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INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF PHILIPPINE

LITERATURE

DEFINITION OF LITERATURE

The word literature is derived from the Latin term Litera which means letter. It has been defined by various writers.

Because literature deals with ideas, thoughts and emotions of man, literature can be said to be the story of man. Man’s loves, griefs, thoughts, dreams, and aspirations coached in a beautiful language is Literature.

In order to know the history of a nation’s spirit, one must read its literature.

Brother Azurin defines Literature that it expresses the feelings of people to society, to the government, to his surroundings, to his Fellowmen and to his Divine Creator.

Webster defines literature as 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.

Salazar and Nazal says that true literature is a piece of written work which is undying. It expresses the feelings and emotions of people

In response to his everyday efforts to live, to be happy in his environment and, after struggles, to reach his Creator.

LITERARY STANDARDS

Universality Artistry Intellectual Value Suggestiveness Spiritual Value Permanence Style

UNIVERSALITY

Great literature is timeless and timely.

Forever relevant, it appeals to one and all, anytime, anywhere, because it deals with elemental feelings, fundamental truths and universal conditions.

Artistry

This is the quality that appeals to our sense of beauty.

Intellectual Value

A literary works stimulates thought. It enriches our mental life by making us realize fundamental truths about life and human nature.

Suggestiveness

This is the quality associated with the emotional power of literature.

Great literature moves us deeply and stirs our feeling and imagination, giving and evoking visions above and beyond the plane of ordinary life and experience.

Spiritual Value

Literature elevates the spirit by bringing out moral values which makes a better persons.

The 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 opens a new world of meaning and experience.

Its appeal is lasting.

Style

This is the peculiar way in which writers sees life, forms his ideas and expresses them.

Why do we need to study Philippine Literature?

We study Philippine Literature so that we can better appreciate our literary heritage.

Through the study of Philippine Literature, we can trace our rich heritage of ideas and handed down to us from our forefathers.

Understand that we have a noble traditions which can serve as the means to assimilate other cultures.

Realize literary limitations conditioned by certain historical factors and we can take steps to overcome them.

Manifest our deep concern for our own literature.

Literature and History Literature and history are closely

interrelated. In discovering history of a race, a country, we basically understand their own culture and traditions, hence the written customs and traditions of a country, the dreams and aspirations of its people is called Literature.

History can also be written down and this too, is literature.

History therefore is an integral part of literature.

Literature and history however also have their differences. Literature may not necessarily be based on true events but history is.

Literary Compositions that influenced the world The Bible or the Sacred Writings –

This has become the basis of Christianity originating from Palestine and Greece.

Koran- The Muslim Bible originating from Arabia.

The Iliad and Odyssey – These have been the source of myths and legends of Greece. They were written by Homer.

The Mahabharata- The longest epic of the world. It contains the history of religion of India.

Canterbury Tales- It depicts the religion and customs of the English in the early days. This originated from England and written by Chaucer.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin- by Harriet Beecher Stowe of the US. This depicted the sad fate of slaves; this became the basis of democracy later on.

The Divine Comedy – by Dante Alighieri

This shows the religion and customs of the Early Italians.

El Cid Compeador – This shows the cultural characteristics of the Spaniards and their national history.

The Song of Roland – This includes Doce Pares and Ronscesvalles of France. It tells about the Golden age of Christianity in France.

The Book of the Dead – This includes the cult of Osiris and the mythology and theology of Egypt.

One Thousand and One Nights or the Arabian Nights – From Arabia and Persia (Iran) It shows the ways of government, of industries and of the society of the Arabs and the Persians.

Genre of Literature

Literature

Prose Poetry

Types of Prose

Novel- This is a long narrative divided into chapters.

Short Story – It is a fictional narrative in prose consisting of a series of events designed to create a single dominant effect. It is intended to be read in one sitting

Plays- These are presented on a stage, is divided into acts and each acts has many scenes.

