21st Century Literature Reviewer

Definition of Literature

 Literature is the total of preserved writing belongings to a given language or people.

 Literature consist of those writings which Interpret the meanings of nature and life, in words of
charm and power, touched with the personality of the author, in artistic forms of permanent
interest (Henry Van Dyke)
 Literature is a written record of man’s best thoughts and feelings.
 Literature is the written or printed productions of the human mind collectively, which deals with
themes of permanent and universal Interest, characterized by creativeness and grace of
expression, as poetry, as fictions, essay, etc.

Types of Literature

 Oral Literature is generally the literature of the ancient times. It is preserved and handed down
from one generation to another by word of mouth. Oral literature started unwritten, but
eventually captured for writing.
 Written literature is one that gets its form from the use of the pen by literary genius. Compared
to oral form, it is likely to be permanent in form because once written, it remain as is.

Reasons why people write

 For self expression

 To spread knowledge and information
 To pass on ideas and values
 To impart truth, accuracy and evaluation.

Characteristics Of A Great Literature (Literary Standards)

1. Permanence - Great literature stands through ages and still opens new world of meaning and
experience.
2. Universality - Great literature appeals to anyone, anywhere, anytime forever relevant.
3. Artistry - Great literature appeals to our aesthetic sense or sense of beauty.
4. Intellectual value - Great literature stimulates our thought. It makes us realize fundamental
truths about life and human nature.
5. Spiritual value - Great literature inspires and brings out moral values making us better persons.
6. Style - Great literature is marked with the peculiar way in which the writer sees life, forms
His/her ideas, and expresses them distinctly.
7. Suggestiveness - Great literature appeals to our emotions, stirs our imagination, feeling, moves
us deeply and evokes visions over and beyond the level of ordinary life experience.

Prose - is a discourse that follows the usual flow of conversation which uses sentences forming
paragraphs to express ideas, feelings and actions.
DIVISIONS OF PROSE :

1. Fiction - is a literary work which is a result of the author’s imagination.

 Short story - is a narrative involving one or more characters, one plot, and one single
impression. (Dead stars by Paz Marquez Benitez)
 Novel - is a true-to-life story divided into chapters where many characters are involved and
spans long period of time. (Things fall apart by Chinua Achebe)
 Play - is a scripted story executed on stage, (Call me Flory by Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero)
 Legend - is a narrative about the origin of man, place, event and happenings. E. Fable- is a
narrative where the characters are animals and inanimate objects that speak and act like
people. Usually ends with values that can mold their attitudes.

2. Non fiction
 Essay - is an attempt to express the viewpoint and opinion of the writer on a particular
problem or event ( Formal essay, Informal essay )
 Oration - is a formal treatment of the subject and intended to be spoken before a crowd.
 Biography- is a literary work that gives the life account of a person written by another
person.
 Autobiography - is a literary work where the author writes his own life account.
 News - is a report of expected and unexpected events in society and government and
incidents in the field of science, business, etc.
 Letters
 Diaries and Journals.

Poetry

 is the “spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings taking it’s origin from emotion” (William
Wordsworth).
 is a type of literature that combines the sound and meaning of language to create and express
ideas and feelings.
 Uses imagery and figurative language closely related terms is very rich, suggestive and
powerful.
 it is a rhythmical creation of beauty (Edgar Allan Poe)

THREE TYPES OF POETRY :

1. Narrative Poetry - tells stories and has two forms:

 Epics - are long poems that exemplify the adventures of epic heroes and divine forces, they
are oldest surviving form of poetry.
  Ballads - are narrative poems intended to be sung. They are shorter than the epics and they
usually tell stories about a particular person. Ballads use repetitive and use simple language
as well as supernatural touches.

2. Dramatic poetry tells stories but one or more characters act out the poem. There are plays that are
written as dramatic poetry.

William Shakespeare, An English Playwright, is the most famous dramatic poet.

In the dramatic monologue, the story is dramatically told by only one character, Robert Browning,
an English poet of the 18-, wrote many poems of this style.

1. Lyric Poetry - the most common of the three, is a short poem that expresses the poet’s
thoughts and feeling. The word lyric comes from the Greek word rhein which means lyre, a
harp-like musical Instrument used by poets in ancient Greek.

