Tone and Mood in Poetry: Philippine Literature Symbols and Personification

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Philippine Literature

1
Philippine Literature Symbols And Personification

Tone and Mood in Poetry


What is love? In your workbook, write your personal definition of love. Also,
describe other the other feelings of love - - - enduring love, floating love,
overwhelming love etc.
Love is a very popular subject matter of poets in writing their poems. When
you read love poems, you feel elated, happy and inspired. This feeling that
you get from reading a poem is mood or the overall atmosphere of the
literary work. This lesson wants you to see how deep feeling is evoked in you
as you read a poem.
Objective
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:
1. Differentiate tone and mood in your own words;
2. Evaluate the poem according to its literary elements; and
3. Write a quatrain using tone and mood as its dominant element.

Tone
There are various explanations of tone.
The word tone in literary discussion is borrowed from the expression tone of
voice. Tone is the manner in which a poet makes his statement; it reflects his
attitude toward his subject. Since printed poems lack the intonations of
spoken words, the reader must learn to "hear" their tones with his mind's
ear.
Tone cannot be heard in one particular place since it reflects a general
attitude, it pervades the whole poem." (Poems: Wadsworth Handbook and
Anthology by C. F. Main & Peter J. Seng)
"Tone expresses the poet's attitude toward his audience. We all experience
tone in everyday life. A speaker's placing of emphasis, his tone of voice, his
facial expression, even his gestures all help the hearer to determine the
speaker's meaning and attitude." (The Order of Poetry, An Introduction
Bloom, Philbrick and Blistein)
Frost explained, "It's tone I'm in love with; that's what poetry is, tone." "That
tone is everything, the way you say that 'no.' (Job in The Masque of Reason) I
noticed that - that's what made me write that."
He said he wrote the last lines of The Runaway just for the "aggrieved tone of
voice." In Spring Pools, you can see the finger wag a bit as the speaker says,
"Let them think twice.."

Course Module
Tone, then, in literature tells us how the author thinks about his or her
subject. The author's style conveys the tone in literature. It is his attitude
toward the poem or story and readers.
Tone is the author's attitude toward story and readers. In a particular way,
tone expresses feelings or attitudes that influence how the readers feel about
the characters, events, and outcomes.
Speakers show tone more easily than writers because they can use voice
tone, gesture, and facial expressions. A writer uses words alone. He can use
words like positive, negative, sarcastic, critical etc.

Mood
Mood is the effect of the writer's words on the reader.
Mood is how the writer’s words make us feel. It is the way the reader is
affected or how he or she feels when reading a novel, short story or poem.
Mood is also explained as the climate of feeling in a literary work. The choice
of setting, objects, details, images, and words all contribute to the creation of
mood in a literary work.
For example, an author may create a mood of excitement around a character.
He has to surround that character with enjoyable surroundings like happy
people, joyful parties etc. The setting creates an exciting feeling on that
ground. If it is mystery that he wants to create from his readers in his poem,
he uses words that express confusion, uncertainties, a haunted house, etc.
Sensory words help the author express the overall atmosphere of the poem.
***Open the link below and read to answer the activity.
“The Rural Maid by Francisco Maramag”
http://www.seasite.niu.edu/tagalog/literature/Poems/Others/The%20Rura
l%2 0Maid.htm

References
Alcantara, R. (2000). World literature: An adventure in human
experience.(QuezonCity: Katha Publishing Co. Inc.
Bascara, L. R. (2003). World Literature: A tertiary textbook for literature
under the new curriculum. Manila: Rex Bookstore.
Castillo, T.T and Medina B.S. (1974). Philippine literature from ancient to
present. Quezon City : Philippine Graphic Arts Inc.
CCP Encyclopedia of Philippine Arts. Panitikan Series.
Chin, B. (2002). Glencoe Literature: the reader’s choice. New
York:Glencoe/MacGrawhill.
Croghan, R.V.S.J. (1997). The development of Philippine literature in English.
Quezon City: Phoenix Publishing House Inc.
Elements of an essay. Retrieved April 20, 2010 from
www.blugrass./ccts.edu/L/ElementsandStructure
Philippine Literature
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Philippine Literature Symbols And Personification

Gordon, J.B.(1999).Fiction:an introduction to the short story.Illinois:NTC


Contemporary Publishing Group.
Guiyab, R.G.(2005). Philippine literature: beyond forgetting. Makati City:
Grandwater Publication.
Important elements in essay format.Retrieved May 1, 2010 from
customessayblog.com/essay-writing/essay-format..
Kahayon, A.H. (2000). Philippine literature: Through the years. Mandaluyong
City: National Bookstore.
Lacia, F.C.(2003).the literatures of the Philippines. Manila:Rex Bookstore.
Lombardi, E. Literature. Retrieved May 28, 2010 from classiclit.about.com
Lumbera, B. and Lumbera, C. (1982).Philippine literature: A story and
anthology. Manila: National Bookstore.
Merchand, M.Elements of the short story. Retrieved May 8, 2010 from
www.lessonplanpage.com.
Myers-Shaffer.C.(2000). The principles of literature: A guide for readers and
writers. New York: Barron’s Educational Series.
Marquez, S.T. (2009). Developmental Reading: Reading 2. Quezon City:
Lorimar Publishing.
Oak, M. Importance of literature. Retrieved July 30, 2010 from
www.buzzle.com/articles/importance-of-literature.html.
Patron, I.(2002).Interactive reading – responding and writing about
Philippine literature.QuezonCity: Great Books Trading.
Roseburg, A.G. (1966) Pathways to Philippine literature in English. Quezon
City: Alemars-Phoenix Publishing House.
Sicat, T.M. and Rivera, N.V. eds (2004).Affirming the Filipino:A anthology of
Philippine literature. Quezon City: U.P. Department of
English and Comparative Literature.
Tan, A.B.(2001).Introduction to literature. 4th ed. Mandaluyong City:
Academic Publishing Corporation.
Today in literature. Retrieved June 10, 2010 from
http://www.todayinliterature.com
Villarin, A.S. (2008).Developmental reading.Quezon City: Lorimar Publishing.
Vinuya, R. V. (2005).College reading and writing:textbook and workbook
rev.ed. Makati City: Grandwater Publication.

