LITERARY

STANDARDS
Literature, as compared to any other forms of writing, possesses
distinct qualities that separate it from the rest. These include:
UNIVERSALITY
Literature appeals to everyone,
regardless of culture, race, sex, and
times which are all considered
significant.
ARTISTRY
Literature has an aesthetic appeal and
thus possesses a sense of beauty.
INTELLECTUAL VALUE
Literature stimulates critical thinking
that enriches mental processes of
abstract and reasoning, making man
realize the fundamental truths of life
and its nature.
SUGGESTIVENESS
Literature unravels and conjures man's
emotional power to define symbolisms,
nuances, implied meanings, images
and messages, giving and evoking
visions and beyond the plane of
ordinary life and experience.
SPIRITUAL VALUE
Literature elevates the spirit and the
soul and thus has the power to motivate
and inspire, drawn from the suggested
morals or lessons of the different
literary genres.
PERMANENCE
Literature endures across time and
draws out the time factor: timeliness,
occurring at a particular time and
timelessness, remaining invariable
throughout time.
STYLE
Literature presents peculiar way/s on
how man sees life as evidenced by the
formation of his ideas, forms,
structures, and expressions which are
marked by their memorable substance.
CLASSIFICATION
OF LITERATURE
Literature is classified differently according to its usage. Some
classifications include:
STRUCTURE
 Fiction
 is a literary work of imaginative narration, either oral or written,
fashioned to entertain and to make the readers think and, more so,
to feel.
 Non-Fiction
 is a literary work of "real life" narration or exposition based on
history and facts whose main thrust is intellectual appeal to
convey facts, theories, generalizations, or concepts about a
particular topic.
GENRES
 Prose
 is a literary work that is spoken or written within the common flow of
language in sentences and paragraphs which give information, relate
events, express ideas, or presents opinions. It is a literary medium that
corresponds closely to everyday speech patterns and is used to
provide detailed descriptions of ideas, objects, or situations.
 Poetry
 is a literary work expressed in verse, measure, rhythm, sound, and
imaginative language and creates an emotional response to an
experience,feeling, or fact.
GENRES
Drama
 is a composition, in prose form that presents story told
entirely in dialogue and action, and written with the
intention of its eventual performance before an audience.
 LITERARY
GENRES
Poetry
Prose
Drama
POETRY
 Poetry is a patterned form of verbal or written expression of ideas
in concentrated, imaginative, and rhythmical terms that often
contain the elements of sense, sound, and structure. It is considered
as the oldest literary form.
 Poetry has implied meaning/s which is/are evoked in the carefully
selected words. It is often considered as the most difficult and most
sophisticated of all literary genres. One of its distinct characteristics
is that it is briefly written by it suggests many connotations. As
compared to other literary forms, it is more musical.
CLASSIFICATION OF POETRY
 A. Epic
 is a long, narrative poem divided into distinct parts and episodes
bound together by a common relationship to some great hero,
action, and time.
 Epics are essentially single poems of exceeding dignity and
power.
 There are two kinds.
 Folk or Popular epic (Beowulf) does not have a known author but
evolved gradually form the people's ancient traditions.
 Literary epics have distinct authorship(Paradise Lost by Milton).
METRICAL ROMANCE
 is a long, rambling love story in verse. Ideals of chivalry,
romantic love, and religious elements predominate in this
type of literature most characteristic of the Middle Ages,
"when knighthood was in flower."
BALLAD
is a short narrative poem intended to be
sung. Types can either be folk or literary as
in the epic.
METRICAL TALE
is to poetry what the short story is to
prose. It deals with any emotion or phase
of life and its story is told in a simple,
straightforward, and realistic manner.
LYRIC POETRY
The ode
is a rather extended poem usually complicated in
meter stanza forms, and always deals with serious
theme such as immortality.
ELEGY
is generally a poem of a subjective and
meditative nature. Strictly, it is a poem that
can be distinguished by its subject – death
SONG
The song is a short lyric poem intended
to be sung: Its has that particularly
melodious quality required by the
singing voice.
