ESSENCE AND SIGNIFICANCE OF LITERATURE o happiness

 Literature appeals to man’s higher nature and its needs –

What is Literature?
o emotional,
 Literature – from the Latin term “litera” means letter, deals with
o spiritual,
ideas, thoughts and emotions of man – thus it can be said the o intellectual, and
literature is the story of man. From French phrase “belles-letters”
o creative
which means beautiful writing.
 Literature is one of the arts which results of form and beauty:
 Literature in its broadest sense, is everything that has ever been
written. o music,
o dance,
 The best way to understand human nature fully and to know a o painting,
nation completely is to study literature. o sculpture,
 Through literature, we learn the innermost feelings and thoughts o theatre, and
of people – the most real part of themselves, thus we gain an o architecture
understanding not only of others, but more importantly, of Why do people read literature?
ourselves and of life itself.
 For information, amusement, for higher and keener pleasure, for
 Literature offers us an experience in which we should participate cultural upliftment and for discovery of broader dimensions in life.
as we read and test what we read by our own experience.
Hallmarks of Literature
 Literature does not yield much unless we bring something of
 The ability to judge of literature is based on the application of
ourselves to it.
certain recognizable standards of good literature.
 Literature is a faithful production of life… in a sense it is a product
 Great literature is distinguishable of the following qualities:
and commentary on life process.
o Artistry
 Literature illuminates life. o Intellectual Value
 Literature is our life story including its: o Suggestiveness
o Spiritual Value
o struggles, o Permanence
o ideas, o Universality
o failures,
o sacrifices, and  Artistry – quality which appeals to our sense of beauty.
 Intellectual Value – a literary work stimulates thought enriches o for character analysis, as an appeal to move readers to
our mental life by making us realize fundamental truths about life action,
and human nature.
o for social reforms, for its representations of literary
 Suggestiveness – this is the quality associated with the movements and techniques, for the author’s unique use of
emotional power of literature, such that it should move us deeply language (style) and most importantly for its reflection of life
and stir our creative imagination, giving and evoking vision above itself.
and beyond the plane of ordinary life and experience.
Divisions of Literatures:
 Spiritual Value – a good literature elevates the spirit by bringing
out moral values which makes us better persons – this capacity
to inspire is part of the spiritual value of literature.
 Spiritual Value – a good literature elevates the spirit by bringing
out moral values which makes us better persons – this capacity
to inspire is part of the spiritual value of literature.
 Permanence – a great work of literature endures – it can be read
again and again as each reading gives fresh delight and new
insights and open new worlds of meaning and experience.
 Universality – great literature is timeless and timely – forever
relevant in terms of its theme and conditions.
 A literary text can be studied in several ways:

o For its thematic value,

PROSE
o for entertainment value,
a. Prose Drama – a drama in prose form.
o for the richness of its plot,
It consists entirely of dialogues in prose, and is meant to be acted on
stage.
o for comparison with other works,
b. Essay – a short literary composition which is expository in nature.
o for the ideas it contains, The author shapes some of his thoughts, feelings, experiences or
observations on some aspects of life that have interested. e.g.
o for its emotional power, Carmen Guerrero Nakpil’s “Where is the Patis?”
c. Prose Fiction (something invented, imagined or feigned to be  Scientific Prose – a prose form that deals with the subject
true) science
 Novel – a long fictitious narrative with a complicated plot. It
 Satirical Prose – a prose form that ridicules the vices and
may have a main plot and one or more sub-plots that develop
follies of men.
with the main plot.
 Current Publications – books, magazines or newspapers
Characters and actions representative of the real life of past
that are commonly known or accepted or in general usage at
or present times are portrayed in a plot. It is made up of
the time specified or, if unspecified, at the present time.
chapters. Without Seeing the Dawn by Stevan Javellana
 Literary Criticism – the analysis, interpretation and
 Short Story – a fictitious narrative compressed into one unit
evaluation of literary works; it does not mean “finding fault
of time, place, and action.
with”
It deals with a single character interest, a single emotion or
 Book Review – an article dealing the contents, literary worth,
series of emotions called forth by a single situation.
etc. of a book especially a recently published book.
It is distinguished from the novel by its compression. e.g.
 Philosophy – a prose form that deals with the processes
Dead Stars by Paz Marquez Benitez
governing thought and conduct.
d. Biography & Autobiography
It also deals with the theory of the investigation of the
 Biography – a story of a certain person’s life written by principles or laws that regulate the universe and underlie all
another who knows him (the former) well. e.g. Cayetano knowledge and principles or laws that regulate the universe
Arellano by Socorro O. Alberto and underlie all knowledge and reality.
 Autobiography – a written account of man’s life written by  Travel – a written account of trips, journeys, tours, etc. taken
himself. E.g. A Woman with No Face by Ms. Pilar Pilapil by the writer.
e. Letter – a written message which displays aspects of an author’s  Parody – an imitation of another author’s work, where ridicule
psychological make-up not immediately apparent in his more is the main objective.
public writings.
 Anecdote – a brief narrative concerning a particular individual
f. Diary – a daily written record or account of the writer’s own
or incident. e.g. The Moth and The Lamp
experience, thoughts, activities or observations.
g. Journal – a magazine or periodical especially of a serious or  Character Sketch – a short description of the qualities and
learned nature. traits of a person.
h. Other Prose Forms:
 Parable – a short tale that illustrates principle, usually by
 Historical Prose – a prose from dealing with historical events setting forth the application of the principle to something
familiar to the hearer or reader.
  Pamphlet – a small book of topic of current interest. it may have a main plot and one or more sub-plots that develop
with the main plot; characters and actions representative of the
 Eulogy – writing in praise of a dead person, event or thing.
real life of past or present times are portrayed in a plot; it is made
 Speech – the general word for a discourse delivered to an up of chapters. (e.g. “Dogeaters” by Jessica Hagedorn)
audience whether prepared or impromptu.
The novel and short story differ from each other only in
a. Address – implies a formal, carefully prepared speech length and complexity; the novel is longer because of several
and usually attributes importance to the speaker or the complications and twists to its plot.
speech.
Even though fiction is a make-believe world, the literary
b. Oration – suggests an eloquent, rhetorical sometimes
characters seem almost real and the situations are likewise
merely bombastic speech, especially one delivered on
similar to real life conditions and surroundings.
some special occasion.
c. Lecture – a carefully prepared speech intended to inform More often than not, people see themselves in the characters or
or instruct the audience. relate them to real-life people they know.
d. Talk – suggests informality and is applied either to an
FICTION
impromptu speech or to address or lecture in which the
speaker deliberately uses a simple conversational  Is an imaginative recreation and re-creation of life.
approach.
e. Sermon – a speech by a clergy man intended to give  Includes short stories and novels.
religious or moral instruction and usually based on Elements of Fiction:
Scriptural text.
a. Characters – are the representation of a human being; persons
Literary Genres: involved in a conflict.
1. Fiction b. Setting – the locale (place) or period (time) in which the action of
2. Poetry a short story, play, novel or the motion picture takes place (also
3. Essay known as the background of the story); local color described as
4. Drama local scenery, the writer uses words, mentions things in the native
language, gives the names to character’s lines to create a vivid
 Short Story – often referred to as a “slice of life” is a fictitious picture of a native place.
narrative compressed into one unit of time, place, and action; c. Conflict – the struggle or complication involving the characters,
it deals with a single character interest, single emotion called the opposition of persons or forces upon which the action
forth by a single situation. (e.g. “Dead Stars” by Paz Marquez- depends in drama or fiction.
Benitez)
[There is conflict if there is a struggle which grows out of the
 Novel – is a fictitious narrative with a complicated plot; interplay of opposing forces (idea/interest)].
d. Plot – a causally related sequence of events; what happens as a  Typical or minor characters
result of the main conflict is presented in a structure format;
Types of Conflict:
the sequence of events which involves the character in conflict.
A. Internal Conflict
(Beginning, Middle, Ending).
 Occurs when the protagonist struggles within himself or
Five Ways of Revealing Literary Characters:
herself.
1. What the character do along with the circumstances in which they
 The protagonist is pulled by two courses of action or by
do it?
differing emotions.
2. How the characters are described?
3. What are the characters say and think? B. Interpersonal Conflict
4. What other characters say about them?
5. What the author say about them?  Pits the protagonist against someone else.

Types of Characters:  Person-against-person.

1. Round Character C. External Conflict

 Is a dynamic character who recognize changes in the  Happens when the protagonist is in conflict with the values
circumstances. of his or her society.

