I N T R O D U C T I O N TO

L I T E R AT U R E

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 WHAT IS LITERATURE?
Literature is a rich body of texts, created in different
times and different places, that expresses human
experience.
 WHY STUDY LITERATURE?

To learn
To escape ignorance
To relate

To be entertained / For aesthetic pleasure

 GENRES OF LITERATURE
Fiction--novel, short story, folktale, fairytale, parable legend/myth
Poetry--poem, riddle, song, epic, rap, sonnet, haiku, free verse,
balagtasan/fliptop, awit, korido
Drama—tragedy and comedy (play, film, television show)
Non-fiction--proverbs, diary, news, magazine, journal, etc.
 ELEMENTS OF FICTION
Setting (time, place)
Characters (kinds—major, minor)
Plot (parts—exposition, conflict, rising action, climax,
denouement, resolution, ending)
Narrator and point of view (kinds—1st person, 3rd
person)
Theme

Symbol*

*Figures of Speech (simile, metaphor, personification, irony,

hyperbole, apostrophe, synecdoche, allusion, onomatopoeia)
 **FIGURES OF SPEECH

Simile Apostrophe
Metaphor Synecdoche
Personification Allusion
Irony Onomatopoeia
Hyperbole
 ELEMENTS OF POETRY

Meter
Rhythm
Persona and point of view (kinds—1st person, 3rd person)
Theme*
Symbolism**