21ST CENTURY LITERATURE

by Isagani Cruz

The proposed curriculum for Senior High School (SHS) contains two literature subjects – “21 st Century
Literatures of the World” and “21st Century Literatures from the (Philippine) Regions.” (It has been
suggested that the latter be changed to “Contemporary Philippine Literature and the Arts from the
Regions.”)

These are derived from the two literature subjects in the old General Education Curriculum (GEC),
namely, “Literatures of the World” and “Literatures of the Philippines.” In the new GEC, these two
literature subjects are no longer included, because the new core subjects are all interdisciplinary rather
than disciplinal.

The two subjects in SHS are disciplinal. They are meant to ensure that all Filipino high school graduates
have a good understanding of what is happening today in the field of literature, and by extension, in the
arts.

Why 21st century only? Simply because SHS students were all born in or just before the 21st century.
This century is their century. For them, the 20th century is what the 19th century is to us teachers. There
is also another reason. Just as the British writer Virginia Woolf said of the turn of the 20 th century,
namely, that “on or about December 1910 human character changed,” something major happened to
literature on or about December 2000. C21: Centre for Research in Twenty-first Century Writings, based
in the University of Brighton, puts it succinctly: “The
first decade of the new millennium witnessed a range of exciting developments in contemporary writings
in English, from innovations in recognized forms such as the novel, poem, play and short story to
developments in digital writings, creative writings and genres.

Alongside these developments, the publishing industry also changed, with technological advances giving
rise to the
dawn of the eBook and corporate sponsorship igniting debates about the usefulness of literary prizes
and festivals.” Just think of the most recent literary texts done in the Philippines. We have “textula,” a
poetry genre mastered by Frank Rivera: entire poems are written and read on mobile phones. Graphic
novels are becoming as respectable as prose novels among literary critics. Poems meant to be recited in
front of large audiences have become more fashionable than poems meant to be read silently by a single
reader (fulfilling one of Cirilo Bautista’s prophecies about the future of poetry, by the way).

Elsewhere in the world, writers are doing things they did not do much until recently. Think of prose
novels being serialized on blogs, with readers suggesting to authors (and authors obediently accepting)
that the plot or the characters should be changed. Think of hypertextual poems, where readers move
from one website to another because of embedded links in the words, sometimes not returning to the
original pages at all. Think of enhanced eBooks, where readers are treated to audiovisual clips that not
only support the narrative in a novel, but actually are crucial to the development of plot and character.
Think of flash fiction, which has been brought to an extreme with six-word and even one-word short
stories.

Of course, none of these forms of literature were born only in the 21st century. Hypertext, for example,
has been around for at least two decades. Six-word short stories have been around for a long time. The
best-known is Ernest Hemingway’s six-word story: “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.” Urban legend
(which may actually be true) says
Hemingway called it his best work. Pre-21st century writers like Margaret Atwood have written such
stories. Atwood, for example, wrote this: “Longed for him. Got him. Shit.” Neil Gaiman (perhaps the best
example of a 20th century writer who has successfully transformed himself into a 21st century writer)
wrote this: “I’m dead. I’ve missed you. Kiss …?”

There is a growing body of literary criticism on 21st century literature. There is, for example, an entire
journal devoted to it, “C21 Literature: Journal of 21st Century Writing.” There have been several
professional conferences on the topic, such as “E-reading between the lines: 21st century literature,
digital platforms and literacies” last July in Brighton. The paper titles reveal some of the main trends in
the emergent field: “Digital Theory on Literature Reading Lists, The Digitization of Reader Response, Star
Texts: The Next Generation, The Book App, Digital Literatures: Digital Democracies [or] Digital Threats?”
The conference raised a practical question: “Should readers
be given the choice of both printed and electronic formats – or is the (printed) book set to become the
vinyl of the twenty-first century?”

In our country, graphic novels such as Ferdinand Benedict G. Tan and Jonathan A. Baldisimo’s “Trese 5:
Midnight Tribunal” and Carlo Vergara’s “Zsazsa Zaturnnah sa Kalakhang Maynila 1” are challenging the
traditional definition of fiction. Even more in-your-face is Alan Navarra’s “Ang Panlimang Alas ay
Nakabaon sa Iyong Dibdib,” a literary text that defies classification into any of the traditional categories
of “poetry, fiction, and drama.” (Even if we added the genre-come-lately Creative Nonfiction, Navarra’s
work still does not quite fit in.)

Since curricular reform happens only every decade, the SHS curriculum will still be in place by the year
2022. By that year, the 20th century will no longer be in the memory of our students. We predigital
teachers of the two literature subjects must ensure that their frame of reference will be theirs and not
ours.

— http://www.philstar.com/education-and-home/2013/10/24/1248724/21st-century-literature
 BUILDING THE NATIONAL
By Butch Dalisay

I’m in Cebu as I write is, attending the second edition of Taboan, the Philippine International Writers
Festival which was first held in Manila at about this same time last year, February being National Arts
Month.

Taboan will be making the rounds of the regions from year to year before returning to Manila, so this
moveable feast (poet and NCCA commissioner Ricky de Ungria beat me to the metaphor) will see many
places yet.

The Arts Council of Cebu under the very gracious festival director Mayen Tan and president a Petite
Garcia is in charge of Taboan ’10, a project of the Committee on Literary Arts of the National Commission
for Culture and the Arts (NCCA).

The festival got off to a lively start with a keynote speech by Cebu’s own Dr. Resil Mojares — a
formidable, internationally recognized scholar of Philippine literature, history, and society — who chose
a deliberately provocative subject and title for his talk: “Will Magdalena Jalandoni Ever Be a National
Artist?”

For those who don’t know Jalandoni (and — perhaps to prove Resil’s point — 99.99 percent of us don’t),
the Iloilo-born Jalandoni (1891-1978) was a prolific writer in Hiligaynon of fiction, poems, and plays, her
novels alone totaling an astounding 36.

