LITERATURE
LITERATURE
 is a great avenue in molding the world.
 is an opportunity to improve one's ideals.
Literature: books and writings on a particular subject
that are both timeless and significant.
 may refer to a body of spoken and
written works (whether poetry,
fiction, non fiction, or drama) which
possess the following qualities.
Characteristics ( UPASIS )
*Universality: appeals to all cultures and generations.
Literature compasses almost everything. It helps in
maintaining peace
* Permanence: endures across time and draws out the
time factor, timelessness; remaining invariably
throughout time.
*Suggestiveness: never forces, it seduces. -allows itself
to various levels of interpretation. "Literature moves us,
provokes us even, to make a change."
*Intellectual value: makes you think; may not stop a
bullet, but it can change peoples' view on things.
"Literature hones our critical thing skills.
*Spiritual Value: definitely has nothing to do with
religion; makes you see yourself clearly. has to do with
the readers becoming more knowledgeable on their
feelings. "Literature teaches you to sympathize and
empathize."
Renowned film/literary scholar and National Artist,
Bienvenido Lumbera, identified six periods of
Philippine Literature:
1. Pre-colonial Period
2. Literature during Spanish Colonization
3. Literature during the American Occupation
4. Literature during the Japanese Occupation
5. Literature in the Contemporary Period
6. Literature after EDSA
Why do we need to trace the historical development
of Philippine Literature?
 Having a grasp of the development of our very
own literature would let us understand and
appreciate more of what we have in the
present. As the past embodies the wisdom of
our ancestors, knowing these
accomplishments will give us a new sense of
identity and dignity in our heritage as
Filipinos.
PRE-COLONIAL PERIOD
 This period is considered the longest period in
our literary history. Long before the Spaniard
and other foreigners landed on the Philippine
shores, our forefathers already had their own
literature stamped in the history of our race.
 Our ancient literature shows our customs,
traditions, and everyday lives. Our ancestors
also had their own alphabet, which we know
today as baybayin, that was similar to that of
the Malayan-Polynesian alphabet.
 Whatever our ancestors left were either
burned by the Spanish friars who believed
that these were the work of the devil, or were
written on materials that could be easily
perished (tree bark, dried leaves, etc.) Other
records that remained showed folk songs that
proved the existence of native culture are
truly our own.
Literature during this period can be described as:
 an oral tradition
 spontaneous and instinctive
 expressed in its own dialect
 crude in ideology or phraseology
Conventions of Oral Literary Forms
 These were aids to the performers who were
better able to recall the stories
o formulaic repetition
LITERATURE
o stereotyping of characters
o regular rhythmic
o musical devices
Common Literary Forms
Riddles (Bugtong)
 Traditional verbal expression containing one
or two descriptive elements (a pair of which
may be in opposition to each other) whose
referent is to be guessed
Example: "Kapag hiniwa mo, naghihilom nang walang
pilat" Answer: Tubig"
Proverbs (Salawikain)
 Customarily used and served as laws or rules
on good behavior by our ancestors
 These are like allegories or parables that
impart lessons for the young
 Two essential features: Didactism (Contents)
and Conciseness (Form) - Range over a variety
of subject matters for it is hardly and
exaggeration to say that there is a proverb for
every occassion in life
Example: Ang liksi at sipag ay daig ng agap
Chants (Bulong)
****- are used for witchcraft or enchantment
 our ancestors believed in unseen/elemental
species
 they give respect, ask permission, or
apologize/excuse to these spirits in order for
them to be delivered from trouble or nature
Example:
Dagang malaki, dagang maliit
Ito ang ngipin kong sira na't pangit
Sana ay bigyan mo ng bagong kapalit
 The ancient Filipinos possessed a wealth of
lyric poetry. The Tagalogs for instance, had as
many as 16 species songs. Each one deriving
its character from the occasion for the
performance. An early Spanish chronicle
noted the social function of these songs when
he pointed out that the political and religious
life of the people was based on tradition.
Folk Songs
 one of the oldest forms of Philippine literature
that emerged in the pre-colonial period
 mirrored the early forms of culture
Types
 Kundiman (songs of love)
 Kumintang or Tagumpay (songs of war)
 Dalit o Imno (songs for Visayan gods)
 Oyayi or Hele (lullaby)
 Diona (songs for weddings)
 Soliranin (songs for laborers)
 Talindaw (songs for fishing)
 Panambitan o Tagulaylay (songs for the dead)
Prose Narratives
 consisted largely of origin myths, legends,
folktales, and fables
- their function in the community was to explain natural
phenomena, past events, and contemporary beliefs in
order to make the environment less fearsome by
making it more comprehensible and in more instances,
to make idle hours less tedious by filling them with
humor and fantasy.
LITERATURE

