World Literature

LIT 102 / GEC14 For 2nd Semester,

2021-2022
World Literature

LIT 102/ GEC 14

Prepared by:
Chenee M. Dino-Aparicio

For the 2nd Semester, 2021-2022

No part of this module can be reproduced/replicated without the permission of the instructor.

Southern Luzon State University │ 1

World Literature

Structure of the Module/ Course

Below is the recommended learning plan for the course. Use this as guide in
accomplishing your requirements. The whole semester has 18 weeks, divided into three terms:
preliminary, midterm and final, with the following structure:

Schedule Recommended Learning Structure

MWF 1 hour reading time – this is to give you ample time to study the lesson in advance;
the duration will also be sufficient, so you can be prepared to take the quiz
1 hour synchronous session – during this period, you will interact via google meet
1 hour quiz time – this allotted for taking the weekly assessment
TTH 30 mins reading time – this is to give you ample time to study the lesson in
advance
1 hour synchronous session – during this period, you will interact via google meet
30 mins reading time – this is to give you time to review your lesson and prepare
for the quiz
1 hour quiz time – this allotted for taking the weekly assessment

Recommended Learning Plan

Topic
Week No. Task.

Orientation and familiarity to 1 • Quiz about the course

the course • Take the “Engage” quiz
Definitions of Literature 2 • Read the material
• Take the quiz
Poetry and Its Elements 3 • Read the material
• Take the quiz
Poems from Asia 4 • Read the material
• Analyze Poem
• Take the quiz
Poems from Europe • Read the material
• Analyze Poem
• Take the quiz
Poems from South America 5 • Read the material
• Analyze Poem
• Take the quiz
Poems from Africa • Read the material
• Analyze Poem
• Take the quiz
Performance Task 6 • Write a poem

Preliminary Examination • Take the exam

• Take the “Re-Engage” Quiz

Note: This module has 41 pages, recommended to be used for three hours of learning per
week.

Southern Luzon State University │ 2

World Literature

Lesson 1. Introduction and Orientation to

the Course
Welcome to your Self-directed Material for World Literature or LIT 102/ GEC14!

LIT 02/GEC 14 is the study of literary theories and literary forms or genres, exemplified by
selected texts of different authors from various continents in the world, written at different historical
periods.

This module was created for you to gain understanding of the world around you through
literature.

At the end of this module, you should be able to:

a. Analyze exceptional literary texts produced in different continents in the context of gender
sensitivity and climate change.
b. Understand the significant roles played by the different literary texts in the historical make up
in the respective continent.
c. Broaden students’ cultural background about other countries’ traditions, customs, beliefs, etc.
through reading various literary works.
d. Identify the significant historical movements that shaped the literature of the world.

At the end of every lesson, expect a material to answer. Try answering each on a clean sheet of
paper with each assessment properly labeled based on the lesson heading and page number.

Eg. Lesson 1: Test Yourself (p.11)

Feel free to visit the sites or links I have provided for you to gain more understanding about the
topic.

You will be heavily graded by the Post Test provided after the Three Major Lessons in this module.

I wish you all the best, and I hope you would enjoy your journey to the World Literature.

Southern Luzon State University │ 3

World Literature

Engage

How much do you know about literature? Figure it out by answering this:

Name: ___________________________________________________ Course-Yr: __________

Last Literature Subject Taken: _________________________________ Grade/ Rating: _______

How much time do I spend reading literature weekly? 1 hr 2 hrs 3 hrs 4 hrs 5 hrs and more

What literary genres am I familiar with (Check as many)?

 Fiction  Fantasy  Mythology  Essay

 Non-fiction  Fiction in Verse  Realistic Fiction  Narrative
 Drama  Historical Fiction  Science Fiction Nonfiction
 Poetry  Horror  Short Story  Nonfiction
 Folktale  Humor  Tall Tale  Speech
 Fable  Legend  Biography
 Fairy Tale  Mystery  Autobiography

I am familiar with the following:

 Definitions of Literature
 Elements and Types of Poetry
 Haiku (Japan)
 “The Prophet” by Kahlil Gibran (Lebanon)
 Sonnet 116 by William Shakespeare
 “Babii Yar” by Yevgeny Yevtushenko (Russia)
 “The Road not Taken” by Robert Frost (US/ England)
 “A March in the Ranks Hard Prest and the Road Unknown” by Walt Whitman
 “The Art of Poetry” by Jorge Luis Borges
 “My Life Closed Twice Before its Close” by Emily Dickinson
 “Where the Rainbow Ends” by Richard Moore

How much time am I willing to devote in studying each lesson?

a. 30 mins/ day b. 30 mins every other day c. 1 hr/day d. 1.5 hrs/ week e. 3 hrs/ week

Southern Luzon State University │ 4

World Literature

Lesson 2. Definitions of Literature

1. Definition
2. Characteristics
3. Functions
4. Genres of Literature
5. Theories in Literature

By the end of this lesson, you should have:

1. Participated in the discussion (synchronously or asynchronously)

2. Exhibited familiarity over the introductory concepts in literature

Let us think about this:

Why is studying literature necessary? What can it do to you/ your present course?

Southern Luzon State University │ 5

World Literature

1.1 Defining Literature

Damrosch (2009) provided a very practical definition to Literature by stating “its most
general, literature simply means written with letters – really, any text at all. This proves that any
written material is noteworthy of study, and any material published at any place in time can be
included in the collection of world literature.