Resil made it clear that he wasn’t making a brief for Jalandoni’s selection as a National Artist; with typical
scholarly modesty, he said that he simply didn’t know her work well enough to make that judgment.
Rather, he was using Jalandoni’s case to draw attention to the gross disadvantage at which Filipino
writers working in languages other than English and Filipino lie, particularly when it comes to recognition
on a national or international level.

While they may have achieved much in their own literature in, say, Cebuano, Bikol, or Hiligaynon, they
remain obscure elsewhere, because their work has been little translated, little critically reviewed, and
therefore little seriously considered for national or international awards.

Jalandoni is hardly alone in this predicament; the Philippine literary landscape is littered with the
skeletons of mute inglorious Miltons whom most Filipinos will have never heard of, much less read.
Critiquing the NA selection process — of which he himself was occasionally a part, one of the expert
“peers” who sift through the nominees at the first level — Mojares noted that “In the discussion of the
nominees of Jalandoni last year, all the 10 or 12 members of the ‘Council of Elders’ (except perhaps for
one or two) had not read Jalandoni’s works, either due to language, unavailability of texts or
translations, or simply because Jalandoni did not fall within their area of expertise.

This has been the problem in the three or four times in which she was nominated. “This is abetted by a
procedural constraint. Because of confidentiality rules, members of the Council of Experts know who the
candidates are only on the day of deliberation itself. Hence, they have no time to prepare for the
deliberations by way of reading, research, or consultations with those knowledgeable about particular
candidates. Although brief research reports are prepared by the Secretariat for reference by Council
members, these reports are made available only on the day of the deliberation and are not of much
help.”

Again, Resil was really much less concerned about awards than by the inequality (and, therefore, the
injustice) of popular perceptions. “The politics of national recognition” he went on to say, “is such that it
matters where you are read, in what language, and by whom.

Someone who publishes in Hiligaynon (or Cebuano, Waray, or Iluko) in a periodical with a circulation of
50,000 is a ‘regional writer.’ A writer in Manila who publishes a 500-copy of English poems is a ‘national
writer.’” (Interestingly enough, we’re holding our sessions at the Casino Español de Cebu, a social and
architectural tribute to a language we’ve almost entirely lost, literarily.)

The marginalization of writing from the regions has been a long-festering sore in the body of Philippine
cultural politics, and Taboan’s discussions following Resil’s speech revived some of those familiar issues.

To the Antique-born poet and playwright John Iremil Teodoro, the common practice of denoting any
writing outside Manila as “regional” literature merely reinforced “Manila-centrism,” according, by
implication, a superior quality to products coming out of the capital. However, to Carlo Arejola from
Bicol, the regional badge was a challenge rather than a hindrance. “You don’t need to look to Manila for
approval or affirmation,” Carlo said. “You can create a readership among yourselves. We created our own
awards, our own workshop.” Indeed, as other delegates and Resil himself echoed, the question to ask
was “What can the regions do for themselves?”

I offered the opinion that, while some form of affirmative action or intervention may be required to
level the playing field, there’s a point at which the national/regional or national/local dichotomy
becomes patronizing and ultimately more destructive than constructive. It’s not as if a Cebuano writer
can or will only think of Cebuano, and not national or global, ideas; one’s local roots and experiences
may provide strong, unique material, but that’s still only raw material, yet to be refined. And the world
out there couldn’t care less: it doesn’t see us as Tagalog, Iluko, or Bikol writers — we’re just all Filipino
writers, period, and perhaps we should think as such.

Resil Mojares’ conclusion put it succinctly: “The greater challenge lies outside the awards. We need to
address inequalities in conditions of literary and cultural production by investing more heavily (by the
regions themselves and not just Manila) in more effective and strategic initiatives in scholarship, literary
education, translation, publishing, dissemination, and promotion. We need to build the national in the
National [Artist] Awards.” I’ve always suspected that a great work will manifest that greatness in
whatever language it’s written in or translated into. (Of course, you need to have that translation first.)
Apparently, I’m not the only one who thinks so.

Clearly, before we can begin recognizing good and great Filipino writers from all parts of the country, we
should lay the critical groundwork and first develop and support translators and critics who can give
literary judges a fairer basis for their evaluations.

Curious about how the Nobel Prize committee in charge of literature managed to choose a laureate from
hundreds of nominees writing in a dozen languages, I Googled the subject and discovered the following
exchange at nobelprize.org between Professor Horace Engdahl, Permanent Secretary of the Swedish
Academy, and a reader who sent in the same question I had in mind.
Question: Are Nobel Prizes in literature based on the assessment of the writings in its original language,
translations, or both? If assessed in the original language, how does one remove nationalistic interests, if
any, from the nomination process? Unlike physics, chemistry, etc., where the
symbolism/equations/conventions are clearly agreed upon globally, I would imagine that language and
its interpretation would pose an additional challenge.

Answer: Whenever possible, the Nobel committee and the Academy will read the works of the
candidates in the original language. Obviously, we often have to rely on translations, but in those cases,
we make an effort to read several versions of the same book, e.g. one French and one German
translation. It is true that literature, unlike science, is rooted in a cultural code with language as its most
important expression, but a great work of literature should have the power to reveal the universal
meaning of local symbols and conventions.

Re-read that last sentence; I couldn’t have said it better.

—http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/184020/opinion/building-the-national#sthash.ylco6SRj.dpu
 TIMELINE OF PHILIPPINE LITERATURE

I. Pre-colonial (BC to 1564)

A. Characteristics
1. Based on oral traditions
2. Crude on ideology and phraseology

B. Literary Forms
1. Oral Literature
a. Riddles (bugtong)- battle of wits among participants
tigmo- Cebu
paktakon- Iloilo
patotdon- Bicol
b. Proverbs (salawikain)- wise saying that contain a metaphor used to teach as a
food for thought.
c. Tanaga- a mono-riming heptasyllabic quatrain expressing insights and lessons on
life is “more emotionally charged than the terse proverb and thus has affinities
with the folk lyric”.

