REVIEWER IN 21ST CENTURY LITERATURE FROM THE

PHILIPPINES AND THE WORLD

LESSON 1: LITERARY PERIODS OF PHILIPPINE LITERATURE
 These are written works such as poems, plays, and novels that are considered to be
very good and have lasting importance. It could be printed materials that provide
information about something.
o Literature
 What was the alphabet used by early Filipinos before the Spaniards came to the
country?
o Alibata
 What is the purpose of Noli Me Tangere and El Filibisterismo?
o These books helped usher the Philippine Revolution by planting the seeds
of national consciousness among the Filipinos.
 During which period did Tanagas and Haikus emerge from?
o During the Japanese Period
 During which period were poetries romantic and revolutionary?
o Under the EDSA Democracy (1986 – 1994)
 Describe literature during the pre-colonial period?
o Oral literature serves to be their language of life and their way of promoting
cultural heritage. Their riddles, proverbs and other forms of poetry were
based on their community and real-life experiences.
 Describe literature during the Spanish colonial period.
o Literature in this period may be classified as religious prose and poetry
and secular prose and poetry.
o The Spaniards attempted to teach Filipinos the Spanish language for they
wanted their poems and other writings play a major role in the society. The
first Filipino alphabet called Alibata was replaced by the Roman alphabet.
o Metrical romances, pasyon, cenaculo, moro-moro, carillo (shadow play),
tibag, duplo, and karagatan became the media for literary expression.
 Describe literature during the American colonial period
o New literary forms such as free verse in poetry, the modern short story and
the critical essay were introduced. American influence was deeply
entrenched with the firm establishment of English as the medium of
instruction in all schools and with the literary modernism that highlighted
the writer’s individuality and cultivated consciousness of craft, sometimes
at the expense of social consciousness.
 Describe literature during the Japanese Colonial Period
o Philippine literature in Tagalog was revived during this period. Most
themes in the writings dealt with Japanese brutalities, the poverty of life
under the Japanese government, and the brave guerilla exploits.
 Describe literature during the 21st century period.
o Filipino writers became more conscious of their art with the proliferation of writers’
workshops here and abroad and the bulk of literature available to them via mass
media including the internet. The various literary awards encourage them to
 REVIEWER IN 21ST CENTURY LITERATURE FROM THE
PHILIPPINES AND THE WORLD
compete with their peers and hope that their creative efforts will be rewarded in the
long run.
LESSON 2: AUTHORS AND WORKS OF NATIONAL ARTISTS IN
LITERATURE
 He is a fictionist, essayist, poet, and a teacher who articulated the Filipino spirit in rural
and urban landscapes and has won the first Commonwealth Literary Contest in 1940.
o Nestor Vicente Madali Gonzales, a.k.a, N.V.M Gonzales
 He is one of the brave souls who embraced the art of expression since Martial Law.
o Bienvenido Lumbera
 He is known as the “Country’s Best Writer for Humorous Stories”
o Alejandro Roces
 The writer, poet, essayist, critic, journalist, and teacher who was one of the most
important progenitors of the modern Filipino short story in English.
o Francisco Arcellano
 The poet, playwright, and novelist who practiced “committed art”.
o Amado V. Hernandez
 The story Footnote to Youth by Jose Garcia Villa is about ________.
o Footnote to Youth is about the consequences of early marriage. He was
encouraging young readers to think of their actions and reminding them
that parental wisdom is not always a basis for a decision.
 Carlos P. Romulo’s I am a Filipino is about ________ .
o I am a Filipino, sheds light on national identity through an examination of
the Filipino’s fervent dream for freedom from colonial rule. The piece
awakens Filipino nationalism, transcending linguistic and ethnic
boundaries, and resonates in the hearts of Pinoys from all walks of life.
 NVM Gonzalez’ Bread of Salt is about ________
o The story is about a boy who buys pandesal or “a bread of salt” because of
its wonderful flavor. It talks about how the characters are not ready to be in
a committed relationship.
 Francisco Arcellana’s The Mats is about ________.
o The story talks about a typical Filipino family culture that portrays the close
family relationship, respect for the elders and remembering the family
members who passed away.

LESSON 3: REGIONAL LITERATURE

 One of the multi-awarded and recognized Waray writers who taught in schools all over
the Visayas and initiated creative writing workshops to encourage the young ones and
the students to write in their mother tongue
o Merlie M. Alunan
 The multi-talented Waray writer who is also known for his love poems such as Liso and
Payong.
 REVIEWER IN 21ST CENTURY LITERATURE FROM THE
PHILIPPINES AND THE WORLD
o Dominador L. Pagliawan

 A Waray writer from Barugo, Leyte who wrote a poetry collection, An Maupay ha mga
Waray, which was published in 2008 by Philippine National Commission for Culture and
the Arts
o Voltaire Q. Oyzon
 Name the Waray poets who criticized corrupt government officials, made fun of people’s
vices, and attacked local women for adopting modern ways of social behavior in their
satirical poems.
o Vicente I. de Veyra
o Illuminado Lucente
o Eduardo Makabenta
o Casiano Trinchera
o Bagong Katipunero
o Luro
o Datoy Anilod
o Marpahol
 What was the purpose of the organization “Sanghiran san Binisaya”?
o The illustrados in the community banded together for the purpose of
cultivating the Waray language.
 Fiction in Waray has not flourished because __________.
o Fiction in Waray has not flourished because it lacks a venue for publication
 Is the use of vernacular important in Regional Literature?
o Yes, it is important because it made literature as a whole more accessible
to the general public and led to the development of new art and literature
forms.

LESSON 4: LITERARY THEORIES AND CRITICISMS

 The perspective that examines oppression, social conflicts, and solution to these
struggles in a literary work.
o Marxism
 The perspective that looks at issues of power, economics, politics, religion, and culture
and how these elements work in relation to colonial hegemony.
o Post-Colonialism
 The literary theory/criticism that focuses not only on the history when the literary text was
written, but also how the history happened.
o New Historicism
 The literary criticism that asks, “What elements in the text exist in the middle, between
the perceived masculine/feminine binary?”
 REVIEWER IN 21ST CENTURY LITERATURE FROM THE
PHILIPPINES AND THE WORLD
o Queer Theory
 The literary theory/criticism which assumes that the keys to understanding a text exist
within "the text itself“.
o Formalism

LESSON 5: MAJOR GENRES OF 21ST CENTURY LITERATURE

 It is a genre of literature that uses rhythmic and aesthetic of language to evoke meaning
o Poetry
 It is the genre of literature that tells and describes about a real-life event like an
anecdote and a memoir?
o Non-Fiction
 It is a story that tells about women, their lives, trials, tribulations, and successes.
o Chicklit
 This is a lengthy narrative story separated into a series of chapters and has elaborate
settings
o Novel
 it refers to a literary device that uses a part to represent the whole or vice-versa.
o Synecdoche
 It refers to a literary device that uses words that imitate a sound.
o Onomatopoeia