 Is a fully develop character, with many traits – bad and good –

shown in the story.
2. Flat Character
 Also known as the stock or the stereotype character who does
not grow and develop.
 A flat character is not fully developed.
Other Types of Character:
 Protagonist – hero / heroine
 Antagonist – a foil to the protagonist
 Deuteroganist – second in the importance
 Fringe – one who is destroyed by his inner conflict
 1. Prose Allegory is a prose form in which the characters,
ideas, and actions stand for ideas with implied meanings.
Concrete character are personifications of abstract ideas.
a) Fable is a short allegorical tale which conveys a moral.
The characters are animals that talk and act like human
beings.
b) Myths are traditional tales of a tribe, race, or nation which
involve the supernatural to explain a natural phenomena or
suggest a religious or moral truth.
PROSE c) Legends are stories of wonderful events believed to have
historical basis and which are passed down through the
A. The Essay is a short literary compositions in prose dealing with a ages.
single matter usually from a personal point of view. 2. Prose Romances are stories of supernatural or magical
1. Narrative or Story Essay makes use of an incident to events – fantastic and unrealistic.
illustrate an idea or a theme. a) Fairy Tale use folklore motifs, commonplace expression,
2. Descriptive Essay deals with some aspect of nature or and typical themes which revolve around the characters
animal life with some human or architectural backdrop. like a cruel king, cruel stepmother, naughty sister,
3. Biographical Essay or Character Sketch presents a substitute bride, magic and supernatural changes and
character analysis – not the entire life – but one aspect of that restorations.
life. b) Folk Tales which originally handed down orally, are
4. Critical Essay is a criticism of any work of art, literature, stories which consist of many folklore themes or motifs.
music, drama, motion picture painting, or sculpture. Reviews 3. Prose Satires are stories of human vices and follies. The
of new books, plays, art exhibits, and concerts are often treatment is humorous but its intention is to ridicule some
primarily news reports and guides for seekers of person(s) or institution(s).
entertainment. 4. Novels are prose narratives usually presented in chapters like
5. Editorial Essay is a feature of most newspapers and a book they can be categorized into three types: fantasy, love,
magazines. An editorial writer may plead a cause or and adventure novels.
denounce a wrong. He may express indignation or 5. Short Story is a prose narrative of limited length which must
appreciation. have characterization, unity, cumulative interest, climax, and
6. Reflective Essay enforces a moral, or lesson and therefore resolution.
adopts a more serious and dignified tone as the fundamental 6. Novelettes are prose narratives which are longer than a short
values and problems of life are discussed. story. It can also be read at one sitting.
C. Prose Drama is a literary work written in dialogues and intended
B. Fiction
for presentation by actors. Similar to poetic plays, it is divided into
 categories, such as comedy, tragedy, melodrama, farce, and  Exciting – It should be more exciting than the everyday reality
historical play. that surrounds us.
 Good Structure – The episodes must be arranged effectively,
PYRAMIDAL STRUCTURE OF A PLOT
but the most important element of plot structure is tying all the
incidents together, so that one leads naturally to another.
Plot Devices
- Flashback – something out of chronological order; to reveal
information, to understand a character’s nature.
- Foreshadowing – a device to give a sign of something to come,
its purpose is to create suspense, to keep the readers guessing
what will happen when.
- Suspense – this is the feeling of excitement or tension in the
reader’s experiences as the action of the plot unfolds
- Surprise Ending – this is an ending that catches the reader off
Plot consists of the following: guard with an unexpected turn of events.
- In Medias Res – the technique of beginning a story in the middle
 Exposition (beginning) introduces the time, place, setting and of the action, with background information given later in
the main characters. flashbacks.
 Complication (rising action) unfolds the problems and struggles
Point of View
that would be encountered by the main characters leading to the
crisis.  Point of View – the writer’s feeling and attitude toward his
 Climax (result of the crisis) part where the problem or the subject; determines who tells the story; it identifies the narrator of
conflict is the highest peak of interest; the highest point of the the story (the form of narration also affects the story itself).
story for the reader, frequently, is the highest moment of interest
and greatest emotion; also known as the crisis or the point of no Classification (Point of View)
return.  First Person – the writer uses the pronoun “I”. He/she could be a
 Denouement is the untying of the entangled knots, or the part participant or a character in his own work; the narrator may be
that shows a conflict or a problem is solved, leading to its the protagonist, an observer, a minor character, or the writer
downwards movement or end. himself/herself.
 Resolution (end) contains the last statements about the story.  Third Person – the writer-narrator is a character in the story.
Qualities of the Plot He/she narrates the based on what he observed/his opinion. On
the other hand, a limited third person is an outsider/observer who
is not part of the story.
 Omniscient – the writer-narrator sees all; he can see into the - stand for something other than themselves, they bring to mind not
minds of characters and even report everyone’s innermost their own concrete qualities, but the idea or obstruction that is
thoughts. associated with them.
Images
- are usually characterized by concrete qualities rather than
abstract meaning; these appeal to the senses of taste, smell, feel,
sound, or sight.
Theme
- the central or dominating idea in a literary work; it is the topic or
subject of the selection which is sometimes stated by a character
or by the writer himself, but oftentimes, it is merely implied or
suggested. (Note: The theme is not some familiar saying or moral
lesson).

