• Literature is a term used to describe written or spoken material. Broadly speaking, “literature’ is used to describe anything from creative writing to more technical or scientific works, but the term is most commonly used to refer to works of the creative imagination, including works of poetry, drama, fiction, and nonfiction.

HISTORY

Taken to mean only written works, literature was first produced by some of the world's earliest civilizations—those of Ancient Egypt and Sumeria—as early as the 4th millennium BC; taken to include spoken or sung texts, it originated even earlier, and some of the first written works may have been based on an already-existing oral tradition. As urban cultures and societies developed, there was a proliferation in the forms of literature. Developments in print technology allowed for literature to be distributed and experienced on an unprecedented scale, which has culminated in the electronic literature.

MAJOR FORMSPoetry is a form of literary art which uses aesthetic and rhythmic qualities of

language to evoke meanings in addition to, or in place of, prosaic ostensible meaning. Poetry has traditionally been distinguished from prose by its being set in verse, prose is cast in sentences, poetry in lines; the syntax of prose is dictated by meaning, whereas that of poetry is held

across metre or the visual aspects of the poem.

Proseis a form of language that possesses ordinary syntax and natural speech rather than rhythmic structure; in which regard, along with its measurement in sentences rather than lines, it differs from poetry.

SOME COMMON TYPES OF PROSE

1. Nonfictional Prose: A literary work that is mainly based on fact although it may contain fictional elements in certain cases. Examples are biographies and essays.

2. Fictional Prose: A literary work that is wholly or partly imagined or theoretical. Examples are novels and novella.

3. Heroic Prose: A literary work that may be written down or recited and employs many of the formulaic expressions found in oral tradition. Examples are legends and tales.

4. Prose Poetry: A literary work which exhibits poetic quality using emotional effects and heightened imagery but are written in prose instead of verse.

LITERATURE IN THE PHILIPPINES

Philippine literature is the literature associated with the Philippines and includes the legends of prehistory, and the colonial legacy of the Philippines. Pre-Hispanic Philippine literature were actually epics passed on from generation to generation originally through oral tradition. However, wealthy families, especially in Mindanao were able to keep transcribed copies of these epics as family heirloom. One such epic was the Darangen, epic of the Maranaos of Lake Lanao.

Most of the notable literature of the Philippines was written during the Spanish period and the first half of the 20th century in the Spanish language. Philippine literature is written in Spanish, English, Tagalog, or other native Philippine languages.

LITERARY FORMS IN PHILIPPINE LITERATURE

Pre-history

Pre-colonial inhabitants of our islands showcase a rich past through their folk speeches, folk songs, folk narratives and indigenous rituals and mimetic dances that affirm our ties with our Southeast Asian neighbors

Riddle – tigmo in Cebuano, bugtong in Tagalog, paktakon in Ilongo and patototdon in Bicol is the most seminal literary form in the Philippines.

Talinghaga or metaphor "reveals subtle resemblances between two unlike objects" and one's power of observation and wit are put to the test.

Tanaga – the extended form of metaphor, a mono-riming heptasyllabic quatrain expressing insights and lessons on life is "more emotionally charged than the terse proverb and thus has affinities with the folk lyric." Some examples are the basahanon or extended didactic sayings from Bukidnon and the daraida and daragilon from Panay.

Folk song - a form of folk lyric which expresses the hopes and aspirations,

the people's lifestyles as well as their loves. These are often repetitive and sonorous, didactic and naive as in the children's songs or Ida-ida (Maguindanao), tulang pambata (Tagalog) or cansiones para abbing (Ibanag).

Examples are the lullabyes or Ili-ili (Ilongo); love songs like the panawagon and balitao (Ilongo); harana or serenade (Cebuano); the bayok (Maranao); the seven-syllable per line poem, ambahan of the Mangyans that are about human relationships, social entertainment and also serve as a tool for teaching the young; work songs that depict the livelihood of the people often sung to go with the movement of workers such as the kalusan (Ivatan), soliranin (Tagalog rowing song) or the mambayu, a Kalinga rice-pounding song; the verbal jousts/games like the duplo popular during wakes.

Other folk songs are the drinking songs sung during carousals like the tagay (Cebuano and Waray); dirges and lamentations extolling the deeds of the dead like the kanogon (Cebuano) or the Annako (Bontoc).

