MANILA CENTRAL UNIVERSITY

EDSA, Caloocan City

Basic Education Department
SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL

HANDOUT FOR LPW 012 – 21ST CENTURY LITERATURE OF THE

PHILIPPINES AND THE WORLD

Lesson 1: INTRODUCTION OF LITERATURE

Literature comes from a Latin word “litera” which means letters.

It is a total preserved writings belonging to a given language or people. It is a body of literary
production, either ORAL, WRITTEN or VISUAL containing imaginative language that realistically
portrays thoughts, emotions and experiences of the human condition.

There are three basic forms of Literature. The oral literature wherein the literary work is transmitted
from one generation to another verbally, Written literature where the literary work is in printed form
and visual literature where the literary work is presented in front of the audience.

There are two major divisions in Literature which are the prose and poetry. The prose does not have a
rhythm and a meter, it is written in complete sentences and organized in paragraphs and it focuses on
plot and characters. While prose on the other hand is the oldest form of literature, it has rhythm and
meter and also stanzas and lines.

Reasons why people read:

a. Information
b. Amusement
c. Higher and keener pleasure
d. Cultural upliftment
e. Discovery of broader dimensions in life

Literary Genres and its five major types:

1. Poetry - the evocative and aesthetic qualities of language are brought out together with the
language’s apparent meaning; relying heavily on imagery, figurative language, and sound
devices
2. Drama - mode of fictional representation through dialogue and performance; designed to be
acted out on a stage performed by actors before an audience
a. Tragedy

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 b. Melodrama
c. Comedy
d. Farce
e. Tragicomedy
3. Prose Fiction - an imaginary story that someone tells in everyday, natural language; narrative
and has a wide range in terms of length
4. Nonfiction prose - any kind of prose writing that is based on facts; well-written prose that deals
with real people, things, events, and places; for reporting and reasoning
5. Creative nonfiction - fiction or stories that is based on real life events and characters,
incorporated with imagined dialogue to suggest the thoughts of historical figures

PROSE POETRY
Most everyday writing is in Poetry is typically reserved for
prose form. expressing something special
in an artistic way.

Typically straightforward Tends to be more expressive

without much decoration or decorated, with
comparisons, rhyme, and
rhythm contributing to a
different sound or feel

Contained in sentences that Contained in lines that may or

are arranged into paragraphs may not be sentences
Lines are arranged in stanzas

There are no line breaks. Poetry uses line breaks for

Sentences run from left to
right margin.
various reasons—to follow a
formatted rhythm or to
emphasize an idea. Lines can
run extremely long or be as
short as one word or letter.

Looks like large block of The shape of poetry can vary

words depending on line length and
the intent of the poet

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