Lesson 5: Introduction to the Study of Literature

Intended Learning Outcomes:

At the end of this lesson, the students should be able to:
1. Discuss the historical background of literature
2. Determine the different types of literature
3. Identify the famous Philippine literature

Inculcating Concepts

Definition of Literature

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

Literature represents a language or a people: culture and tradition. But, literature is more important than just
a historical or cultural artifact. Literature introduces us to new worlds of experience. We learn about books and
literature; we enjoy the comedies and the tragedies of poems, stories, and plays; and we may even grow and
evolve through our literary journey with books.

Ultimately, we may discover meaning in literature by looking at what the author says and how he/she says it.
We may interpret the author's message. In academic circles, this decoding of the text is often carried out through
the use of literary theory, using a mythological, sociological, psychological, historical, or other approach

Literature is a term used to describe written or spoken material. Broadly speaking, "literature" is used to
describe anything from creative writing to more technical or scientific works, but the term is most commonly
used to refer to works of the creative imagination, including works of poetry, drama, fiction, and nonfiction.

Method of Reading and Interpretation

There are two methods of reading and illuminating literary texts: historical or historical way and the formalistic
way.

1. Historical approach
A traditional or customary way of copying and interpreting literary texts. It is a method of showing
things, experiences, and historical forces that have had an impact on the creation, writing, molding, and
development of literature in the Philippines.

In this way, the Philippine Historical Age had four quarters: the Age of Conquest Before the Spaniards or the
Pre-Spanish Colonial Period (1400-1600), the Spanish Period (1600-1898) The American or American
Occupation Period (1898-1946), and the Present Period of Colonialism or Contemporary Post-colonial Period.

In relation to Filipino literature, Jose Villa Panganiban and Teofilo del Castillo were the first to use this
method to achieve the interpretation of literary texts.

2. Pormalistiko
The formalistic way is a formal and empirical method of reading and interpreting – writing – a
literary text that arrives in the Philippines this way through the American educational system.

In this way, more detailed and empirical (based on experience, observation, experiment or experiment,
according to practical experience, rather than theory) is the method of reading literary texts with the aim of
exploring what is actually literary or literary text. Depending on the emphasis and direction or direction of its
users, the environments vary. It focuses on having the unity of the body of the text, or the word itself: focuses
solely on the text.

Literature and history are closely interrelated. In discovering the history of a race, the feelings, aspirations,
customs and traditions of a people are sure to be included and these feelings, aspirations, customs, and traditions
that are written literature. History can also be written and this too, is literature. Events that can be written down
are part of true literature. Literature, therefore, is part of history.

Literature and history, however, also have differences. Literature may be figments of the imagination or
events devoid of truth, that have been written down, while history is made up of events that really happened.

General Types of Literature

Literature can generally be divided into two types; prose and poetry.

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. 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

f. 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.

g. 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

h. News: This is a report of everyday events in society, government, science and industry, and accidents,
happening nationally or not.
 i. 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.

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

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 Perez

HERO OF THE FIELDS by Al Perez

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.

Originally, 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.

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

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

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

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.

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

Corridos (Kuridos): These have measures of eight syllables (octosyllabic) and recited to a martial beat.
Example: IBONG ADARNA

C. Dramatic Poetry

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.
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 obtained by the protagonist in a
comedy.

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.

LITERARY GENRES
The two main categories separating the different genres of literature are fiction and nonfiction. There are several
genres of literature that fall under the nonfiction category. Nonfiction sits in direct opposition to fiction.
Examples from both the fiction and nonfiction genres of literature are explained in detail below.

