PHI

LIPPI
NELI
TERATURE
DI
SCUSSI
ON:
LITERATUREDEFI NED
Comesf rom aLat i
nwor dli
tterae( plural);
whichmeansl etters.
Wr i
ttenandor alartbecausei tconnot esbeaut yasi st hecasewi thar t
Faithfulr epr oduction ofman’ s mani f
old exper i
ences bl ended i nto a harmoni ous
expressi on( Kahay onet .al,1989)
Wr i
tingt hatexhi bit
sexcel lenceoff or m orexpr ession.Howev er
,t hi
sv i
ew limitsthe
rangeofl it
eraturet othesocal led“ greatbooks. ”(Tolentino,1997)
Wr i
ttenwor ksofper manentanduni versalint
er est.Thisv iew referstowor kst hatare
appr eciatednotonl ybyt heiror i
ginalr eadersbutal sobyr eader sfrom diff
erentplaces
orcul tures.(Tolent i
no, 1997)
Wor ksgener all
ychar acteri
zedbyt heuseofl anguaget hati shi ghl
yconnot ativein
natur e(Tolent i
no, 1997)
Composi t
ionst hatdealwi thl if
eexper i
ences.I ttellsst ories,dramat i
zessi t
uations,
expressesemot i
ons, analyzes, andadv ocatesideas( Yap- Patron,2009)
Mi r
rorofl ifeandsoci ety.Itpr esent shumanexper iencest hr
oughamedi um cal l
ed
l
anguage.( Tan, 1995)

LI
TERARYTYPESACCORDINGTOF ORM
1.Prose
Wor kswr i
tt
eninparagraphform,exhi
bit
ingthenatur
alfl
owofspeechr atherthanthe
rhythmicstruct
ureofpoetry
Novel
An extended narr
ativ
et hatpor t
rays more char
acters,ri
cherand mor e
complexplot,
andmor econfli
ctspresent
edinnumer ousshi
ftsintime,place,
andfocusofinter
est.I
tisusual
lypresent
edinchaptersl
ikeabook.
AChildofSorrowbyZoi l
oGalang,TheBambooDancer sbyN.V.M.Gonzal ez

Nov
ell
a/Novel
et t
e
Anarrati
velongert
hanashortst
orybutshor
tert
hananovel
Thepopul arromances,mor
ecommonl ycaledpocket
l books,f
allundert
his
genr
e.

ShortSt
ory
Ashor t,fict
ionalnarrat
ivethatcanber eadi nonesi t
ti
ng.Itfeatur
esfewer
charactersthananov elandfocusesonasi ngleinci
denttoproduceasi ngl
e
domi nantmood.
RiceandBul l
etsbyHer nandoR.Ocampo,TheWeddi ngDancebyAmadorT.
Dagui o
Essay
Anexpl orati
onandev al
uati
onofapar t
icul
arsubjectfrom apersonalpoi
ntof
vi
ew.I tpresentstheauthor’
sowni deasandar guments.
AHer i
tageofSmal lnessbyQui j
anodeMani la,WhereIsthePat i
sbyCarmen
Guerrero-Nakpil

Dr
ama
A st
oryi
ndi
alogueper
for
medbyact
orsonast
age,bef
oreanaudi
ence.
 Dramati
ccomposi
ti
onsthatar
emeanttober
eadar
ecal
ledcl
osetdramas.
CallMeFlor
ybyWi l
fr
idoMa.Guerr
ero,SaPul
a,SaPutibyFranci
scoSoc
Rodri
go

NOTE:Notal ldramas are cat

egor
ized underprose.There ar
e dramatic
composi
ti
onswri
tteninv er
sesuchast hosewri
tt
enbyWi ll
iam Shakespear
e.
Dramasi
nv er
sef
allunderdr
amati
cpoetry
.

