MODULE 1: Prose and Poetry
MEANING OF LITERATURE
Literature is literally “acquaintance with letters.” It has its
Latin derivation “litera” which means individual written
character (letter) the term has generally come to identify a
collection of texts or work of art, which are mainly prose,
fiction and non-fiction, drama and poetry. It is a branch of
aesthetics, a branch of philosophy that deals with question
“What is art”.
WHY IS LITERATURE IMPORTANT?
One of the chief purposes of literature is a means of exploring
what it is to be human. It is also a way of communicating with
others about a huge range of ideas and concerns. Put simply,
Literature helps us to understand people, societies, events, and
culture.
CLASSIFICATION OF LITERATURE ACCORDING TO EXPRESSION
A. Oral Literature- generally the literature of the
ancient times when men did not have much
concern about a permanent preservation of the
expressions of their wits and feelings/emotions.
B. Written literature- it is wielded from the pen of
the writers-the product of the writer’s creative
genius. It is permanent and remains as is.
CLASSIFICATION OF LITERATURE ACCORDING TO FORM
I. POETRY
- One of the major types of literature. Poems are often
divided into lines and stanzas, with diverse and unique
characteristics and often employ regular rhythmic patterns or
meters. Some poems are written in free verse. Most poems
make use of highly concise, musical, and emotionally charged
language.
ELEMENTS OF POETRY
Persona or the Voice - is the speaker in a poem, is the
character whose voice a reader “hears”. The speaker may be
the poet, or a completely different character.
Theme - is the insight into life revealed by the poem.
Rhyme - is the repetition of sounds at end of words.
When rhyme comes at the ends of lines of poetry, it is called
end rhyme. The pattern of end rhyme in a poem is called the
rhyme scheme.
Rhythm - is the pattern of stress (‘) and unstressed (^)
in a line poetry. Poets use rhythm to help create different
moods.
Meter - the meter of the poem is its rhythm patter.
This pattern is determined by the number and types of stresses,
or beats, in each line.
Lines - are also described in terms of number of feet
that occur in them.
Miscellaneous Elements
Tone - is the basic attitude expressed in a poem. It is
the poet’s or speaker’s attitude toward the subject, toward the
reader, or toward herself or himself.
Mood - it is the atmosphere, or general feeling, that
the reader gets from the piece.
TYPES AND FORM OF POETRY
A. LYRIC POETRY. It refers to kind of poetry meant to be sung
to the accompaniment of a lyre.
Kinds of Lyric Poetry
1. Sonnets- lyric poem has 14 lines with formal
rhyme scheme or pattern.
2. Elegy- lyric poem which expresses lament or
mourning for the dead, feelings of grief and
melancholy.
3. Ode- is a poem of noble feeling, expressed with
dignity, and praises for some persons, objects,
events or ideas. It is exalted in tone and formal in
structure and content.
4. Songs- is a poem with or without definite number
of syllables and stanza is always accompanied by
musical instrument.
5. Psalms- is a song praising to God or the Virgin
Mary containing philosophy in life.
6. Simple Lyric- includes a variety of poems with
varying theme and characterized by subjectivity.
B. NARATIVE POETRY. This form describes important events
in life either real or imagery. It is a type of poetry that tells
a story.
Kinds of Narrative Poetry
1. Epic- it deals with heroes and gods.
a. Popular or ancient epic poetry is usually without
definite author and is slow in the development.
b. Modern epic poetry has a definite author.
2. Metrical Tale- is written in verse and can be classified
either as a ballad or metrical romance.
a. Medieval Romance- is written in verse which deals
with the adventures of the knights wooing highborn
ladies during the age of chivalry.
b. Ballad- is a songlike poem that tells story, often
dealing with adventure and romance.
c. Fabliau- a comical and often grotesque verse tale with
plot often hinge on the comical treatment of bodily
functions-sex, flatulent, diarrhea.
d. Social Poem- This form is either purely comic or tragic
and it pictures the life of the day.
