Literature

 derived from the Latin term “Iitera” which means letter.

 These are imaginative or creative writing, especially of
recognized artistic value.
 These are writings in prose or verse, especially those of an
imaginative or critical character, without regard to their
excellence.
 These are body of written works of a language, period, or
culture.
Role of Literature in
National Development
 Literature plays a vital role in our society.

 Through literature, the past, the contemporary and the future are being
bridged together.
 Literature was able to unwrap the secrets of the past generation and
continually soaring for this contemporary time.
 We need to understand each other.
 Literature reveals the deepest thoughts and feeling of human race,
cherishes the ideals that lie as the basis of all what we hold to be most
precious in our world today.
 Literature plays a vital role in our society.

 It will help international relations, the sincere expressions of

human thoughts and feelings, the reactions to life as it is
being lived by different people.
 It will fire the imagination and arouse unselfish emotions.
 It is a form of escape from reality.
 It is an inspiration for man to be better.
 It is for aesthetic satisfaction.
 Pre-colonial inhabitants of our islands showcase
a rich past through their folk speeches, folk
songs, folk narratives, and indigenous rituals and
mimetic dances that affirm our ties with our
Southeast Asian neighbors.
 Oral and written literatures were present in our
culture even before colonizers came.
 Folk speeches
 refers to the dialect, or style of speaking, unique to
people living within a geographic area.
 The folk speech of an area may be differentiated
from other regions by variation in grammatical,
phonetic (pronunciation), and lexical (word usage)
features.
 Activity A (riddles)
1. When you cut it, it is mended without
a scar.  Chili pepper
2. It opens though it has no mouth. It  Pineapple
smiles quietly, there seems to be a
secret.  Flower
3. There are two brothers. They turn their  Water
backs on one another.  Ears
4. When I tugged on the vine, the
 Bell
monkeys went crazy.
5. It wears a crown but isn’t a queen. It  Jack fruit
has scale but isn’t a fish.
 Folk speeches
 Riddles – (bugtong) generally poetic in form and come in one, two,
three or four lines. During pre-colonial period, this serves as the battle
of the wits. It uses one or more images to refer to an object to be
guessed. The use of obscure words has been invented for the purpose of
rhyme and meter.
Ex:
1. What thing that God made sleeps with its head down? (bat)
2. A wild pig in the forest is covered with spikes. (jack fruit)
 Folk speeches
 Proverbs – (salawikain) It expresses norms or codes of
behavior, community beliefs or instill values by offering
nuggets of wisdom in short rhyming verse.
Ex:
1.If you plant, you harvest. (Kung may itinanim, may aanihin)
2.He who gives alms to the poor faces heaven.
 Activity B (proverbs)
Proverb 1: ____________________
List down some
Lesson: _______________________
proverbs or salawikain Proverb 2: ____________________
that you may have Lesson: _______________________