Mood
- the atmosphere or emotional effect generated by the words, POETRY
images, situations in a literary work (the emotional ambience of
- Poetry is derived from a Greek word poesis meaning “making or
the work), for example, melancholy, joyous, tense, oppressive
creating.”
and so on.
- Poetry is a kind of language that says it more intensely than
Tone ordinary language does. Apparently, we have to remember five
things about poetry. (Baritugo, 2004, p.1)
- a term used, sometimes broadly, to denote an attitude of feeling
o Poetry is a concentrated thought.
of the speaker or author as conveyed by the language in its artful
o Poetry is a kind of word-music.
arrangement (for example, ironic, pensive, sly, acerbic,
o Poetry expresses all the senses.
humorous); it describes the attitude of the narrator or persona of
the work whereas MOOD refers to the emotional impact felt by o Poetry answers our demand for rhythm.
the reader of the work. Although often similar, these feelings are Elements of Poetry
necessarily the same.
A. Sense – is revealed through the meaning of words, images and
Symbolism symbols.
1. Diction – denotative and connotative meaning/symbols.
 2. Images and sense impression – sight, sound, smell, taste, 3. Ballad is a short narrative intended to be sung. Types are folk
touch, motion and emotion. or literary as in the epic.
3. Figure of speech – simile, metaphore, personification, 4. Metrical Tale is a story in poetry form. It is told in a simple,
apostrophe, metonymy, synecdoche, hyperbole, irony, straightforward and realistic manner.
allusion, antithesis, paradox, litotes, oxymoron, 5. Popular Ballad – a ballad of wide workmanship telling some
onomatopoeia. simple incidents of adventure, cruelty, passion, or superstition,
B. Sound – is the result of a combination of elements. an incident that shows the primary instincts of man influenced
1. Tone color – alliteration, assonance, consonance, rhyme, by the restraint of modern civilization.
repetition, anaphora. 6. Modern or Artistic – created by a poet imitation of the folk
2. Rhythm – ordered recurrent alteration of strong and weak ballad, makes use (sometimes with considerable freedom) of
elements in the flow of the sound and silence: duple, triple, many of its devices and conventions.
running or common rhyme. 7. Metrical Allegory – an extended narrative that carries a
3. Meter – stress duration, or number of syllables per line, fixed second meaning along with the surface story. Things and
metrical pattern, or a verse form: quantitative, syllabic, actions are symbolic.
accentual and accentual syllabic. B. Lyric Poetry – expresses personal thoughts and feelings.
4. Rhyme scheme – formal arrangement of rhymes in stanza or 1. Ode is a poem addressed to some person or thing.
the whole poem. 2. Elegy is a poem about the dead. It contains the author’s
C. Structure – refers to (1) arrangement of words, and lines to fit personal grief for a loved one and suggestions of hope to
together, and (2) the organization of the parts to form a whole. soothe his sorrow.
1. Word order – natural and unnatural arrangement of words 3. The song is a short lyric poem intended to be sung.
2. Ellipsis – omitting some words for economy and effect a. Secular songs have non-religious themes.
3. Punctuation – abundance or lack of punctuation marks b. Sacred songs are songs of praise to God such as
4. Shape – contextual and visual designs: jumps, omission of oratorios and cantatas.
spaces, capitalization, lower case. 4. Simple Lyric is a short poem with verses that are musical
and with a subjective or emotional tone.
Types of Poetry
5. Sonnet is a lyric poem with fourteen iambic pentameter lines.
A. Narrative Poetry – tells a story in richly imaginative and a. Italian Sonnet contains an octave and sestet. The
rhythmical language. themes, problem, hope or desire is presented in the octave
1. Epic is a long, narrative poem which deals with the and sestet contains the resolution or conclusion. It has a
adventures and exploits of legendary heroes. rhyming scheme of abba-abba-cde-cde.
2. Metrical Romance is a long verse which deals about the b. Shakespearean sonnet (English) has a rhyming scheme
ideals of chivalry, romantic love, and religious elements and of abab- cdcd-efef-gg. It has four quatrains and a couplet.
which have the characteristics of the Middle Ages when The theme is developed in the first three quatrains and the
knighthood was popular. couplet contains the conclusion.
C. Dramatic Poetry portrays life and character put into action.
 1. Poetic Plays Whilst I be the read
a. Comedy is a type of drama which aims to amuse and (Prayer by NVM Gonzales)
entertain. The main character in the story overcomes the
3. Personification – gives human traits to inanimate objects or
obstacles, thus it ends happily.
ideas.
b. Tragedy is a type of drama in which the main characters
are overthrown by the obstacles. It usually ends with Example: The bullet said to the heart:
death. From now on we shall never part
c. Farce is an exaggerated comedy based on broadly (Lines from Communion by Gerson M. Mallilin)
humorous situations.
d. Historical Play is a drama about the lives of outstanding 4. Apostrophe – is a direct address to someone absent, dead, or
figures in history. inanimate.
e. Melodrama is a play with sensational actions, a Example: Little sampaguita
sentimental love story, extravagant emotions, and With the wandering eye
generally, a happy ending. Did a tiny fairy
2. Masque is a form of court pageantry which was popular in Drop you where you lie?
England in the 16th century. The actors were dressed in (Lines from The Sampaguita by Natividad Marquez)
lavished costumes against a lavish scenery and music.
3. Dramatic Monologue is drama characterized by a one-sided 5. Metonymy – substitutes a word that closely relates to a person
conversation. The character reveals his innermost character or a thing.
as she or he speaks all throughout. Example: The pen is mightier than the sword. He lives through
the bottle.
I have read all of Shakespeare.
Literary Devices In POETRY By the sweat of our brow, you will earn your food.
Figures of Speech 6. Synecdoche – uses a part to represent the whole.
Example: No busy hand provoke a tear.
1. Simile – consists of comparing two things using the worlds like or No roving foot shall crush thee here.
as. 7. Hyperbole – makes use of exaggeration
Example: You face is as big as a seed,
But you do not bear fruit... Example: I know not what to name thy charms,
(Lines from A Secret by Carlos Bulosan) Thou art half human, half divine;
And if I could hold thee in my arms,
2. Metaphor – uses direct comparison of two unlike things or ideas. I know both heaven and earth were mine.
(Lines from The Rural Maid by Fernando M. Maramang)
Example: Dear Lord:
Let thou be the street-cleaner 8. Irony – says the opposite of what is meant.
 Example: If all these men whose heads are with the stars, And other living things