Myths  are considered as important parts of the

cultural heritage of the community
these deal mainly with:
Common Features of Philippine Folk Epics (Manuel,
 the creation of the universe 1963):

 the origin of man  Narratives of sustained length

 the gods and supernatural beings  Based on oral tradition

 native and cultural heroes  revolves around supernatural events or heroic

deeds
Examples: "Bathala" or "Abba"
 in the form of verse which is either chanted or
Legends
sung
 are regarded true by the narrator and
 has a certain seriousness of purpose,
audience, but are set in a period more
embodying or validating beliefs, customs,
remote, when the world was much as it it
ideals, or life-values of the people
today
Examples:
Example: "Daragang Magayon" and Alamat ng Pinya
a. Bidasari-Moro epic
Folktales
b. Biag ni Lam-ang-Ilokano epic
 also known as "kwentong bayan"
c. Maragtas-Visayan epic
 are made up of stories about life, adventure,
love, horror, and humor where one can derive d. Parang Sabir-Moro epic
lessons about life
e. Indarapatra at Sulayman
 helps us appreciate our environment, evaluate
or personalities, and improve our perspectives
in life
The Hinilawod (Panay Epic)
Example: Juan Tamad
 consists of 2 parts

 considered as the longest recorded epic in the

Rituals and Dance Philippines

 the earliest form of drama  Tales from the Mouth of the Hinilawod River

 based on daily activities

 An epic from the people of Sulod
(ethnolinguistic group) in Central Panay
Examples: Ch'along of the Ifugao, Pagdiwata from the
 one of the oldest and longest (29,000 verses)
Tagbanua epics in the world
 Became the source of information about
Epics
culture, religion of the ancient people

