism among Filipinos.

____________________ 5. In this literary period, literary pieces aimed to plant

seeds of nationalism among Filipinos.

____________________ 6. This period forced writers to use symbolisms and

allegories to drive home their message, at the face
of heavy censorship.

____________________ 7. This is where Tagalog poets broke away from the

Balagtas tradition and instead wrote in simple
language and free verse.

____________________ 8. Literary pieces in this period are largely based on

oral traditions.

____________________ 9. This period censored literary works yet contributed to

the maturity of the Tagalog short story.

____________________ 10. Poems written in this period were amateurish and

Mushy.

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21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World

IV. CLOSING PRAYER

Prepared by:

Mr. Mario Lawrence C. DIngal

Literature Teacher

Reviewed by:
Mr. Richard John W. Hernandez
Academic Coordinator, SHS

Approved by:
Dr. Vilma V. Esparrago
Principal, Basic Education

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