Essay- is a prose composition with a focused subject of discussion or a long systematic discourse. The word essay is taken from the French infinitive essayer to try or to attempt

Biography – This deals with the life of a person.

Fairytale – Is a type of narrative that relates the lives and adventures of supernatural spirit.

Folktale – Is a narrative filled with the superstition, anecdotes, proverbs, legends, and customs of a particular group, race or geographical region.

Myth – is a traditional story of unknown authorship, ostensively with historical basis, but serving usually to explain some phenomena of nature, the origin of man and customs. Myths usually involve the exploit of gods and goddesses.

Parable- is a short single story, usually of an occurrence of a familiar kind, from which moral or religious lesson may be drawn.

PoetryA. narative poetry1.epic – extended narrative about heroic exloits often under supernatural control2.metrical tale-This is a narrative which is written in verse,can be classified either as a ab ballad or a metrical romance3.ballad – considered the shortest and simplest.It has a simple structure and tells of a single incident4.lyric poetry – poetry that meant to be sung5.folksongs(awiting bayan)-these are short poems intended to be sung

6.Sonnet – this is a lyric poem of 14 lines dealing with an emotion,feeling,or an idea

7.elegy – lyric poem which expresses feeling of grief and melancholy and whose theme is death8.ode – poem of a noble feeling,no stanza , no lines9.Psalms(dalit)-this is a song praising God or the virgin mary

10.Awit-these have measure of 12 syllables11.Corridos – these have measure of 8 syllables and recited to a martial beat

Dramatic poetry1.Comedy – usually is light and written with the purpose of amusing and usually has a happy ending2.Melodrama – usually used in musical plays with opera3.Tradegy-involves the hero struggling mightily against dynamic forces,he meets death or ruin without success and satisfaction/4.farce- exaggerated comedy5.social poems – this form is either purely comic or tragic

6.concrete poem-create an image in mind

Drama – is a story written to be performed by actorssummary:Prose:*fiction Non-fiction-short stories - biographies-fairy tales -letters-novels -memoirs -historical essay -reports

Major types of poetry1.lyric poetry 2. narrative w.concrete

Prose consists of those written within the common flow of conversation in sentences and paragraphs, while poetry refers to those expressions in verse, with measure and rhyme, line and stanza and has a more melodious tone.

I. PROSE

There are many types of prose. These include the following:

a. Novels. A long narrative divided into chapters and events are taken from true-to-life stories.

Example: WITHOUT SEEING THE DAWN by Stevan Javellana

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

Example: THE LAUGHTER OF MY FATHER by Carlos Bulosan

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

Example: THIRTEEN PLAYS by Wilfredo M. Guerrero

d. Legends. These are fictitious narratives, usually about origins.

Example: THE BIKOL LEGEND by Pio Duran e. Fables. These are also fictitious and they deal with animals and inanimate things who speak and act like people and their purpose is to enlighten the minds of children to events that can mold their ways and attitudes.

Example: THE MONKEY AND THE TURTLE 

f. Anecdotes. These are merely products of the writer’s imagination and the main aim is to bring out lessons to the reader.

Example: THE MOTH AND THE LAMP

g. Essay. This expresses the viewpoint or opinion of the writer about a particular problem or event. The best example of this is the Editorial page of a newspaper.

h. Biography. This deals with the life of a person which may be about himself, his autobiography or that of others.

Example: CAYETANO ARELLANO by Socorro O. Albert i. News. This is a report of everyday events in society, government, science and industry, and accidents, happening nationally or not. j. 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. II. POETRY

There are three types of poetry and these are the following: 

A. Narrative Poetry. This form describes important events in life either real or imaginary.

The different varieties are:

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

Example: THE HARVEST SONG OF ALIGUYON translated in English by Amador T. Daguio

2. Metrical Tale. This is a narrative which is written in verse and can be classified either as a ballad or a metrical romance.