 the most significant pieces of oral literature

that may safely be presumed to have
originated in prehistoric times
LITERATURE
*CONTEMPORARY PERIOD*
This period is characterized by the use of native
languages as the main tool or literary expression rather
than foreign languages. This was slow to begin due to
the oppressive Martial Law dictatorship of Ferdinand
Marcos from 1972-1986.
Philippine Literature during this period:
 Entry of New Criticism
 Resurgence of nationalist movement with
students as core during the Martial Law years
 Philippine literature flourished - it continues
to grow in various languages (including in the
vernacular) especially with the appearance of
new publications after the Martial Law years.
This was due to how journalists were being
treated the time (silenced, tortured, killed,
etc.)
 Filipino writers continue to write poetry and
short fiction with varied themes (social
commitment, gender/ethnic related, personal
or impersonal, etc.)
 The emergence of creative non-fiction has
widened the span of prose thereby is a
positive sign to encourage more writers to
publish
AFTER EDSA REVOLUTION
Year 1986 - demarcates the beginning of a new scene in
the unfolding narrative of contemporary Philippine
Literature narrative
 The learners are free to give their own
particular definition of literary trends and
qualities based on the social attitudes and the
moral commitments of a nation as revealed
through the works of its writers
 The Cultural Center of the Philippines, with
the Philippine Centennial Commission, has
chosen 100 outstanding awardees that have
"helped build the nation through their
achievements in arts and culture from 1898 to
1998." This excludes those in film, broadcast,
arts, and theater.
Common Literary Forms
Poetry
 manifests skillful manipulation of symbolic
representations and is more insightful and
abstract
 UMPIL, LIRA, The Creative Writing Foundation,
and the Philippine Literary Arts Council
Essay
 address societal issues
 are more free and daring, manifesting a more
liberated atmosphere, however pointing out
moral degradation, indicating injustice,
suggesting alternatives, and directing thought
 popular topics: personal experiences like
abortion, separation, alternative routes in life,
and new found happiness
 Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards - Kabataang
Essay (1998)
Short Stories
 most popular venue for writers up to this
period
 new breed of writers excel in skillful handling
of techniques and coming out with original
forms
 less time consuming and time consuming
Plays
 scriptwriting became a popular and
developing literature form probably due to
the growing interest in TV and visual arts
LITERATURE
Novels
 many writers have turned to more
remunerative and shorter literary forms that
longer novels
SPANISH COLONIZATION PERIOD
 When the Spaniards came, there was an
immediate shift in the focus of Philippine
Literature — it became centered on the
Christian state. The stories about natural
phenomena, suddenly became all about the
lives of saints and other religious themes. We
were under the Spanish Colonization for 333
years (1565-1898)
Due to the long period of colonization of the
Philippines by the Spaniards, they exerted a strong
influence on our literature:
1. The first Filipino alphabet called baybayin, was
replaced by the Roman alphabet. Baybayin is
occasionally referred to as Alibata.
2. The teaching of the Christian Doctrine became
the basis of religious practices.
3. The Spanish language, which became the
literary language during this time, lent many
of its words to our language.
4. European legends and traditions brought here
became assimilated in our songs, corridos, and
moro-moros.
5. Ancient literature was collected and
translated to Tagalog and other languages.
6. Many grammar books were printed in Filipino,
like Tagalog, Ilocano, and Visayan languages.
7. Our periodicals during these times gained a
religious tones.
Literature in this period may be classified as a.)
religious prose and poetry and b.) secular prose and
poetry
Slowly, the Philippine Literature started to emulate
traditional Spanish ways, themes, and forms in writing
→
Hence, Philippine Literature during this period can be
described as:
 centered in Christian faith
 imitative of Spanish themes, forms and
traditons
 repetitious in plots
 in the 19th century, it paves way to the rise of
the printing press.
Common Kinds of Literature - Corrido, Awit, Pasyon,
Cenaculo, Moro-moro, Carillo, Tibag, Duplo o
Karagatan, at Zarzuela
Common Literary Forms
Pasyon
 tells the passion and death of Christ
 replaced the epic poems of the pagan past
Example: Ang Passion ni Jesuchristong Panginoon Natin
(1704) by Gaspar Aquino de Belen) - this is later on
referred to as the senakulo
Secular literature seen as the following:
Komedya
 native poetic theater
 plots were drawn from medieval Spanish
ballads
 are later known as moro-moro or poetic
theater about Christian and Moorish warriors
**Awit and Korido
 Philippine metrical romances
LITERATURE
 always chanted and not simply read
 the difference between the two lied in its
structure
 Awit - dodesyllabic (12 syllables per line)
 Korido - octosyllabic (8 syllables per line)
Carillo
 uses shadows as its main spectacle
 created by animating figures made from
cardboard, which are projected onto a white
screen
Tibag
 dramatic reenactment of St. Helena's search
for the Holy Cross
 St. Helena is the mother of Constanine
credited to have influenced her son to be the
great religious leader that he is today
 She traveled to Syria to look for the remnants
of Jesus Christ's cross
Duplo or Karagatan
 narrative dramas that are connected to
Catholic mourning rituals and harvest
celebrations
Zarzuelas
 one of the most famous forms of
entertainment
 musical comedies or melodramas
 deal with elemental passions of human beings
 satirical look at society or begrudged life
Prose
 written to prescribe proper decorum
Example: Modesto de Castro's book of manners,
entitled "Pagsusulatan ng Dalawang Binibini na si
Urbana at si Feliza" (1864)
Filipino intellectuals, educated and judicial illustrados
began to write about the downside of colonization.
This, coupled with the simmering calls for reforms by
