LIT 2

WORLD
LITERATURE

A Module

Prepared by:

SAMUEL A. REPELENTE
Master Teacher I / Part-time Lecturer
Calbayog City National High School

2020-2021
Student Information

Complete Name Gacud_ __, Manuel III__ _ D__

Family Name First Name MI
Program, Year, Bachelor of Secondary Education major in Mathematics – 3rd
& Section year

Home Address Purok 1 Brgy. Nijaga, Calbayog City, Samar 6710

City Address
(If staying in an
apartment or
bhouse in the
city)
Contact 09639112797/09514644320
Number/s
[email protected]
E-mail Address
Facebook Mannuelle Gacud/ [email protected]
Account Name

Course Information
Course Code LIT 2
Course Title WORLD LITERATURE
This course aims to introduce students to a selection of
classical and modern literary works from various parts of
the world. One of the goals of the course is to analyze and
discuss the works in their respective socio-historical
contexts, with a special focus on the theme of encounter,
Course Description be it textual or cultural. The impact of various factors
(class, race, gender, generation, religion, and so forth) will
be taken into consideration in our discussions. The
students’ critical engagement with the assigned works of
literature will be further enhanced by the historical and
literary background provided by lectures and secondary
sources.
Course Outcomes 1. Explain the nature of literature, it’s different types and
genres, and the ways or approaches that it can be
studied.
Program/s All COED Programs
Prerequisite/s

2|Page WORLD LITERATURE

Course Content
Course
Wee Date of
Outcom Topics Assessment
k Submission
e
1 Orientation Activities
Module 1: Introduction
to the Study of Recitation March 1,
Literature Pen & Paper Test 2021
2 3 A. Literary Types and Organizer
Genres
B. Approaches to the study
of Literature

Grading Criteria
Requirement/Assessment Task Percentage
Class Standing (Quizzes, Oral 40%
Recitation, Unit Tests)
Project/Assignments.Reporting 30%
Terms Tests (Midterm & Final) 30%
TOTAL 100%

3|Page WORLD LITERATURE

 MODULE GUIDE

This module is designed for independent and discovery learning. As a student,

you are expected to be in charge of your own learning process by going through the
different tasks and activities prepared for you. Thus, it is necessary that you carefully
follow the directions.
Every lesson begins with the objectives and an introduction to guide and give
you an initial idea of the topic and the skills you are expected to acquire upon
completing the lesson. After which are these sections which provide you with the
instructions to follow, questions to answer, activities to accomplish, or texts to read
and understand. To wit:
 Let’s Start. In this section, you will be asked do an activity or answer
several questions to either activate your prior knowledge about the new
topic or review the past ones. In answering this part of the lesson, you
should only rely on your prior knowledge and NOT cheat by reading the
next section or searching for answers online.
 Let’s Read. This contains the text or readings about the topic. Be it known
that these materials are only outsourced from various print and online
references. Copyrights rightfully belong to the respective authors which are
cited at the end of the lesson.
 Let’s Remember. This contains a summary or a list of the major points or
ideas from reading.
 Let’s Do It. This is the formative assessment of the lesson where you will
answer questions to gauge your attainment of the objectives. Do as the
directions say. Should you need more space for your answers, attach
additional sheets of papers.
At the end of each module is a major output or a performance task that will
have you apply what you learned from the different lessons in the module. Instructions
are detailed for your compliance.
Should you have any concern or question about the lesson or the module, feel
free to contact me in the following platforms:
 SMS: 09752156507 (GLOBE/TM)
 Facebook/ Messenger: Samuel Acain Repelente
 E-mail: [email protected]
Good luck!

4|Page WORLD LITERATURE

 SAMUEL A. REPELENTE
Part-time Instructor
Module 1

Title Introduction to World Literature

Description This module introduces the literary types and genres, and
approaches to the study of literature
Outcome Describe literature its types and genres, and approaches to the
study of literature.
Requirement/s
 Literature
Key Terms  Genres
 Approaches

5|Page WORLD LITERATURE

 Lesson 1:
Introduction to the Study of Literature
A. Literary Types and Genres
B. Approaches to the Study of Literature

Lesson Objectives:
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
 Identify the literary types and genres.
 Identify the approaches to the study of literature.