FICTION NON-FICTION
Drama is the genre of literature that’s subject for Narrative Nonfiction is information based on fact
compositions is dramatic art in the way it is that is presented in a format which tells a story.
represented. This genre is stories composed in verse or Essays are a short literary composition that reflects the
prose, usually for theatrical performance, where author’s outlook or point. A short literary composition
conflicts and emotion are expressed through dialogue on a particular theme or subject, usually in prose and
and action. generally analytic, speculative, or interpretative.
Poetry is verse and rhythmic writing with imagery A Biography is a written account of another person’s
that evokes an emotional response from the reader. life.
The art of poetry is rhythmical in composition, written An Autobiography gives the history of a person’s
or spoken. This genre of literature is for exciting life, written or told by that person. Often written in
pleasure by beautiful, imaginative, or elevated Narrative form of their person’s life.
thoughts. Speech is the faculty or power of speaking; oral
Fantasy is the forming of mental images with strange communication; ability to express one’s thoughts and
or other worldly settings or characters; fiction which emotions by speech, sounds, and gesture. Generally
invites suspension of reality. delivered in the form of an address or discourse.
Humor is the faculty of perceiving what is amusing or
comical. Fiction full of fun, fancy, and excitement
which meant to entertain. This genre of literature can
actually be seen and contained within all genres.
A Fable is a story about supernatural or extraordinary
people Usually in the form of narration that
demonstrates a useful truth. In Fables, animals often
speak as humans that are legendary and supernatural
tales.
Fairy Tales or wonder tales are a kind of folktale or
fable. Sometimes the stories are about fairies or other
magical creatures, usually for children
Science Fiction is a story based on impact of potential
science, either actual or imagined. Science fiction is
one of the genres of literature that is set in the future or
on other planets.
Short Story is fiction of such briefness that is not able
to support any subplots.
Realistic Fiction is a story that can actually happen
and is true to real life.
Folklore are songs, stories, myths, and proverbs of a
person of “folk” that was handed down by word of
mouth. Folklore is a genre of literature that is widely
held, but false and based on unsubstantiated beliefs.
Historical Fiction is a story with fictional characters
and events in a historical setting.
Horror is an overwhelming and painful feeling caused
by literature that is frightfully shocking, terrifying, or
revolting. Fiction in which events evoke a feeling of
dread in both the characters and the reader.
A Tall Tale is a humorous story with blatant
exaggerations, swaggering heroes who do the
impossible with an here of nonchalance.
Legend is a story that sometimes of a national or folk
hero. Legend is based on fact but also includes
imaginative material.
Mystery is a genre of fiction that deals with the
solution of a crime or the unraveling of secrets.
Anything that is kept secret or remains unexplained or
unknown.
Mythology is a type of legend or traditional narrative.
This is often based in part on historical events, that
reveals human behavior and natural phenomena by its
symbolism; often pertaining to the actions of the gods.
A body of myths, as that of a particular people or that
relating to a particular person.
Fiction in Verse is full-length novels with plot,
subplots, themes, with major and minor characters.
Fiction of verse is one of the genres of literature in
which the narrative is usually presented in blank verse
form.

Philippine Literature
Philippine Literature is a diverse and rich group of works that has evolved side by side with the country’s
history. Literature has started with fables and legends made by the ancient Filipinos long before the arrival of
the Spanish influence. The main themes of Philippine literature focus on the country’s pre-colonial cultural
traditions and the socio-political histories of its colonial and contemporary traditions.

It is not a secret that many Filipinos are unfamiliar with Philippine literature especially those written long
before the Spanish arrived in our country. This is due to the fact that the stories of ancient time were not written,
but rather passed on from generation to generation through word of mouth. Only in 1521 did the Filipinos
become to be acquainted with literature due to the influence of the Spaniards on us. But the literature that the
Filipinos became acquainted with are not Filipino made, rather, they were works of Spanish authors.

So successful were the efforts of colonialists to blot out the memory of the country's largely oral past that
present-day Filipino writers, artists and journalists are trying to correct this inequity by recognizing the
country's wealth of ethnic traditions and disseminating them in schools and through mass media.

Why Do We Need to Study Philippine Literature?

1. We study literature so that we can better appreciate our literary heritage. We cannot appreciate something
that we do not understand. Through a study of our literature, we can trace the rich heritage of ideas
handed down to us from our forefathers. Then we can understand ourselves better and take pride in being
a Filipino.
2. Like other races of the world, we need to understand that we have a great and noble tradition which can
serve as the means to assimilate other cultures.
 3. Through such a study, we will realize our literary limitations conditioned by certain historical factors and
we can take steps to overcome them.
4. Above all, as Filipinos, who truly love and take pride in our own culture, we have to manifest our deep
concern for our own literature and this we can do by studying the literature of our country.

Philippine Literature and History

The Philippines is unique for having important works in many languages. These might be grouped into four -
Philippine literature in Spanish, Tagalog, English, and other Philippine languages. Our literature has been
influenced by colonial powers aside from our pre-colonial origins. Philippine Literature also shows the different
cultures of different localities through their literature, different perspectives and experiences, and most of all,
their resistance and rebellion.