C. DRAMATIC POETRY has elements that are closely related
to drama.
Kinds of Narrative Poetry
1. Dramatic Monologue – is combination of drama and
poetry.
2. Soliloquy- is like the monologue.
3. Character Sketch- the writer is concerned less with
elements of the story.
4. Oration- is formal address elevated in tone and is
usually delivered on some notable occasion.
D. SPECIAL TYPES OF POETRY
1. Concrete Poetry is poetry that is meant to be
seen on the page, as well as heard like an
ordinary poem.
2. Haiku- is a form of poem that originated in
Japan. A haiku has three; the first and the
third lines have five syllables each; the second
line has seven.
3. Limerick- has short lines, a swift, catchy
rhythm and heavily stresses rhymes.
4. Epigram- a short rhyming poem with some
sort of satirical content.
II. PROSE
It consists of writing that does not adhere to any
particular formal structures “non poetic writing”
writing.
TYPES OF FORMS: Fiction and Non-Fiction
 A. FICTION is prose writing that talks about imaginary
characters and events.
1. Short Story- is a brief work of fiction. The events in
the short story usually communicate a message about
life or human nature. This message or central idea is
called the heart of the story or the theme.
Elements of the Short Story
a. Character- a person or animal who takes part in
the action of a short story.
Protagonist – main character or the hero
Antagonist - antagonist plays against this
heroic character and tries to stop him by
posing threats to his and others’ lives.
Flat- a flat character has one or two main
traits, usually only all positive or negative.
Round – these characters have many different
traits, good and bad, making them more
interesting.
b. Setting- the place and time of a story. Where and
when is the story set? Setting represents both the
physical location but also the time (i.e. past,
present, future) and the social and cultural
conditions in which the characters exist.
c. Plot- is the sequence of events of the story. In a
plot you typically find an introduction, rising action,
a climax, the falling action, and a resolution. Plot is
often represented as an arc.  a story. Idea, belief, moral, lesson or insight. It’s the
Kinds of plot
1. Traditional/Conventional type of plot – it is
often conceived of as moving through five
distinct sections or stages: Exposition,
Complication, Crisis, Falling Action and
Resolution.
- Exposition is the beginning section in which
the author provides the necessary
background/information, sets the scene,
establishes the situation, and dates the action.
- Complication/ Rising Action – it develops and
intensifies the conflict. The main character is in
crisis and events leading up to facing the
conflict begin to unfold. The story becomes
complicated.
- Climax – at the peak of the story, a major
event occurs in which the main character faces
a major enemy, fear, challenge, or other
source of conflict. The most action, drama,
change, and excitement occurs here.
- Falling Action/ Denouement – The story
begins to slow down and work towards its end,
tying up loose ends.
- Resolution – concluding paragraph that
revolves any remaining issues and ends the
story.
2. Unconventional plot – unfolding of events
may begin in any section in this kind of plot.
Special Techniques of Plot
- Flashback – This literary device dramatically
presents (often by means of a character’s
recollections, dreams or reveries – this is a
section in a story where the action is interrupted
to talk about an earlier event) scenes or
incidents which took place price to the
beginning of the plot.
- Foreshadowing – This plotting device puts in a
detail or details at the earlier part of the story,
the purpose of which is to insinuate the possible
outcome of the story. (This is a hint or clue
about an event that will occur later in the story).
- Suspense – This is the feeling of excitement or
tension in the reader experiences as the action
of the plot unfolds. A writer creates suspense by
raising questions in the reader’s mind.
- Surprise ending – This is an ending that catches
the reader off guard with an unexpected turn of
events.
- In Medea Res – The technique of beginning a
story in the middle of the action, with
background information given later in
flashbacks.
3. Flat Plot – it is a straight forward chronological
plot. Events are made to happen from
beginning to ed but without any suspense and
crisis along the way.
d. Point of view- is the manner of telling the story.