Who dream unceasingly of blazing royalty, 13. Oxymoron – puts together in one statement two contradictory
terms.
Will only strive to be like you.
Example: resident – alien
A dweller of the sod with the heart of royalty!
Silent scream
(Lines from To A Dog by Florizel Diaz)
Living dead
9. Allusion – refers to any literary, biblical, historical, mythological,
scientific event, character or place. Clearly misunderstood
Example: The pendulum Butt head
Is a thing of thread
To nervous persons like me
It reminds one of swaying Iscariot-
Suspended from a tree.
(Lines from After Palanan by Rene A. Iturralde)
10. Antithesis – involves a contrast of words or ideas.
Example: “Love is so short.... Forgetting is so long.”
“You may be through it the past but the past isn’t through with Rabindranath Tagore Biography: Early Life, Education, Works
you.” Man proposes, God disposes. They promised freedom and and Achievements
provided slavery. Rabindranath Tagore Jayanti 2021: 
11. Paradox – uses a phrase or statement that on surface seems  The birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore is observed on 7
contradictor, but makes some kind of emotional sense. May according to the Gregorian calendar but according to the
Example: My dear, canst thou resolve for me Bengali calendar, he was born on the 25th day of Boishakh
This paradox, of love concerning thee month.
Mine eyes, when opened with thy beauty fill –  So, in West Bengal, his birthday as per the Bengali calendar is
But when they’re closed they see thee better still. celebrated either on 8 May or 9 May.
(Lines from Paradox by A.E. Litiatco)  Rabindranath Tagore's birth anniversary is also known as
Pochishe Boishakh.
12. Litotes – makes a deliberate understatement used to affirm by
 He was born in a rich Brahmin family in Kolkata (Calcutta) and
negating its opposite.
was the youngest sibling in his family.
Example: War is not healthy for children
  Born: 7 May, 1861  His sister Swarnakumari was a well-known novelist.
 Place of Birth: Calcutta, British India  In 1873, he toured with his father for several months and
 Penname: Bhanu Singha Thakur (Bhonita) gained knowledge on several subjects.
 Father: Debendranath Tagore  He learned Sikhism when he stayed at Amritsar and pen
 Mother: Sarada Devi down around six poems and many articles on the religion.
 Spouse: Mrinalini Devi Education
 Children: Renuka Tagore, Shamindranath Tagore, Meera
Tagore, Rathindranath Tagore, and Madhurilata Tagore  His traditional education began in Brighton, East Sussex,
England, at a public school.
 Died: 7 August, 1941
 In 1878, he went to England to become a barrister to fulfill his
 Place of Death: Calcutta, British India
father's wish.
Profession: Writer, song composer, playwright, essayist,
 He was not much interested in school learning and later also
painter
he joined University College in London to learn law but he
 Language: Bengali, English dropped this and learned various works of Shakespeare on
 Award: Nobel Prize in Literature (1913) his own.
Early life and Childhood Days  He also learned the essence of English, Irish and Scottish
literature and music; he returned to India and married Mrinalini
 He was born on 7 May, 1861 to Debendranath Tagore and Devi.
Sarada Devi in the Jorasanko mansion which is the ancestral
home of the Tagore family in Kolkata (Calcutta).
Rabindranath Tagore: Established Shantiniketan
 Among his siblings, he was the youngest.
 He lost his mother when he was very young, his father was a  His father bought a huge land for meditation and named it
traveller and so, he was mostly raised by his servants and Shantiniketan.
maids.  Debendranath Tagore founded an 'Ashram' in 1863.
 At a very young age, he was part of the Bengal renaissance  In 1901, Rabindranath Tagore established an open-air
and his family also took active participation in it. school. It was a prayer hall with marble flooring and was
 At the age of 8, he started writing poems and by the age of named 'The Mandir’.
sixteen, he also started composing artworks and started  It was also named 'Patha Bhavana' and started with only
publishing his poems under the pseudonym Bhanusimha. five students.
 In 1877 he wrote the short story 'Bhikharini' and in 1882 the  Classes here were held under trees and followed the
collection of poems 'Sandhya Sangit'. traditional Guru-Shishya method of teaching.
 He was influenced by the classical poetry of Kalidasa and
started writing his own classical poems.
  This trend of teaching revived the ancient method of  Gora: In the 1880s, it is an expansive, exhaustive, and
teaching which proved beneficial when compared with the extremely relevant novel that deals with several themes like
modernised method. religion, gender, feminism, and also tradition against
 Unfortunately, his wife and two children died and he left modernity.
alone.
 Chokher Bali: In 1903, a novel which consists of various
 At that time he was very disturbed. In the meantime, his
facets of relationships.
works started growing and became more popular amongst
the Bengali as well as foreign readers.  His short stories are Bhikarini, Kabuliwala, Kshudita Pashan,
 In 1913, he gained recognition and was awarded the Atottju, Haimanti and Musalmanir Golpo etc.
prestigious Nobel Prize in Literature, and became Asia's
 Poems are Balaka, Purobi, Sonar Tori and Gitanjali.
first Nobel Laureate.
 Now, Shantiniketan is a famous University town in West His Life Later On…
Bengal.
 No doubt he has changed the dimensions of Bengali literature
 Let us tell you that Rabindranath Tagore envisioned a
as it was earlier viewed.
centre of learning which would have the best of both the
east and the west.  Many countries have even erected their statues to pay tribute
 He established the Visva Bharati University in West to the legendary writer.
Bengal.
 Around five museums are dedicated to Tagore out of which
 It consists of two campuses one at Shantiniketan and the
three are situated in India and the remaining two in
other at Sriniketan. Sriniketan focuses on agriculture, adult
Bangladesh.
education, village, cottage industries, and handicrafts.
 He spent his last years in severe pain and even in 1937, he
Literary Works
went into a comatose condition.
 Japajog: Published in 1929, His novel is a compelling take on
 After a lot of suffering, he died on 7 August 1941 in the
marital rape.
Jorasanko mansion where he was brought up. 
 Nastanirh: Published in 1901. This novel is about
Nobel Prize
relationships and love, both requited and unrequited.
 They are widely regarded as the most prestigious awards given
 Ghare Baire: Published in 1916. It is a story about a married for intellectual achievement in the world and are conferred in six
woman constricted in her household trying to find her own categories: physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine,
identity literature, peace, and economics.
 WHO WAS LEO TOLSTOY?