Folk narratives i.e. epics and folk tales are varied, exotic and

magical. They explain how the world was created, how certain animals possess certain characteristics, why some places have waterfalls, volcanoes, mountains, flora or fauna and, in the case of legends, an explanation of the origins of things.

Fables are about animals and these teach moral lessons.

Our country's epics are considered ethno-epics because unlike, say, Germany's Niebelunginlied, our epics are not national for they are "histories" of varied groups that consider themselves "nations."

Epics come in various names: Guman (Subanon); Darangen (Maranao); Hudhud (Ifugao); and Ulahingan (Manobo). These epics revolve around supernatural events or heroic deeds and they embody or validate the beliefs and customs and ideals of a community. These are sung or chanted to the accompaniment of indigenous musical instruments and dancing performed during harvests, weddings or funerals by chanters. The chanters who were taught by their ancestors are considered "treasures" and/or repositories of wisdom in their communities.

Examples of these epics are the Lam-ang (Ilocano); Hinilawod (Sulod); Kudaman (Palawan); Darangen (Maranao); Ulahingan (Livunganen-Arumanen Manobo); Mangovayt Buhong na Langit (The Maiden of the Buhong Sky from Tuwaang--Manobo); Ag Tobig neg Keboklagan (Subanon); and Tudbulol (T'boli).

SPANISH COLONIAL TRADITION “While it is true that Spain subjugated the Philippines for

more mundane reasons, this former European power contributed much in the shaping and recording of our literature.”

Poetry and Metrical Romance

Ladino Poems – are religious lyrics written by ladino poets or those versed in both Spanish and Tagalog were included in early catechism and were used to teach Filipinos the Spanish language. Fernando Bagonbanta's "Salamat nang walang hanga/gracias de sin sempiternas" (Unending thanks) is a fine example that is found in the Memorial de la vida cristiana en lengua tagala (Guidelines for the Christian life in the Tagalog language) published in 1605.

Dalit – are meditative verses which is another form of religious lyrics appended to novenas and catechisms. It has no fixed meter nor rime scheme although a number are written in octosyllabic quatrains and have a solemn tone and spiritual subject matter.

But among the religious poetry of the day, it is the pasyon in

octosyllabic quintillas that became entrenched in the Filipino's commemoration of Christ's agony and resurrection at Calvary. Gaspar Aquino de Belen's "Ang Mahal na Passion ni Jesus Christong Panginoon natin na tola" (Holy Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ in Verse) put out in 1704 is the country's earliest known pasyon. Other known pasyons chanted during the Lenten season are Ilocano, Pangasinan, Ibanag, Cebuano, Bicol, Ilongo, and Waray.

POETRY AND METRICAL ROMANCESSome forms of poetry are:

Dialogo (dialogue)

Manual de Urbanidad (conduct book)

Ejemplo (exemplum) and;

Tratado (tratado). (The most well-known are Modesto de Castro's "Pagsusulatan ng Dalawang Binibini na si Urbana at si Feliza" (Correspondence between the Two Maidens Urbana and Feliza) in 1864 and Joaquin Tuason's "Ang Bagong Robinson" (The New Robinson) in 1879, an adaptation of Daniel Defoe's novel.)

The most notable of the secular lyrics followed the conventions of a romantic tradition: the languishing but loyal lover, the elusive, often heartless beloved, the rival. The leading poets were Jose Corazon de Jesus (Huseng Sisiw) and Francisco Balagtas. Some secular poets who wrote in this same tradition were Leona Florentino, Jacinto Kawili, Isabelo de los Reyes and Rafael Gandioco.

Another popular secular poetry is the metrical romance, the awit

and korido in Tagalog. These are colorful tales of chivalry from European sources made for singing and chanting such as Gonzalo de Cordoba (Gonzalo of Cordoba) and Ibong Adarna (Adarna Bird). There are numerous metrical romances in Tagalog, Bicol, Ilongo, Pampango, Ilocano and in Pangasinan. The awit as a popular poetic genre reached new heights in Balagtas' "Florante at Laura" (ca. 1838-1861), the most famous of the country's metrical romances.

Corridos – Were widely read during the Spanish period that filled the populace's need for entertainment as well as edifying reading matter in their leisure moments. Set in octosyllabic quatrains.