However, literature does NOT strictly refer to written texts alone as literature can be
passed by oral tradition. “Oral composition, often called orature, has continued in modern times
in many regions of the world (Damrosch, 2009, p.26).

1. If literature means “written with letters,” can we argue that anything unwritten is NOT
a literature at all? Justify your answer.
2. What oral compositions can be found in your locale?

Where did world literature come from?

Literature enthusiasts would claim that there are three major sources of world literature;
these are (1) the folkloric oral tradition (2) the Torah and the Bible and the (3) Greek and Roman
writers.

Southern Luzon State University │ 6

World Literature

1.2. Characteristics of Literature

In a review, Wilson (2018) offered five essential qualities of good literature; namely:
Literature should have a theme; explanation of relevance; compelling idea, good style and
grammar, genuine tone.

1. Literature should have a theme. Whether it is tragic, joyful, love, death, or life, any literature
should have an overall theme where the rest of the elements would connect with.
2. Literature should explain the relevance of the theme. A writer should be able to help the
reader understand the creative aspect of the work, including the relevance of the theme to them
as readers, its connection to their life, and the social milieu to which they are at.
3. Literature should have a compelling idea. Whether the literature is fiction or not-fiction, an
idea should be communicated well among the readers in order to keep their interest until the end
of the piece.
4. Literature should have good style and grammar. A poorly-constructed literature would not
be able to transfer the message successfully; hence, the literary work should have the right style
and grammar, and if possible, having the right complexity of language.
5. Literature should sound genuine. Whether fiction or non-fiction, the work should resemble
real-life themes, characters, or events, in order to establish good connection to the audience.

If you want to know more about Literature, try watching this informative an eye-opening
short clip at https://youtu.be/nIfAKq_yKLk

Southern Luzon State University │ 7

World Literature

1. 3. 1 Functions of Literature as told by a Scholar

In order to provide you a formal discussion on the Functions of Literature, here is a section
from Hall (1941) which may seem old, yet would prove a good point.

Some consideration of what literature is, and what its true function is, seems to me important
for two reasons. First, it is important for those who are trying to produce and to understand imaginative
writing. Some of our modern poets, especially, seem to be suffering from a bad case of obligatory social
consciousness. This, with poets, produces a hoarseness and shrillness of tone which is unpleasant, to
say the least; and even our novelists have occasionally to clear their throats.
In the second place, it may be important for the clarification of mind of our liberals-meaning
those among us who are concerned with solving the problems of society by the free and unfettered use
of the intelligence, uncommitted to the dogma either of right or of left. It seems to me that liberalism today
is in danger of developing a dogma of its own, as emotionally intolerant as any isms that lurk at the ends
of the scale. Its doctrinaire attitude towards literature is symptomatic of a doctrinaire attitude generally.
Interpreting social problems comes to mean interpreting social problems as the liberals interpret them,
and leading towards a better future becomes leading toward the liberals' "better future"-which may be
socially admirable but is certainly too restrictive for the production of literary masterpieces. I suggest this
merely because it seems to me that the liberal position might be more useful to society if liberals gave
forth a little more light and a little less heat. Emotional commitment is not so novel a weapon for social
betterment as disinterested intelligence.
Discarding the nine-tenths of imaginative literature that is written primarily for entertainment,
and concentrating on the one-tenth that might be called "serious," we can distinguish three possible
critical approaches. We can consider the form of a work of art, its aesthetic appeal, its technique of
expression. We can consider it as a social document, to be read in relation to the times that produced it.
Or we can look at it as an exploration in values, both social and individual. In practice, of course, we
employ all three approaches; it is hardly possible to consider style without content, both intellectual and
emotional, as Walter Pater long ago discovered. Yet it is true that by emphasizing one aspect and
subordinating the other two, we can arrive at three very different results. Criticism today seems to be
chiefly occupied with literature as social consciousness. (p. 389-390)
Hall, D. (1941). The Function of Literature. The Antioch Review, 1(3), 389. doi:10.2307/4608846

Southern Luzon State University │ 8

World Literature

1.3.2. Functions of Literature as told by an E-Scholar

1. Knowledge sharing – We gain knowledge from literature

2. Upbringing – Literature guides us with what is good or informs us about what is bad.
3. Communication – Literature makes active participation or exchange of ideas between
the author and reader
4. Entertainment – Reading literary pieces gives fun
5. Shaping the aesthetic taste - Literature informs us of the beauty around us
6. Self-development – The new knowledge we gain helps us develop our on selves and
shape our qualities and characteristics
7. Thought process development – We reflect and criticize the literature as we read it.
8. Pleasure – The words, the images, or the stories in the literature can give us joy
9. Shaping the speech – Literature improves our vocabulary and communication skills
10. Transformation – New learnings, and developments can lead to the transformation not
only of self but of the society

Read more at https://www.legit.ng/1218547-10-functions-literature-about.html

Southern Luzon State University │ 9

World Literature

1.4. Genres of Literature

This list was lifted from the published material of the California Department of Education:

All Fiction

1. Drama

Stories composed in verse or prose, usually for theatrical performance, where conflicts and

emotion are expressed through dialogue and action.

2. Fable

Narration demonstrating a useful truth, especially in which animals speak as humans; legendary,

supernatural tale.

3. Fairy Tale

Story about fairies or other magical creatures, usually for children.

4. Fantasy

Fiction with strange or other worldly settings or characters/ fiction which invites suspension or

reality.

