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FOR ZAMBOANGA CITY DIVISION USE ONLY

NOT FOR SALE

11/12
21st Century Literature from the
Philippines and the World

QUARTER 1
WEEK 2.1

Capsulized Self-Learning Empowerment Toolkit

Schools Division Office of Zamboanga City

Region IX – Zamboanga Peninsula
Zamboanga City

“Unido, Junto avanza con el EduKalidad Cree, junto junto puede!”

Written by: MARION B. GUERRERO

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CapSLET
Capsulized Self-Learning Empowerment Toolkit

21st Century
Literature
from the
SUBJECT & Philippines
QUARTER 1 WEEK 2.1 DAY ___________________________________
GRADE/LEVEL and the dd/mm/yyyy

World

Grade 11/12
TOPIC The Birth of Philippine Literature in English
Identify the geographic, linguistic, and ethnic dimensions of
Philippine literary history from pre-colonial to the
contemporary.
LEARNING Code: Objectives:
COMPETENCY EN12Lit-Ia-21  List the different literary forms introduced during the
American Occupation;
 state how a work becomes a literary canon; and
 empathize with a character from a literary text.
IMPORTANT: Do not write anything on this material. Write your answers on the Learner’s
Activity and Assessment Sheets provided separately.

UNDERSTAND
Philippine Literature during the American Occupation

How did the American period change Philippine literature? When the Americans colonized us, they
introduced democracy and opened public schools where English became the language used for
teaching, this made writing more accessible to many Filipinos. They also introduced new literary
forms like the short story, the one-act play (a play where the story ends in one time and place
setting) and the free verse poetry (a poem that does not have a rhyming scheme).

What does it mean to say when a literary work is considered a “literary canon”? The term “literary
canon” refers to a body of books, narratives and other texts considered to be the most important and
influential of a particular time period or place. In 1925, Paz Marquez Benitez, a professor at the
University of the Philippines, published Dead Stars which is considered as the first Filipino modern
short story in English. This showed how easy it was for us to adopt the English language after only
twenty years of American occupation. This piece greatly influenced many succeeding Filipino
writers to master English in crafting truly Filipino literary masterpieces

Paz Marquez-Benitez (1894-1983) was among the first generation of

Filipino people trained in the American education system which used English
as the medium of instruction. She was a member of the first freshman class of
the University of the Philippines, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in
1912. In 1919, she founded "Woman's Home Journal," the first women's
magazine in the country. Filipino Love Stories, reportedly the first anthology
of Philippine stories in English by Filipinos, was compiled in 1928 by
Marquez-Benitez from the works of her students. The annually held Paz
Marquez-Benitez Memorial Lectures of Ateneo de Manila University honors
her memory by focusing on the contribution of Filipino women writers to
Philippine literature in the English.

Written by: MARION B. GUERRERO

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SAQ-1: How did the English language change Philippine literature?

SAQ-2: Why do you think it was easier for Filipinos to appreciate literature during the
American Period compared during the Spanish Colonial Era?

Let’s Practice! (Write your answer on the separate sheets provided.)

Dead Stars revolves around Alfred Salazar, a 30-year old lawyer and his affairs. Esperanza is the first
woman he falls in love with and both get engaged after three years of their relationship. Alfredo‟s
love for her soon fades away when he meets Julia. Julia Salas is the sister-in-law of the Judge, who is
a friend of Alfredo‟s father. When Alfredo comes across her, he is strongly attracted to her, so much
that he calls her Julita as a nickname. Even he is so passionate that he does not reveal his engagement
to Esperanza.

Directions: Read this excerpt from Dead Stars and and fill out the Empathy Table below.

Into the quickly deepening twilight, the voice of the biggest of the church bells kept ringing its
insistent summons. Flocking came the devout with their long wax candles, young women in vivid
apparel (for this was Holy Thursday and the Lord was still alive), older women in sober black
skirts. Came too, the young men in droves, elbowing each other under the talisay tree near the
church door….

Soon a double row of lights emerged from the church and uncoiled down the length of the street
like a huge jewelled band studded with glittering clusters where the saints‟ platforms were….

The sight of Esperanza and her mother sedately pacing behind Our Lady of Sorrows suddenly
destroyed the illusion of continuity and broke up those lines of light into component individuals.
Esperanza stiffened self-consciously, tried to look unaware, and could not.

The line moved on.

Suddenly, Alfredo‟s slow blood began to beat violently, irregularly. A girl was coming down the
line–a girl that was striking, and vividly alive, the woman that could cause violent commotion in
his heart, yet had no place in the completed ordering of his life.

Her glance of abstracted devotion fell on him and came to a brief stop.

The line kept moving on, wending its circuitous route away from the church and then back again,
where, according to the old proverb, all processions end.

At last Our Lady of Sorrows entered the church, and with her the priest and the choir, whose voices
now echoed from the arched ceiling. The bells rang the close of the procession.

A round orange moon, “huge as a winnowing basket,” rose lazily into a clear sky, whitening the
iron roofs and dimming the lanterns at the windows. Along the still densely shadowed streets the
young women with their rear guard of males loitered and, maybe, took the longest way home.

Toward the end of the row of Chinese stores, he caught up with Julia Salas. The crowd had
dispersed into the side streets, leaving Calle Real to those who lived farther out. It was past eight,
and Esperanza would be expecting him in a little while: yet the thought did not hurry him as he said
“Good evening” and fell into step with the girl.

“I had been thinking all this time that you had gone,” he said in a voice that was both excited and
troubled.

