21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World

Reviewing the Forms and Genres

of Literature
Jacqueline C. Pandi
To live is the rarest thing in the world.
Most people exist, that is all.
- Oscar Wilde
 Hope is the thing with feathers that
perches in the soul and sings the tune
without the words and never stops at all.
- Emily Dickinson
 Hope is the thing with feathers that
perches in the soul and sings the tune
without the words and never stops at all.
- Emily Dickinson
I would like to be the air that inhabits you
for a moment only. I would like to be that
unnoticed and that necessary.
- Margaret Atwood
We delight in the beauty of the butterfly,
but rarely admit the changes it has gone
through to achieve that beauty.
- Maya Angelou
Objectives
• Recall the various literary
forms
• Determine the key
characteristics of each
literary form.
• Provide examples of texts
for each form or type of
literature.
 TASK: BREAK THE
Decode each item by simply referring to the letter table hereunder. To
CODE
break the codes, just look for the opposite letter of the code to form the
target word.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M

N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Y-V-G-R-E-N-G-H-E-R
 TASK: BREAK THE
Decode each item by simply referring to the letter table hereunder. To
CODE
break the codes, just look for the opposite letter of the code to form the
target word.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M

N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

C-B-R-G-E-L
 TASK: BREAK THE
Decode each item by simply referring to the letter table hereunder. To
CODE
break the codes, just look for the opposite letter of the code to form the
target word.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M

N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

S-B-E-Z
 TASK: BREAK THE
Decode each item by simply referring to the letter table hereunder. To
CODE
break the codes, just look for the opposite letter of the code to form the
target word.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M

N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

4. C-E-B-F-R
 TASK: BREAK THE
Decode each item by simply referring to the letter table hereunder. To
CODE
break the codes, just look for the opposite letter of the code to form the
target word.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M

N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

5. T-R-A-E-R
 TASK: BREAK THE
Decode each item by simply referring to the letter table hereunder. To
CODE
break the codes, just look for the opposite letter of the code to form the
target word.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M

N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

6. S-V-P-G-V-B-A
 TASK: BREAK THE
Decode each item by simply referring to the letter table hereunder. To
CODE
break the codes, just look for the opposite letter of the code to form the
target word.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M

N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

7. Q-E-A-Z-N
 TASK: BREAK THE
Decode each item by simply referring to the letter table hereunder. To
CODE
break the codes, just look for the opposite letter of the code to form the
target word.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M

N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

8. A-B-A-S-V-P-G-V-B-A
 TASK: BREAK THE
Decode each item by simply referring to the letter table hereunder. To
CODE
break the codes, just look for the opposite letter of the code to form the
target word.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M

N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

9. E-U-L-G-U-Z
 TASK: BREAK THE
Decode each item by simply referring to the letter table hereunder. To
CODE
break the codes, just look for the opposite letter of the code to form the
target word.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M

N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

10. Y-N-A-T-H-N-T-R
 MAJOR FORMS OF LITERATURE
A. PROSE
IT IS MAINLY ASCRIBED TO BE COMPOSED FREELY. THIS
FORM DOES NOT HAVE ANY MEASUREMENT SCHEME
FOR IT IS KNOWN TO HAVE A FREE FLOW OF
SENTENCES. ALSO, IT HAS GREATER IRREGULARITY
AND THE LANGUAGE USED IN THIS FORM IS ORDINARY
FOR IT HAS A CLOSE RESEMBLANCE TO MAN'S PATTERN
OF EVERYDAY SPEECH.
 EXAMPLE OF PROSE

“And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of

leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast
movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was
beginning over again with the summer.”