SIMPLE LYRIC
is any short poem where the
verse is especially musical or
where there is a marked
subjective or emotional tone.
SONNET
is a lyric poem distinguished by its exact form
- fourteen iambic pentameter lines. It produces
a single emotional effect. The lines are
arranged in two waves of thought, the rising in
the octave (8) and the falling in the sestet
AWIT
has measure of 12 syllables (dodecasyllabic)
which is sung to the accompaniment of guitar
or bandurria. e.g. Florante at Laura
CORRIDO
has measure of 8 syllables
(octosyllabic). e.g. Ibong-Adarna
SENSE OF THE POEM
Denotation vs. Connotation
Denotation is the dictionary meaning of the
word while
Connotation is the suggested or implied
meaning/s associated with the word beyond
its dictionary definition.
IMAGERY
Imagery is the use of sensory details or
descriptions that appeal to one or more of
the five senses: sight, hearing, touch, taste,
and smell. These are otherwise known as
"senses of the mind."
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE
Figurative Language is a language used for
descriptive effect in order to convey ideas
or emotions which are not literally true
but express some truth beyond the literal
level.
RHYTHM
Rhythm is the pattern of beats created by the
arrangement of stressed and unstressed syllables,
which gives musical quality and adds emphasis to
certain words and thus helps convey the meaning of
the poem. The effect is derived from the sounds
employed, the varying pitches, stresses, volumes,
and durations.
METER
Meter is a regular recurrence of stressed and
unstressed syllables that give a line of poetry a
more or less predictable rhythm. Its unit of
measure is termed as "foot" which usually
contains an accented syllable and one or two
unaccented syllables.
LITERARY
GENRES
Prose
PROSE
Prose is a literary work that is spoken or written
within the common flow of language in sentences
and paragraphs which give information, relate
events, express ideas, or presents opinions. It is a
literary medium that corresponds closely to
everyday speech patterns and is used to provide
detailed descriptions of ideas, objects, or situations
TYPES OF PROSE
 Novel - a fictional prose narrative of considerable length, representing
characters and events as if in real life by a plot or scheme.
 2. Short Story - a narrative involving one or more characters, plot and one
simple impression.
 3. Legend - fictitious tale, usually about origin.
 4. Fable deals with animals and inanimate things that speak and act like
people. It always leaves a moral to children
 5. Biography a life account of a person written and published by another.
 6. Autobiography - life history of the writer himself.
TYPES OF PROSE
 9. Diary - record a man's life events that is not intended to be read by others.
 8. Allegory a story where characters are symbolic or allegorical and representing virtues or
vices. It illustrates a general truth or gives and important lesson.
 9. Satire a literary work in which human follies and weaknesses are exposed to ridicule.
 10. Myths sacred narratives which explain how the world and men came to be in the present
form.
 11. Folktales explain ancient people's origins, cultures, their beliefs and traditions.
 12. Essay is a prose composition in moderate length that presents a tentative exploration or
evaluation of a subject and thus explains a viewpoint or anything that can be said on a
particular subject.
DRAMA
Drama is a composition in prose form that
presents a story told entirely in dialogue
and action. It is written with the intention
of its eventual performance before an
audience.
TYPES OF DRAMA
Tragedy
is a play in which the main character is
brought to ruin or suffers a great sorrow. This
type raises vital points about man, his
existence, his moral nature, and his social and
psychological relationships
COMEDY
Comedy is a play that brings laughter where the
protagonist leaps over all difficulties placed in his
way and ultimately achieves his goal
notwithstanding awkwardness. The stroke in
comedy is based on some divergence from
customariness or familiarity in the different elements
of a story.
MELODRAMA
Melodrama is drawn from tragedy and
characterized as something overstated which
concentrates on action. It deals with stern feat
and concludes in a happy resolution. It is only
achieved when the power of the villain is
neutralized or combated.
FARCE
Farce is a play that brings laughter for the
sake of laughter, usually making use of
grossly embellished events and character.
Unlikely plots and entertaining
characterization are used for stimulation.