A. Ancient Filipino Literature

Philippine literature has emerged from a variety of groups and groups of people arriving in its archipelago.
Existing literature of the Philippine ethnic groups at the time of conquest and conversion into Christianity was
mainly oral, consisting of epics, legends, songs, riddles, and proverbs.

B. Spanish Colonization (1565-1898)

Most of the written literature of ancient Filipinos in the Philippines was burned by the Spaniards.
The conquistador, especially its ecclesiastical arm, destroyed whatever written literature he could find, and
hence rendered the system of writing (e.g., the Tagalog syllabary) inoperable. Among the only native systems of
writing that have survived are the syllabaries of the Mindoro Mangyans and the Tagbanua of Palawan.

Until the 19th century, the printing presses were owned and managed by the religious orders. Even among the
Christianized ethnic groups, the oral tradition persisted in such forms as legends, sayings, wedding songs such
as the balayan and parlor theater such as the duplo (Medina, p. 32).

In the 18th century, secular literature from Spain in the form of medieval ballads inspired the native poetic-
drama form called the komedya, later to be called moro-moro because these often dealt with the theme of
Christians triumphing over Moslems (Lumbera, p. 15).

a. KOMEDYA. Jose de la Cruz (1746 – 1829), also known as Huseng Sisiw was the foremost exponent of
the komedya during his time. Komedya is a play written in verse (usually octosyllabic or dodecasyllabic
quatrains), which uses conventions of the marcha for exits and entrances, batalla or choreographed fighting,
and magia or magical effects. This is one of the few traditional dramas that survived the Spanish conquest.
Even though he is not of the elite class, dela Cruz was fond of reading which resulted to him being
multilingual and having authored plays or komedya.
b. BALAGTAS. Francisco Baltazar (1788 – 1862), popularly called Balagtas, is the acknowledged master of
traditional Tagalog poetry. The earliest major work in Tagalog was Francisco Balagtas’ Florante at Laura,
an epic poem published in 1838. Florante at Laura is still taught in schools across the country as the
epitome of literary Tagalog literature.
c. NOLI ME TANGERE AND EL FILIBUSTERISMO. National Hero Jose Rizal (1861 – 1896) chose the
realistic novel as his medium. Choosing Spanish over Tagalog meant challenging the oppressors on the
latter’s own turf.
d. THE PROPAGANDA MOVEMENT. The most politically important body of Philippine literature is that
which was written in Spanish. Literature in the Spanish period may be restricted by the colonial powers but
Filipinos found a way with literature to cope and rebel against the oppressive ruling of the Spaniards. One
let down of these kinds of literature is the original texts are in Spanish, hence, it may be praised by all but
only read by few. Learning of the Spanish as a language was restricted to the elites and was not accessible
to indios.

C. American Colonization (1898-1946)

Unlike the Spanish colonial powers, American colonizers taught Filipinos how to read and write and English.
Our educational system was influenced mostly by the Americans. It is more accessible to poorer Filipinos
unlike in the Spanish era that only privileged elites can achieve an educational status. However, it was this
educated class that would be the wellspring of a vibrant Philippine Literature in English.

Philippine literature in English, as a direct result of American colonization of the country, could not escape
being imitative of American models of writing especially during its period of apprenticeship. The poetry written
by early poets manifested studied attempts at versification as in the following poem which is proof of the poet’s
rather elementary exercise in the English language:

Vacation days at last are here,

And we have time for fun so dear,
All boys and girls do gladly cheer,
This welcomed season of the year.
In early June in school we’ll meet;
A harder task shall we complete
And if we fail we must repeat
That self same task without retreat.
We simply rest to come again
To school where boys and girls obtain
The Creator’s gift to men
Whose sanguine hopes in us remain.
Vacation means a time for play
For young and old in night and day
My wish for all is to be gay,
And evil none lead you astray

– Juan F. Salazar

Philippines Free Press, May 9, 1909

ZARSUWELA. It was during the early American period that seditious plays, using the form of the zarsuwela,
were mounted. Zarsuwelistas Juan Abad, Aurelio Tolentino Juan Matapang Cruz. Juan Crisostomo Sotto
mounted the classics like Tanikalang Ginto, Kahapon, Ngayon at Bukas and Hindi Ako Patay, all directed
against the American imperialists. Patricio Mariano’s Anak ng Dagat and Severino Reyes’s Walang Sugat are
equally remarkable zarsuwelas staged during the period.

Among the early Tagalog novelists of the 20th century were Ishmael Amado, Valeriano Hernandez Peña,
Faustino Aguilar, Lope K. Santos and Lazaro Francisco.