the masses, gathered formidable force of writers like
Jose Rizal, Emilio Jacinto, and Andres Bonifacio. This led
to the formation of the Propaganda movement and the
revolution, where prose work such as political essays
and novels arose and helped in ushering the Philippine
revolution resulting in the downfall of Spanish regime,
and at the same time planted the seeds of a national
consciousness among Filipinos.
Leading Figures of the Propaganda Movement:
1. Jose P. Rizal
2. Marcelo H. Del Pilar
3. Graciano Lopez Jaena
The Propaganda movement and the revolution are very
important in relation to the following works, among
others:
 Jose Rizal's Noli Me Tangere, El
Filibusterismo, and Mi Ultimo Adios
 Emilio Jacinto's Liwanag at Dilim (Essay)
 Andres Bonifacio's Katapusang Hibik ng
Filipinas (Poems)
JAPANESE COLONIZATION PERIOD
This period (1941-1945) has been called as one of the
darkest days in the history and literary tradition of the
Philippines. The wartime experiences and events of the
troubled times left indelible prints on the lives of the
Filipino nation.
 Philippine literature in English came to a halt
and experience a dark period
LITERATURE
 Writings that came out during this period
were journalistic in nature
 Writers felt suppressed but slowly, the spirit
of nationalism started to seep into their
consciousness
Almost all newspapers, except for the Tribune and the
Philippine Review, were stopped by the Japanese
 Writers in English turned to writing in Filipino
→ Filipino Literature was given a break during
this period
 Many wrote plays, poems, short stories, etc.
in tagalog and other vernacular languages
! Topics and themes were often about life in the
provinces to escape Japanese control and censorship
Common Literary Forms and Authors
Famous writers who started their careers during the
WWII include Macario Pineda, Liwayway Arceo, and
NVM Gonzales
Haiku
 free verse
 17 syllables divided into 3 lines
 5-7-5
 normally features allegorical meaning
 common topics include nature, love,
patriotism, nationalism, friendship, and the
human emotion
Tanka
 free verse
 31 syllables divided into 5 lines
 5-7-5-7-7
 uses simile, metaphor, and personification
 dates back almost 1,200 years ago
! Almost all newspapers, except for the Tribune
and the Philippine Review, were stopped by the
Japanese
POETRY
 The best words in their best order. (Samuel
Taylor Coleridge)
o If I read a book and it makes my
whole body so cold no fire can ever
warm me, I know that is poetry.
(Emily Dickinson)
o Poetry is the rhythmical creation of
beauty.
o It is the spontaneous overflow of
powerful feelings; it takes it origin
from emotion recollected in
tranquility. ( William Wordsworth )
 the characteristic emotional content of poetry
finds expression through a variety of
techniques; one of the most ancient of these
techniques is the use of metaphor and simile
to expand the reader's imagination
comprehension through implicit or explicit
comparison.
 Poetry: is created due to sublime experience
SUBLIME: the quality of greatness. A personal
moment of literary and artistic importance.
TYPES OF POETRY
1. Lyric Poetry : a comparative leisure in which a
single speaker presents a state of mind;
retains some of the element of a song.
a. Ode - a long lyric poem, written in elevated
style.
b. Elegy - a sad and thoughtful poem lamenting the
death of a person.
c. Sonnet - 14 lines poem; in an iambic
pentameter.
• English/ Shakespearean: composed of three
quartrains and a couplet.
LITERATURE
! Shakespeare did not invent the sonnet, it was
named after him because he popularize it.
• Italian/ Petrarchan: composed of one octave and
one sestet.
d. Simple lyric - revolves around the emotions,
perceptions and state of mind of the writer.
2. Narrative Poetry : poem with a plot.
a. Ballad - considered as the shortest and simplest;
tells a single incident.
b. Epic - long series poem that tells the story of a
heroic figure.
c. Metrical romance: a long story in verse; revolves
around the adventures of knights & lords and their
high born ladies during the age of chivalry.
d. Metrical tale: a long narrative tale that tells a
tale of ordinary people and their lives.
e. Idyll: a poem about either an idealized country
seal or about the heroes of the eastern year;
speaks of someone or something in a way it should
be idolized.
3. Contemporary Poetry : moves back toward
traditional forms.
 It is often written in free verse.
 Readers know and can associate with the
language.
 It is brief.
 The poet laces the poem with images using all
the reader's senses.
 It invites the reader to interpret the poem
without yelling from the rooftops the true
meaning of the poem.
Elements of Poetry
Line: basis unit of a poem which forms a stanza or
verse.
Stanza: series of lines grouped together and
separeted by an empty line from another stanza. It
is a writing arranged with a metrical rhythm.
 A refrain is verse that is repeated at intervals
throughout a song or poem.
 Couplet : a two line stanza.
 Tercet : a three line stanza.
 Quatrain : a four line stanza.
 Quintain: a five line stanza.
Rhythm: the beat and pace of a poem and is
created by the pattern of stressed and unstressed
syllables. It helps in strengthening the meaning and
ideas of the poem.
- lies between a certain range of regularity of
specific language features of sound, discriminated by
the ear and the mind, it directly affects the temporal
structure of the poem.
Meter: is the recurrence of regular units of
stressed and unstressed syllables. It is dependent
on the rhythm.
! A stress occurs when one syllable is emphasized
more than the other.
Monosyllabic: a word has only one syllable.
Polysyllabic: a word has more than one syllable.
BASIC METER IN POETRY
• Iambic: (unstressed/stressed)
• Trochaic: (stressed/unstressed)
• Spondaic: (stressed/stressed)
• Anapestic: (unstressed/ unstressed/ stressed)
• Dactylic: (stressed/ unstressed/ unstressed)
2. SOUND ELEMENTS
Sound devices - special tools the poet can use to
create certain effects in the poem to convey and
reinforce meaning through sound.
• Alliteration: derived from Latin's "latera" which
means letters of alphabet; stylistic device in which
a number of words having the same first
consonant sound occur close together in a series.
LITERATURE