“No, my sister asked me to stay until they are ready to go.”

“Oh, is the Judge going?”

Written by: MARION B. GUERRERO

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“Yes.”

The provincial docket had been cleared, and Judge del Valle had been assigned elsewhere. As
lawyer–and as lover–Alfredo had found that out long before.

“Mr. Salazar,” she broke into his silence, “I wish to congratulate you.”

Her tone told him that she had learned, at last. That was inevitable.

“For what?”

“For your approaching wedding.”

Some explanation was due her, surely. Yet what could he say that would not offend?

“I should have offered congratulations long before, but you know mere visitors are slow about
getting the news,” she continued.

He listened not so much to what she said as to the nuances in her voice. He heard nothing to
enlighten him, except that she had reverted to the formal tones of early acquaintance. No revelation
there; simply the old voice–cool, almost detached from personality, flexible and vibrant, suggesting
potentialities of song.

“Are weddings interesting to you?” he finally brought out quietly

“When they are of friends, yes.”

“Would you come if I asked you?”

“When is it going to be?”

“May,” he replied briefly, after a long pause.

“May is the month of happiness they say,” she said, with what seemed to him a shade of irony.

“They say,” slowly, indifferently. “Would you come?”

“Why not?”

“No reason. I am just asking. Then you will?”

“If you will ask me,” she said with disdain.

“Then I ask you.”

“Then I will be there.”

The gravel road lay before them; at the road‟s end the lighted windows of the house on the hill.
There swept over the spirit of Alfredo Salazar a longing so keen that it was pain, a wish that, that
house were his, that all the bewilderments of the present were not, and that this woman by his side
were his long wedded wife, returning with him to the peace of home.

“Julita,” he said in his slow, thoughtful manner, “did you ever have to choose between something
you wanted to do and something you had to do?”

“No!”

“I thought maybe you had had that experience; then you could understand a man who was in such a
situation.”
Written by: MARION B. GUERRERO
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“You are fortunate,” he pursued when she did not answer.

“Is–is this man sure of what he should do?”

“I don‟t know, Julita. Perhaps not. But there is a point where a thing escapes us and rushes
downward of its own weight, dragging us along. Then it is foolish to ask whether one will or will
not, because it no longer depends on him.”

“But then why–why–” her muffled voice came. “Oh, what do I know? That is his problem after
all.”

“Doesn‟t it–interest you?”

“Why must it? I–I have to say good-bye, Mr. Salazar; we are at the house.”

Without lifting her eyes, she quickly turned and walked away.

Had the final word been said? He wondered. It had.

To empathize means „to share and understand the feelings of another.‟ Choose one of the main
characters –Alfredo, Julia, or Esperanza. Think as if you were this character, and then fill in the
empathy table. This can help you understand him or her more deeply.

Name of Character

What are you thinking?

What are you feeling?

What are you seeing?

What are you saying?

What are you doing?

REMEMBER
Key Points

 The American Occupation of the Philippines (1898-1946) brought many changes to Philippine
society, such as the introduction of democracy as a form of government. In the field of
literature, the Americans opened public schools which used English as a medium of
instruction. This made education more accessible, and allowed English to be a tool for many
Filipino literary artists. During this period, more books and reading materials such as
magazines were made available which permitted literary pieces to have a variety of themes
and subjects compared during the Spanish Colonial Era.
 In terms of literary development, the Americans brought the following literary forms: short
story, one-act play, and free verse poetry.
 In 1925, the short story Dead Stars was published. Authored by Paz Marquez-Benitez, it is the
first modern short-story in English written by a Filipino, and is considered a literary canon
because of its influence and importance in the birth of Filipino literature in English.

Written by: MARION B. GUERRERO

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TRY
Let‟s see how much have you learned today!

Directions: Read each item carefully and answer the following questions. (Answer on the Learner’s
Activity and Assessment sheets.)

Identify whether the literary piece is a literary On the lines provided, write T if the statement is
canon or not. Write LC for literary canon or true or F if the statement is false.
N for not on the lines provided.
________ 11. The Americans prioritized
________ 1. Dead Stars literatures that were inspired by
________ 2. Harry Potter and Catholic faith.
the Sorcerer’s Stone ________ 12. The first modern short-story in
________ 3. Ibong Adarna English by a Filipino was written
________ 4. lesson plan by Paz Latorena.
________ 5. laboratory findings ________ 13. A one-act play has a storyline
________ 6. Noli me tangere that starts and ends in one time
________ 7. news article and place setting.
________ 8. Romeo and Juliet ________ 14. English was the medium of
________ 9. research manuscript instruction of public schools
________ 10. survey report during the American Period.
________ 15. Free-verse poetry follows a
rhyming pattern.

Books
Bienvenido L. Lumbera, Philippine Literature: A History and Anthology, ed.
Cynthia N. Lumbera Mandaluyong City: Anvil Publishing, 2005, 1-458

Cheeno Marlo M. Sayuno, ed., 21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the
World, Makati City: DIWA Learning Systems, Inc., 2019, 1-267

Online Source
REFERENCE/S
“The Major Collections: Filipino Writers in English,”Ateneo de Manila University,
accessed July 13, 2020, http://rizal.lib.admu.edu.ph/aliww/english_pmbenitez.html

Photograph
Kahimyang, Paz Marquez Benitez, photograph, n.d., accessed July 13, 2020,
https://kahimyang.com/kauswagan/articles/972/today-in-philippine-history-march-3-
1894-paz-marquezbenitez-was-born-in-lucena-city-quezon

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Written by: MARION B. GUERRERO