Cl
assifi
cationsofDr ama
Tragedy – a dr ama wher ei
nt he mai n char acterunder goes a mor all
y
signif
icantstrugglethatendsdisastrously
Comedy–adr amawi thhappyendi ngsoast oful fi
lli
spr imar yai
m- t
oamuse
Tragicomedy – a dr ama combi ning the char acteri
stics oft ragedy and
comedy
Farce – a dr ama intended t
oi nducel aughtert hrough exagger ati
on and
extravagance r athert han by r
eal i
sti
ci mit
ation ofl ife.I tis simply an
exagger atedcomedy .
Mel odrama–adr amabasedonar omant i
cplotanddev elopedsensat i
onal
ly,
withsent i
ment allovest or
yandexcessi veappealt otheemot ionsoft he
audience.Thepr i
metimeser esort
i el
enovelasf ondl yv i
ew byFi li
pinosfal
l
undert hiscategory.
History( Hist
or i
calPlay)–adr amaaboutt heliv esofout standi
ngf i
guresin
history

My
th
At radit
ionalst
orywit
houtafactualbasi
sthati
sconcernedwit
hdeit
iesand
demi godsand explai
nssomepr acti
ces,r
it
es,nat
uralphenomena,orthe
creationoftheworl
d
How t heWor ldWasCr eat
ed(PanayanMy t
h),WhytheSkyisHi gh(
Kali
nga
My th)

Legend
At r
adi
ti
onalst
orythatnarrat
estheorigi
nofathing,anani
mal
,apl
ace,ora
groupofpeopl
e
TheLegendoftheTagalogs,TheLegendofDur
ian

Fol
ktal
e
A popularnarrat
ive among a part
icul
arregion t
hatspeaks ofli
fe and
advent
ure.I
tiscommonl yf
il
ledwit
hsuperst
it
ions,pr
over
bsandcustoms.
JuanTamad( Tagalog)TheI
, gnor
antPoorManandt hePri
est(
Bicol
)

Fabl
e
Astor
ywhereinani
mals,pl
ants,for
cesofnature,andinani
mat
eobj
ect
sar
e
gi
venhumanquali
ti
estopointoutalesson
TheMonkeyandtheTurt
le,
TheDeerandt heCrocodil
es

Par
abl
e
Ashor
tnar
rat
ivet
hatt
eachesmor
alorspi
ri
tuall
essonsort
her
elat
ionshi
pof
mantoGod
 ThePar
abl
eoft
hePr
odi
galSon,
ThePar
abl
eoft
heLostSheep

Anecdot
e
Ashortamusi
ngbutser
iousaccount
,whi
chdepi
ctsr
ealorf
akei
nci
dentor
char
act
er

Bi
ogr
aphy
Anaccountofaper son’sli
fewr i
tt
enbyanot herperson.Itmayconsi
stof
fact
ualdet ail
s ofa per son’
slifet oldin a chr
onol
ogicalor
der
,buthas
general
lybecomeamat terofint
erpretat
ion.
CayetanoAr el
lanobySocor r
oO.Alber t

Aut
obi
ogr
aphy
Anaccountoft hewrit
er’
slifeit
sel
f.Li
ket hebi
ogr
aphy,i
tmaybeamer e
present
ationofeventsinchronol
ogi
calorderoramatt
erofint
erpr
etat
ionof
theeventsinthewri
ter’
sli
fe.

Or
ati
on
A publ
i
cspeechdeli
veredi naf or
malanddi
gni
fi
edmanner
.It
sai
mist
o
ar
ousethel
i
stener
’si
nterestandemoti
on.

Di
ary
Aday -
to-dayaccountofaper
son’sact
ivi
ti
esandexper
iences.I
tmayalso
i
ncludeaper son’
sthought
sorfeel
i
ngsoncurrentev
ent
sout si
dehi
sdi
rect
experi
ence.

Memoi
r
Awrit
tenaccountwher
einaf amousper
sonssuchasapol
i
tici
anorawar
v
eter
andescri
beshisex
peri
ences

2.Poet r
y
Wor kswr itt
eninstanzai
cfor m( orinverse)usual
lyusi
ngflowerywordstoexpress
personalemoti
onsandexper i
ences
Lyr
icPoet ry–expr essespersonalemot ionsorfeel
ings,t
ypical
l
yspokeni nthefir
st
person.Itismeanttobesungt oamusi calaccompaniment,
usuall
ythel
yre.
Ode
Apoem expr essi
ngnobleanddi gni
fiedfeeli
ng.I
tprai
sesaperson,anobj
ect,anani
mal,
orapl ace.
Odet oMyPear loft
heOr i
entSeasbyJet tFranco

