PHILIPPINE LITERATURE

LITERATURELiterature is the expression of life in words of truth and beauty. It is the written record of man’s spirit, his emotions, thoughts and aspirations. It is the history and only history of the human soul.

 Wordsworth

LITERATURE

derived from the

Latin term litera – letter

French phrase belles-letters – beautiful writing

LITERATURE

is anything that is printed, as long as it is related to the ideas and feelings of people, whether it is true, or just a product of one’s imagination (Webster)

is the story of man, for it deals with the ideas, thoughts and emotions of man (Kahayon, 1998)

mirror of life sister of history

STANDARDS OF GOOD LITERATURE

(Garcia, 1993) Great literature is distinguishable by the following qualities:

ARTISTRY INTELLECTUAL VALUE SUGGESTIVENESS SPIRITUAL VALUE PERMANENCE UNIVERSALITY

TWO MAIN DIVISIONS OF LITERATURE

PROSE POETRYFORM Written in

paragraph formWritten in

stanza or verse form

LANGUAGE Expressed in ordinary form

Expressed in metrical,

rhythmical and figurative language

APPEAL To the intellect To the emotion

AIM To convince, instruct, imitate

and reflect

Stir the imagination and

set an idea of how life should

be

TYPES OF PROSE

NOVEL

This is a long narrative divided into chapters

The events are taken from true-to-life stories and spans a long period of time.

There are many characters involved. Examples:

Without Seeing the Dawn by Stevan JavellanaDekada 70 by Lualhati Bautista

SHORT STORY

This is a narrative involving one or more characters , one plot and one single impression.

Examples:The Laughter of My Father by Carlos BulosanDead Stars by Paz Marquez-BenitezHow My Brother Leon Brought Home a Wife by Manuel E. Arguilla

PLAYS

This is presented on stage, is divided into acts and each act has many scenes.

Examples:Three Rats by Wilfredo Ma. GuerreroCadaver by Alberto S. FlorentinoSa Pula, Sa Puti by Rodrigo Francisco

LEGENDS

These are fictitious narratives, usually about origins.

Examples:Legend of the MermaidLegend of Tagaytay

FABLES

These are fictitious narratives which deal with animals and inanimate things who speak and act like people.

Have morals or lessons Examples:

The Monkey and the Turtle The Two Cats and the Monkey

ANECDOTE

This is a short entertaining account about an amusing or interesting event or person.

Its main aim is to bring out lessons to the reader.

Example:The Moth and the Lamp

ESSAY

A short literary composition which is expository in nature.

The author shares some of his thoughts, feelings, experiences or observations on some aspects of life that has interested him.

BIOGRAPHY

This is an account of a certain person’s life written by another.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY – a written account of man’s life written by himself

NEWS

This is a report of everyday events in society, government, science and industry (local, national, international).

ORATION

This is a formal treatment of a subject and is intended to be spoken in public.

It appeals to the intellect, to the will or to the emotions of the audience.

TYPES OF POETRY

NARRATIVE POETRY

A form of poetry which describes important events in life, either real or imaginary.

A poem that tells a story.

EPIC

This is an extended narrative poem about heroic exploits often under supernatural control.

It may deal with heroes and gods. Two Kinds:

1. ANCIENT/POPULAR EPIC – often without a definite author and is of slow growth

2. LITERARY/MODERN EPIC – with a definite author

METRICAL TALE

A narrative poem consisting usually of a single series of connective events that are simple, and generally do not form a plot.

Examples of these are simple idylls or home tales, love tales, tales of the supernatural or tales written for a strong moral purpose in verse form.

METRICAL ROMANCE

A narrative poem that tells a story of adventure, love and chivalry.

The typical hero is knight on a quest.

BALLAD

Considered the shortest and simplest type of narrative poetry.

It has a simple structure and tells of a single incident.

It is intended to be sung. Variations: love ballads, humorous,

moral, historical or mythical ballads.

LYRIC POETRY

Originally refers to that kind of poetry meant to be sung to the accompaniment of a lyre.

Now, it applies to any type of poetry that expresses emotions and feelings of the poet.

It is usually short, simple and easy to understand.

ODE

A lyric poem of some length (no definite number of syllables or of lines in a stanza), serious in subject and dignified in style.

It is most majestic of the lyric poems.

It is written in a spirit of praise of some persons or things.

ELEGY

A lyric poem which expresses feelings of grief and melancholy, and whose theme is death.

SONNET

A lyric poem of 14 lines dealing with an emotion, a feeling, or an idea.

FOLK SONGS (AWITING BAYAN)

These are short poems intended to be sung.

The common theme is love, despair, grief, doubt, joy, hope and sorrow.

AWIT (SONG)

Have measures of twelve syllables (dodecasyllabic) and slowly sung to the accompaniment o a guitar or banduria.

Example: Florante at Laura

CORRIDOS (KURIDOS)

Have measures of eight syllables (octosyllabic) and recited to a martial beat.

Example: Ibong Adarna

DALIT

A song praising God or the Virgin Mary and containing a philosophy of life.

DRAMATIC POETRY

COMEDY

Comes from the Greek term Komos meaning festivity or revelry.

This form is usually light and written with the purpose of amusing, and usually has a happy ending.

MELODRAMA

This is usually used in musical plays with the opera.

Today, this is related to tragedy just as the farce is to comedy.

It arouses immediate and intense emotion and is usually sad, but there is a happy ending for the principal character.

TRAGEDY

This involves the hero struggling mightily against dynamic forces; he meets death or ruin without success and satisfaction.

FARCE

This is an exaggerated comedy. It seeks to arouse mirth by laughable

lines; situations are too ridiculous to be true; the characters seem to be caricatures and the motives undignified and absurd.

SOCIAL POEMS

This form is either purely comic or tragic and it pictures the life of today.

It may aim to bring about changes in the social conditions.