INTRODUCTION
In this lesson, you will have a view on the richness if literature all over the
world. This provides you a look to the significant perspectives of literature taking the
types, genres, and approaches to learning the subject. You will also be introduced to
the different literary pieces from the different continents of the world.

LET’S GET STARTED!

I. Answer the following:
1. What are connotative and denotative meanings of literature?
2. What are the types and genres of literature?
3. What makes literature rich and subtle to learn compared to other forms of
writing?
4. What are the approaches applied to study literature?
5. How significant are these approaches to understand diversity in written
context?

LET’S READ!
I. Introduction (LITERATURE DEFINED)
 Etymologically: the Latin word “litteratura” is derived from “littera” (letter),
which is the smallest element of alphabetical writing.

6|Page WORLD LITERATURE

  The word text is related to “textile” and can be translated as “fabric”: just as
single threads form a fabric, so words and sentences form a meaningful and
coherent text.
 Literature is concerned with the content and the form, in other words not only
the story but the way it is written.
 Literature is a body of written works. The name is often applied to those
imaginative works of poetry and prose distinguished by the intentions of their
authors and the excellence of their execution. (Encyclopedia Britannica,
Micropedia)
 The collective writings proper to any language or nations. The term literature
is site of ideological conflict; it may refer to those canonical works in the
genres, i.e., traditional works considered to be artistic or it may also refer to the
total sum of writings, including letters, memoirs, comics, historical writings,
etc. (adapted from the Cambridge Encyclopedia)
 Literature is an intimate experience of an author carefully expressed in concrete
images through the use of structure, imaginative style and luxurious metaphors.
It is not practical or logical communication, but an aesthetic experience.
 A collection of writings, which reflect the experience of class struggle in a
society. The history of literature is, therefore, a reflection on changing
material, economic and social conditions in that society.
 “Thus, it reveals the total existence of writing: a text is made up of multiple
writings, drawn from many cultures and entering into mutual relations of
dialogue, parody, contestation, but there is one place where this multiplicity is
focussed and that place is the reader, not ......... the author.”
 All writing in prose and poetry having permanent value, excellent format, an
imaginative or critical characteristic, and heightened emotional effect.
 Literature is referred to as the entirety of written expression, with the restriction
that not every written document can be categorized as literature in the more
exact sense of the word. (Klarer p.1)
 Literature or text as cultural and historical phenomena and to investigate the
conditions of their production and reception

GENRE
A Genre is a French word meaning “type” or “kind” of literature.

• The genres of literature we will study are poetry, drama, fiction (short story,
non-fiction, and novel) and film.

PROSE and POETRY

wo kinds of writing formats in standard American English

• Prose is straight writing in paragraph form (e.g. newspaper, novels,

magazines).

7|Page WORLD LITERATURE

 • Poetry is a particular arrangement of words on a page for heightened emotional
effect.

All writing falls into one of these two categories: Fiction and Nonfiction

• Fiction is not true. It is drawn from the imagination of the author.

• Nonfiction gives specific factual assertions and descriptions may or may not be
accurate, and can give either a true or a false account of the subject in
question. 
LITERARY GENRES (from varied sources)

A. LITERARY GENRES
• Poetry
• Drama
• Biography and Autobiography
• The Essay
• Film

B. LITERARY GENRES
The four main literary genres are poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and drama, with
each varying in style, structure, subject matter, and the use of figurative
language. The genre raises certain expectations in what the reader anticipates
will happen within that work.

THE 14 MAIN LITERARY GENRES

1. Literary Fiction
- Literary fiction novels are considered works with artistic value and literary
merit. They often include political criticism, social commentary, and reflections
on humanity. Literary fiction novels are typically character-driven, as opposed
to being plot-driven, and follow a character’s inner story.
2. Mystery
- Mystery novels, also called detective fiction, follow a detective solving a case
from start to finish. They drop clues and slowly reveal information, turning the
reader into a detective trying to solve the case, too. Mystery novels start with
an exciting hook, keep readers interested with suspenseful pacing, and end with
a satisfying conclusion that answers all of the reader’s outstanding questions.