Awit –it is set in dodecasyllabic quatrains like corridos, these were also widely read during the Spanish period as entertaining, edifying, reading manner in their leisure time. It is also a fabrication of the writers imagination although the characters and the setting may be European. The structure is rendered dodecasyllabic quatrains

Again, the winds of change began to blow in 19th century Philippines. Filipino intellectuals educated in Europe called ilustrados began to write about the downside of colonization. This, coupled with the simmering calls for reforms by the masses gathered a formidable force of writers like Jose Rizal, Marcelo H. del Pilar, Mariano Ponce, Emilio Jacinto and Andres Bonifacio.

This led to the formation of the Propaganda Movement where prose works such as the political essays and Rizal's two political novels, Noli Me Tangere and the El filibusterismo helped usher in the Philippine revolution resulting in the downfall of the Spanish regime, and, at the same time planted the seeds of a national consciousness among Filipinos.

But if Rizal's novels are political, the novel Ninay (1885) by Pedro Paterno is largely cultural and is considered the first Filipino novel. Other Filipino writers published the essay and short fiction in Spanish in La Vanguardia, El Debate, Renacimiento Filipino, and Nueva Era. The more notable essayists and fictionists were Claro M. Recto, Teodoro M. Kalaw, Epifanio de los Reyes, Vicente Sotto, Trinidad Pardo de Tavera, Rafael Palma, Enrique Laygo (Caretas or Masks, 1925) and Balmori who mastered the prosa romantica or romantic prose.

EARLIEST WORKS OF LITERATURE

Doctrina Christiana, Manila, 1593, remarkable not only for having been printed at such an early period in an elaborated blackletter of the Spanish language, but also for having copies made in Tagalog, both in Latin script and the commonly used Baybayin script of the natives at the time, plus another translation in traditional Chinese. It is also the first book published in the Philippines.

Tomas Pinpin wrote and printed in 1610 Librong Pagaaralan nang mga Tagalog nang Uicang Castilla, 119 pages long, designed to help fellow Filipinos to learn the Spanish language in a simple way. He is also with the first news publication made in the Philippines, "Successos Felices“.

POETRY AND METRICAL ROMANCES

Ladino Poems – Were natives of first Tagalog versifiers who saw print: highly literate in both Spanish and the vernacular.

Corridos – Were widely read during the Spanish period that filled the populace's need for entertainment as well as edifying reading matter in their leisure moments.

Awit – like corridos, these were also widely read during the Spanish period as entertaining, edifying, reading manner in their leisure time. It is also a fabrication of the writers imagination although the characters and the setting may be European. The structure is rendered dodecasyllabic quatrains.

RELIGIOUS DRAMA

The Panunuluyan– Literally, seeking entrance, the Tagalog version of the Mexican Las Posadas. Held on the eve of Christmas, it dramatizes Joseph's and Mary's search for Bethlehem.

Senakulo – Was the dramatization of the passion and death of Jesus Christ.

Salubong – An Easter play that dramatizes the meeting of the Risen Christ and His Mother.

Moriones – Refers to the participants dressed roman soldiers, their identities hidden behind colorful, sometimes grotesque, wooden masks.

The Santacruzan – Performed during the month of May which have the devotion for the Holy Cross. It depicts St. Elena's search for the cross on which Christ died.

Pangangaluwa – An interesting socio-religious practice on All Saint's Day which literally means for The Soul.These were generally held during the nine nights of vigil and prayers after someone's death, on the first death anniversary when the family members put away their mourning clothes.

SECULAR DRAMAS

The Karagatan – comes from the legendary practice of testing the mettle of young men vying for a maiden's hand. The maiden's ring would be dropped into sea and whoever retrieves it would have the girl's hand in marriage.

The Duplo – A forerunner of the balagtasan. The performances consist of two teams; One composed of young women called Dupleras or Belyakas; and the other, of young men called Dupleros or Belyakos.

The Comedia – It is about a courtly love between, a prince and a princess of different religions. It is about a Christian-Muslim relationship

MODERN LITERATURE (20TH AND 21ST CENTURY)

• The greatest portion of Spanish literature was written during the American period, most often as an expression of pro-Hispanic nationalism, by those who had been educated in Spanish or had lived in the Spanish-speaking society of the big cities, and whose principles entered in conflict with the American cultural trends. Such period of Spanish literary production—i.e., between the independence of Spain in 1898 and well ahead into the decade of the 1940s—is known as Edad de Oro del Castellano en Filipinas. Some prominent writers of this era were Wenceslao Retana and Claro Mayo Recto, both in drama and essay; Antonio M. Abad and Guillermo Gomez Wyndham, in the narrative; Fernando María Guerrero and Manuel Bernabé, both in poetry. The predominant literary style was the so-called "Modernismo", a mixture of elements from the French Parnassien and Symboliste schools, as promoted by some Latin American and Peninsular Spanish writers (e.g. the Nicaraguan Rubén Darío, the Mexican Amado Nervo, the Spaniard Francisco Villaespesa, and the Peruvian José Santos Chocano as major models).

