Introduction to Literature

It is very important to ponder on this question as we start our class this semester: what
is literature? Technology has certainly changed the ways in which literature is presented, but the
general idea still remains the same – literature may refer to a body of spoken and written works
(whether poetry, fiction, non-fiction or drama) which possess the following qualities: (1)
universality (2) permanence (3) artistry (4) intellectual value and (5) spiritual value.

Philippine Literary History: An Overview

The Philippines has a rich cultural and literary history, but most of us are not familiar
with this. We know more about the cultures and literatures of those who once colonized us. In our
first lesson, we should be acquainted first with a historical background of Philippine literary
heritage as we trace back the various texts and influences that shaped it.

Renowned film/literary scholar and National Artist, Bienvenido Lumbera, identified five
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

Check recorded session for historical and cultural changes that shaped literature.

A Glimpse of Philippine Pre-colonial Literature

One of the most valuable periods of Philippine literary history is the Pre-colonial era.
I’d like you to refer to our textbook (see page 3 to 4) and be ready to answer this during our
synchronous lesson: What is the relevance of studying pre-colonial forms of literature?

What is poetry?
Renowned English author William Wordsworth once said that poetry is “the
spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: it takes its origin from emotion recollected in
tranquility.” From this idea, think of your own personal definition of poetry before we move to its
more complex definitions. What is poetry for you? What makes a poem a poem?

Imagery and figures of speech

Two most important elements of poetry are imagery and figurative language. Imagery
is generally defined by J.A. Cuddon as “the use of language to represent objects, actions,
feelings, thoughts, ideas, states of mind and any sensory or extra-sensory experience”. On the
other hand, A.F. Scott defines figures of speech as the “expression of the imagination to deviation
from ordinary usage for the sake of ornament”.
 What is Poetry?

o According to Ophelia A. Dimalanta (2003): Poetry may be distinguished from prose in

terms of forms by its compression, by its frequent (though not prescribed) employment
of the conventions of meter and rhyme, by its resilience upon the line as a formal unit,
by its heightened vocabulary and by its freedom of syntax. The characteristic
emotional content of poetry finds expression through a variety of techniques. One of
the most ancient and universal of these techniques is the use of metaphor and simile
to alter and expand the reader’s imaginative apprehension through implicit or explicit
comparison.

o A poem is produced by a poet, takes its subject matter from the universe of men,
things and events, and is addressed to or made available to an audience of hearers or
readers.
o It is a made thing, a verbal construct, an event in language. The word “poiesis” means
“making” and the oldest of the poet is the “maker”.

Elements of Poetry
1. Formal Elements
a. Line – basic unit of poetry
b. Stanza – a group of lines
o Couplet – a two-line stanza
o Triplet – a three-line stanza
o Quatrain – a four-line stanza
o Cinquain – a five-line stanza
c. Rhythm – the patterned recurrence, within a certain range of regularity,
of specific language features, usually features of sound and is readily
discriminated by the ear and the mind

d. Meter – the recurrence of regular units of stressed and unstressed

syllables
e. Stress – occurs when one syllable is emphasized more than the other
o Iambic meter (unstressed/stressed)
o Trochaic meter (stressed/unstressed)
o Spondaic meter (stressed/stressed)
o Anapestic meter (unstressed/unstressed/ stressed)
o Dactylic meter (stressed/unstressed/unstressed)

2.Sound Elements
- Alliteration – the repetition of the beginning sound in closely associated words or
syllables
- Assonance – the repetition of similar vowel sounds, especially in stressed syllables
- Rhyme – the use of matching sounds in two or more words
o End rhyme – occurs at the end of a line
 o Internal rhyme – occurs within a line
o Beginning rhyme – occurs at the beginning of a line

o Perfect rhyme – final vowel and consonant sounds must be the same
o Imperfect Rhyme (Consonance) – the final consonant sounds in two words are the same
but the preceding vowels are different
o Eye rhyme – rhyme that appears to be perfect rhyme, but is either half rhyme or no
rhyme
o Onomatopoeia – the use of words whose sound suggests their meanings

3. Other Elements
a) Imagery – words and phrases that describe the concrete experience of the five senses
b) Figures of Speech – expressions that use words to achieve effects beyond the
ordinary language
- Simile
- Metaphor
- Personification
- Hyperbole
- Irony
- Litotes
- Metonymy
- Synecdoche
- Paradox
- Oxymoron
- Allusion
- Apostrophe
c) Persona – the speaker of the poem
d) Tone – conveys the speaker’s attitude toward his or her subject or audience
e) Diction – word choice that determines the level of language; also includes word order
f) Theme – main point or idea