3. Thriller

8|Page WORLD LITERATURE

 - Thriller novels are dark, mysterious, and suspenseful plot-driven stories. They
very seldom include comedic elements, but what they lack in humor, they make
up for in suspense. Thrillers keep readers on their toes and use plot twists, red
herrings, and cliffhangers to keep them guessing until the end.

4. Horror
- Horror novels are meant to scare, startle, shock, and even repulse readers.
Generally focusing on themes of death, demons, evil spirits, and the afterlife,
they prey on fears with scary beings like ghosts, vampires, werewolves,
witches, and monsters. In horror fiction, plot and characters are tools used to
elicit a terrifying sense of dread. 

5. Historical
- Historical fiction novels take place in the past. Written with a careful balance
of research and creativity, they transport readers to another time and place—
which can be real, imagined, or a combination of both. Many historical novels
tell stories that involve actual historical figures or historical events within
historical settings.

6. Romance
- Romantic fiction centers around love stories between two people. They’re
lighthearted, optimistic, and have an emotionally satisfying ending. Romance
novels do contain conflict, but it doesn’t overshadow the romantic relationship,
which always prevails in the end.

7. Western 
- Western novels tell the stories of cowboys, settlers, and outlaws exploring the
western frontier and taming the American Old West. They’re shaped
specifically by their genre-specific elements and rely on them in ways that
novels in other fiction genres don’t. Westerns aren’t as popular as they once
were; the golden age of the genre coincided with the popularity of western
films in the 1940s, ‘50s, and ‘60s.

8. Bildungsroman
- Bildungsroman is a literary genre of stories about a character growing
psychologically and morally from their youth into adulthood. Generally, they
experience a profound emotional loss, set out on a journey, encounter conflict,
and grow into a mature person by the end of the story. Literally translated, a
bildungsroman is “a novel of education” or “a novel of formation.”

9. Speculative Fiction
- Speculative fiction is a supergenre that encompasses a number of different
types of fiction, from science fiction to fantasy to dystopian. The stories take

9|Page WORLD LITERATURE

 place in a world different from our own. Speculative fiction knows no
boundaries; there are no limits to what exists beyond the real world.

10. Sci-fi novels

- These are speculative stories with imagined elements that don’t exist in the
real world. Some are inspired by “hard” natural sciences like physics,
chemistry, and astronomy; others are inspired by “soft” social sciences like
psychology, anthropology, and sociology. Common elements of sci-fi novels
include time travel, space exploration, and futuristic societies.

11. Fantasy
- Fantasy novels are speculative fiction stories with imaginary characters set
in imaginary universes. They’re inspired by mythology and folklore and often
include elements of magic. The genre attracts both children and adults; well-
known titles include Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll and
the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling.
12. Dystopian
- Dystopian novels are a genre of science fiction. They’re set in societies
viewed as worse than the one in which we live. Dystopian fiction exists in
contrast to utopian fiction, which is set in societies viewed as better than the
one in which we live. Maragaret Atwood’s MasterClass teaches elements of
dystopian fiction.

13. Magical Realism

- Magical realism novels depict the world truthfully, plus add magical
elements. The fantastical elements aren’t viewed as odd or unique; they’re
considered normal in the world in which the story takes place. The genre was
born out of the realist art movement and is closely associated with Latin
American authors.

14. Realist Literature

- Realist fiction novels are set in a time and place that could actually happen
in the real world. They depict real people, places, and stories in order to be as
truthful as possible. Realist works of fiction remain true to everyday life and
abide by the laws of nature as we currently understand them.

10 | P a g e W O R L D L I T E R A T U R E
 APPROACHES TO LITERATURE

Described below are nine common critical approaches to the literature. Quotations are
from X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia’s Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry,
and Drama, Sixth Edition (New York: HarperCollins, 1995), pages 1790-1818.
1. Formalist Criticism: This approach regards literature as “a unique form of
human knowledge that needs to be examined on its own terms.” All the
elements necessary for understanding the work are contained within the work
itself. Of particular interest to the formalist critic are the elements of form—
style, structure, tone, imagery, etc.—that are found within the text. A primary
goal for formalist critics is to determine how such elements work together with
the text’s content to shape its effects upon readers.