2. Folk Songs- a form of fold 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
a. Hele or oyayi- lullaby
b. Ambahan (Mangyan)- 7-syllable per line poem that are about human
relationships and social entertainment.
c. Kalusan (Ivatan)- work songs that depict the livelihood of the people
d. Tagay (Cebuano and Waray)- drinking song
e. Kanogan (Cebuano)- song of lamentation for the dead

3. Folk Tales
a. Myth- explain how the world was created, how certain animals possess certain
characteristics, why some places have waterfalls, volcanoes, mountains, flora or
fauna.
b. Legends- explain the origin of things
c. Fables- used an animal characters and allegory
d. Fantastic Stories – deal with underworld characters such as “tiyanak” “aswang”
“kapre” and others.

4. Epics- these are narratives of sustained length based on oral tradition revolving
around supernatural events or heroic deeds.

II. Spanish Colonization Period (1565-1863)

A. Characteristics
1. It has two distinct classifications: religious and secular
2. It introduced Spanish as the medium of communication
B. Literary Forms
 1. Religious Literature- religious lyrics written by Iatino poets or those versed in both
Spanish and Tagalog were included in early catechism and were uses to teach
Filipinos the Spanish language.
a. Pasyon- long narrative poem about the passion and death of Christ. The most
popular was “Ang Mahal na Passion ni Jesu Cristong Panginoon Natin” by Aguino
de Belen.
b. Senakulo- dramatization of the pasyon, it shows the passion and death of Christ
2. Secular (non-relisious) Literature
a. Awit – colorful tales of chivalry made for singing and chanting Ex. Ibong Adarna
b. Korido – metrical tale written in octosyllabic quatrains
c. Prose Narratives – written to prescribe proper decorum
i. Dialogo
ii. Ejemplo
iii. Manual de Urbanidad
iv. Tratado

III. Nationalistic/Propaganda And Revolutionary Period (1864-1896)

A. Characteristics
1. Planted seeds of nationalism in Filipinos
2. Language shifted from Spanish to Tagalog
3. Addressed the masses instead of the “intelligentsia”
B. Literary Forms
1. Propaganda Literature- Reformatory in objective
a. Political Essays- satires, editorials and news articles were written to attack and
expose the evils of Spanish rule.
i. Diariong Tagalog- founded by Marcelo H. Pilar
ii. La Solidaridad- editor-in-chief is Graciano Lopez Jaena
b. Political Novels
i. Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo – Jose Rizal’s masterpieces that paved
the way to the revolution.
2. Revolutionary Literature- more propagandastic than literary as it is more violent in
nature and demanded complete independence for the country.
a. Political Essays – helped inflame the spirit of revolution
i. Kalayaan- newspaper of the society, edited by Emilio Jacinto
b. Poetry
ii. True Decalogue- Apolinario Mabini
iii. Katapusang Hibik ng Pilipinas- Andres Bonifacio
iv. Liwanag at Dilim- Emilio Jacinto

IV. American Colonial Period (1910-1945)

A. Period of Apprenticeship (1910-1930)
1. Filipino Writers imitated English and American models
2. Poems written were amateurish and mushy, which phrasing and diction is awkward
and artificial.
a. Short Stories
● Dead Stars- Paz Marquez Benitez
● The Key- Paz Latorena
● Footnote to Youth –Jos@÷\[Poet of the Century”
 V. Japanese Occupation (1942-1960)
A. War Years (1942-1944)
1. Tagalog poets broke away from the Balagtas tradition and instead wrote in simple
language and free verse
2. Fiction prevailed over poetry
a. 25 Pinakambuting Maikling Kathang Pilipino (1943)- compilation of the short
story contest by the military government
i. Suyuan sa Tubigan- Macario Pineda
ii. Lupang Tinubuan- Narciso Reyes
iii. Uhaw ang Tigang na Lupa- Liwayway Arceo
B. Period of Maturity and Originality (1945-1960)
1. Bountiful harvest in poetry, fiction, drama and essay
2. Filipino writers mastered English and familiarized themselves with diverse
techniques.
3. Literary “giants” appeared
a. Palanca Awards for Literature
i. Jose Garcia Villa
ii. Gregorio Brillantes
iii. Nick Joaquin
iv. Gilda Cordero Fernando
v. NVM Gonzales
vi. Bienvenido Santos
b. National Artist Awards
i. Jose Garcia Villa
ii. Nick Joaquin

VI. Contemporary/Modern Period (1960-Present)

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

-https://www.scribd.com/doc/36510088/Philippine-Literary-Periods
 CANONICAL AUTHORS
The table below presents the current regional division of the Philippines. Writers associated with each
region are identified. The names of 21st century Filipino writers from the region are in bold letters.

NCR – National Capital Region – comprised by Metro Manila which in turn is made up by 17 cities.
Manila, Caloocan, Las Piñas, Makati, Malabon, Mandaluyong,, Marikina, Muntinlupa, Navotas,
Quezon City, Pasay, Pasig, Parañaque, San Juan, Taguig, Valenzuela, and Pateros.

Some writers associated with this region: Francisco Arcellana, Genoveva Edroza, Matute, Amado V.
Hernandez, and Nick Joaquin.

Jessica Zafra, Charles Ong, Norman Wilwayco, Ana MariaVillanueva- Lykes, Janet B. Villa, Naya
Valdellon, Rosmon Tuazon, and Lourd de Verya
Region 1 – Ilocos Region – includes Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union, Pangasinan, and Dagupan City

Some writers associated with this region: Manuel Arguila, Leona Florentino, Pacita Saludes, F. Sionil
Jose, Paul B. Zafaralla, Santiago B. Villafania
Region 2 – Cagayan Valley Region – includes Batanes, Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, and Quirino.

