 The 21st century in literature refers to world literature in prose produced during the 21st

century. The range of years is, for the purpose of this article, literature written from (roughly)
the year 2001 to the present.
Characteristics of 21st Century Literature
1. gender sensitive
 Writing by women continues to flourish.
 They have a feminist stance that questions the centrality of the patriarchy (male-centered
viewpoints).
 Forbidden Fruit: Women Write the Eroticedited by Tina Cuyugan andKung Ibig Mo, love
poems edited by Joi Barrios show that a woman’s map of dreams and desires is better drawn
by a woman writer herself.
 Gone were the days when female characters only came from the imagination – or fantasy – of
men.
 Lesbian and gay writing continue to be written. Neil Garcia and Danton Remoto have just
published TheBestofLadlad.
 Bright, Catholic – andGay: Essays
 Rampa: MgaSanaysay
 HappyNa, Gay, Pa.
2.technologically alluding
 Technology is also an important part of this literature, centered on the rise of the city and
anchored on globalization.
3. culturally pluralistic
4. operates on the extreme reality or extreme fiction
5. questions conventions and supposedly absolute norms
 It is no longer the very proper English from the old textbooks, or the Americanese in books
copyrighted in New York.
 It is now a language filtered by our regional languages and by mass media – printed, seen,
broadcast – as well as shaped by social media, by the fragmentation of text language, by
sound bites, anime, graphic novels, and cosplays (costume plays).
 The internet has also made the Filipino writer less insular or old-fashioned.
 Bob Ong started a blog, “BobongPinoy” and parlayed it into bestselling books.
 Other blogs have become popular books and even box-office-hit movies, i.e., Ang Diary
ngPanget.
 Celebrities are now supposedly writing, while radio anchors are turning their zany scripts into
books.

genre (French: “kind” or “sort”)

 a distinctive type or category of literary composition, such as the epic, tragedy, comedy, novel,
and short story.
 Literary genres may be determined by literary technique, tone, content, or even length (as in
the case of fiction)
2 Divisions of Literature
a.) PROSE- words in best order
 Prose is writing that resembles everyday speech. The word prose is derived from the Latin
prosa which means straightforward.
 It is adopted for the discussion of facts and topical reading and does not adhere to any
particular formal structures other than simple grammar.
 paragraph,words and rhythms of ordinary and everyday language, intellect,convince, inform,
instruct
1. Most everyday writing is in prose form.
2. The language of prose is typically straightforward without much decoration.
3. Ideas are contained in sentences that are arranged into paragraphs.
4. There are no line breaks. Sentences run to the right margin.
5. The first word of each sentence is capitalized.
6. Prose looks like large blocks of words.

b.) POETRY-best words in best order

 Poetry is any writing in verse form. The word poetry is derived from the Greek poiesiswhich
means creating.
 It relies heavily on imagery, precise word choice and figures of speech.
 verse,metrical, rhythmical, figurative language, emotions, stirs the readers imagination,
present an ideal of how life should be and how life can be
1. Poetry is typically reserved for expressing something special in an artistic way.
2. The language of poetry tends to be more expressive or decorated, with comparisons, rhyme,
and rhythm contributing to a different sound and feel.
3. Ideas are contained in lines that may or may not be sentences. Lines are arranged in stanzas.
4. Poetry uses line breaks for various reasons — to follow a formatted rhythm or to emphasize an
idea.
5. Lines can run extremely long or be as short as one word or letter.
6. Traditionally, the first letter of every line is capitalized, but many modern poets choose not to
follow this rule strictly.
7. The shape of poetry can vary depending on line length and the intent of the poet
Similarities
1. Both prose and poetry are literature that seekto express a point.
2. They both can be artistic skill.
3. They possess lyricism.
4. They use literary devices such as metaphor, simile, symbolism, paradox, imagery, and so on.
Literary Genre
 Fiction
 Non-fiction