LITERATURE

Introduction
Classifications
Standards
 What is Literature?
• L. literatura/litteratura
• L. litera/littera- letters or handwriting
• Generally, any body of written works
 What is Literature?
• The idea has changed over time. As
an art, literature might be described
as the organization of words to give
pleasure. The term therefore includes
“oral literature” or “the literature of
preliterate peoples.”
 AIMS of Literature
• To instruct
• To delight
• To propagate beliefs
• To arouse emotions
• To sharpen imagination
STANDARDS OF
LITERATURE
 The Literary Standards
• distinct qualities that separate a work of
literature from the rest.
• a set of distinct characteristics to
determine whether or not a work is literary.
• Literary- extremely well written and is very
informative; has
• Universality
• Artistry
• Intellectual Value
• Suggestiveness
• Spiritual Value
• Permanence
• Style
 UNIVERSALITY
• The piece is timeless and timely.
• Forever relevant, it appeals to one
and all, anytime, anywhere, because
it deals with elemental feelings,
fundamental truths and universal
conditions.
 Artistry
• The piece has an aesthetic
appeal and thus possesses
a sense of beauty.
 Intellectual Value
• The piece stimulates thought. stimulate
critical thinking that enriches mental
processes of abstract and reasoning,
making man realize realize
fundamental truths about life and
human nature.
 Suggestiveness
• The piece has emotional power; it
moves a person deeply and stirs
one’s feeling and imagination,
giving and evoking visions above
and beyond the plane of ordinary
life and experience.
 Spiritual Value
• The piece elevates the spirit by
bringing out moral which
makes a person a better
human being.
• It has the capacity to inspire
and motivate.
 Permanence
• The piece endures the test of time.
• It can be read again and again as
each reading gives fresh delight and
new insights and opens a new world
of meaning and experience.
• Its appeal is lasting.
 Style
• The author manifested a unique way in
of seeing life by the formation of his
ideas, form, structures, and
expressions.
 FACETS OF
LITERATURE
Major Divisions and Genres
Major Divisions

Poetry
Prose
• Latin “prosa” which means
“straightforward”

• comprises full sentences, which

then constitute paragraphs
Example
It is the late spring of 1979, a hot, sticky
Saturday afternoon. Hundreds of us sit
together, side by side, in rows of wooden
folding chairs on the main campus lawn. We
wear blue nylon robes. We listen impatiently to
long speeches. When the ceremony is over, we
throw our caps in the air, and we are officially
graduated from college.
- Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom)
Prose
• non-poetic writing or a dull form
of expression

• writings that DO NOT adhere to

any particular structure
Example
The controversy on the cutting of the Dao tree in
front of the Student Union Building remains
unresolved.
Although the issue was already raised in the
Senate by Sen. Jamby Madrigal through her resolution
to investigate ‘illegal logging’ in the University, the
UPLB administration remains firm in its stand to cut
the Dao tree despite the Department of Environment
and Natural Resources’(DENR) order to preserve the
tree.
- Dao issue still unresolved (John Almeda,
UPLB Perspective 2004)
Poetry
• Latin “poeta” which means
“poet”

• a composition written in verse

• a fundamental creative act using

language
Example
Graduations can be bittersweet,
Reminding us of all that's come and gone:
All our battles, whether lost or won,
Days of bliss, and days we would delete.
Underneath our pride there is the sense,
Almost like a wound, of something past,
The beauty of a time that cannot last,
In which we shared the joys of innocence.
Open vistas lie before our eyes;
Now is the time for hopes and for goodbyes.
- Graduations Can Be Bittersweet
(Barry Taylor)
Poetry
• relies heavily on imagery and
word choice

• considered to be formulaic and

structured
Example
I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.
A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the earth's sweet flowing breast;
A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;
A tree that may in Summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;
Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.
Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.
- Tree (Joyce Kilmer)
 Prose versus Poetry
It was a first in my life, a
feeling so strange yet special.
I spent sleepless nights
thinking about her, replaying
in my mind her intelligent
discussion of the day’s lesson,
her confidently delivered
lecture, her warm smile and
her eyes that showed
authority. There was a
certain mystery about her, an
aura that drew me closer and
closer to her.
Dear Ma’am
(from Young Blood 3)
She took my strength by
minutes,
She took my life by hours,
She drained me like a fevered
moon
That saps the spinning world.
The days went by like shadows,
The minutes wheeled like stars.
She took the pity from my heart,
And made it into smiles…
Fletcher McGee
(Spoonriver Anthology
by Edgar Lee Masters)
 Prose versus Poetry
For Japanese, Mount 富士の風や扇にのせて江戸土産
Fuji is much more than the fuji no kaze ya oogi ni nosete
tallest mountain of their Edo miyage
land; it is the much revered
Fujiayama or even Fuji San
(word ‘san is a Japanese the wind of Mt. Fuji
word that shows utmost I've brought on my fan!
respect); a place very much a gift from Edo*
intertwined with their
culture and heritage. For
them the mount is the *former name of Tokyo
representative of god that
can be seen with their eyes.
Haiku
Article from
www.wikipedia.com (Japanese Poem)
 Genres of Literature
Prose fiction
Poetry
Drama
Non-fiction prose

The first three are classified as imaginative

literature.
 Genres of Literature
PROSE FICTION

includes short stories, novels, myths,

parables, romances and epics.

originally meant anything made up,

crafted or shaped, based in the
imagination of the author.
 Genres of Literature
POETRY

Its power lies not only in its words and

thoughts, but also in its music, using
rhyme and variety of rhythms to
intensify its emotional impact.
 Genres of Literature
DRAMA

It is literature designed for stage or film,

to be witnessed by an audience.
 Genres of Literature
NON-FICTION PROSE

describes or interprets facts and present

judgments and opinions

Truth in reporting and logic in reasoning

are its major goals.
 Let’s Review!
1. Literature?
2. Aims of Literature?
3. Literary Standards?
4. Two major divisions of Literature?
5. Four genres of literature?
6. What are the three imaginative
genres of literature?