PHILIPPINE LITERATURE DURING AMERICAN PERIOD

Philippine literary production during the American Period in the Philippines was spurred
by two significant developments in education and culture. One is the introduction of free
public instruction for all children of school age and two, the use of English as medium of
instruction in all levels of education in public schools. Free public education made
knowledge and information accessible to a greater number of Filipinos. Those who
availed of this education through college were able to improve their social status and
joined a good number of educated masses who became part of the country’s middle
class.

        The use of English as medium of instruction introduced Filipinos to Anglo-

American modes of thought, culture and life ways that would be embedded not only in
the literature produced but also in the psyche of the country’s educated class. It was this
educated class that would be the wellspring of a vibrant Philippine Literature in English.

        Philippine literature in English, as a direct result of American colonization of the

country, could not escape being imitative of American models of writing especially
during its period of apprenticeship.

Historic Background

The Filipino Revolutionists won against the Spaniards who colonized for more than 300
years. June 12, 1898, raised the Philippine flag as a symbol of our independence. Gen.
Emilio Aguinaldo was elected the first president but this was short-lived. The Filipino-
American war resulted in the defeat of Gen. Miguel Malvar in 1903. The peace
movements started as early as 1900. Many Filipino started writing again and the
nationalism of the people remain undaunted. Filipino writers went into all forms of
literature like news reporting, poetry, stories, plays, essays, and novels. Their writings
clearly depicted their love of the country and their longings for independence.

1990
 A new group started to write in English.
 Hence, Spanish, Tagalog, the Vernaculars, and finally, English, were the
mediums used in literature during these times.
 The writers in Spanish were won’t write about nationalism like honoring Rizal and
other heroes.
 The writers in Tagalog continued in their lamentations on the conditions of the
country and their attempts to arouse love for one’s native tongue. The writers in
English imitated the themes and methods of the Americans.

1920
 The UP college folio was later replaced by the Philippine Collegian.
 Dead Stars by Paz Marquez Benitez stand out as a model of perfection in
character delineation, local color, plot, and message.


( Dead Stars is a short story of an over thirty years old bachelor, Alfredo
Salazar who was about to get married to his fiancée, Esperanza. His love
and passion for his fiancé started getting fade as he was attracted to another
woman named Julia Salas).

( “Footnote to Youth” is a 1932 short story set in the Philippines and centered
on Dodong, a farmer's son who marries young. When seventeen-year-old
Dodong decides to marry his sweetheart, Teang, his father feels that Dodong is
too young to marry but is unable to stop him).
The Active Arousal in the Field of Literature started to be felt in
the following Newspaper :

1. El Nuevo Dia (The New Day) – this was established by Sergio Osmenia in
1900.
El Nuevo Dia was published during the early days of the American
Occupation where media censorship was used as a tool to stop and abort
Filipino uprising against the new colonizers.
2. El Grito Del Pueblo ( The Call of The Nation) – established by Pascual
Poblete in 1900.

El Grito Del Pueblo is a newspaper founded by Pascual H. Poblete in

1899 and believed to have ceased circulation in 1914. It had a radical
theme promoting the independence of the Philippines under the
Americans.

3. El Renaciemento (The Rebirth) – founded by Rafael Palma in 1900

 .
El Renacimiento (lit. 'The Rebirth') was a bilingual Spanish–
Tagalog language newspaper. It was printed in Manila until the 1940s by
the members of the Guerrero de Ermita family. Its directors were Fernando
Ma. Guerrero, Teodoro M. Kalaw, and Rafael Palma and its editors
were Wenceslao Retana, Javier Gomez de la Serna, Dominador
Gomez, Isabelo de los Reyes, and Felipe Calderon.The paper was first
published on September 3, 1901, and was founded as a response to the
signing of the Treaty of Paris, which derailed the Philippines' struggle for
sovereignty. The paper was openly critical of the United States' colonial
regime and its policies. The paper shut down due to official pressure after
publishing an editorial that dealt with corruption in the colonial government.

There are also plays written during the period, here are the
following :

1. Kahapon , Ngayon at Bukas ( Yesterday , Today and Tomorrow) –

written by Aurelio Tolentino.
This was a famous Tagalog verse versa drama, Kahapon, Ngayon at Bukas, which was
played to a packed audience at Teatro Libertad in Manila on May 14, 1903, and its
focus is the triumph of Inang Bayan (Motherland) over her tormentors. This play was
written and shown 106 years ago. This is all about anti-imperialist attacking the new
colonizers (at the time), the Americans, while not forgiving the old ones – Mother Spain
and Old China, who wants to feast on the Philippine’s wealth.
In that particular scene, he throws the American flag to the ground and tramples upon it
until it is torn, then he breaks the shackles and forces the jail open. At this point the rest
of the characters shout ‘Long live Freedom! Long live the Motherland!’ The authorities
turned to arrest the other actors as well as those audience, Tolentino saved them by
declaring sole responsibility for the play as its writer and director.

2. Tanikalang Ginto by Juan Abad.

The theme of this story is about Nationalism. The story is about

freedom and love. Juan Abad made the characters symbolized
nationalism. He wrote the story in nationalistic way expressing how are
 we during American colonization and how we wanted freedom for
country. In the same year, Abad broke through the Philippine drama
scene with the successful staging of Ang Tanikalang Guinto in Teatro
Libertad on July 7. Performances of the play in Laguna and Cavite were
met with praise and admiration. Ang Tanikalang Guinto made its
Batangas debut on May 10, 1903, in the town of Batangas. On the
same day American provincial authorities seized the play's script and
sued Abad for sedition. Judge Paul Linebarger of the Batangas Court of
First Instance deemed the play seditious; Abad was found guilty of
sedition and sentenced two years in jail plus a fine of two thousand
dollars.

3. Malaya by Thomas Remigio.

On March 7, 1867, Tomas A. Remigio, one of the finest playwright

during American Period, was born in Sampaloc, Manila. Remigio's best
known work, during American Colonial period, Malaya, was considered
one the of finest nationalist play written during American Period.
Malaya, in the earliest drama simboliko, plays written in prose and
verse, which shows anti-Spanish and other reports it to be anti-
American.

4.