Contemporary writer associated with this region: Jun Lisondra

CAR (Cordillera Administrative Region) – includes Abra, Apayao, lBenguet, Ifugao, Kalinga-Apayao,
and Mountain Province.

Some writers associated with this region: Ma. Luisa Aguilar-Cariño, Dion Michael Fernandez
Region 3 – Central Luzon Region – Aurora, Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac, and
Zambales.

Some writers associated with this region: Francisco Baltazar, Jose Corazon de Jesus, Maria Magsano,
Virgilio Almario, F. Santos, D.M Reyes, Danton Remoto, Mark Cayanan
Region 4A – CALABARZON – Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon.

Some writers associated with this region: Jose Rizal, Joel M. Toledo, Frank G. Rivera, Jimmuel C.
Naval
Region 4B – MIMAROPA – Mindoro (Occidental Mindoro and Oriental Mindoro) Marinduque,
Romblon, and Palawan.

Some writers associated with this region: N.V.M Gonzales

Region 5 – Bicol Region – this comprises Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Albay, Catanduanes,
Masbate, Sorsogon.

Some writers associated with this region: Merlinda Bobis, Ricardo Lee, Angela Manalang-Gloria, Jose
Maria Panganiban, Kerima Polotan-Tuvera, Valerio Zuniga, Victor Dennis Tino Nierva, Rizaldy
Manrique, Jasmin Badong Llana, Marne L. Kilantes, Estelito Baylon Jacob, Kristian Sendon Cordero
Region 6 – Western Visayas – Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Guimaras, and Iloilo

Some writers associated with this region: Elsa Martinez Cocolluela, Leoncio Deriada, Magdalena
Jalandoni, Santiago Alv. Mulato, Alice Tan-Gonzales, Mark Anthony A. Grejaldo, Alain Russ Dimzon,
Melchor F. Cichon, Genevieve L. Asenjo
NIR – Negros Island Region – Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental

Some writers associated with this region: Isabel D. Sebullen, Jean Lee C. Patindol, Ian Rosales
Casocot
Region 7 – Central Visayas Region – Bohol, Cebu and Siquijor

Some writers associated with this region: Estrella Alfon, Rene Amper, Lina Espina-Moore, Marjorie
Evasco, Marcel Navarra, Godofredo Roperos, Edilberto Tiempo, Edith Tiempo, Michael Obenieta,
Jeneen R. Garcia
Region 8 – Eastern Visayas Region – Samar, Leyte and Biliran

Some writers associated with this region: Merlie Alunan, Iluminado Lucente, Voltaire Oyzon
Region 9 – Zamboanga Peninsula – Zamboanga Del Norte, Zamboanga Del Sur, Zamboanga Sibugay,
Zamboanga City, and Isabela

Some writers associated with this region: Mig Alvarez Enriquez

Region 10 – Northern Mindanao Region – Bukidnon, Camiguin, Lanao del Norte, Misamis Occidental,
and Misamis Oriental

Some writers associated with this region: Ralph Semino Galan

Region 11 – Davao Region or Southern Mindanao Region – Compostela Valley, Davao del Norte,
Davao del Sur, Davao Oriental, and Davao Occidental

Some writers associated with this region: Candy Gourlay, Miguel Lizada
Region 12 – SOCCSKSARGEN or Central Mindanao Region – South Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan
Kudarat, Sarangani, and General Santos

Some writers associated with this region: Christine Godinez-Ortega, Jaime An Lim
Region 13 – Caraga Region – Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Surigao del Norte, Surigao del Sur,
and Dinagat Island

Some writers associated with this region: Joey Ayala, Tita Lacambra-Ayala
ARMM (Autonomous Region in Muslim Mndanao) – Basilan (except Isabela City), Lanao del Sur,
Maguindanao, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi

Some writers associated with this region: Steven Prince Patrick C. Fernandez
 CLASSIFICATION OF LITERATURE

I. Genres
1. Short Story- is a fictional work depicting one character’s inner conflict with others, usually having
one thematic focus. Short stories generally produce a single, focused emotional and intellectual
response in the reader. The short story form ranges from “short storts”, which run in length from
a sentence to four pages, to novellas that can easily be 100 pages long and exhibit characteristics
of both the short story and the novel.
2. Poetry- form of literature, spoken or written, that emphasizes rhythm, other intricate patterns of
sound and imagery, and the many possible ways that words can suggest meaning. The word
itself derives from a Greek word, poesis, meaning “making” or “creating”.
3. Novel- is a long work of written fiction. Most novels involve many characters and tell a complex
story by placing the characters in a number of different situations. Because novels are long-
generally 200 pages or more- novelists can tell more richly detailed tales than can authors of the
short story.
4. Drama- is a type of literature usually written to be performed. People often make a distinction
between drama, which concerns the written text, or script, for the performance, and theater,
which concerns the performance of this script. Many of the most honred and influential works of
literature around the world have been dramas. They begin with the classical Greek tragedies of
Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides and continue with the plays of such major dramatists as
William Shakespeare in England, Moliere in France, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe in Germany,
Henrik Ibsen in Norway, and August Strindberg in Sweden.

II. Fiction and Non-fiction

Texts are commonly classified as fiction or nonfiction. The distinction addresses whether a text discusses
the world of imagination (fiction) or the real world (nonfiction)
Fiction: poems , stories, plays, novels
Nonfiction: newspaper stories, editorials, personal accounts, journal articles, textbooks,
legal documents

III. Prose and Poetry

Prose is the ordinary form of spoken and written language whose unit is the sentence. Sentences are
organized pogo hppkkippki+pukka in paragraphs. The term applies to all expressions in language that do
not have regular rhythmic pattern.
Whereas, poetry is a form of literature, spoken or written, that emphasizes rhythm, other intricate
patterns of sound and imagery, and the many possible ways that words can suggest meaning. Poetry is
organized in thought units called lines. Lines are organized in stanzas. The language of poetry is usually
figurative.
 FIGURES OF SPEECH

Alliteration

⚫ the repetition of an initial consonant sound

⮚ Hot-hearted Beowulf was bent upon battle

Allusion

⚫ a figure of speech that makes reference to historical, literary, biblical and mythological people or
famous quote to add more depth and meaning to the statement

⮚ We were the David and Jonathan in class.