 In the 1860s, Russian author Leo Tolstoy wrote his first great
novel, War and Peace.
 In 1873, Tolstoy set to work on the second of his best-known
novels, Anna Karenina.
 He continued to write fiction throughout the1880sand1890s.
 One of his most successful later works was ‘The Death of Ivan
Ilyich.’
EARLY LIFE

 On September 9, 1828, writer Leo Tolstoy was born at his

family's estate, Yasnaya Polyana, in the Tula Province of Russia.
 He was the youngest of four boys.
LEO TOLSTOY  When Tolstoy's mother died in 1830, his father's cousin took over
caring for the children.
 When their father, Count Nikolay Tolstoy, died just seven years
later, their aunt was appointed their legal guardian.
 When the aunt passed away, Tolstoy and his siblings moved in
with a second aunt, in Kazan, Russia.
 Although Tolstoy experienced a lot of loss at an early age, he
would later idealize his childhood memories in his writing.
 Tolstoy received his primary education at home, at the hands of  The story was eagerly accepted and became Tolstoy's very first
French and German tutors. published work.
 In 1843, he enrolled in an Oriental languages program at the  After completing Childhood, Tolstoy started writing about his day-
University of Kazan. to-day life at the Army outpost in the Caucasus.
 There, Tolstoy failed to excel as a student.  However, he did not complete the work, entitled The Cossacks,
 His low grades forced him to transfer to an easier law program. until 1862, after he had already left the Army.
 Prone to partying in excess, Tolstoy ultimately left the University  Tolstoy still managed to continue writing while at battle during the
of Kazan in 1847, without a degree. Crimean War. During that time, he composed Boyhood (1854), a
 He returned to his parents' estate, where he made a go at sequel to Childhood, the second book in what was to become
becoming a farmer. Tolstoy’s autobiographical trilogy.
 He attempted to lead the serfs, or farmhands, in their work, but  In the midst of the Crimean War, Tolstoy also expressed his
he was too often absent on social visits to Tula and Moscow. views on the striking contradictions of war through a three-part
 His stab at becoming the perfect farmer soon proved to be a series, Sevastopol Tales.
failure.  In the second Sevastopol Tales book, Tolstoy experimented with
 He did, however, succeed in pouring his energies into keeping a a relatively new writing technique: Part of the story is presented in
journal — the beginning of a lifelong habit that would inspire the form of a soldier's stream of consciousness.
much of his fiction.  Once the Crimean War ended and Tolstoy left the Army, he
 As Tolstoy was flailing on the farm, his older brother, Nikolay, returned to Russia.
came to visit while on military leave.  Back home, the burgeoning author found himself in high demand
 Nikolay convinced Tolstoy to join the Army as a Junker, south in on the St. Petersburg literary scene.
the Caucasus Mountains, where Nikolay himself was stationed.  Stubborn and arrogant, Tolstoy refused to ally himself with any
 Following his stint as a Junker, Tolstoy transferred to Sevastopol particular intellectual school of thought.
in Ukraine in November 1854, where  Declaring himself an anarchist, he made off to Paris in 1857.
 he fought in the Crimean War through August 1855.  Once there, he gambled away all of his money and was forced to
return home to Russia.
EARLY WORKS
 He also managed to publish Youth, the third part of his
 During quiet periods while Tolstoy was a junker in the Army, he autobiographical trilogy, in 1857.
worked on an autobiographical story called Childhood.  Back in Russia in 1862, Tolstoy produced the first of a 12 issue-
 In it, he wrote of his fondest childhood memories. installment of the journal Yasnaya Polyana, marrying a doctor's
 In 1852, Tolstoy submitted the sketch to The Contemporary, the daughter named Sofya Andreyevna Bers that same year.
most popular journal of the time.
ELDER YEARS  (The couple had spawned 13 children in all, but only 10 had
survived past infancy.)
 Over the last 30 years of his life, Tolstoy established himself as a
 To this day, Tolstoy’s novels are considered among the finest
moral and religious leader.
achievements of literary work. War and Peace is, in fact,
 His ideas about nonviolent resistance to evil influenced the likes
frequently cited as the greatest novel ever written.
of social leader Mahatma Gandhi.
 In contemporary academia, Tolstoy is still widely acknowledged
 Also during his later years, Tolstoy reaped the rewards of
as having possessed a gift for describing characters’ unconscious
international acclaim.
motives.
 Yet he still struggled to reconcile his spiritual beliefs with the
 He is also championed for his finesse in underscoring the role of
tensions they created in his home life.
people's everyday actions in defining their character and purpose.
 His wife not only disagreed with his teachings, but she also
disapproved of his disciples, who regularly visited Tolstoy at the
family estate.
 Their troubled marriage took on an air of notoriety in the press.
 Anxious to escape his wife's growing resentment, in October
1910, Tolstoy, his daughter, Aleksandra, and his physician, Dr.
Dushan P. Makovitski, embarked on a pilgrimage.
 Valuing their privacy, they traveled incognito, hoping to dodge the
press, to no avail.
DEATH AND LEGACY