5. Fiction.

Narrative literary works whose content is produced by the imagination and is not necessarily

based on fact.

6. Fiction in Verse

Full-length novels with plot, subplot(s), theme(s), major and minor characters, in which the

narrative is presented in (usually blank) verse form.

Southern Luzon State University │ 10

World Literature

7. Folklore

The songs, stories, myths, and proverbs of a people or “folk” as handed down by word of mouth.

8. Historical Fiction

Story with fictional characters and events in a historical setting.

9. Horror

Fiction in which events evoke a feeling of dread in both the characters and the reader.

10. Humor

Fiction full of fun, fancy, and excitement, meant to entertain; but can be contained in all genres.

11. Legend

Story, sometimes of a national or folk hero, which has a basis in fact but also includes

imaginative material.

12. Mystery

Fiction dealing with the solution of a crime or the unraveling of secrets.

13. Mythology

Legend or traditional narrative, often based in part on historical events, that reveals human

behavior and natural phenomena by its symbolism; often pertaining to the actions of the gods.

14. Poetry

Verse and rhythmic writing with imagery that creates emotional responses.

15. Realistic Fiction

Story that can actually happen and is true to life.

16. Science Fiction

Story based on impact of actual, imagined, or potential science, usually set in the future or on

other planets.

17. Short Story

Southern Luzon State University │ 11

World Literature

Fiction of such brevity that it supports no subplots.

18. Tall Tale

Humorous story with blatant exaggerations, swaggering heroes who do the impossible with

nonchalance.

All Nonfiction

1. Biography/Autobiography

Narrative of a person’s life, a true story about a real person.

2. Essay

A short literary composition that reflects the author’s outlook or point.

3. Narrative Nonfiction

Factual information presented in a format which tells a story.

4. Nonfiction

Informational text dealing with an actual, real-life subject.

5. Speech

Public address or discourse.

If you would like to read further, you can visit:

https://www.fcusd.org/site/handlers/filedownload.ashx?moduleinstanceid=4485&dataid=6427&F
ileName=Literary%20Genres.pdf

Southern Luzon State University │ 12

World Literature

1.5 Literary Theories

Reading literature goes beyond merely saying the words or understanding the meanings
of phrases. In order to become a more engaged reader, you can use a variety of Literary theories
which serve as your lenses to discuss its components, elements, meanings, underlying history
and culture.

Purdue.owl listed the following Literary Theories with its timeline, so you would understand
when they have flourished, or they have been introduced as a way or lense in viewing literature.

Timeline

• Moral Criticism, Dramatic Construction (~360 BC-present)

• Formalism, New Criticism, Neo-Aristotelian Criticism (1930s-present)
• Psychoanalytic Criticism, Jungian Criticism(1930s-present)
• Marxist Criticism (1930s-present)
• Reader-Response Criticism (1960s-present)
• Structuralism/Semiotics (1920s-present)
• Post-Structuralism/Deconstruction (1966-present)
• New Historicism/Cultural Studies (1980s-present)
• Post-Colonial Criticism (1990s-present)
• Feminist Criticism (1960s-present)
• Gender/Queer Studies (1970s-present)
• Critical Race Theory (1970s-present)
• Critical Disability Studies (1990s-present)

Read more at:

https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/subject_specific_writing/writing_in_literature/literary_theory_and_sch
ools_of_criticism/index.html

Southern Luzon State University │ 13

World Literature

Lesson 2: Test Yourself

Choose the best answer.

1. Literature is
a. Purely written
b. Purely oral
c. Both written or oral
d. Neither written nor oral

2-4 What characteristic of literature is described here?

a. Literature should explain the relevance of the theme
b. Literature should have a compelling idea.
c. Literature should have good style and grammar.
d. Literature should sound genuine.

2. The writer provides an effort or context to which the reader would be able to understand
the meaning and element of the literature to their own life.
3. The message should be clearly transferred through the use of appropriate style and
sentence constructions.
4. The work should be a reflection of real-life elements, so audience can connect well

5. What form of literature is purely based on facts?

a. Fiction
b. Non fiction
c. Poetry
d. Drama

Southern Luzon State University │ 14

World Literature

Lesson 3. Poetry and Its Elements

1. Forms of Poetry:
a. Narrative Poetry
b. Lyric Poetry
c. Descriptive
d. Dramatic Poetry
e. Other Forms
2. Elements of Poetry

By the end of this lesson, you should have:

1. Participated in the discussion (synchronously or asynchronously)

2. Differentiated the forms of poetry
3. Exhibited familiarity in the different poetic forms and structure

Let us think about this:

▪ What forms of poetry are you familiar with?

▪ Are there forms of poem specific to purposes such as expression of love? of mourning?
▪ Are you familiar with balagtasan? Is there such a thing that is called “modern-day
balagtasan?

Southern Luzon State University │ 15

World Literature

2.1 Forms of poetry

A poem may or may not have a specific number of lines, rhyme scheme and/or metrical pattern,
but it can still be labeled according to its form or style. Here are the three most common types
of poems according to form:

1. Lyric Poetry. This may be a short poem with one speaker (not necessarily the poet)
who presents what he thinks or feels

Samples: elegy, ode, sonnet and dramatic monologue

Feature: words that expresses the speaker’s thoughts or feelings

2. Narrative Poem: This may be short or long with series or sequence of connected events
that that tells a story.

Samples: epic, mock-epic, ballad

Feature: A plotline as told by a narrator.