- David and Jonathan- they were inseperable friends from the Bible

Anaphora

● the repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses or verses
⮚ I remember a piece of old wood with termites running around all over it the termite
men found under our front porch.

⚫ I remember when one year in Tulsa by some freak of

nature we were invaded by millions of grasshoppers for
about three or four days.

I remember, downtown, whole sidewalk areas of solid grasshoppers.

I remember a shoe store with a big brown x-ray machine that showed up the bones in
your feet bright green.

- I Remember by Joe Brainard

Antithesis

⚫ the juxtaposition of contrasting ideas in balanced phrases

⮚ To err is human; to forgive divine.

- An Essay on Criticism by Alexander Pope

Apostrophe

⚫ breaking off discourse to address some absent person or thing, some abstract quality, an
inanimate object, or a nonexistent character

⮚ Oh! Stars and clouds and winds, ye are all about to mock me; if ye really pity me, crush
sensation and memory; let me become as nought; but if not, depart, depart, and leave
me in darkness.
- Mary Shelly, Frankenstein

Assonance

⚫ identity or similarity in sound between internal vowels in neighbouring words

 ⮚ “He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound’s the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.”
- Robert Frost, Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening

Chiasmus
⚫ a verbal pattern in which the second half of an expression is balanced against the first but with
the parts reversed
⮚ Love as if you would one day hate, and hate as if you would one day love.
- Bias (6th Century B.C.)

Euphemism
⚫ the substitution of an inoffensive term for one considered offensively explicit
⮚ Passed away instead of died
⮚ Correctional facility instead of jail

Hyperbole
⚫ an extravagant statement; the use of exaggerated terms for the purpose of emphasis or
heightened effect

I'll love you, dear, I'll love you till China and Africa meet,
And the river jumps over the mountain
And the salmon sing in the street,
I'll love you till the ocean
Is folded and hung up to dry
And the seven stars go squawking
Like geese about the sky.
- W.H. Auden, As I Walked Out One Evening

Irony

⚫ the use of words to convey the opposite of their literal meaning. Also, a statement or situation
where the meaning is contradicted by the appearance or presentation of the idea.

⮚ In this short story, a young, poor couple struggle with what to buy each other for Christmas.
The woman cuts her hair and sells it to buy a watchband for her husband. Meanwhile, the
husband sells his watch face to buy combs for his wife’s hair.
-The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry

Litotes
⚫ a figure of speech consisting of an understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by
negating its opposite
 ⮚ The ice cream was not too bad.
⮚ Your comments on politics are not useless.

⚫ @an implied comparison between two unlike things that actually have something important in
common

⮚ A family is a wolf pack in the wild forest.

⮚ She is a delicate orchid blooming in the shade.

Metonymy
⚫ a figure of speech in which one word or phrase is substituted for another with which it's closely
associated; also, the rhetorical strategy of describing something indirectly by referring to things
around it

⮚ England decides to keep check on immigration. (England refers to the government.)

⮚ The pen is mightier than the sword. (Pen refers to written words and sword to military
force.)

Onomatopoeia

⚫ the use of words that imitate the sounds associated with the objects or actions they refer to

water plops into pond

splish-splash downhill
warbling magpies in tree
trilling, melodic thrill
whoosh, passing breeze
flags flutter and flap
frog croaks, bird whistles
babbling bubbles from tap
- Lee Emmett

Oxymoron
● a figure of speech in which incongruous or contradictory terms appear side by side

⮚ Beautifully painful
⮚ Painfully beautiful
⮚ Deafening silence
⮚ Pretty ugly
⮚ Pretty fierce
⮚ Pretty cruel

Paradox
⚫ a statement that appears to contradict itself

⮚ "I can resist anything but temptation."-Oscar Wilde

⮚ Nobody goes to that restaurant because it is too crowded.
⮚ You can save money by spending it.
Personification
⚫ a figure of speech in which an inanimate object or abstraction is endowed with human qualities
or abilities

1. The stars danced playfully in the moonlit sky.

The run down house appeared depressed.

Pun

⚫ a play on words, sometimes on different senses of the same word and sometimes on the similar
sense or sound of different words
⮚ I wasn't originally going to get a brain transplant, but then I changed my mind.
⮚ How did I escape Iraq? Iran.
⮚ I'm glad I know sign language, it's pretty handy.
⮚ I'd tell you a chemistry joke but I know I wouldn't get a reaction.
⮚ I'm reading a book about anti-gravity. It's impossible to put down.
⮚ When I get naked in the bathroom, the shower usually gets turned on.
⮚ Did you hear about the guy who got hit in the head with a can of soda? He was lucky it
was a soft drink.

Simile
⚫ a stated comparison (usually formed with "like" or "as") between two fundamentally dissimilar
things that have certain qualities in common

⮚ ... she tried to get rid of the kitten which had scrambled up her back and stuck like a burr
just out of reach.
- Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott

Synecdoche
⚫ a figure of speech in which a part is used to represent the whole (for example, ABCs for
alphabet) or the whole for a part ("England won the World Cup in 1966")
⮚ The word “bread” can be used to represent food in general or money (e.g. he is the
breadwinner; music is my bread and butter).
⮚ The word “sails” is often used to refer to a whole ship.
⮚ The phrase "hired hands" can be used to refer to workmen.
⮚ The word "head" refers to cattle.
⮚ The word "wheels" refers to a vehicle.