 Unfortunately, the pilgrimage proved too arduous for the aging

novelist.
 In November 1910, the stationmaster of a train depot in
Astapovo, Russia opened his home to Tolstoy, allowing the ailing
writer to rest.
 Tolstoy died there shortly after, on November 20, 1910.
 He was buried at the family estate, Yasnaya Polyana, in Tula
Province, where Tolstoy had lost so many loved ones yet had
managed to build such fond and lasting memories of his
childhood.
 Tolstoy was survived by his wife and their brood of 8 children.
BIOGRAPHY OF TITIS BASINO  Merchant ships arriving in Indonesia on the monsoon winds
would complete their transactions and settle down to wait for the
 Titis Basino was born in Magelang, Indonesia on January 17,
winds to shift, enabling them to sail home.
1939.
 During these layovers the Muslim merchants introduced
 After completing secondary school, she graduated from the
Indonesians to their religion, and sultans slowly replaced the
University of Indonesia in 1962.
powerful rajahs of Java and Sumatra.
 In 1963 she was introduced to Indonesian readers when one of
 Europeans were aware of the goods—spices, silks, perfumes—
her short stories was published in the Indonesian literary
available in Southeast Asia, but overland journeys were
magazine, Sastra. Ms. Basino continued to write, although family
expensive, time consuming, and dangerous.
and other personal demands on her time limited her creative
 However, Columbus’s expedition, proving that ships could sail
output until 1997.
great distances and return home safely, prompted an interest in
 She is currently on the faculty of the University of Indonesia and
accessing the rich markets of Asia by sea.
since1998 has had three books published.
 The Dutch came to Indonesia for this purpose in the late1590s,
 In 1999 the government of Malaysia awarded Titis Basino the
and they remained a dominant political force there until the
Mastra prize, a competitive literary award that involved
advent of World War II in 1941.
submissions from throughout Southeast Asia.
 An interesting consideration is the development of Islam and the
 Although Ms. Basino writes on a variety of subjects, she is best
Dutch colonial presence.
known for her stories concerning women and deceptive
 Would Islam have spread throughout Indonesia more quickly and
relationships.
in a purer form had there been no Dutch presence there?
 Indonesia is made up of over 13,500 islands.
 Once Indonesia declared her independence from Holland on
 Among these are some of the largest in the world Borneo,
August 17, 1945, Islam was more evident in Indonesian society.
Sumatra, Suluwesi and Java.
 Today Indonesia has the world’s largest Muslim population, with
 Over 200,000,000 people live in the archipelago, making it the
about 87 percent of the people practicing Islam.
world’s fourth most populous country.
 Islam has five basic pillars. Muslims must:
 We learn from early records that around the fifth century Hindu
o believe in one God—Allah;
culture dominated Indonesia.
o pray five times each day;
 Within the next 100 –150 years, Buddhism was introduced and
o help the poor;
was integrated into daily life.
o fast during Ramadan (the ninth month of the year); and
 Down through the centuries culture and the arts thrived, and
trade within the island chain and abroad increased. o if able, make the pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca.
 Indeed, it was Arabic traders in the twelfth century who  According to the Muslim holy book, the Koran, a man may have
introduced Islam to Indonesia. up to four wives at any one time as long as he provides equally
for each wife.
 A wife, however, may have only one husband at a time. LU XUN
 Although it is not difficult for a man to divorce his wife, it is very
 CHINESE WRITER
difficult indeed for a wife to divorce her husband.
 FATHER OF MODERN
 CHINESE LITERATURE
 THE DOCTOR OF SOULS

