IDENTIFYING

REPRESENTATIVE TEXTS
FROM THE REGIONS
PREPARED BY: MS. TREXZEE NICOLE P. VALDEZ
 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
At the end of the discussion, the students must be able to:

1. recognize the contributions of representative or canonical text to the

development of Philippine Literature;
2. appreciate the use of poetic devices such as dramatic situation in the
development of meaning in a poem; and
3. respond critically to the poem and consequently articulate this response through
a visualization of the poem.
 REPRESENTATION AND THE
PHILIPPINE CANON
Oppression is a familiar word in the Filipino vocabulary.
There have been many uses for this term, whether it
describes the oppression of the less privileged by the elite or
the oppression of gender by a patriarchal society. In a way,
Filipinos have always had to face oppression in some form
or another, beginning with our own history of colonization.
Oppression and the struggle against it are common themes in
Philippine literature. Jose Rizal’s classic Noli Me Tangere
and El Filibusterismo were examples of early Filipino
writing expressing itself against oppression. Oppression as a
topic would rise again and again in Philippine literature.
• Aurelio Tolentino’s play Kahapon, Ngayon, at Bukas was
controversial during the early American period because
of its sharp criticism of the US, particularly on how their
presence thwarted the Philippine revolution.
• Jose Corazon “Batute” de Jesus wrote Sa Dakong
Silangan which was a retelling of the history of the
Philippines by way of allegory, presenting the US as
conspiring with Spain to fool the Philippines into
subservience.
 After independence, another specter of oppression
emerged, however, in the form of the dictatorship of
Ferdinand Marcos. Increasing protests against his regime
would eventually lead to his declaration of Martial Law and
the arrest and imprisonment of many writers in the country.
The Marcos era was seen to be one of the most oppressive
periods in Philippine history, and yet, a quick glance at the
internet reveals a number of claims that this era was
supposedly the best time in Philippine history.
WHAT IS THE DRAMATIC
SITUATION AND THE
PERSONA?
 Oppression has been seen in many instances in our
history, and it is natural that our literature reflects our
engagement with this reality. In particular, our poets
have used the subject of oppression as a starting point,
creating dramatic situation that lead us to a greater
understanding of the issues at hand and how these affect
our lives.
 DRAMATIC SITUATION

It is the combination of setting,

characters, and action in a poem that is
supposed to engage the reader.
 PERSONA
 Persona in the poem is usually not the poet
but is rather a character or a mask that the
poet uses as his or her “voice” in the poem.
The persona can be a character in the poem
who is involved in the dramatic situation, or
can be an observer who is watching the
situation unfold.
 ALLEGORICAL/ALLEGORY
 Allegorical/Allegory refers to symbolic
representations of truths or generalizations
about human existence. Cirilo F. Bautista’s
poem presents us with a situation that is
allegorical or not literal but rather
representative of other ideas or personalities.
 PERSONIFICATION

 Personification is a figure of speech

where a nonhuman object is given
human qualities.
 CANON

 Canon refers to the collection of works

determined by a society to have
significant value and importance.
 EMERGING TRENDS IN
PHILIPPINE LITERATURE:
CREATIVE NONFICTION
WHAT IS HOME?
WHAT IS ESSAY?
An essay is simply “a short piece of writing that
tells a person’s thoughts or opinions about a
subject,” according to the Merriam-Webster
dictionary. Almost any type of writing can
technically be considered an essay, as long as it is
short and about a subject. This can lead to the
misconception that essays are easy to write or of
lesser importance as a form of literature, which is
not the case.
The essay in the Philippine writing has a particular
history and trajectory. The first essays were written
not by Filipinos themselves, but by the Spanish
friars who arrived in the country and were tasked to
document it for those who remained in Spain. The
essay found its home in Philippine writing during
the later years of Spanish rule, particularly during
the rise of the reformist movement.
 WHAT IS
CREATIVE NONFICTION?
Creative nonfiction is a 21st-century literary
form. Creative nonfiction is seen more as a
category or a method of classification to
differentiate it from other types of essays. For
a work to be considered creative nonfiction, it
must use creative writing techniques more
commonly found in fiction.
Essays that have clear narrative elements or use
fiction techniques such as dialogue or
characterization are classified as creative
nonfiction.
Creative nonfiction is seen as contentious term
because while it seems to be referring to a brand
new genre of writing, it is often used
interchangeably with the term classifications or
ways of differentiating one thing from other.
Essays that have clear narrative elements or use
fiction techniques such as dialogue or
characterization are classified as creative
nonfiction.
Creative nonfiction is seen as contentious term
because while it seems to be referring to a brand
new genre of writing, it is often used
interchangeably with the term classifications or
ways of differentiating one thing from other.
 It is an account of a person,
WHAT IS object, or event that enables the
reader to get a clear picture of
DESCRIPTION? what is being described.
 WHAT IS It is the act of
NARRATIVE?
telling a story
 ANECDOTES CHARACTERISTICS

are the mental and

Anecdotes are short moral qualities that
stories based on make someone
true accounts. distinctive.
 These are conversations
WHAT IS found in written works
such as books, plays, or
DIALOGUES? films.
Insight in Literature
is the expansion of understanding gained
by the narrator or reader.