Course Module
Drama and its Elements
The drama or play has not been an effective technique for interpreting
literature. This may not be a new technique but it gives you the chance to
portray and convey the message of the story in words and in actual
presentation. This lesson presents drama - - - its techniques and elements.
Objective
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:
1. Differentiate drama from short story and other types of literature;
2. Discuss the elements of drama; and
3. Show appreciation of the literary genre.

Drama
Drama is told mainly through the words and actions of characters and
intended to be performed by actors.
Feature films can be considered as drama as well as any television programs.
Although drama shares certain elements with the other kinds of narrative, it
has some elements that are specifically characteristics of drama alone. As you
learn these elements, you will be able to appreciate and discuss plays that
you see and read.
Playwrights develop a script in the play that includes stage directions to help
actors, directors and readers visualize what is happening on stage. These
directions are interspersed between the lines of dialogue and are usually
printed in italics and enclosed in parentheses and brackets. The directions
explain how character should look, speak, act and move on stage. They also
specify details of the stage set such as lighting, props and sound effects.

Elements of Drama
The elements are things that are used to make up a work of literature. In this
lesson, we shall discuss the elements of the drama.

Characters
Characters can be human, supernatural, divine, mythical, animal,
personification of an abstraction. They reflect the personality of the
characters. In the drama, these are listed at the beginning of a play and might
include a short description of each character. The playwright further
describes a character when he or she first appears in the play. Audiences
learn about characters through their actions and dialogue
Characterization is the method of conveying information about characters in
art.

Setting
The setting is the geographical location of the play (story), time period, daily
lifestyle of characters and climate of the story. In the drama/play, the setting
Philippine Literature
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Philippine Literature Symbols And Personification

is described at the beginning of the play. Additional details might appear


throughout the play. The setting changes at the beginning of acts or scenes.

Plot
The plot is the serial arrangement of incidents, events or ideas. It
encompasses all the incidents and provides aesthetic pleasure. In the drama,
the plot is divided in to acts and scenes.
Acts/Scenes -indicate changes of location or the passage of time. One act play
presents only one location over a brief period of time.
Conflict -is an essential element of the drama. It makes the plot interesting
and intriguing because of the inbuilt conflicts and twists.
Internal conflict -is the clash between the character and his people. External
conflict occurs between two men: man vs. circumstances or man vs. society.
Structure -is an element that presents the design of a completed action. In the
drama, it is illustrated in the plot and subplots (acts or scenes).

Dialogue
The dialogue is where the thoughts of characters are exhibited. It is the
conversation that portrays thoughts, emotions and feelings of the characters.
It includes clues to their background and personalities. It is also used in
advancing the plot.

Theme
This element contains the central idea of all literary forms. It reflects
innocence, experience, life, death, reality, fate, madness, love, society,
individual, etc. It reflects man and society as a whole. The theme presents the
brief idea of the drama.

Point of view
The element that serves as an instrument of the playwright to show how his
actions and words are arranged where the audience can draw their
conclusions. The playwright may use soliloquy or dramatic monologue or
aside. Soliloquy enables the speaker to talk to himself. He is heard directly by
the audience. Aside allows the character to talk alone and be heard by the
audience but not by the characters in the play.
Tone in drama signifies the attitude of the playwright to the story, reader,
characters, etc. The dialogues show the tone or the mood of the play vividly.
Symbolism is an element used by the playwright to effectively show his main
point. He uses properties and other things to strengthen his objective. He
may use a big house or a shanty, a vast field, a motorcycle, a flag, a ship, etc.

Course Module
Foreshadowing
This element is a hint or clue to suggest what will happen later in the story. It
creates suspense and encourages the reader to go and find out more about
the event that is being foreshadowed.
***Open the link below and read to answer the activity.
“The World is an Apple by Alberto S. Florentino”
http://ubdlibrary.wikidot.com/the-world-is-an-apple

References
Chin, B. 2002). Glenco Literature: the reader’s choice. New York: McGraw-
Hill.
Croghan, R.V. (1997). The development of Philippine literature in English.
Quezon City: Phoenix Publishing House Inc.
Ecrivain-Public arts literature writing professionals(2008). Retrieved June
10, 2010 from http://www.ecrivain-public.viz.
Guiyab, R.G. (2005). Philippine literature: beyond forgetting. Makati City:
Grandwater Publication.
Jupiter Infomedia Put. Ltd. Elements of Drama(2008). Retrieved May 30,
2010 from http://www.indranetzone.com
Lumbera, B. and Lumbera, C. (1982) Philippine literature: a story and
anthology. Manila: National Bookstore.
Marquez, S.T. (2009). Developmental; Reading 2. Quezon City: Lorimar
Publishing.
Sicat, M. T. M. and Rivera, N.V. eds. (2004). Affirming the Filipino: an
anthology of
Philippine literature. Quezon City: U.P. Department of English and Literature.
Today in Literature. Retrieved June10,2010 from
http://www.todayinliterature.com.

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