Born:
• September 25, 1881 Shaoxing China
Died:
• October 19, 1936 (Aged 55) Shanghai China
Notable Works:
• Diary of A Madman
• The True Story of Ah Q
Notable Family Member:
• Brother, Zhou Zuoren
Subjects of Study:
• Chinese Literature Fiction
LU XUN/ LU HSÜN
• Lu Hsün, pen name (biming) of Zhou Shuren,
• Born September 25, 1881, Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province,
China
• Died of tuberculosis on October 19, 1936, in his house in
shanghai.
• Chinese writer, commonly considered the greatest in 20th-
century Chinese literature, who was also an important critic
 known for his sharp and unique essays on the historical the hope that it would inspire readers to revolution, but the
traditions and modern conditions of china. project failed to attract interest. Disillusioned, Lu Xun returned
to China later that year.
YOUTH
LITERARY CAREER
• Born to a family that was traditional, wealthy, and esteemed
(his grandfather had been a government official in Beijing), • After working for several years as a teacher in his hometown
Zhou Shuren had a happy childhood. and then as a low-level government official in Beijing, Lu Xun
returned to writing and became associated with the nascent
• In 1893, however, his grandfather was sentenced to prison for
Chinese literary movement in 1918.
examination fraud, and his father became bedridden.
• That year, at the urging of friends, he published his now-
• The family’s reputation declined, and they were treated with
famous short story “Kuangren Riji” (“diary of a madman”).
disdain by their community and relatives.
• Modeled on the Russian realist Nikolay Gogol’s tale of the
• This experience is thought to have had a great influence on
same title, the story is a condemnation of traditional Confucian
his writing, which was marked by sensitivity and pessimism.
culture, which the madman narrator sees as a “man-eating”
• Zhou Shuren left his hometown in 1899 and attended a mining society.
school in Nanjing;
• The first published western-style story written wholly in
• There he developed an interest in Darwin’s theory of vernacular Chinese, it was a tour de force that attracted
evolution, which became an important influence in his work. immediate attention and helped gain acceptance for the
short-story form as an effective literary vehicle.
• Chinese intellectuals of the time understood Darwin’s theory
to encourage the struggle for social reform, to privilege the • Another representative work is the novelette a-q Zhengzhuan
new and fresh over the old and traditional. (1921; the true story of ah q). A mixture of humour and
pathos, it is a repudiation of the old order; it added “ah q-ism”
• In 1902 he traveled to japan to study Japanese and medical
to the modern Chinese language as a term characterizing the
science, and while there he became a supporter of the
Chinese penchant for rationalizing defeat as a “spiritual
Chinese revolutionaries who gathered there.
victory.”
• In 1903 he began to write articles for radical magazines edited
• These stories, which were collected in Nahan (1923; call to
by Chinese students in japan.
arms), established Lu Xun’s reputation as the leading Chinese
• In 1905 he entered an arranged marriage against his will. writer.

• In 1909 he published, with his younger brother Zhou Zuroen, • Three years later the collection Panghuang (1926; wandering)
a two-volume translation of 19th-century European stories, in was published. His various symbolic prose poems, which
 were published in the collection Yecao (1927; wild grass), as  There he began to live with Xu Guangping, his former student;
well as his reminiscences and retold classical tales, all reveal they had a son in 1929.
a modern sensibility informed by  Lu Xun stopped writing fiction and devoted himself to writing
satiric critical essays (Zawen), which he used as a form of
Sardonic humour and biting satire.
political protest.
• Despite his success, Lu Xun continued to struggle with his  In 1930 he became the nominal leader of the league of left-
increasingly pessimistic view of Chinese society, which was wing writers.
aggravated by conflicts in his personal and professional life.  During the following decade he began to see the Chinese
• In addition to marital troubles and mounting pressures from communists as the only salvation for his country.
the government, his disagreements with Zhou Zuoren (who  Although he himself refused to join the Chinese communist
had also become one of the leading intellectuals in Beijing) party, he considered himself
led to a rift between the two brothers in 1926.  A Tongluren (fellow traveler), recruiting many writers and
countrymen to the communist cause through his Chinese
• In the 1920s Lu Xun worked at various universities in Beijing translations of Marxist literary theories, as well as through his
as a part-time professor of Chinese script and literature. own political writing.
• His academic study Zhongguo Xiaoshuo Shilue (1923–24; a  During the last several years of Lu Xun’s life, the government
brief history of Chinese fiction) and companion compilations of prohibited the publication of most of his work, so he published
classical fiction remain standard works. the majority of his new articles under various pseudonyms.
 He criticized the shanghai communist literary circles for their
• His translations, especially those of Russian works, are also
embrace of propaganda, and he was politically attacked by
considered significant.
many of their members.
• Such depressing conditions led Lu Xun to formulate the idea  In 1934 he described his political position
that one could resist social darkness only when he was  As Hengzhan (“horizontal stand”), meaning he was struggling
pessimistic about the society. simultaneously against both the right and the left, against both
cultural conservatism and mechanical evolution.
• His famous phrase “resistance of despair” is commonly
 Hengzhan, the most important idea in Lu Xun’s later thought,
considered a core concept of his thought.
indicates the complex and tragic predicament of an intellectual
SHANGHAI YEARS in modern society.
 The Chinese communist movement adopted Lu Xun
 Forced by these political and personal circumstances to flee
posthumously as the exemplar of socialist realism.
Beijing in 1926, Lu Xun traveled to Xiamen and Guangzhou,
 Many of his fiction and prose works have been incorporated
finally settling in Shanghai in 1927.
into school textbooks.
 In 1951 the Lu Xun museum opened in shanghai; it contains
letters, manuscripts, photographs, and other memorabilia.
 English translations of Lu Xun’s works include
 Silent china: selected writings of Lu Xun (1973),
 Lu Hsun: complete poems (1988), and
 Diary of a madman and other stories (1990).