Understatement
⚫ a figure of speech in which a writer or speaker deliberately makes a situation seem less
important or serious than it is

⮚ “Deserts are sometimes hot, dry and sandy” while describing deserts of the world.
⮚ “He is not too thin” while describing an obese person.
 BALAKI KO ‘DAY SAMTANG GASAKAY TA’G HABALHABAL

Author: Adonis G. Durado

Balaki ko day
Samtang gasakay ta’g habalhabal.
Idat-ol og samut
Kanang imong dughan
Nganhi sa akong bukobuko
Aron mas mabatyagan ko ang hinagubtob
Sa imong kasingkasing.
Sa mga libaong nga atong malabyan.
Gaksa ko paghugot
Sama sa lastikong
Mipungpong sa imong buhok.
Ug sa kainit sa imong ginhawa
Gitika kining akong dughan.
Ang mga balili unya
Nga naghalok sa ‘tong batiis
Isipon tang kaugaligong mga dila.
Dayon samtang nagakatulin
Kining atong dagan,
Mamiyong tag maghangad
Ngadto sa kawanangan
Aron sugaton ang taligsik
Sa uwan, dahon, ug bulak.

Source:
Going Against the Current, http://johnryanrecabar.wordpress.com/
 DILI TANANG MATAGAK MAHAGBONG
by Adonis Durado

Pananglit mangalibang ang galupad nga panon (ASSONANCE)

Sa langgam luyo sa libon nga panganod,
unsa kahay mahitabo ngadto sa ilang mga iti?
(ONOMATOPOEIA) Motaguktok kaha kini og tibuok kung ugaling
Matungod sa atong atup? O mokalit og kahanaw,
Sama sa bulalakaw, (SIMILE) mangapulpog sa dili pa
Makaabot sa gasawo tang mga kamot?

Di man tingali ang tanang matagak ba mahagbong;

Dili tanang mahulog adunay padulngan -
Nga ang mga butang nga nakabuhi sa atong kamot
(O natagak gikan sa wanang) adunay tugpahan.

Swerti lang tingali ang tawng gaparasyut

Kay mitugpa sa atup. Swerti lang ang nabugto
Nga tabanog kay nasangit sa poste sa iskina; (ANAPHORA)
Ang nangapunggak nga mga bunga sa mangga
Ang taligsik ba ron sa uwan nga nasawod
Sa mga basiyong lata - ug kining tanan,
Gumikan pa niining balaod sa pisika.

Apan, diin man kuno minglagapak ang imong katawa

Dihang lanog mong gipalukso sa karaang atabay?
Hain tugpa ang mga ngalan, pulong nga nakasaknit?
(Kini, sama sa pangutana sa mga bata kung diin
Dad-a sa hangin - kung wa man gani lamya
Sa bakunawa - ang mga nakabuhi nilang balon.) ALLUSION
Ug kinsa say nasayod, nga ang nahiplos mong singsing
Nga milayat kaniadto sa lawod, kay hangtud karon,
Gapadayon lang gihapon sa iyang pagka-unlod?

Gani, buot kong hunahunaon karon, nga ang mga kalag

Niadtong managtratong gahikog sa pangpang,
Kay naungot ug galutaw lang gihapon sa wanang.
 FOOTNOTE TO YOUTH
by: Jose Garcia Villa

The sun was salmon and hazy in the west. Dodong thought to himself he would tell his father about
Teang when he got home, after he had unhitched the carabao from the plow, and let it to its shed and
fed it. He was hesitant about saying it, but he wanted his father to know. What he had to say was of
serious import as it would mark a climacteric in his life. Dodong finally decided to tell it, at a thought
came to him his father might refuse to consider it. His father was silent hard-working farmer who
chewed areca nut, which he had learned to do from his mother, Dodong's grandmother.

I will tell it to him. I will tell it to him.

The ground was broken up into many fresh wounds and fragrant with a sweetish earthy smell. Many
slender soft worms emerged from the furrows and then burrowed again deeper into the soil. A short
colorless worm marched
blindly to Dodong's foot and crawled calmly over it. Dodong go tickled and jerked his foot, flinging the
worm into the air. Dodong did not bother to look where it fell, but thought of his age, seventeen, and he
said to himself he was not young anymore.

Dodong unhitched the carabao leisurely and gave it a healthy tap on the hip. The beast turned its head
to look at him with dumb faithful eyes. Dodong gave it a slight push and the animal walked alongside
him to its shed. He placed bundles of grass before it lands the carabao began to eat. Dodong looked at it
without interests.

Dodong started homeward, thinking how he would break his news to his father. He wanted to marry,
Dodong did. He was seventeen, he had pimples on his face, the down on his upper lip already was dark--
these meant he was no longer a boy. He was growing into a man--he was a man. Dodong felt insolent
and big at the thought of it although he was by nature low in statue. Thinking himself a man grown,
Dodong felt he could do anything.

He walked faster, prodded by the thought of his virility. A small angled stone bled his foot, but he
dismissed it cursorily. He lifted his leg and looked at the hurt toe and then went on walking. In the cool
sundown he thought wild you dreams of himself and Teang. Teang, his girl. She had a small brown face
and small black eyes and straight glossy hair. How desirable she was to him. She made him dream even
during the day.

Dodong tensed with desire and looked at the muscles of his arms. Dirty. This field work was healthy,
invigorating but it begrimed you, smudged you terribly. He turned back the way he had come, then he
marched obliquely to a creek.
Dodong stripped himself and laid his clothes, a gray undershirt and red kundiman shorts, on the grass.
Then, he went into the water, wet his body over, and rubbed at it vigorously. He was not long in bathing,
then he marched homeward again. The bath made him feel coo.

It was dusk when he reached home. The petroleum lamp on the ceiling already was lighted and the low
unvarnished square table was set for supper. His parents and he sat down on the floor around the table
to eat. They had fried fresh-water fish, rice, bananas, and caked sugar.
Dodong ate fish and rice, but did not partake of the fruit. The bananas were overripe and when one held
them, they felt more fluid than solid. Dodong broke off a piece of the cakes sugar, dipped it in his glass of
water and ate it. He got another piece and wanted some more, but he thought of leaving the remainder
for his parents.