3. Descriptive Poem: This is from with detailed description of the world that surrounds
the speaker

Feature: elaborate imagery and adjectives.

4. Dramatic Poem: This is from with scenes delivered or written in direct speech. Also
called a dramatic verse.

Samples: dramatic Monologue, comedy, tragedy

Feature: Narrative –telling the point of view of the speaker

Southern Luzon State University │ 16

World Literature

Although most references would classify the types into Lyric, Narrative, Descriptive, or
Dramatic, others would name more than those. Here is a good read lifted directly from Billy
Collins. Scan ow many other types of literature a student like you could explore.

15 Types of Poetic Forms

From sonnets and epics to haikus and villanelles, learn more about 15 of literature’s most
enduring types of poems.

1. Blank verse. Blank verse is poetry written with a precise meter—almost always
iambic pentameter—that does not rhyme.
2. Rhymed poetry. In contrast to blank verse, rhymed poems rhyme by definition,
although their scheme varies.
3. Free verse. Free verse poetry is poetry that lacks a consistent rhyme scheme,
metrical pattern, or musical form.
4. Epics. An epic poem is a lengthy, narrative work of poetry. These long poems
typically detail extraordinary feats and adventures of characters from a distant past.
5. Narrative poetry. Similar to an epic, a narrative poem tells a story. Henry Wadsworth
Longfellow’s “The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere” and Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s “The
Rime of the Ancient Mariner” exemplify this form.

Southern Luzon State University │ 17

World Literature

6. Haiku. A haiku is a three-line poetic form originating in Japan. The first line has five
syllables, the second line has seven syllables, and the third line again has five
syllables.
7. Pastoral poetry. A pastoral poem is one that concerns the natural world, rural life,
and landscapes. These poems have persevered from Ancient Greece (in the poetry of
Hesiod) to Ancient Rome (Virgil) to the present day (Gary Snyder
8. Sonnet. A sonnet is a 14 line poem, typically (but not exclusively) concerning the
topic of love. Sonnets contain internal rhymes within their 14 lines; the exact rhyme
scheme depends on the style of a sonnet.
9. Elegies. An elegy is a poem that reflects upon death or loss. Traditionally, it contains
themes of mourning, loss, and reflection. However, it can also explore themes of
redemption and consolation.
10. Ode. Much like an elegy, an ode is a tribute to its subject, although the subject need
not be dead—or even sentient, as in John Keats’ “Ode on a Grecian Urn”.
11. Limerick. A limerick is a five-line poem that consists of a single stanza, an AABBA
rhyme scheme, and whose subject is a short, pithy tale or description.
12. Lyric poetry. Lyric poetry refers to the broad category of poetry that concerns
feelings and emotion. This distinguishes it from two other poetic categories: epic and
dramatic.
13. Ballad. A ballad (or ballade) is a form of narrative verse that can be either poetic or
musical. It typically follows a pattern of rhymed quatrains. From John Keats to Samuel
Taylor Coleridge to Bob Dylan, it represents a melodious form of storytelling.
14. Soliloquy. A soliloquy is a monologue in which a character speaks to him or herself,
expressing inner thoughts that an audience might not otherwise know. Soliloquies are
not definitionally poems, although they often can be—most famously in the plays of
William Shakespeare.
15. Villanelle. A nineteen-line poem consisting of five tercets and a quatrain, with a highly
specified internal rhyme scheme. Originally a variation on a pastoral, the villanelle has
evolved to describe obsessions and other intense subject matters, as exemplified by
Dylan Thomas, author of villanelles like “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night.”

To read more about this, visit https://www.masterclass.com/articles/poetry-101-learn-about-

poetry-different-types-of-poems-and-poetic-devices-with-examples#what-is-poetry

Southern Luzon State University │ 18

World Literature

2.2 Structure of a poetry

Poetry can be analyzed by studying its structure. A few of its elements would include,
Rhythm • Rhyme • Stanzas • Imagery • Figurative Language. In order to make it practical for
you, I will only discuss here Stanzas and Figurative Language as the other would require more
discussion, and that you would need to be familiar with these two in the succeeding lessons.

STANZAS: Stanzas are a series of lines grouped together and separated by an empty line from
other stanzas. They are the equivalent of a paragraph in an essay. One way to identify a stanza
is to count the number of lines. Thus:

• couplet (2 lines)
• tercet (3 lines)
• quatrain (4 lines)
• cinquain (5 lines)
• sestet/sexain (6 lines)
• septet (7 lines)
• octave (8 lines)

FIGURATIVE/CONNOTATIVE DEVICES

1. Simile compares two elements with resemblances: most similes are introduced by "like"
or "as" such as "My love is like a red, red rose."
2. A metaphor implies a direct comparison between objects or situations without the use of
"like" or "as" for example "All flesh is grass."
3. Synecdoche is a form of metaphor, which in mentioning an important (and attached)
part signifies the whole (e.g. "hands" for labour).
4. Metonymy is similar to synecdoche; it's a form of metaphor allowing an object closely
associated (but unattached) with a object or situation to stand for the thing itself (e.g. the
crown or throne for a king or the bench for the judicial system).
5. A symbol is like a simile or metaphor with the first term left out. "My love is like a red,
red rose" is a simile. If, through persistent identification of the rose with the beloved

Southern Luzon State University │ 19

World Literature

woman, we may come to associate the rose with her and her particular virtues. At this
point, the rose would become a symbol.
6. Allegory can be defined as a one to one correspondence between a series of abstract
ideas and a series of images or pictures presented in the form of a story or a narrative.
For example, George Orwell's Animal Farm is an extended allegory that represents the
Russian Revolution through a fable of a farm and its rebellious animals.
7. Personification occurs when you treat abstractions or inanimate objects as human, that
is, giving them human attributes, powers, or feelings (e.g., "nature wept" or "the wind
whispered many truths to me").
8. Irony takes many forms. Most basically, irony is a figure of speech in which actual intent
is expressed through words that carry the opposite meaning.