Examples: BAYANI NG BUKID by Al PerezHERO OF THE FIELDS by Al Perez

3. Ballads. Of the narrative poems, this is considered the shortest and simplest. It has a simple structure and tells of a single incident. There are also variations of these: love ballads, war ballads, and sea ballads, humorous, moral, and historical or mythical ballads. In the early time, this referred to a song accompanying a dance. B. Lyric Poetry. Originalaly, this refers to that kind of poetry meant to be sung to the accompaniment of a lyre, but now, this applies to any type of poetry that expresses emotions and feelings of the poet. They are usually short, simple and easy to understand.

 

1. Folksongs (Awiting Bayan). These are short poems intended to be sung. The common theme is love, despair, grief, doubt, joy, hope and sorrow. 

Example: CHIT-CHIRIT-CHIT

2.  Sonnets. This is a lyric poem of 14 lines dealing with an emotion, a feeling, or an idea. These are two types: the Italian and the Shakespearean.

Example: SANTANG BUDS by Alfonso P. Santos 

3. Elegy. This is a lyric poem which expresses feelings of grief and melancholy, and whose theme is death.

Example: THE LOVER’S DEATH by Ricaredo Demetillo

 4. Ode. This is a poem of a noble feeling, expressed with dignity, with no definite number of syllables or definite number of lines in a stanza.

 5. Psalms (Dalit). This is a song praising God or the Virgin Mary and containing a philosophy of life.

6. Awit (Song). These have measures of twelve syllables (dodecasyllabic) and slowly sung to the accompaniment of a guitar or banduria.

Example: FLORANTE AT LAURA by Franciso Balagtas

7. Corridos (Kuridos). These have measures of eight syllables (octosyllabic) and recited to a martial beat.

Example: IBONG ADARNA  

C. Dramatic Poetry 

1. Comedy. The word comedy comes from the Greek term “komos” meaning festivity or revelry. This form usually is light and written with the purpose of amusing, and usually has a happy ending.

 2. 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.

 

3. Tragedy. This involves the hero struggling mightily against dynamic forces; he meets death or ruin without success and satisfaction obtained by the protagonist in a comedy.

4. 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.

 5. 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.

 

 

Classification Of LiteratureA.According to form1. Oral2. WrittenB.According to appeal3. Universal4. limited

Wedding Dance-amador daguioA. CHARACTERS

1. Lumnay – a woman who was left by her husband because he had to marry another woman/ Developing

2. Awiyao- the husband stated above / Flat

3. Madulimay – Awiyao’s new wife / Flat

The Will of the River –Alfredo Q Gonzales Jr.Characters*The Will of the River by Alfredo Gonzales is about living. The river is an analogy of the life of a person on earth. IT talks about his obstacles he faces, the determination he needs to move forward and his co-existence with others.

Three rats – wilfrido ma. Guerrero

There are three characters: Gonzalo (27 years old), his wife [of seven months] Nita (19 years old), and his best friend of 15 years, Adrian (25 years old).He suspects Adrian of having an affair with Nita.Gonzalo exacts revenge.*CHARACTERS:

 GONZALO

 NITA (his wife)

ADRIAN (his best

friend)                                                                               

PLACE:

--  Forbes Park, a suburb near Manila.

Figure Of Speech

1.Alliteration

-The repetition of an initial consonant sound.

2. Hyperbole

-An extravagant statement; the use of exaggerated terms for the purpose of emphasis or heightened effect.

3. Metaphor-An implied comparison between two unlike things that actually have something important in common.

4.Onomatopoeia

-The use of words that imitate the sounds associated with the objects or actions they refer to.

5. Oxymoron

-A figure of speech in which incongruous or contradictory terms appear side by side.

• PersonificationA figure of speech in which an inanimate object or abstraction is endowed with human qualities or abilities.SimileA stated comparison (usually formed with "like" or "as") between two fundamentally dissimilar things that have certain qualities in common.