“Who” is telling the story?
First person (“I”) or third person (“he/she/it”).
Limited (one character’s perspective), multiple
(many characters’ perspectives) or omniscient
(all knowing narrator). Second person (“you”)
is not often used for writing stories.
e. Theme- is the controlling idea or central insight of
central argument that the author is trying to make
the reader understand. The theme is the “why” of
the story.
f. Style- refers to the literary devices that the author
used-the language in terms of choice of words and
the manner of presentation. This is how things are
said. Word choices, sentence structure, dialogue,
metaphor, simile, hyperbole.
Figure of speech:
• Personification is a figure of speech that attributes
human nature or human qualities to abstract or
inanimate objects. For example, we often use the
phrases like the howling wind, dancing leaves, time
flies etc. 
Ex. The plants in her house silently begged to be
watered
• A metaphor is a figure of speech which is used for
implying a comparison between two things that have
something in common but are in general different
from each other.
Ex. He is the star of our class
• A simile is a figure of speech that compares two things
that are different from each other but have similar
qualities. These are generally formed through usage of
the words ‘as’ or ‘like.
Ex. He is as brave as a lion
• Alliteration is a type of figure of speech in which a
sentence consists of a series of words that have the
same consonant sound at the beginning.
Ex. She sells sea shells on the sea shore
• Onomatopoeia. This a figure of speech which is used
to express a sound. To be more precise, it involves the
use of words that imitate the sounds associated with
the action or object referred to i.e. hiss, clap etc.
Ex. The buzzing bee flew over my head.
 • A hyperbole is a figure of speech that consists of an
exaggeration. It is the usage of exaggerated terms in
order to emphasis or heighten the effect of something.
Ex. I have told you a million times to not touch my
stuff!
• Irony or sarcasm is a figure of speech in which the
usage of words conveys the opposite of their literal
meaning. These are often used in a humorous manner.
Ex. Your hands are as clean as mud
• Apostrophe. It addresses the subject that is not
present in the work. In this case, the object is absent
or inanimate.
Ex. Twinkle, twinkle, little star, How I wonder what
you are
g. Tone: The overall emotional “tone” or meaning of
the story. Is it happy, funny, sad, depressed? Tone
can be portrayed in multiple ways, through word
and grammar choices, choice of theme, imagery
and description, symbolism, and the sounds of the
words in combination (i.e. rhyme, rhythm, and
musicality).
2. Novel – it is a long work of fiction. It contains all the
elements of short stories but longer than short
stories. These elements are more developed fully
because its subplots, or independent, related stories.
Novels may have several themes.
Kinds of Novel
a. Mysteries - A mystery is about a crime, usually a murder,
and the process of discovering who committed it. The
hero(ine) is usually a detective or an amateur doing
detective work.  pages.
b. Science fiction - Science fiction is fiction that imagines
possible alternatives to reality. It is reality + "What-if."
For example: What if the world ended? What if there
were life on other planets? The imaginary part of science
fiction is based on known scientific facts. For example, if
there is time travel in a science fiction book, it would be
done with technology, not by waving a magic wand.  continued to evolve over the years. It is a story told in dialogue
c. Fantasy - Like science fiction, fantasy is about imaginary
worlds. But the imaginary part of fantasy novels usually
involves magic, where the imaginary part of science
fiction involves science or technology.  play you a reading is a script. It contains not only the words
d. Westerns - Westerns normally take place in the Western
U.S. (although sometimes in other locations), most often
during the 19th century. Common elements include
cowboys, ranchers, the difficulties of frontier life, frontier
justice, and conflicts between natives and settlers.
e. Horror - Horror fiction gets its name because it is focused
on creating emotions of terror and dread in the reader.
