21ST CENTURY LITERATURE

FROM THE PHILIPPINES AND

THE WORLD
 LESSON 1:NATURE AND MEANING OF LITERATURE
 LESSON 2:ELEMENTS OF LITERATURE
 LESSON 3:TYPES OF LITERATURE
 LESSON 4: CONTEMPORARY FORMS OF LITERATURE
 LESSON 5: LITERARY DEVICES
 LESSON 6: FIGURES OF SPEECH
LESSON 1:
NATURE AND MEANING OF LITERATURE
 LESSON 1: NATURE AND MEANING OF LITERATURE
The moment you pick up a book and turns its pages it is the moment that
you encounter literature. Literature is our connection with our own
human experience of life.
 written works, especially those considered of superior or lasting artistic
merit

 It describes, records and shares our experiences, hopes and desires to

other people.

 Literature comes from the Latin word “literature,” which means “writing
formed with letters.” However, literature is not only enclosed in that
meaning.

 Literature is anything and everything that reproduces life experiences.

 It collects, organizes and sums up the entirety of humanity, occasionally

adding more color to it. When other people read literature, they are not
just being told of stories; they are being shown events, conflicts and
perspectives, as if being physically present in the literature itself.

 It is the creative representation and reproduction of what we have lived

in and for.
LESSON 2:
ELEMENTS OF LITERATURE
LESSON 2: ELEMENTS OF LITERATURE
 FORM talks about the general structure of the literary piece. Form is
the first aspect of literature that attempts to connect with the
reader. Therefore, it is through form that the literature first
communicates its message.

 Any literature always has a unifying THEME that holds all of its other
elements in place. It is the subject of which literature revolves
around. Literature is purposive. It draws in crowds of readers who
have the same reasons and goals.

 Effective stories, be it a fantasy story or a persuasive essay, are

always being led by effective CHARACTERIZATIONS. Characters in
literature could be products of the writer’s imagination, or they
could be the very compelling point-of-view that the writer thinks in.

 STYLE we are referring to the specific techniques and designs that a

literary writer employs to prolong his or her grip of the reader’s
interest. The play on words and skill in storytelling of the writer
comprise of his or her style.
LESSON 3:
TYPES OF LITERATURE
 LESSON 3: types OF LITERATURE
 FICTION LITERATURE- talks about imaginary characters, setting and
stories.

 NONFICTION LITERATURE- talks about the reality of things, places

and people, building up on facts.

 CREATIVE NONFICTION LITERATURE- tries to combine these two

main types into one ingenious literary masterpiece. Creative
nonfiction follows the structure of Nonfiction Literature, while
employing the use of Fiction Literature’s style and characteristics.

Among the common forms of literature across types are the

following:

 DRAMA is a created literature to be performed and witnessed by

an audience. This literature is intended for theatre and is
performed by actors donning costumes and props against a
constructed backdrop for setting. A drama divided into “acts” and
“scenes,” forming a text filled with dialogues and stage directions
for the actors’ movement.
LESSON 3: types OF LITERATURE
 NOVEL is an extended story, usually fictional. Novels could present various
themes organized in “chapters,” and sometimes, “volumes.”

 SHORT STORY is a story narrated in brevity in comparison with a novel.

Short stories, often times, are more creatively crafted than novels, but lack
specific and minute details.

 POETRY is a form of literature that uses more expressive words, like figures
of speech, and creative structures in conveying its message. Most poems are
intended to be read aloud, however, unlike drama, poems are usually
intended to a specific person, or is only meant to be heard and generalized.
Poetry is the expression of the writer’s emotions. Poetry stands out from the
other literary forms as it has, most of the time, meter, rhyme, and rhythm.

 ESSAY is a literary form intended to be read, if not, addressed to a specific

audience. Essays are mostly built upon facts and general knowledge. It is
one literary form that focuses on analyzing and critiquing issues. Essays are
deemed as the most relatable and tangible among the other literary forms.

 EPIC is on literary form that is slowly becoming extinct, if not, rare. In

structure, an epic combines both styles of a drama and a narrative story. It
also has an element of song in it, as most epics were sung in the old times.
LESSON 4:
CONTEMPORARY FORMS OF LITERATURE
 LESSON 4: CONTEMPORARY FORMS OF LITERATURE
Besides Creative Nonfiction Literature, there are other contemporary literary
forms that came about because of the developments in technology. The use
of the internet as a medium to showcase literature has helped created
different literary types involving web sharing and reading.

 HYPERPOETRY, or sometimes called “Cyber poetry,” presents poems that

include verses or lines linked through hyperlink mark-ups. This type of
poetry is very visual, as it oftentimes uses graphics to further convey the
meaning. The links in this type of poem suggest that the reading of the
poem is highly dependent on the readers, as they are the ones clicking the
links in the mark-up.

