JOSE MA. ESTRADA

Lecturer

Introduction to Literature

“an education in the arts is an education in

the feelings”

What is literature?

Derived from the Latin term LITERA, which means letter. It has been defined differently by various writers.

It is a faithful reproduction of man’s manifold experiences

blended into one harmonious expression.

It is an art of expressing beauty through a

medium called language.

It expresses the feelings of people to society, to the

government, to his surroundings, to his

fellowmen and to his Divine Creator

It is a recreation of human situation and experience through

language.

Three main ingredients:

1. subject

2. form or structure

3. point of view

Three types of point of view

1. first person point of view

2. omniscient point view

3. limited/modified omniscient point of view

Values of Literature

1. Aesthetic 2. Cognitive value 3. Social value

Formalistic or literary approach-

selection is viewed intrinsically or for

itself, independent of author, age or any

extrinsic factor.

Moral or humanistic approach

the nature of man is

essential to literature. The

reader presents man as

essentially rational with intellect and freewill.

Historical approach

it sees literature as both

a reflection and a

product of the times

and circumstances in which it was written.

Sociological Approach

an extension of the historical approach. it considers literature as

principally the expression of a man within the given

social situation.

Cultural Approach

considers literature as one of the principal manifestations and

vehicles of a nation’s or a race’s culture and

tradition

Psychological approach

considers literature as an expression of “personality”,

of “inner drives”, of “neuroses”. It includes the

psychology of the author, of the characters, and even the

psychology of creation.

Impressionistic Approach

it is very personal, very relative, sometimes very

fruitful, sometimes simply the lazy man’s way out.

Unconditioned by explanations and often taking

the impact as a whole.

LITERARY STANDARDS

1. UNIVERSALITY -literature appeals to

everyone, regardless of culture, race, sex and time which are considered significant.

2. ARTISTRY literature has an

aesthetical appeal and thus possesses a sense of beauty.

3. INTELLECTUAL VALUE -literature stimulates critical thinking that enriches mental processes of abstract and reasoning, making man analyze the fundamental truths of life and its nature.

4. SUGGESTIVENESS -literature unravels and conjures man’s emotional power to define symbolisms, nuances, implied meanings, images and messages, giving and evoking visions above and beyond the plane of ordinary life and experience.

5. SPIRITUAL VALUE -literature elevates the spirit and the soul and thus has the power to motivate and inspire, drawn from the suggested morals and lessons of the different literary genres.

6. PERMANENCE -literature endures across the time and draws out the time factor timeliness occurring at a particular time, and timelessness, meaning invariable throughout the time.

7. STYLE -literature present peculiar ways on how man sees life as experienced by the formation of his ideas, forms, structures, and expressions which are marked by their memorable substance.

Literary/story elements

1. setting- refers to the locale and period in which a story occurs. A story must take place in space and time.

Refers to any make-believe persons we encounter in fiction. Characters are classified as HERO or protagonist and VILLAIN or antagonist. As regards to characterization, they may be flat or static, round or developing

2. character

Ways of revealing literary characters

1. Actions of the characters 2. Thoughts of the characters 3. Descriptions of the

characters 4. Descriptions of the other

characters 5. Descriptions of the author

Kinds of characters

Protagonist--Major

character at the center of the story. Antagonist--A

character or force that

opposes the protagonist.

Minor character--0ften provides

support and illuminates the protagonist. Static character--A character who remains the same. Dynamic character--A character

who changes in some important way.

Characterization--The means

by which writers reveal character. Explicit Judgment--Narrator

gives facts and interpretive

comment.

Implied Judgment--Narrator

gives description; reader

make the judgment

3. plot

This is the sequence of the actions in the story.

•Causality--One event

occurs because of another event. •Foreshadowing--A

suggestion of what is going to happen. •Suspense--A sense of worry established by the author.

•Conflict--Struggle

between opposing forces. •Exposition--Background

information regarding

the setting, characters, plot.

•Complication or Rising Action--Intensification of conflict. •Crisis--Turning point; moment

of great tension that fixes the action. •Resolution/Denouement--The

way the story turns out.

Devices used in the plot:

A. Chronological sequence B. Flashback C. Foreshadowing D. Suspense E. Deus ex machina

4. conflict

Refers to the opposing forces among the

characters with the events and the situations

in the piece presented.

a. Man versus man

This is the type of conflict

where one character in the story has a problem with one

or more of the other characters.

b. Man versus society

The type of conflict where a character has a conflict or

problem with the element of society- the school, the law, the accepted way of doing

things, and so on.

c. Man versus self

The type of conflict where a character has trouble deciding what to do in a particular situation.

d. Man versus nature

The type of conflict where a character has a problem with some natural happening, a storm, an avalanche, the bitter cold, natural disasters like earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunami, and so on.

e. Man versus fate

The character has to battle what seems to be an uncontrollable problem. Whenever the problem seems to be strange or unbelievable coincidence, fate can be considered the cause and effect.

5. mood This is the feeling or atmosphere that a writer creates for a reader. Connotative words, sensory images and figurative language contribute to the mood of a selection.

6. theme General or the central truth

or idea embedded in the

literary piece. The writer’s

perception about life or

human character that a story

implicitly or explicitly

embodies.

7. tone The attitude a writer takes

toward his/her subject. All the

elements in a work of

literature creates its tone,

which migh be humurous,

serious, angry, bitter or

detached.

8. symbol

It is the image of

one thing but

presents another

thing.

9. imagery

These are the words and phrases that create vivid sensory experiences for the reader, these may be similar to figures of speech.