BULALAKAW SA PAG-ASA. Ishmael Amado’s Bulalakaw ng Pag-asa published in 1909 was one of the
earliest novels that dealt with the theme of American imperialism in the Philippines. The novel, however, was
not released from the printing press until 1916, at which time, the author, by his own admission and after having
been sent as a pensionado to the U.S., had other ideas apart from those he wrote in the novel.

Even in the American period, literature exists to resist the colonial powers and express the woes of the
oppressed Filipino people.

D. Post-colonial literature

American influence is very evident in our post-colonial literature because of our Americanized
educational system.

INFLUENCE IN POST-COLONIAL LITERATURE:

1. Abrogation is a "refusal of the categories of the imperial culture, its aesthetic, its illusory standard of
normative or "correct" usage, and its assumption of a traditional and fixed meaning "inscribed" in
words" (Ascroft et al. 1989, 39). Abrogation and protest do not only mean resistance to political and
economic pressures but more importantly resistance to the dominating cultural values. Example are
literature than condemn colonial influences that caused the suffering of the Filipinos.
 2. Appropriation is a process by which the language (the Center's) is consciously brought under the
influence of the vernacular and its cultural nuances. Raja Rao (1938) has expressed it more succinctly:
"to convey in a language that is not one's own the spirit that is one's own." Simply put, it may not be of
your own language but you convey as if it’s your own. Example are English literature made by Filipino
authors.
E. Modern literature (20th and 21st century)

Modern literature is influenced by the modern world and different cultures altogether. One popular example
is Fliptop which is a known modern spoken poetry here in the Philippines. Different authors also emerged such
as Lualhati Bautista who authored books such as “Dekada ’70” and “Bata, Bata, Pa’no ka Ginawa?”. These
forms of literature mainly talk about our modern society and have political and socioeconomic themes as well.

Other Literary Forms Based on Philippine Historical Period

I. ANCIENT LITERATURE/ FOLK LITERATURE

A. Myth – a traditional story in prose concerning details of gods and demigods and creation of the
world and its inhabitants
Examples: Visayan Creation Myth
Bagobo Creation Story
Tungkung Langit and Alunsina

B. Heroic Narratives or Epic – folk epics that narrate the adventures of tribal heroes who embody
in themselves the ideals and values of the tribe
Examples: Lam-ang
Ullalim
Ibalon
Indarapata at Sulayman

C. Ethiological Legends – explain how things came to be, why things are as they are
Examples: Legend of Mayon Volcano
Legend of the Tagalogs
Gaddang

D. Folk Tale – a prose narrative regarded as:

1. Animal Tale – a folk tale using animals as characters
Examples: The Monkey and the Turtle
The Cow and the Carabao
2. Folk Speech – the simplest form of oral literature
a. Riddles- description of objects in terms intended to suggest something entirely different
Example: Nidalagan si Juan, nipikas ang dalan (Tumakbo si Juan, nahati ang daan)
-zipper
b. Proverbs – short popular sayings that express effectively some commonplace truth or
useful thought
Example: Ang hindi lumingon sa pinanggalingan, hindi makararating sa paroroonan.
3. Folk Songs - verses set into music by the members
Examples: Manang Biday
Dandansoy

Popular Literary Compositions that Have Influenced the World

Among them are:
1. The Bible or the Sacred Writings: This has become the basis of Christianity originating from Palestine
and Greece.
2. Koran: The Muslim Bible originating from Arabia
3. The Iliad and the Odyssey: These have been the source of myths and legends of Greece. They were
written by Homer.
4. The Mahab-harata: The longest epic of the world. It contains the history of religion in India.
5. Canterbury Tales: It depicts the religion and customs of the English in the early days. This originated
from England and was written by Chaucer.
6. Uncle Tom’s Cabin: Written by Harriet Beecher Stowe of the US. This depicted the sad of slaves; this
became the basis of democracy later on.
7. The divine Comedy: ( by Dante of Italy ) This shows the religion and customs of the early Italians.
8. El Cid Compeador: This shows the cultural characteristics of the Spaniards and their national history.
9. The Song of Roland: This includes Doce Pares and Roncesvalles of France. It tells about the Golden Age
of Christianity in France>
10. The Book of the Dead: This includes the cult of Osiris and the mythology and theology of Egypt.
11. The Book of the Days: This was written by Confucius of China. This became the basis of the Christian
religion.
12. 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 Persians