LITERATURE

 Derived from the Latin word “litera” meaning LETTER.

 It is a faithful reproduction of man’s various experiences blended into one harmonious
expression.
 This is an expression of man’s loves, griefs, thoughts, dreams and aspirations communicated in
beautiful language.

TYPES OF LITERATURE:

1. POETRY

a. Lyric – expresses emotions and feelings of the poet. This is usually easy to understand and short
literatures.

Sonnet -14 line poem dealing with emotions, feelings or ideas

Elegy - Poem for the dead
Psalms - Songs praising God and containing a philosophy of life
Awit (Florante at Laura) - This is sung and is realistic. 12 syllables per line.
Corrido (Ibong Adarna) - Recited and with elements
of fantasy, Composed of 8 syllables
Folksongs (Awiting bayan) - Short poems intended to be
Sung. Love, despair, grief, doubt,joy, hope and sorrow are common themes
Ode - Poem of a noble feeling, expressed with dignity on a certain object

b. Narrative

Tales - Stories about supernatural being

Ballad - Short poems adapted for singing, simple plot and metrical structure more characters in
one plot and one single impression.
Essay - Expresses the viewpoint or opinion of the writer about a particular problem or event.
Biography - Deals with the life of a person which maybe about himself or that of others.
Novel - Long narration divided into chapters. The events are taken from true to life stories and
spans a long period of time.
Plays - Presented on stage divided into acts and each act has many scenes
Fables - Stories about animals and inanimate things that speak and act like people and their
purpose is to enlighten the minds of children to events that can mold their ways and attitudes.
Epic
Biag ni Lam-Ang (Ilokos) Extended narrative
Ybalon (Bicol) about
Bidasari(Mindanao) heroic exploits often
Hudhud at Alim(Igorot) under supernatural
Beowulf (England) control
Iliad and Odyssey (Greece)

FICTION – a prose imaginative composition which may or may not be based on history or fact.
Types of Fiction:

1. Short story – relatively brief prose fictional composition based on a single main incident which
is designed to produce a single dominant impression

2. Novel – a prose fictional work of considerable length that deals with a series of complications

involving characters in a particular setting

3. Drama – a composition in prose or verse designed for stage performance through mime

and dialogue

4. Allegory – a symbolic fictional account conveying meanings beyond the literal

Elements of Fiction

1. Character

 Moral agents of actions

 Invented personages in fiction