 BLOG, from the words “web log,” is a website created to contain and
manage user-made articles or posts that are updated regularly. This is a
good medium for writers to share their opinions and experiences to a
bigger audience, and, at the same, is a good channel to read others ideas
as well.

 TEX TULA is a poem produced and shared through the use of a mobile
phone’s messaging application. Usually, these poems are either in the
form of a “tanaga,” a Filipino poem consisting of four lines with seven
syllables each with a rhyme scheme AABB. The developed Text Tula freely
uses other dual rhyme schemes or freestyle rhyme forms.
LESSON 4: CONTEMPORARY FORMS OF LITERATURE

 CHICK LIT is a genre fiction that was made popular in the late
1990s. It generally talks about women and their different
struggles, specifically staged in modern times. Themes in this
writing genre are treated humorously and lightly.

 SPECULATIVE FICTION is a fiction genre that dwells on issues

of alternate imagined scenarios. It uses the appeal of
conspiracy themes, fantasy science fiction and dystopian
societies to create imaginative stories.

 FLASH FICTION is a fiction genre that presents one-sitting-

long-of-reading texts. The longest text in the genre of Flash
Fiction is only said to be 1000-words.
 ACTIVITY 1. IDENTIFYING THE ELEMENTS AND FORMS OF
LITERATURE.
DIRECTION: Identify the elements and the forms of literature that are described in the following statements.
Write on the blanks your answer.

__________________1. This statement of literature refers to the subject and to the universal message of every literature.
__________________2. This element of literature pertains to the structure of literature or how it is written.
__________________3. This literary element pertains to the techniques of the author to engage the reader, sustain the
interest, and leave an impact on the reader.
__________________4. This element of literature refers to the use of participants in the story that are relatable yet at the
same time interesting.
__________________5. This type of literature combines the form of fiction and nonfiction literature in which the structure
is that nonfiction literature while employing the use of fiction literature’s style and characteristics.
 ACTIVITY 1. IDENTIFYING THE ELEMENTS AND FORMS OF
LITERATURE.
DIRECTION: Identify the elements and the forms of literature that are described in the following statements.
Write on the blanks your answer.
__________________6. This form of literature employs specific or nonspecific meter, rhyme, and rhythm, and figurative
devices.
__________________7. This form of literature is a long work of fiction that presents multiple themes and other elements
in chapters.
__________________8. This contemporary form of literature tackles issues about women’s status, struggles, and roles.
__________________9. This form of literature expresses most usually in direct manner the author’s purpose and message.
This is a powerful form of literature that can critic and analyzes directly other literary works.
_________________10. This form of literature is meant to be performed in front of audience and this utilizes scripts,
staging, props, rehearsals, and the likes.
 ACTIVITY 1. IDENTIFYING THE ELEMENTS AND FORMS OF
LITERATURE.
DIRECTION: Identify the elements and the forms of literature that are described in the following statements.
Write on the blanks your answer.
________________11. This form of literature is the modern version of the essay that enables the author to express his/her
ideas using the internet to reach wider audience.
________________12. Form of term itself, this form of literature is a very short work of fiction that can be read in one sitting.
________________13. This literary genre contains themes and elements such as conspiracy themes, science fiction, and
dystopian settings.
_______________14. This type of poetry is available online and can be accessed personally by the readers through hyperlink
mark-ups.
_______________15. This is another contemporary literature that can be accessed through mobile phones messaging
application. This form is similar to a “tanaga” which is a Filipino poem consisting of four lines with seven syllables each with a
rhyme scheme af AABB.
LESSON 5:
LITERARY DEVICES
LESSON 5: LITERARY DEVICES

LITERARY DEVICES are common structures applied in any

literary work that writers use to convey their message to the
readers. It allows the readers to interpret, understand, and
analyze the examined work when the devices are effectively
utilized.
RHYTHM- the recurrence of accented and unaccented
syllables in pattern (words or in the line/s in the poem).
 Rhythm can be classified in five types:
FOOT TYPE PATTERN EXAMPLE

Lamb unstressed/ stressed Compare

Trocee stressed/ unstressed Numbers

Spondee stressed/ stressed Sunshine

Dactyl stressed/ unstressed/ unstressed Marvellous

Anapest unstressed/ unstressed/ stressed Metaphor

 LESSON 5: LITERARY DEVICES

ALLITERATION- the repetition of a consonant sound.

 Example: “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled
peppers”
LESSON 6:
FIGURES OF SPEECH
LESSON 6: FIGURES OF SPEECH
LESSON 6: FIGURES OF SPEECH
LESSON 6: FIGURES OF SPEECH