• Assonance: takes place when 2 or more words 5.
close to one another repeat the same vowel
sounds but starts with consonant letters.
6.
• Rhyme: repetition of similar sounds occurring in
the end of lines
Subject: the explicit image used in the poem;
theme is the implicit idea expressed in the
poem.
Figures of speech: are expressions that use
words to achieve effects beyond ordinary
language.

• Onomatopoeia: imitates the natural sound of a • Simile • Metonymy

thing; creates a sound effect that mimics the thing
described making the description more expressive • Metaphor • Synecdoche
and interesting.
• Personification • Paradox
 Rhyme is the use of matching sounds in two
or more words. • Irony • Oxymoron • Litotes
o Perfect rhyme: happens when final
vowel and consonant sounds are the 7. Imagery : the poem relies on the words and
same. phrases that describe the concrete
o Imperfect rhyme: the final consonant experiences of the five senses.
sounds in two words are the same
but the preceding vowels are
different such as (learn and barn),
(pads and lids)
o Eye rhyme are rhymes that appear to Haiyan : typhoon Yolanda
be perfect, but is either half rhyme
(move and love) or no rhyme (bough Merlie Alunan : author of the Haiyan Dead ; one of
and trough) the most influential and respected writers in the
Visayan region.
! Rhyme depends on the position in a verse.
- authored numerous poetry collections like
- *End rhyme* Hearthstone, Sacred Tree, Amina Among the
Angels, Spiderwoman, Running with Ghosts and
Pagdakop sa Bulalakaw.
- *Internal rhyme*
Literary Terms
- *Beginning rhyme*
• Dramatic Situation : the combination of setting,
C. OTHER ELEMENTS character, and action in a poem which is supposed
to engage the reader.
1. Persona: refers to the speaker of the poem.
2. Tone: conveys the speaker's attitude toward • Image : a picture of words which must serve
his or her reader or audience. purpose in a poem.
3. Mood: atmosphere of the poem.
4. Diction: the word choice tat determines the
level of language, as well as word order. THE POEM'S LEVELS

Denotation: literal meaning of the word;
Conotation: what the meaning is according to in
particular cultural, emotional, pyschological, and
sociological context.
Abstract language: refers to intangible qualities,
ideas and concepts we know through our intellect.
• Literal level : something that relates to the
dramatic situation or what is happening in the
poem.
• Metaphorical level : is where we see the literal
dramatic situation unfolding into a figurative
articulation of what is taking place.

