Lesson 1: Postwar Philippine Literature

-The Filipino people have been influenced by different

colonizers, which led to our country’s sense of hybrid

identity. With the reality of colonization and search for

freedom, our Filipino artists have their natural and national

urges to express their sense of individuality.

*Postwar Literature

•Postwar poetry and fiction was dominated by the writers in English educated and trained in

writers’ workshops in the United States or England.

*Characteristics of Philippine Postwar Literature

•Romanticism - This is an 18th century literary, artistic, and philosophical movement

that is a reaction against neoclassicism. It emphasizes the imagination and emotions.

•Nationalism – This means exalting one’s nation above all others and placing primary

emphasis on the promotion of the nation’s culture and welfare before those Stevan of other

nations.

•Nature – In Philippine postwar literature, natural scenery is praised and described.

•Expression of feelings – The characters in Philippine postwar literature were portrayed as being able to
express their feelings through their thoughts, words, and actions.

*Filipino Writers during the Postwar Period

•Macario Pineda – He wrote and published Ang Ginto sa Makiling in 1946, which is the

first Philippine literary work after World War II.

• Javellana – In 1947, he published his work Without Seeing the Dawn, which is

about the experiences of Filipinos before and during World War II.
•N.V.M. Gonzalez – He wrote and published A Season of Grace in 1956. The author

portrayed the lives of the working class in rural areas.

Vocabulary

•Formalist New Criticism- a literary theory characterized by “close reading of

The text to understand its metaphor, irony, tension, and paradox

•Neoclassicism – a revival of classical style in different forms of

•predilection - an attitude that shows strong favor or liking