Types of Poetry
1. Lyric – a brief poem with a single speaker who expresses his or her feeling on a
subject
Basic types:
o Song – short lyric poem intended to be sung
o Ode – relatively long lyric poem that is serious poem of formal diction, often addresses
to some significant object that has stimulated the poet’s imagination
o Elegy – a mournful poem or lament, usually a meditation on the death of someone
important to the writer; may also be laments on the nature of death itself, or on the
loss of youth and beauty
o Sonnet – a poem with 14 lines in one of several rhyme schemes
o Simple lyric – any short poem where the verse is especially musical or where there is
a marked subjective or emotional tone; includes all those lyric poems that don’t belong
under the other

2. Narrative Poetry – tells a story; usually longer than a lyric poem, though it need not be
extensive
Basic types:
 o Ballad – one of the oldest verse forms originally composed for singing or recitation.
The ballad told a simple refrain, and was handed through generations
o Epic – is a long, narrative in poem that retells the heroic journey of a person, or a
group of persons; elements include superhuman deeds, fabulous adventures, highly
stylized language, and a blending of lyrical and dramatic traditions

o Metrical Romance – recounts the quest undertaken by a single knight in order to gain
a lady’s favor; central theme is courtly love, with tournaments fought and dragons and
monsters slain for the damsel’s sake; stresses the chivalric ideals of courage, loyalty,
honor, mercifulness to an opponent, and exquisite and manners.

o Metrical Tale – a narrative poem which is written in verse that relates to real or
imaginary events in simple, straight forward language, from a wide range of subjects,
characters, life experiences, and emotional situations; characters are ordinary people,
concerned with ordinary events; has simple structure and tells of a single incident;
narrative is told by a known author with characters, setting, plot and theme

o Idyll – a narrative poem treating an epic, romantic, or tragic theme

Contemporary Poetic Forms

1. Hypertext Poetry - has links to other texts or visuals that are available electronically
2. Kinetic Poetry – a form of poetry in which letters (or words) drift around the screen
progressively associating to form phrases, lines, and possibly the entire poem
3. Interactive Poetry – readers contribute content that enhances and possibly determines
the meaning of the poem
4. Code Poetry – is programming code expressed as poetry

A. ELEMENTS OF FICTION
a) Character (and its characterization) – a character may be a person, an animal, an
object, or even a non-tangible idea (such as time, for example. This is possible in
other more complex works). A character may have different classifications, including a
protagonist, antagonist, or an anti-hero. Can you differentiate among these three?
A character may also be classified according to the changes that happens within
him in the course of a story. A flat or static character is one who does not undergo
changes. A dynamic character is one who undergoes drastic transformation, usually in
his characterization. A foil character is usually one who exhibits the opposite qualities
of the main character.

b) Point of view (POV)– this is the perspective in which a story is told. Why is the point of
view important in a story? Let’s say that we have two fictional narratives about the
pandemic. One story features the point of view of a four-year-old girl, and the other
one uses the point of view of a 60-year-old man, both narrating about their
experiences regarding the pandemic. How will the narratives differ? There are three
general types of POV – the first person, second person, and third person points of
view. Can you differentiate among these three?

c) Setting – this is the time and place in which a story happens.

d) Plot – According to the Penguin Dictionary of Literary terms, this refers to “the plan,
design, scheme or pattern of events in a literary work” (676). This technically answers
the questions “what is going to happen next” and “why is it going to happen”? A
conventional plot usually follows the Freytag’s pyramid, which can be illustrated as
such. Sometimes, a more unconventional story does not follow these patterns but
instead uses a non-linear plot, using flashbacks or flash forwards in the course of the
story. Also, can you tell the difference of the terms plot and story? There are also
different terms related to the plot, such as the deus ex machina, frame narrative, and
in medias res, all of which are found in our Powerpoint presentation and recorded
lecture.

e) Style reflects the individuality of an author seen in the way he uses his language. A
writer may have different styles, and this may be a combination of the different
influences he/she has in the way he/she writes.

f) Theme – this refers to the idea of the story, or what the story is trying to say. This is
different from a narrative’s subject, or merely its topic. If you refer to our powerpoint
presentation, the theme is a “salient abstract idea” (Baldick 258). This means that a
fictional narrative may be about love, but what is it saying about love? The idea that
the story wants to point out about the subject is its theme.