2 Figures of Speech
LITERATURE
• Simile : comparison between two distinctly diff
things; explicitly indicated by the word "like" or
"as"
• Metaphor : makes a comparison without the use
of "like" or "as"
Parts of a Metaphor
 Tenor : the subject of the comparison, to
which the characteristics are attributed.
 Vehicle : the object which owns the
characteristic
Synecdoche : a part of something represents the
whole, or it may use a whole to represent a part.
Personification : a thing, an idea or an animal is
given human attributes.
The Haiyan Dead
- its style is unconvential ; lines aren't grouped
into stanzas, instead the author made the lines
flowing continuously.
- it's all about how the typhoon Yolanda ruined
people's lives, it took a short period of time
destroyed everything.
Anaphora : gives an emphasis by the use of the
repeating words at the beginning of lines or
phrases.
FICTION
 is created in the imagination of its author.
 literary genre in the form of prose, especially
short stories and novels, that describes
imaginary events and novels, that describes
imaginary events and people.
According to Leo Tolstoy, “Art is a lie told to tell
the truth.”
ELEMENTS OF FICTION
 Characterization : the ways individual
characters are represented by the narrator or
author of a text; their physical appearances,
personalities, actions, interactions, and
dialogue.
 Point-of-View : the perspective (visual,
interpretative, bias, etc.) a text takes when
presenting its plot and narrative.
 First person : story told from the perspective
or one or several characters ; uses the word
“I”.
 Second person : a narrative perspective that
typically addresses that audience using “you”.
 Third person : told from the perspective of an
outside figure who does not participate directly
in the events of a story.
o limited third person: narrator
describes the internal thoughts of the
main character.
o Omniscient third person: knows and
at least partially reveals the internal
thoughts, feelings, and motivations of
all the characters
Types of Narrative According to Point of View
The third person pov has two often used types:
 Limited third person : narrator describes the
internal thoughts, feelings, and motivations of
one character.
 Omniscient third person : the narrator knows
and at least partially reveals the internal
thoughts, feelings, and motivations of all the
characters.
• CHARACTERS :
 Characterization : the ways individual
characters are represented by the narrator or
author of a text.
CLASSIFYING CHARACTERS
 Major characters : central to a story
 Minor characters: support the major
characters throughout the story action, but they
are not as highly developed.
 Protagonist : story’s central character who
faces a major conflict that must be solved
before the story’s end.
o often positioned as “good”
 Antagonist : opposes the protagonist and
serves as an obstacle that the protagonist must
overcome to resolve the conflict.
LITERATURE

TERMS FOR INTERPRETING  the author traces his or her thoughts verbatim
CHARACTERS into the text.

• Anti- hero : protagonist ; embodies non of the
qualities typically assigned to traditional heroes and
heroines.
 a protagonist whose failings are typically used
to humanize him or her a message about the
reality of human existence.
• THEME : may be defined as “a salient abstract
idea that emerges from a literary work’s treatment
of its subject matter; or a topic recurring in a
number of literary works.
 universal truth about life expressed in a story.

• Archetype : tend to reference broader or

commonplace (often termed “stock”) character
types, plot points, and literary conventions.

 paying attention to archetypes can help readers

identify what an author may posit as “universal
truths” about life, society, human interaction,
etc.

• Epithet : adjective, noun, of phrase expressing

some characteristic quality of a thing or person or a
descriptive name applied to a person.

 usually indicates some notable quality about

the individual with whom it addresses, but it
can also be used ironically to emphasize
qualities that individual might actually lack

• PLOT : sequence of events that occurs through a

work to produce a coherent narrative or story.

TERMS FOR INTERPRETING PLOT:

 Deus ex machine

 in Latin, the “god from the machine” a diety in

Greek and Roman drama who was brought in
by stage machinery to intervene in the action.
Hence, any character, event, or device
suddenly introduced to resolve the conflict.

 In medias res

 beginning in “the middle of things” or when

and author begins a text in the midst of action.

 Frame narrative

 story within a story or a tale within a tale.

 Stream of Consiousness