This material was lifted from this link: https://learn.lexiconic.net/elementsofpoetry.htm

Lesson 3: Test Yourself

1. What form of poetry aims at showing the speaker’s feelings or thoughts?

2. What form of poetry is delivered in monologic, dialogic or spoken manner?
3. What form of poetry is three-liner and originating in Japan?
4. A poetry with each stanza having five lines is called what?
5. What figurative device is used in associating an object to a particular idea, notion, or another
subject?

Southern Luzon State University │ 20

World Literature

Lesson 4. The World-renowned Poems

1. Asia
a. Haiku (Japan)
b. “The Prophet” by Kahlil Gibran (Lebanon)
2. Europe
a. Sonnet 116 by William Shakespeare
b. “Babii Yar” by Yevgeny Yevtushenko (Russia)
c. “The Road not Taken” by Robert Frost (US/ England)
3. Australia
a. “A March in the Ranks Hard Prest and the Road Unknown” by Walt Whitman
4. South America
a. The Art of Poetry by Jorge Luis Borges
5. North America
a. My Life Closed Twice Before its Close” by Emily Dickinson
6. Africa
a. “ Where the Rainbow Ends” by Richard Moore

By the end of this lesson, you should have:

1. Participated in the discussion (synchronously or asynchronously)

2. Reflected on the culture of Asians as depicted in the poem

Let us think about this:

What are the typical subjects of Haikus?

What skill/s are being developed among writers of Haiku? How about among
writers of poem in general?

Southern Luzon State University │ 21

World Literature

4.1 Asia

a. Haiku (Japan)

A Haiku is a Japanese poem with seventeen syllables often describing the nature or the
world around the writer. These syllables are often in the following structure:
• line of five
• line of seven
• line of five

Take a look at these two famous Haikus of the most famous haiku poet in Japan, Matsuo
Basho (1644-1694).

Haiku 1:
<Japanese> 古池や 蛙飛び込む 水の音

Furuike ya/ Kawazu tobikomu/ Mizu no oto

<English> The old pond

A frog leaps in.

Sound of the water.

Let us Process the Literature:

1. Count the syllables of Haiku; what was the structure?

2. Which word/ encompass/es the subject of this Haiku? Why do you think so?
3. To what season would you associate the words pond, leap, and sound of the water?

Southern Luzon State University │ 22

World Literature

Haiku 2.

<Japanese> 行春や 鳥啼き魚の 目は泪

Yuku haru ya/ Tori naki uwo no/ Me ha namida

<English> Spring is passing.

The birds cry, and the fishes’ eyes are

With tears.

Let us process the Literature:

4. What does the phrase ”Spring is passing” mean?

5. What could the birds and fishes symbolize?

Southern Luzon State University │ 23

World Literature

b. “The Prophet” by Kahlil Gibran (Lebanon)

The Prophet is one of Gibran Khalil Gibran’s world-

recognized masterpieces. It narrates of Almustafa, a prophet
in the city of Orphalese, he narrated and described life to a
group of people on his way home. The Prophet, originally
written in English and translated to more than forty
languages, is a book contains 26 short poems about
subjects such as love, freedom and religion.

On Marriage
BY K AHL IL G IBR AN

Then Almitra spoke again and said, And
what of Marriage, master?
And he answered saying:
You were born together, and together you
shall be forevermore.
You shall be together when the white
wings of death scatter your days.
Ay, you shall be together even in the
silent memory of God.
But let there be spaces in your
togetherness,
And let the winds of the heavens dance
between you.
Love one another, but make not a bond
of love:
Let it rather be a moving sea between
the shores of your souls.
Fill each other’s cup but drink not from
one cup.
Give one another of your bread but eat
not from the same loaf.
Sing and dance together and be joyous,
but let each one of you be alone,
Even as the strings of a lute are alone
though they quiver with the same music.
Give your hearts, but not into each
other’s keeping.
For only the hand of Life can contain
your hearts.
And stand together yet not too near
together:
For the pillars of the temple stand apart,
And the oak tree and the cypress grow
not in each other’s shadow.

Southern Luzon State University │ 24

World Literature

Let us process the Literature:

1. Name a married couple whom you have experienced observing as you grew
2. Choose lines from the poem which you believe could best describe what the
couple’s marriage is.
3. Explain what the lines mean.
4. Explain further why you associate such description in their marriage?
5. Overall, what do you think is Khalil’s Point of View about marriage?

Read more: https://theconversation.com/guide-to-the-classics-the-prophet-by-kahlil-gibran-

107274

Southern Luzon State University │ 25

World Literature

4.2. Europe

a. Sonnet 116: Let me not to the marriage of true minds

William Shakespeare

Let me not to the marriage of true minds

Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove.
O no! it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wand'ring bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come;
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me prov'd,
I never writ, nor no man ever lov'd.

