LESSON 3 – TRACING THE HISTORICAL &

CULTURAL TRANSITION OF
PHILIPPINE LITERATURE:
PRECOLONIAL TO CONTEMPORARY
PERIOD

LEARNING OUTCOMES
Name the authors and literary works that shaped the
literary repertoire of the Philippines.
Sequence historical and cultural events in to show how
each period developed.

INTRODUCTION

ABOUT THE ESSAY

The essay gives us an overview of how Philippine literature

shaped and was shaped by our country’s cultural traditions and
socio-political histories. It outlines the journey of Philippine
literature through different periods: Precolonial era, Spanish
colonial period, American colonial period, Japanese colonial
period, Martial Law regime, and the Contemporary period.
MAKE CONNECTIONS

If you could go back in time, what time and place would you visit? Why?

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CONTENT

ANALYZE LITERATURE: Literary Periods

Literary period is basically defined as a span of time for literature that shares
intellectual, linguistic, religious, and artistic influences. In Philippine context, describing the
evolving patterns of our literary heritage prompts us to recount also the socio-cultural milieu
that produced it in the process. Philippine historical and literary periods are: Precolonial Period,
Spanish Colonial Period, American Colonial Period, Japanese Regime, Martial Law Period, and
Contemporary Period.

Precolonial Period: The Philippines already had its own rich literary tradition, written and oral,
long before the Spaniards came. This oral literary tradition in particular plays a crucial role in
reproducing the structure of native society (Quiros, 2019).

Spanish Colonial Period: Literature during this period may be classified as religious prose and
poetry, and secular prose and poetry (Godinez-Ortega, n.d.). This period also includes literature
produced by the Propaganda Movement.

American Colonial Period: The introduction of free public instruction for all children of school
age, and the use of English as medium of instruction in all levels of education in public schools
encouraged literary production during this period (Quindoza-Santiago, n.d.).

Japanese Colonial Period: Philippine Literature was interrupted in its development during this
period. Philippine Literature in English came to a halt, and most publications in English were
stopped. The use of Filipino language was also mandated.

Contemporary Period: The flowering of Philippine literature in the various languages continues
especially with the appearance of new publications after the Martial Law years and the
resurgence of committed literature in the 1960s and the 1970s. Commission on Higher
Education mandated the teaching of Philippine Literature in all tertiary schools in the country
emphasizing the teaching of the vernacular literature or literatures of the regions (Godinez-
Ortega, n.d.).
LET’S READ!
The Journey of Philippine Literature: From Precolonial to
Contemporary Period
An essay by Marlon T. Salvador
Before the Spaniards came to the Philippines,
our forefathers had already their own
literature, which can be described as oral
because they were handed down by word
of mouth from one generation to another.
The vagrant Negritoes contributed songs
and superstitious beliefs. They did not have
a system of government unlike the Indons
who brought literary genres or forms like
folktales, epics, paganistic faith, and
legends. The Malays contributed the
baybayin, the syllabary with seventeen
symbols. They also brought legends,
folktales, the “balangay” system of
government, and the brief statements of
practical wisdom called proverbs which are
based on long experience about life.
Puzzles that usually consist of two lines that
rhyme called riddles are considered as the
early forms of poetry, which is now
developed in various forms that usually
appear in stanzas. Early drama, now
performed onstage, was in the form of
paganistic rituals led by babaylan, a priest
or priestess.
When the Spaniards set their feet on the
Philippine soil, they found out that
literature had been existing in two
forms: prose and poetry. The riddles, proverbs
and sayings were in the form of poetry , while
the legends, fables and folktales were in
prose. The conquerors destroyed written
literature in perishable materials because
Analyze Literature
Literary Periods: Describe the
kind of literature produced in
precolonial times. Identify also
the contributions of the
Negritoes, Indons, and Malays to
the literary heritage of the
Philippines.
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
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_______
____________________________
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Culture Note
_________________
Riddle or bugtong abounds in
many ethnolinguistic groups in
the Philippines. Give one
example of riddle from your
culture or group.
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
_____________________
 they believed that these were the handicraft
of evil. Later, the printing press was set up
and Doctrina Christiana was the first output
in 1593. The pasyon, which relates the life
Note the Facts
and death of Christ, was used to replace
the old epics. The most popular of this type What literary genres or forms
was Gaspar Aquino de Belen. There also became popular during the
born forms of metrical romance of Spanish Colonial Period?
European origin, namely: awit and corrido,
examples of which are the Florante at Laura ____________________________
and Ang Alamat ng Ibong Adarna. ____________________________
____________________________
The first printed literary work in Tagalog ____________________________
was the poem May Bagyo Ma’t May Rilim
____________________________
(1605) while the first known published
prose was in the form of letter, the
Ang Pagsusulatan ng Dalawang Binibini
Analyze Literature
na sina Urbana at Feliza by Modesto de
Castro. Meanwhile, the first recorded epic Literary Periods: Name authors
(only in 1889) was the Biag ni Lam-ang and their literary works during
among the Christian Ilokos. They noticed Spanish Colonial Period.
that Filipinos were fond of plays so they
began to stage the Cenaculo, which depicts ____________________________
the life and passion of Christ; the ____________________________
Santacruzan, which portrays Reyna Elena’s ____________________________
search for the cross where Christ died;
____________________________
and others.
____________________________
____________________________
In 1872, the three priest-martyrs were
____________________________
executed. From then, a clamor for change
____________________________
against Spanish abuses began to bloom.
The event anchored the launching of the ____________________________
Propaganda Movement in Spain that aimed ____________________________
to clarify issues, denounce abuses and ____________________________
injustices, and refute accusations. Its
____________________________
newspaper La Solidaridad became the organ
______________
that projected the views of the group where
essay found its place. Meanwhile, in 1885,
Pedro Paterno published the first novel
Ninay which awakened national
consciousness. It became the precedent for
Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere and its sequel, the
El Filibusterismo. Marcelo H. del Pilar’s
Dasalan at Tocsohan is considered as his
most daring work against the friars.
Note the Facts

When Rizal was captured and exiled in
Dapitan, the Katipunan was formed with
its paper Kalayaan where Katapusang
Hibik ng Pilipinas and Pag-ibig sa
Tinubuang Lupa were printed to campaign
for freedom.
In 1899, the Spaniards formally turned
over the Philippines under the governance
of America in conformity with the Treaty
of Paris. The first group of American
teachers known as Thomasites who were
aboard a ship named Thomas, arrived and
brought changes to the educational system.
Hence, Filipino writers began writing in
English because The Philippine Free Press
(1905) and the College Folio (UP school organ,
1910) had been circulated.
What poems were published by
the Katipunan during the
Spanish Colonial Period?
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
Note the Facts
What event ended Spanish Rule
in the Philippines?
____________________________
____________________________
______________

The outbreak of the World War II caused the

Analyze Literature
scarcity of paper. In this period, the haiku
became popular because it does not need much Literary Periods: Which
space for it only contains three lines and a total literary period is considered the
of seventeen syllables. Golden Age of Filipino literature
where in writing in English was
The Declaration of Martial Law in 1972 greatly prohibited and writers in
affected literature. From this period to the Filipino and in vernacular
present, writers and different artists continue to languages flourished?
___________________________
flourish with the aim of bringing social reform
and subscribing to freedom of expression. _
All this just proves that the history of a nation
affects its literature.