2. Biographical Criticism: This approach “begins with the simple but central

insight that literature is written by actual people and that understanding an
author’s life can help readers more thoroughly comprehend the work.” Hence,
it often affords a practical method by which readers can better understand a
text. However, a biographical critic must be careful not to take the biographical
facts of a writer’s life too far in criticizing the works of that writer: the
biographical critic “focuses on explicating the literary work by using the
insight provided by knowledge of the author’s life.... Biographical data should
amplify the meaning of the text, not drown it out with irrelevant material.”

3. Historical Criticism: This approach “seeks to understand a literary work by

investigating the social, cultural, and intellectual context that produced it—a
context that necessarily includes the artist’s biography and milieu.” A key goal
for historical critics is to understand the effect of a literary work upon its
original readers.

4. Gender Criticism: This approach “examines how sexual identity influences

the creation and reception of literary works.” Originally an offshoot of feminist
movements, gender criticism today includes a number of approaches, including
the so-called “masculinist” approach recently advocated by poet Robert Bly.
The bulk of gender criticism, however, is feminist and takes as a central
precept that the patriarchal attitudes that have dominated western thought have
resulted, consciously or unconsciously, in literature “full of unexamined ‘male-
produced’ assumptions.” Feminist criticism attempts to correct this imbalance
by analyzing and combatting such attitudes—by questioning, for example, why
none of the characters in Shakespeare’s play Othello ever challenge the right of
a husband to murder a wife accused of adultery. Other goals of feminist critics
include “analyzing how sexual identity influences the reader of a text” and
“examining how the images of men and women in imaginative literature reflect
or reject the social forces that have historically kept the sexes from achieving
total equality.”
11 | P a g e W O R L D L I T E R A T U R E
 5. Psychological Criticism: This approach reflects the effect that modern
psychology has had upon both literature and literary criticism. Fundamental
figures in psychological criticism include Sigmund Freud, whose
“psychoanalytic theories changed our notions of human behavior by exploring
new or controversial areas like wish-fulfillment, sexuality, the unconscious,
and repression” as well as expanding our understanding of how “language and
symbols operate by demonstrating their ability to reflect unconscious fears or
desires”; and Carl Jung, whose theories about the unconscious are also a key
foundation of Mythological Criticism. Psychological criticism has a number
of approaches, but in general, it usually employs one (or more) of three
approaches:
a) An investigation of “the creative process of the artist: what is the nature
of literary genius and how does it relate to normal mental functions?”
b) The psychological study of a particular artist, usually noting how an
author’s biographical circumstances affect or influence their motivations
and/or behavior.
c) The analysis of fictional characters using the language and methods of
psychology.

6. Sociological Criticism: This approach “examines literature in the cultural,

economic and political context in which it is written or received,” exploring the
relationships between the artist and society. Sometimes it examines the artist’s
society to better understand the author’s literary works; other times, it may
examine the representation of such societal elements within the literature itself.
One influential type of sociological criticism is Marxist criticism, which
focuses on the economic and political elements of art, often emphasizing the
ideological content of literature; because Marxist criticism often argues that all
art is political, either challenging or endorsing (by silence) the status quo, it is
frequently evaluative and judgmental, a tendency that “can lead to reductive
judgment, as when Soviet critics rated Jack London better than William
Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway, Edith Wharton, and Henry James, because he
illustrated the principles of class struggle more clearly.” Nonetheless, Marxist
criticism “can illuminate political and economic dimensions of literature other
approaches overlook.”

7. Mythological Criticism: This approach emphasizes “the recurrent universal

patterns underlying most literary works.” Combining the insights from
anthropology, psychology, history, and comparative religion, mythological
criticism “explores the artist’s common humanity by tracing how the individual
imagination uses myths and symbols common to different cultures and
epochs.” One key concept in mythological criticism is the archetype, “a
symbol, character, situation, or image that evokes a deep universal response,”
which entered literary criticism from Swiss psychologist Carl Jung. According
to Jung, all individuals share a “‘collective unconscious,’ a set of primal
memories common to the human race, existing below each person’s conscious
mind”—often deriving from primordial phenomena such as the sun, moon, fire,

12 | P a g e W O R L D L I T E R A T U R E
 night, and blood, archetypes according to Jung “trigger the collective
unconscious.” Another critic, Northrop Frye, defined archetypes in a more
limited way as “a symbol, usually an image, which recurs often enough in
literature to be recognizable as an element of one’s literary experience as a
whole.” Regardless of the definition of archetype they use, mythological critics
tend to view literary works in the broader context of works sharing a similar
pattern.