Let us process the literature:

1. Translate the ending lines into plain language:

• If this be error and upon me prov'd, __________________________________________

• I never writ, nor no man ever lov'd. __________________________________________

2. Choose the lines that describe what LOVE is. Try to complete the sentence.
1. Love is…
2. Love is…
3. Love is…
3. Do you agree with how the author describes what love is? Why do you say so?

Southern Luzon State University │ 26

World Literature

Check on the following Modern translation of the Sonnet and figure out if you could make
sense of the poem better:

I hope I may never acknowledge any reason why minds that truly love each other shouldn’t be
joined together. Love isn’t really love if it changes when it sees the beloved change or if it
disappears when the beloved leaves. Oh no, love is a constant and unchanging light that shines
on storms without being shaken; it is the star that guides every wandering boat. And like a star,
its value is beyond measure, though its height can be measured. Love is not under time’s power,
though time has the power to destroy rosy lips and cheeks. Love does not alter with the passage
of brief hours and weeks, but lasts until Doomsday. If I’m wrong about this and can be proven
wrong, I never wrote, and no man ever loved.

If you want to find this on web, you can check:

https://www.sparknotes.com/nofear/shakespeare/sonnets/sonnet_116/

Southern Luzon State University │ 27

World Literature

b. “Babii Yar” by Yevgeny Yevtushenko (Russia)

Yevgeny Yevtushenko, a Russian poet born in 1933, wrote this poem

in 1961 in part to protest the Soviet Union's refusal to identify Babi Yar,
a ravine in the suburbs of Kiev, as a site of the mass murder of 33,000
Jews on September 29–30, 1941. Dmitri Shostakovich's “Thirteenth
Symphony” is based, in part, on this poem.

Babi Yar
Yevgeny Yevtushenko (Translated by Benjamin Okopnik, 10/96)

(1) No monument stands over Babi Yar.

A steep cliff only, like the rudest headstone.
I am afraid.
Today, I am as old
As the entire Jewish race itself.

(5) I see myself an ancient Israelite.

I wander o’er the roads of ancient Egypt
And here, upon the cross, I perish, tortured
And even now, I bear the marks of nails.

(9) It seems to me that Dreyfus is myself.

The Philistines betrayed me – and now judge.
I’m in a cage. Surrounded and trapped,
I’m persecuted, spat on, slandered, and
The dainty dollies in their Brussels frills
Squeal, as they stab umbrellas at my face.

(13)
I see myself a boy in Belostok
Blood spills, and runs upon the floors,
The chiefs of bar and pub rage unimpeded
And reek of vodka and of onion, half and half.

(17) I’m thrown back by a boot, I have no strength left,

In vain I beg the rabble of pogrom,
To jeers of “Kill the Jews, and save our Russia!”
My mother’s being beaten by a clerk.

(21)
O, Russia of my heart, I know that you
Are international, by inner nature.
But often those whose hands are steeped in filth
Abused your purest name, in name of hatred.

Southern Luzon State University │ 28

World Literature

(25) I know the kindness of my native land.

How vile, that without the slightest quiver
The antisemites have proclaimed themselves
The “Union of the Russian People!”

(29)
It seems to me that I am Anna Frank,
Transparent, as the thinnest branch in April,
And I’m in love, and have no need of phrases,
But only that we gaze into each other’s eyes.
(33)
How little one can see, or even sense!
Leaves are forbidden, so is sky,
But much is still allowed – very gently
In darkened rooms each other to embrace.
(37)
-“They come!”

(38) -“No, fear not – those are sounds

Of spring itself. She’s coming soon.
Quickly, your lips!”

(41)
-“They break the door!”

(42) -“No, river ice is breaking…”

(43)
Wild grasses rustle over Babi Yar,
The trees look sternly, as if passing judgement.
Here, silently, all screams, and, hat in hand,
I feel my hair changing shade to gray.

(47) And I myself, like one long soundless scream

Above the thousands of thousands interred,
I’m every old man executed here,
As I am every child murdered here.

(51)
No fiber of my body will forget this.
May “Internationale” thunder and ring
When, for all time, is buried and forgotten
The last of antisemites on this earth.

(55) There is no Jewish blood that’s blood of mine,

But, hated with a passion that’s corrosive
Am I by antisemites like a Jew.
And that is why I call myself a Russian

Southern Luzon State University │ 29

World Literature

Test yourself

1. Who/ What is Babi Yar?

2. What part of the world history is being reminisced in the poem?
3. How is suffering as theme is evinced in the poem? Identify phrases/lines to prove it.

If you want to read more about the motive of Poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko in writing the poem, try
this news from BBC at https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-15093224

Southern Luzon State University │ 30

World Literature

c. “The Road not Taken” by Robert Frost (US/ England)

The narrative poem "The Road Not Taken", was published in 1916 as
the first poem in the collection Mountain Interval. Its central theme is the
divergence of paths, of which the interpretation was regarded as
complex and divergent.

The Road Not Taken

By Robert Frost (March 26, 1874 – January 29, 1963)
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Test Yourself
1. What is the theme of the poem?
2. What does the “road” symbolize?
3. Discuss briefly the meaning of the following metaphors:
a. Two roads diverged in a yellow wood
b. And sorry I could not travel both
c. Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
I took the one less traveled by

Southern Luzon State University │ 31

World Literature

4.3. Australia

a. “A March in the Ranks Hard Prest and the Road Unknown” by Walt Whitman

A March in the Ranks Hard-Prest, and the Road Unknown was

Written during the Civil War, and was first published in Drum-
Taps (1865). This war poetry is an account of the battle of White
Oaks Church as related to him by a soldier in one of the hospital
wards.