NOTABLE PHILIPPINE LITERARY AUTHORS

Nicanor Abelardo - was a Filipino composer known for his Kundiman songs, especially before the Second World War.

Estrella Alfon - was a well-known prolific Filipina author who wrote in English. Because of continued poor health, she could manage only an A. A. degree from the University of the Philippines

Francisco “Franz” Arcellana - was a Filipino writer, poet, essayist, critic, journalist and teacher.

Liwayway A. Arceo - was a multi-awarded Tagalog fictionist, journalist, radio scriptwriter and editor from the Philippines. Arceo authored a number of well-received novels, such as Canal de la Reina and Titser.

Francisco Balagtas y de la Cruz - also known as Francisco Baltazar, was a prominent Filipino poet, and is widely considered as one of the greatest Filipino literary laureate for his impact on Filipino literature

Lualhati Torres Bautista - is one of the foremost Filipino female novelists in the history of contemporary Philippine Literature. Her novels include Dekada '70, Bata, Bata, Pa'no Ka Ginawa?, and ‘GAPÔ

Cecilia Manguerra Brainard - is an award-winning author and editor of nineteen books. She co-founded PAWWA or Philippine American Women Writers and Artists; she also founded Philippine American Literary House.

Carlos Sampayan Bulosan - was an English-language Filipino novelist and poet who spent most of his life in the United States.

Linda Ty Casper - is a Filipino writer who has published over fifteen books, including the historical novel Dream Eden and the political novels Awaiting Trespass, Wings of Stone, A Small Party in a Garden, and Fortress in the Plaza.

Gilda Cordero-Fernando - is a multiawarded writer, publisher and cultural icon from the Philippines. She was born in Manila, has a B.A. from St. Theresa's College-Manila, and an M.A. from the Ateneo de Manila University.

Genoveva Edroza-Matute was a Filipino author. In 1951, she was the recipient of the first ever Palanca Award for Short Story in Filipino, for her short story "Kuwento ni Mabuti“.

Zoilo Galang - is the Filipino author of the first Philippine novel written in the English language A Child of Sorrow, published in 1921.

N.V.M. Gonzales – was the author of “The Winds of April” “A Season of Grace”

‘The Bamboo Dancers”.

Nick Joaquin - Nicomedes Márquez Joaquín was a Filipino writer, historian and journalist, best known for his short stories and novels in the English language. He also wrote using the pen name Quijano de Manila.

F. Sionil José - or in full Francisco Sionil José is one of the most widely read Filipino writers in the English language. His novels and short stories depict the social underpinnings of class struggles and colonialism in Filipino society.

Ambeth Ocampo - is a multi-awarded Filipino historian, academic, journalist, and author best known for his writings about Philippines' national hero José Rizal and for "Looking Back", his bi-weekly editorial page column in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. He became the chair of the Philippines' National Historical Institute in 2002 and of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts in 2005.

José Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda - was a Filipino nationalist, novelist, poet, ophthalmologist, journalist, and revolutionary. He is widely considered as one of the greatest heroes of the Philippines.

Alejandro Reyes Roces - was a Filipino author, essayist,

dramatist and a National Artist of the Philippines for literature. He served as Secretary of Education from 1961 to 1965, during the term of Philippine President Diosdado Macapagal.

Bienvenido N. Santos - was a Filipino-American fiction, poetry and nonfiction writer. He was born and raised in Tondo, Manila. His family roots are originally from Lubao, Pampanga, Philippines.

Edilberto Kaindong Tiempo - also known as E. K. Tiempo, was a Filipino writer and professor.

Kerima Polotan-Tuvera - was a Filipino author. She was a renowned and highly respected fictionist, essayist, and journalists, with her works having received among the highest literary distinctions of the Philippines. Some of her stories have been published under the pseudonym Patricia S. Torres.