8. Reader-Response Criticism: This approach takes as a fundamental tenet that

“literature” exists not as an artifact upon a printed page but as a transaction
between the physical text and the mind of a reader. It attempts “to describe
what happens in the reader’s mind while interpreting a text” and reflects
that reading, like writing, is a creative process. According to reader-response
critics, literary texts do not “contain” a meaning; meanings derive only from
the act of individual readings. Hence, two different readers may derive
completely different interpretations of the same literary text; likewise, a reader
who re-reads a work years later may find the work shockingly different.
Reader-response criticism, then, emphasizes how “religious, cultural, and
social values affect readings; it also overlaps with gender criticism in exploring
how men and women read the same text with different assumptions.” Though
this approach rejects the notion that a single “correct” reading exists for a
literary work, it does not consider all readings permissible: “Each text creates
limits to its possible interpretations.”

9. Deconstructionist Criticism: This approach “rejects the traditional

assumption that language can accurately represent reality.” Deconstructionist
critics regard language as a fundamentally unstable medium—the words “tree”
or “dog,” for instance, undoubtedly conjure up different mental images for
different people—and therefore, because literature is made up of words,
literature possesses no fixed, single meaning. According to critic Paul de Man,
deconstructionists insist on “the impossibility of making the actual expression
coincide with what has to be expressed, of making the actual signs [i.e., words]
coincide with what is signified.” As a result, deconstructionist critics tend to
emphasize not what is being said but how language is used in a text. The
methods of this approach tend to resemble those of formalist criticism, but
whereas formalists’ primary goal is to locate unity within a text, “how the
diverse elements of a text cohere into meaning,” deconstructionists try to show
how the text “deconstructs,” “how it can be broken down ... into mutually
irreconcilable positions.” Other goals of deconstructionists include (1)
challenging the notion of authors’ “ownership” of texts they create (and their
ability to control the meaning of their texts) and (2) focusing on how language
is used to achieve power, as when they try to understand how a some
interpretations of a literary work come to be regarded as “truth.”

13 | P a g e W O R L D L I T E R A T U R E
LET’S REMEMBER!
In a nutshell, literature is diverse, but there’s a unifying factor that crosses
boundaries of one culture, identity, perspective to another. Literature mirrors the ever-
changing society and how the people deal with their milieu. It is through writing that
people are able to express with liberty. Literary pieces which are products of
experiences and survival could draw inspiration from what is evident and unreal.
Literature should be treated in a kaleidoscopic perspective where it comes with
different types and genres. Each genre brings spectrum of ideas that creates the story
of one’s life to bring an inspiration to others. The literary genres provide more
inspiration to readers to use their creative side in understanding author’s ingenuity.
The study of literature becomes more meaningful when the approaches are employed
to be able to view the important perspectives without prejudices and biases.
LET’S DO THIS!
I. Answer the following:
1. Choose 2 literary genres and cite their characteristics, and provide 5 sample
literary pieces (titles only) in your chosen genres.
2. Among the 9 approaches, select 3 and state your reasons why they are relevant,
applicable, and relatable to use when treating and interpreting literary pieces.
Explain comprehensively by citing related literature to support your claim.

REFERENCES
Anderson Imbert, Enrique (1992) Teoría y técnica del cuento, Barcelona, Editorial
Ariel
Marx, Karl and Engels, Freidrich, Communism: The production of the form of
intercourse itself, in Rice, Philip and Waugh Patricia (2001) Modern literary theory: A
reader (4th Ed), London, Arnold
From Barthes, Roland, The death of the author, in Rice, Philip and Waugh Patricia
(2001) Modern literary theory: A reader (4th Ed), London, Arnold

14 | P a g e W O R L D L I T E R A T U R E
15 | P a g e W O R L D L I T E R A T U R E