A March in the Ranks Hard-Prest, and the Road Unknown

BY WALT WHITMAN

(1) A march in the ranks hard-prest, and the road unknown,

(2) A route through a heavy wood with muffled steps in the darkness,
(3) Our army foil’d with loss severe, and the sullen remnant retreating,
(4) Till after midnight glimmer upon us the lights of a dim-lighted building,
(5) We come to an open space in the woods, and halt by the dim-lighted building,
(6) ’Tis a large old church at the crossing roads, now an impromptu hospital
(7) Entering but for a minute I see a sight beyond all the pictures and poems ever made,
(8) Shadows of deepest, deepest black, just lit by moving candles and lamps,
(9) And by one great pitchy torch stationary with wild red flame and clouds of smoke,
(10) By these, crowds, groups of forms vaguely I see on the floor, some in the pews laid down,
(11) At my feet more distinctly a soldier, a mere lad, in danger of bleeding to death, (he is
shot in the abdomen,)
(12) I stanch the blood temporarily, (the youngster’s face is white as a lily,)
(13) Then before I depart I sweep my eyes o’er the scene fain to absorb it all,
(14) Faces, varieties, postures beyond description, most in obscurity, some of them dead,
(15) Surgeons operating, attendants holding lights, the smell of ether, the odor of blood,
(16) The crowd, O the crowd of the bloody forms, the yard outside also fill’d,
(17) Some on the bare ground, some on planks or stretchers, some in the death-spasm
sweating,
(18) An occasional scream or cry, the doctor’s shouted orders or calls,
(19) The glisten of the little steel instruments catching the glint of the torches,
(20) These I resume as I chant, I see again the forms, I smell the odor,

Southern Luzon State University │ 32

World Literature

(21) Then hear outside the orders given, Fall in, my men, fall in;
(22) But first I bend to the dying lad, his eyes open, a half-smile gives he me,
(23) Then the eyes close, calmly close, and I speed forth to the darkness,
(24) Resuming, marching, ever in darkness marching, on in the ranks,
(25) The unknown road still marching.

Test yourself:

1. What was being described in the poem?

2. Do you think the setting brought a pleasant or a horrifying sight for Whitman? Pick
a line to justify this
3. Identify some sensory details in the poem by picking lines that appeal to the
following senses:
a. Sight
b. Taste
c. Smell

Southern Luzon State University │ 33

World Literature

4.4. South America

a. The Art of Poetry by Jorge Luis Borges

Jorge Luis Borges (1899–1986) was an Argentine short story

writer, essayist, poet, and translator. Borges’s works have
contributed to philosophical literature and also to both the
fantasy and magical realism genres.

The Art Of Poetry

By Jorge Luis Borges

(1)
To gaze at a river made of time and water
And remember Time is another river
To know we stray like a river
And our faces vanish like water
(2)
To feel that waking is another dream
That dreams of not dreaming and that the
death
We fear in our bones is the death
That every night we call a dream
(3)
To see in every day and year a symbol
Of all the days of man and his years
And convert the outrage of the years
Into a music, a sound, and a symbol
(4)
To see in death a dream, in the sunset
A golden sadness, such is poetry
Humble and immortal, poetry
Returning, like dawn and the sunset
(5)
Sometimes at evening there's a face
That sees us from the deeps of a mirror
Art must be that sort of mirror
Disclosing to each of us his face
(6)
They say Ulysses, wearied of wonders
Wept with love on seeing Ithaca
Humble and green. Art is that Ithaca
A green eternity, not wonders
(7)
Art is endless like a river flowing
Passing, yet remaining, a mirror to the same
Inconstant Heraclitus, who is the same
And yet another, like the river flowing

Southern Luzon State University │ 34

World Literature

Test yourself:

Identify which stanza matches the following descriptions:

1. Stanza: ______ Explains how each of the year symbolizes something
2. Stanza: ______ Shows how art is like all the things that art/ poetry and how it
is continuously created (flowing) over time
3. Stanza: ______ Explains how death and dreams relate, and what they mean
together
4. Stanza: ______ Explains how art shows or reflects meanings to people
5. Stanza: ______ Compares death in a dream to poetry and explains what poetry
is
6. Stanza: ______ Compares time to a river; compares death to a river
7. Stanza: ______ Compares art to the history of Ulysses

Note:

Heraclitus- Greek who is famous for the quote "You can never step twice into the same river."
Ulysses - based on the character originally created by Homer in The Illiad and The Odyssey
Ithaca- in Greek mythology, this was the island home of the hero Odysseus.

Southern Luzon State University │ 35

World Literature

4.5 South America

a. My Life Closed Twice Before its Close” by Emily Dickinson

My Life Closed Twice Before Its Close was first posthumously

published in 1896, yet no one knows when it was written. The
poem tells the speaker’s sufferings and pains on losses; the pain
was equated to death itself.

My life closed twice before its close (96)

By Emily Dickinson - 1830-1886

My life closed twice before its close— (1)

It yet remains to see
If Immortality unveil
A third event to me

So huge, so hopeless to conceive (5)

As these that twice befell.
Parting is all we know of heaven.
And all we need of hell.