FORMS OF LYRIC POETRY :

 Haiku - one of the shortest lyric poems, is a Japanese verse of 17 syllables arranged in three
lines, the first line has 5, the second 7, and the third 5.
 Ode - is a serious elaborate lyric poem full of high praises and noble feelings. (Ex. Ode to Evening
by William Collins (1721-1759)
 Elegy - is a poem of meditation on life and death.
 Sonnet - is a 14-line lyric poem with a certain pattern of rhyme and rhythm
 Song - is a lyric poem intended to be sung.

Imagery - refers to the sensation that languages creates In this mind. Images are words and phrases that
appeal to the senses

Figurative Language

 makes language more colorful, suggestive, powerful and therefore exciting.

 also means the use of word or phrase which refers to something familiar in our experience to
stand for the idea, feeling or attitude we wish to communicate.

THE FIGURES OF SPEECH :

 Simile - is an explicit or direct comparison between two things of different classes) (Ex.
She turns cold as a freezer)
 Metaphor - is bolder than simile and the comparison is limited or indirect between two
objects of different classes. (ex. The Lord is my shepherd)
 Personification - gives human qualities or attributes to non-human or inanimate object.
 Synecdoche - names a part of an object to stand for the whole, or whole for a part. (ex.
He is my right arm (trusted assistant)
  Metonymy - involves the use of a term xl connected with an object to represent that
object. Ex. I give you the floor to speak
 Hyperbole involves a deliberate exaggeration used for the effect. (ex. A million thanks to
you)
 Oxymoron - is putting side by side of two normally contradictory words. (ex. Cruel
kindness, bitter-sweet)
 Parodox - Is saying something which seems untrue, but on close examination, proves to
be true or partly true. (Ex. What you keep, you lose; what you lose, you keep)
 Allusion - is a casual reference either by directly or by borrowing familiar phrases from
the bible, history or literature.
 Irony - involves a contrast, a discrepancy between expected and what actually happens.
(ex. You’re so kind to answer back to your parents)
 Onomatopoeia - is the formation or use of words having a sound that imitates what
they denote (ex. Don’t bang the door)
 Litotes - is a deliberate understatement used to affirm by negating its opposite.
 Apostrophe - is a direct address to someone absent, long dead or even to inanimate
objects (Ex. Jose Rizal, where are the youth today?)
 Alliteration - is the repetition of the initial consonant sound in the sentence. It is also
known as “tongue twister”.
 Assonance - is the repetition of the middle vowel sounds Ex. Race and make, foolish and
crooning)
 Consonance- is sometimes called "slant" rhyme. Both consonants occur at the end of
the word as in odds and ends; (Ex. Dreary and weary)

Pre-Spanish literature is characterized by:

1. Legends - are a form of prose and the common theme of which is about the origin of a
thing, location or name ( Ex : Ang alamat ng Mount Makiling, Ang alamat ng Pinya, Why
women wash the dishes, Ang alamat ng Olongapo )
2. Folk tales - are made up of stories about life, adventure, love and humor where one can
derive lessons about life.
3. Epics - are long narrative poems where a series of heroic achievements or events,
usually by a hero, are dealt with.
 Biag ni Lam-ang (Life of Lam-ang) of the Ilocanos is the adventure of prodigious
epic hero, Lam-ang who exhibits extraordinary powers at an early age. At nine
months, he is able to go to war to look for his father’s killers.
 The Agyu or Olahing of the Manobos is a three-part epic that starts with the
pahmara (invocation) then the Kepu’unpuun (a narration of the past) and the
sengedurog (an episode complete in itself).
 Sandayo - of the Subanon tells the story of the hero with the same name, who
is born through extraordinary circumstances, as he fell out of the hair of his
mother while she was combing it on the ninth stroke.
 More epic Examples :
Darangan, Parang Sabir, Bidasari - Moro epic
Biag ni Lam-ang - Ilokano epic
Maragtas, Haraya, Lagda, Hari sa Bukid - Visayan epic
Kumintang-Tagalog epic
“Dagoy” at “Sudsod”-Tagbanua epic
Tatuaang - Bagobo epic
Indarapatra at Sulayman
Hudhod at Alim – Ifugao epic
Maragtas – Panay Epic
Ibalon – Bicol epic