Horror fiction often accomplishes this through the use of
scary supernatural elements or gore, but, according to
the Horror Writers Association, these elements are not
required.
f. Thrillers - Like horror, a thriller gets its name because of
the feeling it creates in the reader. Thrillers are designed
to make the reader's pulse race, to keep him or her
turning pages. Often thrillers are about a crime that is
going to be committed or a disaster that is going to
happen... if the hero(ine) doesn't prevent it.  also depend on the cultural background of people.
g. Romance - Romance fiction is about love and passion.
Normally, the focus is on two characters who fall in love
but have problems or obstacles keeping them apart, and
there is a happy ending.  Tragedy is a type of drama in which the protagonist or
h. Historical - Historical novels are set in a past time period,
normally at least fifty years before they were written.
They combine a made-up story with realistic details of
that time period.
B. NON-FICTION – it is prose writing that presents and
explains ideas or that talks about real people, objects,
or events. It includes the following.
 Biography – It is a form of non-fiction in which
a writer tells the life story of another person.
 Autobiography – It is form of nonfiction in
which a person tells his or her own life story.
 Essays – It comes from the French word
“essai” which means an attempt. It is a short,
clear introduction, body, and conclusion. The
essay has two general kinds: the personal and
informal. The other types which could be
either informal or formal depending on the
characteristics peculiar to them are: nature
essay, character sketch, biographical sketch,
travelogue, humorous essay, critical essay,
didactic essay, and journalistic essay.
Miscellaneous prose Narratives (Non-Fiction)
 A history is written long enough after the
events described so that author will have a
proper perspective of the subject.
 In a chronicle, the things recorded are of
public significance.
 A diary is recording of events or interest to a
given individual.
 A journal like a diary is a personal recording of
events but usually with the idea that it will be
read by others.
 Eulogy is a writing in praise of a person or an
expression of praise especially one who
recently died or retired or as a term of
endearment.
 Letter is a correspondence exchange between
 Parable is a narrative prose based on incident
in life. The characters are real men and women
in natural situation.
DRAMA
Drama/Play offers another classical literary form that has
form by actors on stage for an audience. It is meant to be
performed, but is possible just to read a play. When you read a
play, you can male it alive by staging it in your imagination. The
that the actors speak but also the stage directions that
playwright provides to indicate how to put on the play. Stage
directions tell what the stage should look like.
Types of drama in literature
1. Comedy
Comedy is a type of drama that aims to make the
audience laugh. Its tone is light and it mostly has a
happy ending. The classic conception of comedy came
from the Ancient Greek theatre, where comedy first
emerged as a form of drama. Comedy can be further
divided into subcategories, for example, lampoon,
farce, satire, black comedy, etc. Each type of comedy
has its audience. Interestingly, such preferences may
2. Tragedy
hero is brought down by his/her flaws. Murders,
deaths, insanity, and pain are among the most
common ideas in tragedies. Main characters usually
have some kind of weakness or defect that causes
their downfall. Tragedy first appeared in the theatre of
Ancient Greece. Like comedy, it lived through the
Roman Empire, Medieval times, Renaissance, and
 other eras. The aim of tragedy, as stated by Aristotle,
is to create a release of certain emotions from the
audience, to arouse in them sensations of pity and
fear, so that they leave the theatre with an
understanding of the ways of gods and men.
3. Tragicomedy
Tragicomedy is a special kind of drama that combines
the features of tragedy and comedy. This means that
such play may be sad but will have a happy ending, or
it may be serious with some elements of humour
emerging throughout the whole play. Unlike comedy
and tragedy, tragicomedy emerged a bit later, in the
times of the Roman Empire. Roman dramatist Plautus
was the first to write a tragicomedy and to use the
term. In his play Amphitryon, he used the
lightheartedness of comedy but chose gods and kings
as the main characters. This was quite revolutionary of
him. Before Plautus, there were strict rules about
writing drama, it was either comedy or tragedy. These
genres were never mixed. Plautus was the first to note
that in our daily lives, we have features of both
tragedy and comedy.
4. Melodrama
Melodrama is the last one of the four types of drama.