Test Yourself
1. What is metaphorically described or symbolized by “close” in:

My life closed twice before its close—

2. What is meant by “parting” in:

Parting is all we know of heaven.
3. Establishing connection between the words close and parting, what do you
think is the message of the speaker?

You can read more at https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/

Southern Luzon State University │ 36

World Literature

4.6 Africa

a. “ Where the Rainbow Ends” by Richard Moore

Richard Rive (1931 – 1989) was Teacher, Academic and Author, raised
by a single mother in District Six. He became internationally recognized
and acclaimed for his poem Where the Rainbow Ends (one of the few he
wrote) has received worldwide recognition and has been put to music.

Where the rainbow ends

By RICHARD MOORE RIVE (1931 – 1989)

Where the rainbow ends

There's going to be a place, brother,

Where the world can sing all sorts of songs,

And we're going to sing together, brother,

You and I, though you're white, and I'm not.

It's going to be a sad song, brother,

Because we don't know the tune,

And it's a difficult tune to learn.

But we can learn, brother, you and I.

There's no such tune as a black tune.

There's no such tune as a white tune.

There's only music, brother,

And it's music we're going to sing

Where the rainbow ends.

Southern Luzon State University │ 37

World Literature

Test Yourself

1. What does rainbow symbolize?

2. In the following lines, the words tune, music, and sing were used. What do you think do
these words imply?

There's no such tune as a black tune.

There's no such tune as a white tune.

There's only music, brother,

And it's music we're going to sing

3. What do you know about the legend on rainbow? How do you think can it be connected
to the message of the poem?

Southern Luzon State University │ 38

World Literature

Re-Engage

How much do you know now about literature? Figure it out by answering this:
Date: _______________

Name: ___________________________________________________ Course-Yr: __________

How much time do I spend reading literature weekly? 1 hr 2 hrs 3 hrs 4 hrs 5 hrs and more

What literary genres am I familiar with now that I have read the module (Check as many)?

 Fiction  Fantasy  Mythology  Essay

 Non-fiction  Fiction in Verse  Realistic Fiction  Narrative
 Drama  Historical Fiction  Science Fiction Nonfiction
 Poetry  Horror  Short Story  Nonfiction
 Folktale  Humor  Tall Tale  Speech
 Fable  Legend  Biography
 Fairy Tale  Mystery  Autobiography

I have fully understand the meanings and messages in the following:

 Definitions of Literature
 Elements and Types of Poetry
 Haiku (Japan)
 “The Prophet” by Kahlil Gibran (Lebanon)
 Sonnet 116 by William Shakespeare
 “Babii Yar” by Yevgeny Yevtushenko (Russia)
 “The Road not Taken” by Robert Frost (US/ England)
 “A March in the Ranks Hard Prest and the Road Unknown” by Walt Whitman
 “The Art of Poetry” by Jorge Luis Borges
 “My Life Closed Twice Before its Close” by Emily Dickinson
 “Where the Rainbow Ends” by Richard Moore

How much time am I willing to devote in studying each lesson?

a. 30 mins/ day b. 30 mins every other day c. 1 hr/day d. 1.5 hrs/ week e. 3 hrs/ week

Southern Luzon State University │ 39

World Literature

Performance Task:
(1) Name five poems studied in this module and write their corresponding THEMES

Poem

Themes

(2) Using any of the poems or themes you listed above, re-make it and transform it into a HAIKU

(3) Explain the meaning of each line in the column provided

HAIKU Explanation
LINE1

LINE2

LINE3

(4) Which of the authors can you relate the most? Tell me by narrating any aspect of your life,
character, or personality that you can relate with that character the most. (50-100 words)

Southern Luzon State University │ 40

World Literature

End of Module 1
____________________________________

Please, prepare to take the Term Examination.

Double check all your quizzes and performance task/requirement.

Southern Luzon State University │ 41

World Literature

References
California Department of Education (nd). Literary Genres. Retrieved from
file:///C:/Users/SURFACE/Downloads/world%20lit%20materials/Literary_Genres.pdf

Damrosch, D. (2009). How to Read World Literature. UK: Wiley-Blackwell.

Damrosch, D., et al. (2005). Teaching World Literature: A Companion to The Longman
Anthology of World Literature. Uk: Pearson Education, Inc.

What is world literature? David

Damrosch. D. (2003). What is world literature? Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University
Press, 324 pp.

Gibran, K. (nd) The prophet. Retrieved from

file:///C:/Users/SURFACE/Downloads/world%20lit%20materials/1_khalil-gibran-the-
prophet.pdf

Hall, D. (1941). The Function of Literature. The Antioch Review, 1(3),

389. doi:10.2307/4608846

Mahoney, M. (2012). Activities for Teaching “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost. Secondary
Solutions.

Source, D. (Autumn, 19410). The Function of Literature Author(s): Dorothy Hall Source: The
Antioch Review, 1 (3) pp. 389-397. Antioch Review Inc. Stable URL:
http://www.jstor.org/stable/4608846 Accessed: 25-05-2016 09:26 UTC

Undergraduate Writing Center (2020). Literature Reivew: Checklist.

Literaryfile:///C:/Users/SURFACE/Downloads/world%20lit%20materials/Literature-Review-
Checklist.pdf

Word, W. (Oct. 28, 2018). 5 Essential Qualities of Good Literature. Retrieved from
https://www.colinwilsonworld.co.uk/5-essential-qualities-of-good-literature/

Southern Luzon State University │ 42