Dodong's mother removed the dishes when they were through and went out to the batalan to wash
them. She walked with slow careful steps and Dodong wanted to help her carry the dishes out, but he
was tired and now felt lazy. He wished as he looked at her that he had a sister who could help his mother
in the housework. He pitied her, doing all the housework alone.

His father remained in the room, sucking a diseased tooth. It was paining him again, Dodong knew.
Dodong had told him often and again to let the town dentist pull it out, but he was afraid, his father was.
He did not tell that to Dodong, but Dodong guessed it. Afterward Dodong himself thought that if he had
a decayed tooth, he would be afraid to go to the dentist; he would not be any bolder than his father.

Dodong said while his mother was out that he was going to marry Teang. There it was out, what he had
to say, and over which he had done so much thinking. He had said it without any effort at all and without
self-consciousness. Dodong felt relieved and looked at his father expectantly. A decrescent moon outside
shed its feeble light into the window, graying still black temples of his father. His father looked old now.

“I am going to marry Teang.” Dodong said.

His father looked at him silently and stopped sucking the broken tooth. The silence became intense and
cruel, and Dodong wished his father would suck that troublous tooth again. Dodong was uncomfortable
and then became angry because his father kept looking at him without uttering anything.

“I will marry Teang,” Dodong repeated. “I will marry Teang.”

His father kept gazing at him in inflexible silence and Dodong fidgeted on his seat.

"I asked her last night to marry me and she said...yes. I want your permission. I... want... it...." There was
impatient clamor in his voice, an exacting protest at this coldness, this indifference. Dodong looked at his
father sourly. He cracked his knuckles one by one, and the little sounds it made broke dully the night
stillness.

"Must you marry, Dodong?"

Dodong resented his father's questions; his father himself had married. Dodong made a quick
impassioned easy in his mind about selfishness, but later he got confused.

"You are very young, Dodong."

"I'm... seventeen."

"That's very young to get married at."

"I... I want to marry... Teang's a good girl."

"Tell your mother," his father said.

"You tell her, tatay."

"Dodong, you tell your inay."

"You tell her."

"All right, Dodong."

"You will let me marry Teang?"

"Son, if that is your wish... of course..." There was a strange helpless light in his father's eyes. Dodong did
not read it, so absorbed was he in himself.

Dodong was immensely glad he had asserted himself. He lost his resentment for his father. For a while he
even felt sorry for him about the diseased tooth. Then he confined his mind to dreaming of Teang and
himself. Sweet young dream....

Dodong stood in the sweltering noon heat, sweating profusely, so that his camiseta was damp. He was
still as a tree and his thoughts were confused. His mother had told him not to leave the house, but he
had left. He had wanted to get out of it without clear reason at all. He was afraid, he felt. Afraid of the
house. It had seemed to cage him, to compares his thoughts with severe tyranny. Afraid also of Teang.
Teang was giving birth in the house; she gave screams that chilled his blood. He did not want her to
scream like that, he seemed to be rebuking him. He began to wonder madly if the process of childbirth
was really painful. Some women, when they gave birth, did not cry.

In a few moments he would be a father. "Father, father," he whispered the word with awe, with
strangeness. He was young, he realized now, contradicting himself of nine months comfortable... "Your
son," people would soon be
telling him. “Your son, Dodong.”

Dodong felt tired standing. He sat down on a saw-horse with his feet close together. He looked at his
callused toes. Suppose he had ten children... What made him think that? What was the matter with him?
God!
He heard his mother’s voice from the house: “Come up, Dodong. It is over.”

Suddenly he felt terribly embarrassed as he looked at her. Somehow, he was ashamed to his mother of
his youthful paternity. It made him feel guilty, as if he had taken something no properly his. He dropped
his eyes and pretended to dust dirt off his kundiman shorts.

"Dodong," his mother called again. "Dodong."

He turned to look again and this time saw his father beside his mother.

"It is a boy," his father said. He beckoned Dodong to come up.

Dodong felt more embarrassed and did not move. What a moment for him. His parents' eyes seemed to
pierce him through and he felt limp.

He wanted to hide from them, to run away.

"Dodong, you come up. You come up," he mother said.

Dodong did not want to come up and stayed in the sun.

"Dodong. Dodong."

"I'll... come up."

Dodong traced tremulous steps on the dry parched yard. He ascended the bamboo steps slowly. His
heart pounded mercilessly in him. Within, he avoided his parents’ eyes. He walked ahead of them so that
they should not see his face. He felt guilty and untrue. He felt like crying. His eyes smarted and his chest
wanted to burst. He wanted to turn back, to go back to the yard. He wanted somebody to punish him.

His father thrust his hand in his and gripped it gently.

"Son," his father said.

And his mother: "Dodong..."

How kind were their voices. They flowed into him, making him strong.

"Teang?" Dodong said.

"She's sleeping. But you go on..."

His father led him into the small sawali room. Dodong saw Teang, his girl-wife, asleep on the papag with
her black hair soft around her face. He did not want her to look that pale.

Dodong wanted to touch her, to push away that stray wisp of hair that touched her lips, but again that
feeling of embarrassment came over him and before his parents he did not want to be demonstrative.

The hilot was wrapping the child, Dodong heard it cry. The thin voice pierced him queerly. He could not
control the swelling of happiness in him.

“You give him to me. You give him to me," Dodong said.

Blas was not Dodong's only child. Many more children came. For six successive years a new child came
along. Dodong did not want any more children, but they came. It seemed the coming of children could
not be helped.
Dodong got angry with himself sometimes.
Teang did not complain, but the bearing of children told on her. She was shapeless and thin now, even if
she was young. There was interminable work to be done. Cooking. Laundering. The house. The children.
She cried sometimes, wishing she had not married. She did not tell Dodong this, not wishing him to
dislike her. Yet she wished she had not married. Not even Dodong, whom she loved. There has been
another suitor, Lucio, older than Dodong by nine years, and that was why she had chosen Dodong. Young
Dodong. Seventeen. Lucio had married another after her marriage to Dodong, but he was childless until
now. She wondered if she had married Lucio, would she have borne him children. Maybe not, either.
That was a better lot. But she loved Dodong...