4. Myths- are narratives that describe and portray in symbolic language the origin of the
basic elements and assumptions of a culture ( Ex : Si malakas at si maganda )
5. Folk songs- are one of the oldest forms of Philippines literature that emerged in the
Pre-Spanish period ( Ex : Kundiman, Kumintang, Ang Dalit o Imno, Ang Oyayi o Hele,
Soliranin, Talindaw )

Other forms of Pre-Spanish Poetry:

1. Epigrams (Salawikain) - They served as laws on rules on good behavior by our ancestors.
2. Riddles(Bugtong) or Palaisipan - These are made up of one or more measure lines with rhyme
which consists of 4 to 12 syllables.
3. Chant (bulong) - this is used in witchcraft or enchantment.
4. Maxims- These are verses with rhyming couplets of 5,6 or 8 syllabies, each line has the same
number of syllables.
5. Sayings (Kasabihan) - There are used in teasing or giving remarks or comments on a person’s
actuations
6. Sawikain (sayings) -these sayings do not have hidden meaning.

Spanish influences on Philippine Literature:

 ALIBATA was the first Filipino alphabet which was replaced by the Roman Alphabet
 Lessons on Christian Doctrine
 Spanish language which became the medium of instruction and literary.
 Legends and traditions from Europe were assimilated in our songs, corridos and moro-moros
 Ancient literature was collected and translated to Tagalog and other dialects
 Grammar books were printed in Filipino, like Tagalog, Ilocano and Visayan.
 Our magazines and periodicals gained a religious tone.
1. ANG DOCTRINA CRISTIANA (THE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE) : This was the first book printed in the
Philippines in 1593 in xylography. It was written by Fr. Juan de Placencia and Fr. Domingo Nieva,
in Tagalog and Spanish. It contained the Pater Noster (Our Father), Ave Maria (Hail Mary),
 Regina Coeli (Hail Holy Queen), the Ten Commandments of God, the Commandments of the
Catholic Church, the Seven Mortal Sins, How to Confess, and the Cathecism. Three old original
copies of this book can still be found at the Vatican, at the Madrid Museum and at the US
Congress. It contains only 87 pages but costs $5,000.00.
2. Nuestra Señora del Rosario : the second book printed in the Philippines was written by Fr.
Blancas de San Jose in 1602, and printed at the UST Printing Press with the help of Juan de Vera,
a Chinese mestizo. It contains the biographies of saints, novenas, and questions and answers on
religion.
3. Libro de los Cuatro Postprimeras de Hombre (in Spanish and Tagalog). This is the first book
printed in typography.
4. Ang Barlaan at Josephat : This is a Biblical story printed in the Philippines and translated to
Tagalog from Greek by Fr. Antonio de Borja. It is believed to be the first Tagalog novel published
in the Philippines even if it is only a translation. The printed translation has only 556 pages. The
Ilocano translation in poetry was done by Fr. Agustin Mejia.
5. The Pasion : This is a book about the life and sufferings of Jesus Christ. It is read only during
Lent. There were 4 versions of this in Tagalog and each version is according to the name of the
writer. These are the Pilapil version (by Mariano Pilapil of Bulacan, 1814), the de Belen version
(by Gaspar Aquino de Belen of Bat. In 1704), the de la Merced (by Aniceto de la Merced of
Norzagaray, Bulacan in 1856) and the de Guia version (by Luis de Guia in 1750). Critics are not
agreed whether it is the Pilapil or the de la Merced version which is the most popular.
6. Urbana at Felisa : a book by Modesto de Castro, the so called Father of Classic Prose in Tagalog.
These are letten between two sisters Urbana at Felisa and has influenced greatly the behavior of
people in society because the letters dealt with good behavior.
7. Ang Mga Dalit kay Maria (Psalms for Mary) : a collection of songs praising the Virgin Mary. Fr.
Mariang Sevilla, a Filipino priest, wrote this in 1865 and it was popular especially during the
Maytime “Flores de Mayo” festival.