It is a kind of drama in which everything is
hyperbolized. Usually, themes depicted in melodramas
are simple and without any unpredictable plot twists.
There are quite a lot of stereotypes in such dramas.
However, the main point of a melodrama is not to tell
a story but to awaken feelings in the audience.
Melodramas are mostly love stories with beautiful
heroines, charming heroes, and scary villains.
Melodrama originated much later than comedy,
tragedy, and tragicomedy. It first appeared in France
at the end of the 18th century. Later, it reached Britain
and became one of the most popular types of drama
in the 19th century. Particularly, the 19th century was
the period when melodrama was the most popular
kind of theatre entertainment and was visited by a
vast number of people. This is because, in those times,
theatres became available for common people. As
melodrama was aimed at this layer of society, in
particular, it became immensely popular among
artisans and the working-class population. The
influence of melodrama on society was so great that it
lived to our days and even penetrated other areas of
literature and entertainment.
What are the elements of drama?
Having learned that there are different types of drama, there
are certain elements that a play that is meant to be performed
must have for it to qualify as a drama.
The major elements of drama include the theme, plot,
character, dialogue, settings, performance, music, and visual
effects.
Here are the major elements of drama and their functions in a
play.
1. Theme - The theme of a play refers to its central idea.
It can either be clearly stated through dialogue or
action or can be inferred after watching the entire
performance. The theme is the philosophy that forms
the base of the story or a moral lesson that the
characters learn. A theme, in simple terms, is what the
play is about. It is the message or lesson that the
writers of the play want the audience to learn. For
example, the theme of a play could be about how
unforgiveness destroys relationships or how love can
bring people together regardless of their race or
background.
2. Plot - In simple terms, a plot is the chain of events in a
play. Essentially, the plot is the story that the play
narrates. It is the sequence of events in the story.
The plot usually begins with exposing the past or
background of the main and other characters, and the
point of conflict then proceeds to give the central
theme or climax. Generally, a story begins with
exposing the past or background of the main and
other characters, and the point of conflict, then it
proceeds to give the central theme or climax. Then
comes the climax and the play ends with a conclusion.
3. Characters - The characters are the roles that actors
play in a play. The main characters of any play are the
protagonist and the antagonist. Characters include
people, animals, or figures represented in a literary
work. Depending on character development, a
character can be either dynamic, static, round, or flat.
4. Dialogue - Dialogues, in simple terms, are the lines
that actors perform in a play. The story is narrated to
the audience through the interaction between the
characters.
The contents of the dialogues and the quality of their
delivery have a major role to play in the impact that
the play has on the audience. It is through the
dialogues between characters that the story can be
understood.
Dialogues also help to reveal the personalities of the
characters and help the audience understand
characters more. Monologues and soliloquies are also
as important as dialogues are in a play. They are
speeches that actors give to themselves or that are
directed to the audience in a play.
5. Setting - The time and place where a story is set in one
of its important parts. The era of time in which the
incidents in the play take place. Stage design and
costumes are some of the ways the place and time
settings of a play are portrayed.
6. Performance - This is about how actors give life to the
characters that are written on paper. How well actors
portray their characters' personalities determines how
well the play will be taken by the audiences.
7. Music - This element includes the use of sounds and
rhythm in dialogues. It also includes music
compositions that are used in plays. The background
score, songs, and sound effects are used to
complement the scenes and the characters in it. Music
also helps to portray the emotions in a scene to the
audience.
8. Visual element - The visual element of drama, also
known as the spectacle, gives a visual appeal to the
stage setup. The costumes and makeup of characters
are also parts of visual elements. Visual elements help
scenes to be dramatic enough to hold an audience's
attention.
Apart from the major elements listed above, the structure
of a story, the use of symbolism and contrast, and overall
stagecraft are some of the other important elements necessary
for any good drama. Though there are different types of drama,
a combination of these different types is often seen in most
plays.