Dodong whom life had made ugly.

One night, as he lay beside his wife, he rose and went out of the house. He stood in the moonlight, tired
and querulous. He wanted to ask questions and somebody to answer him. He wanted to be wise about
many things.

One of them was why life did not fulfill all of Youth's dreams. Why it must be so. Why one was forsaken...
after Love.

Dodong would not find the answer. Maybe the question was not to be answered. It must be so to make
youth Youth. Youth must be dreamfully sweet. Dreamfully sweet. Dodong returned to the house
humiliated by himself. He wanted to know a little wisdom but was denied it.

When Blas was eighteen he came home one night very flustered and happy. It was late at night and
Teang and the other children were asleep. Dodong heard Blas's steps, for he could not sleep well of
nights. He watched Blas undress in the dark and lie down softly. Blas was restless on his mat and could
not sleep. Dodong called him name and asked why he did not sleep. Blas said he could not sleep.

"You better go to sleep. It is late," Dodong said.

Blas raised himself on his elbow and muttered something in a low fluttering voice.

Dodong did not answer and tried to sleep.

"Itay ...," Blas called softly.

Dodong stirred and asked him what it was.

"I am going to marry Tona. She accepted me tonight."

Dodong lay on the red pillow without moving.

"Itay, you think it over."

Dodong lay silent.

"I love Tona and... I want her."

Dodong rose from his mat and told Blas to follow him. They descended to the yard, where everything
was still and quiet. The moonlight was cold and white.

"You want to marry Tona," Dodong said. He did not want Blas to marry yet. Blas was very young. The life
that would follow marriage would be hard...

"Yes."

"Must you marry?"

Blas's voice stilled with resentment. "I will marry Tona."

Dodong kept silent, hurt.

"You have objections, Itay?" Blas asked acridly.

"Son... n-none..." (But truly, God, I don't want Blas to marry yet... not yet. I don't want Blas to marry
yet....)

But he was helpless. He could not do anything. Youth must triumph... now. Love must triumph... now.
Afterwards... it will be life.

As long-ago Youth and Love did triumph for Dodong... and then Life.

Dodong looked wistfully at his young son in the moonlight. He felt extremely sad and sorry for him.
 I Higaonon
By Telesforo Sungkit Jr.
I.
I you called pagan,
you say pagan is bad people.
You say you is Christian
and Christian is good people.

You laugh I kneel on big rock

or I pray before big tree.
You angry I call Migbaya,
you say my God is devil.

I not laugh you kneel on dead tree

or you pray to hanging God there.
I not angry you call your God,
and I not call Him devil.

I angry you get my lands,

I angry you get my golds,
I angry you burn my wood books,
but you say I should love enemy.

You say love enemy

but you killed grandpa baylan,
you killed grandma bae,
you killed uncle bagani,
you killed even dog talamuod.

II.
I you called savage
you say savage is bad people.
You say you is civilized
and civilized is good people.

You laugh I speak wrong your tongue

or I not knowing you say.
You angry I speak my tongue,
you say I silent I not speak your tongue.

I not laugh you speak in your noses

or you kalamura speak my tongue.
I not angry you speak your tongue,
I not say you silent you not speak my tongue.

I angry you kill my datus,

I angry you burn my house,
I angry you get my honey,
I angry you get my sakop,
but you say I should know democracy.

You say know democracy

but you commanding all
you telling I not speak
you forcing I live near plantations
You making all us sakop
you killing my brothers not liking you.

III.
I you called brother
you say brother skin also brown.
You say you is my brother
and brother is good people.

You laugh I kneel on big rock

or I pray before big tree.
You laugh I speak wrong your tongue
or I not knowing you say.
You angry I call Migbaya,
you say my God is devil.
You angry I speak my tongue,
you say I silent I not speak your tongue.

I not laugh you kneel on dead tree

or you pray to hanging God there.
I not angry you call your God,
and I not call Him devil.

I not laugh you speak in your teeth

or you kalamura speak my tongue.
I not angry you speak your tongue,
I not say you silent you not speak my tongue.

I angry you get my lands,

I angry you get my golds,
I angry you dishonor my sisters,
but you say I should love brother, skin also brown.

You say love brother, skin also brown

but you help kill grandpa baylan,
you help kill grandma bae,
you help kill uncle bagani,
you help kill dog talamuod,
you help kill even my balangkawitan rooster.
I angry you help kill my datus,
I angry you help burn my house,
I angry you help steal my honey,
I angry you paying cheap my abaka, coffee, coconut, banana, etc.
but you say I should know government.

You say know government

but you commanding all
you telling I not speak
you forcing I live near plantations
you making us all sakop
you killing us not liking you.

IV.
I pagan?
I savage?
I brother?

V.
I knowing gooder, I knowing bad.
I knowing badder, I knowing good.
I knowing brother, I knowing stranger.
I knowing things yesterday, today, tomorrow.
I ancient.
I Higaonon.

Telesforo Sungkit Jr is a Higaonon poet and novelist. He is the author of Batbat hi Udan, a novel in
Filipino. He won the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) Writers' Prize 2007 for his
Cebuano novel Mga Gapnod sa Kamad-an and the NCCA Writers' Prize 2011 for his Cebuano Novel Ang
Agalon sa mga Balod. He is also a recipient of the National Book Development Board Trust Fund for
Writers for his Cebuano novel Mga Tigmo sa Balagbatbat. His novel Driftwood on Dry Land was
published by University of Santo Tomas Publishing House in 2013. He writes in Higaonon, Cebuano,
Filipino and English.