-THE GREAT GATSBY

 MAJOR FORMS OF LITERATURE
B. POETRY
IT IS A FORM OF LITERATURE CHARACTERIZED BY ITS
HIGHLY CONTROLLED MANNER OF CHOOSING AND
ARRANGING LANGUAGE WITH THE USE OF REGULATING
DEVICES SUCH AS SOUND AND RHYTHM TO
AESTHETICALLY CONVEY A MEANING WHICH MAY CALL
FOR A SPECIFIC EMOTIONAL RESPONSE.
 EXAMPLE OF POETRY
Life's Brighter Side
Poet: John Imrie

'Tis better to smile than to frown,

'Tis better to laugh than to cry;
Then, don't let your spirits get down,
And never say "fail" tho' you die!
GENRES OF
LITERATURE
A. POETRY-MOST ECONOMICAL
MEANS OF EXPRESSION SINCE IT
ONLY USES LIMITED NUMBER OF
WORDS. ITS BEAUTY IS MAINLY
FORCED BY INTRICATE AND CAREFUL
USE OF WORDS, FIGURATIVE
EXPRESSION, IMAGERY, RHYTHM AND
SOUND
GENRES OF
LITERATURE
B. PROSE FICTION-MAINLY CHARACTERIZED
BY SCHOLARS AS ANY LITERARY WORK THAT
IS AN IMAGINATIVE RECREATION AND
RECONSTRUCTION OF LIFE. IT COVERS SHORT
STORIES AND NOVELS AND RECOUNTS THE
FLOW AND DEVELOPMENTS OF ACTIONS AND
EVENTS INVOLVING AN IDENTIFIED NUMBER
OF CHARACTERS WHO DEAL AND REACT TO
CERTAIN CONFLICTS AND HUMAN ISSUES.
GENRES OF
LITERATURE
C. DRAMA - IT INVOLVES STORIES INVOLVING
SIGNIFICANT HUMAN ENCOUNTERS WHICH
ARE INTENDED TO BE PERFORMED ON STAGE.
IT MAY INVOLVE A CERTAIN NUMBER OF
CHARACTERS WHO ALSO DEAL WITH SOME
COMPLICATIONS AND ISSUES. IT PRESENTS
FICTIONAL OR IMAGINATIVE EVENTS
PRESENTED OR PORTRAYED BY ACTORS AND
ACTRESSES BEFORE AN AUDIENCE.
GENRES OF
LITERATURE
D. NON-FICTION PROSE - THIS GENRE MAINLY
ATTEMPTS TO PRESENT, INTERPRET, OR
DESCRIBE FACTS. WITH SUCH JUDGEMENTS,
OPINIONS, AND COMMENTARIES MAY BE
FRAMED AND EXPRESSED IN THE FORM OF
ESSAYS, FEATURE ARTICLES, EDITORIALS,
AND THE LIKE.
Examine the constructs below then organize
them using a Venn Diagram to show the
similarities and differences between prose
and poetryProse Poetry
• USED CREATIVE MODELS • USE OF LANGUAGE
OF EXPRESSION • CREATIVE
• USED TO REVEAL INNER • SOURCE OF LEARNING
THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS • MEASURED AND
• AESTHETIC QUALITY CONTROLLED
• USE OF LIMITED WORDS • IRREGULAR
• FREE-FLOW OF SENTENCES • SENTENCES AND
• LINES AND STANZAS PARAGRAPHS
• FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE • RESEMBLANCE TO
• MANIFESTATION OF EVERYDAY SPEECH
IMAGINATIVE THINKING PATTERN
• UNMEASURED • PERSONA AND ADDRESSEE
• Why is it
necessary for a
student like you
to be familiar
with the forms
and genres of
literature?
Which between prose
and poetry do you
feel comfortable
reading? Explain your
choice.
Poetry is relatively
known to be short. Does
this affect the power of
poetry to convey clear
meanings and ideas?
Defend your stand.
During primitive times, was there any form of literature
enjoyed by our forebears? What kind of literature
transpired during such period? What were the uses of
their literature? What ideas about forebears could be
revealed by their literature?
Enumerate: 1. forms of literature that our forebears had
2. the uses of their literature
3. ideas about our forebears which are revealed through
literature
ACTIVITY: TRANSLATE POETRY,
LIFE’S BRIGHTER SIDE INTO
PROSE.
Th a nk yo u !