heard. Then give the Proverb 3: ____________________

Lesson: _______________________
lesson that it is trying
Proverb 4: ____________________
to impart on us. Lesson: _______________________
Activity C (folk songs)
 Think of a folk song that you know.
 Present it on class.
Folk songs
 a form of folk lyric which expresses the
hopes and aspirations, the people’s lifestyles
as well as their loves.
 These are often repetitive and sonorous,
didactic and naïve as in the children’s songs.
Folk songs
1. Childrens songs
 Ida – ida (Maguindanao)
 Tulang pambata (Tagalog)
 Cansiones para abbing (Ibanag)
2. Lullabies
 Ili – ili (Ilongo)
Folk songs
3.Work songs
 Kalusan (Ivatan)
 Soliranin (Tagalog Rowing Song)
 Mambayu (Kalinga Rice Pounding Song)
4.Love songs
 Panawagon and Balitao (Ilongo)
 Harana (Cebuano & Ilocano)
 Bayok (Maranao)
Folk songs
5. Drinking songs
 Tagay (Cebuano &Waray)
6. Songs extolling the deeds of the dead
 Kanogon (Cebuano)
 Annako (Bontoc)
 Day-eng (Kanakanaey, Benguet)
Folk narratives
 explain how the world was created, how
certain animals possess certain
characteristics, why some places have
waterfalls, volcanoes, etc., thus explains
origins of things.
Folk narratives
1.Myths – prose narratives explaining how the
world and people came to be in their form.
These are developed out of closer ties to the
local.
Ex:
 Aenid (prophecy of a king)
Folk narratives
2.Legend – held to embody the native knowledge of the
folk whose response to an extraordinary experience or
event. It typically revolves around a cultural fact or
given that merits contemplation by the members.
Ex:
 The Legend of Makahiya
 The Legend of Mangoes
Folk narratives
3.Folk tales – the most fictive, least serious of the three.
 Fables – about animals which portrays human
characteristics
 Fairy tales - set in mythic time, detached from history,
fantasy begins and ends in the here and now of the reader
 Epics – revolve around supernatural events or heroic
deeds and they embody or validate the beliefs and
customs and ideals of a community
Activity D (folk narratives)
 Through a group of 3, create your own legend. Think
of a thing that you would like to make story of.
 Make sure that everyone should give their own part
of the story.
 Be creative in your story telling. Do not make use of
a legend that we already know.
 Write it on a yellow paper.
Spanish Colonization
 When Spaniards came in 1521, it paved the way for the
use of paper and so, written literature was born.
 The most prominent characteristic of our literature
during the Spanish era is the use of religion as the
content in the works of the early literature.
 The Spanish clergy set out to replace the old oral
heroes with Jesus Christ, and thus for most of the early
years of Spanish rule, poems tended to be religious in
nature.
 Pasyon – popularized by Gaspar Aquino de
Belen and perpetrated by Mariano Pilapil. It is in
octosyllabic quintillas that become entrenched in
the Filipino’s commemoration of Christ’s agony
and resurrection at the Calvary.
 Novena – has no fixed meter or rhyme scheme
although a number are written in octosyllabic
quatrains and have a solemn tone and spiritual
subject matter.
 Senakulo – a stage play on the passion
and death of Christ
 Komedya – a genre of drama which
derived its theme and structure from
medieval Spanish ballads that extolled
allegiance to both the Catholic faith and
the monarchy
 The novel, first attempted by Pedro Paterno in
Ninay, and the essay, as popularized by Marcelo H.
del Pilar, eventually became the two dominant
forms.
 Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo
were not the only literary works that envisioned the
idea of a Philippine nation, these two novels would
remain a starting point for any subsequent
consideration of Philippine nationalism.
 Illustrados – new type of Filipino emerging
with the rise of a new middle class, one that
was educated but not Spanish.
ACTIVITY

 Create a poem with 4 stanzas having 4 lines

each.
 You may write with rhyme or free writing.
 The topic would be RELIGION, FAITH or
CHRISTIANITY.
 The arrival of the Americans, and their
introduction of a new educational system,
again set off a series of changes to
Philippine poetry.
 The use of English as a medium of
education brought with it the poetry in that
language.
The writers in English are distributed in three
periods:

1.Period of transition and learning -

The English writers were mainly
imitative of American or English
writers as their models.
The writers in English are distributed in three
periods:
2. Period of emergence and recognition – It covers
the commonwealth, Japanese occupation, and the
grant of independence. The articles of this time had
mastered their craft and there was a growing
receptive audience. Literature became part of the
school curriculum. The periodicals provided
encouragement, the government gave recognition,
and writers’ groups were organized.
The writers in English are distributed in three
periods:
3. Period of diversity and re-examination –
The theme of most novels has changed from
an earlier sentimentalized romanticism to a
more realistic delineation. The essayist
turned to a re-examination of the past. The
blending of Tagalog and English was an
interesting development.
Francisco Baltazar
 become known as Balagtas, was the most
notable poet of the American era.
 In honor of his name, “balagtasan” was
invented. Balagtasan is a debate in verse, a
poetical battle done almost spontaneously
between protagonist who debate over the pros
and cons of an issue.
 The flowering of Philippine literature in the various
languages continue especially with the appearance of new
publications after the Martial Law.
 Filipino writers continue to write poetry, short stories,
novellas, novels and essays whether these are socially
committed, gender/ethnic related or are personal in
intention or not.
 The Filipino writer has become more conscious of his art
with the proliferation of writers’ workshops here and
abroad and the bulk of literature available via mass media
including the internet.
Various literary awards prospered to reward
writers in their creative efforts.

1.Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for

Literature
2.Philippine Free Press Literary Awards
3.Philippine Graphic Literary Awards
4.Home Life Literary Awards
5.Panorama Literary Awards
The entry of marginalized authors, genres, and
themes had been allowed as evidenced by:

1.Emergence of women writing

2.Feminist criticism on creative works of women
writers, and on writing about women by male
writers
3.Possible to validate writings and peasants,
workers, and guerilla cadres without any touch
of arrogance
The entry of marginalized authors, genres, and
themes had been allowed as evidenced by:
4.Bitter luck of Filipino workers abroad has become
the tragic stuff of much writings
5.Gay and lesbian writings are beginning to merit
serious comment as a result of the emergence of
literary criticism
6.Developing thrust towards the retrieval and
improvement of writings in Philippine languages
other than Tagalog.