El
egy
Amelanchol
icpoem t
hatlament
sthedeadandexpl
orest
het
hemeofl
i
feanddeat
h
TheLover
’sDeathbyRicar
edoDemeti
l
lo

Sonnet
Afourt
een-l
inepoem thatexpressesl
ove
Sonnet
stoaGar denerbyTr i
nidadTar
rosa-
Subi
do

Psal
m
Asacr
edsongprai
singandwor
shi
ppi
ngGod
Psal
m 23(
TheLor
dIsMyShepher
d)

FolkSong
Asongpopulartoagroupofpeopl
epassedthr
ought
heor
alt
radi
ti
onandmar
kedby
si
mplemelody
OLappaw(Ibanag)
,ManangBi
day(I
locano)

Nar
rat
ivePoet
ry–t
ell
sast
ory
,of
tenusi
ngt
hev
oicesofanar
rat
orandt
hechar
act
ers
aswel
l

Epic
A narr
ati
vepoem ofconsi derablelengt
hcel ebrat
ingthedeedsandadvent
uresofa
heroi
ccharacter
.Itsometi
mesnar r
atesthefoundingofanati
on(I
bal
on)orthefor
ging
ofnati
onaluni
ty(HudhudniAliguyon).
BiuagandMalana( Cagay
an),BiagniLam- ang(I
locano)

Ball
ad
Atradit
ionalnarr
ati
vepoem,theshor
testandthesi
mpl
est
,thatt
ell
sast
oryaboutl
ove
usuall
yasi ngl
einci
denti
ntheanci
entti
mes
Ball
adofaMot her’
sHear
tbyJoseLaVill
aTier
ra

Met ricalRomance
A narr
ativ
epoem whi ch treatsl ov e,intri
gueand adv enture.Itiscent ered on t
he
advent
ureofkni ghtsandl or
dsandt heirroyalladies.Itisheav i
lyfl
av or
edwi t
hromance,
fant
asti
cev ents, supernatural occur r
ences, andmagi c.
Thecharactersar enon- nativeFilipinos.Theyar eTur ks,Ar abs,knights,ambassadors,
dukes,warri
ors, andr oyalti
es.
Therearetwogenr esundermet ri
cal romance: awitandcor r
ido.
Awit
Composed of12 sy ll
ables perl ine and sl owly sung t othe
accompani mentofgui tarorbandur i
a
FloranteatLaur abyFr anciscoBal tazar
Opagsi ntanglabisangkapangy ari
han,
Sampungmag- aama’ yiyongnasasakl aw;
Pagi kawandnasoknapusoni numan,
Hahamaki nglahatmasunodkal amang!

Cor
ri
do
Composedofei
ghtt
otensy
ll
abl
esperl
i
neandr
eci
tedt
oamar
ti
al
beat
I
bongAdarna

Mayisangibongmaganda
AngpangalanayAdar
na,
Pagnari
nigmongkumanta
Sasaki
taygigi
nhawa.

Dr
amat
icPoet
ry–usest
hedi
scour
seoft
hechar
act
ersi
nvol
vedt
otel
last
oryort
o
portr
ayasi tuat
ion
Dramat i
cMonol ogue
A poem t heatr
ical
lyperformedbyani ndiv
idual
.Anaudienceisimpli
ed;ther
ei sno
dial
ogue;andt hepoetspeakst hroughanassumedv oice– acharact
er,aficti
onal
i
dent i
ty,
oraper sona.I
tissomet i
mescal edper
l sonapoem.
Thecl assif
icat
ionsofdr amacat egori
zedunderpr oseinthishandoutcanal sobe
categori
zedunderdr amaticpoet
rysolongast heyarewri
tt
eninver
se.

GENERALDI
VISI
ONS

PROSE POETRY

Wr
it
teni
npar
agr
aph Wr
it
teni
nst
anza
Appealt
othei
ntel
lect Appealt
otheemot
ion

Wr
it
teni
nor
dinar
ylanguage Wr
it
teni
nfi
gur
ati
vel
anguage

ELEMENTSOFLI
TERATURE

Allfi
cti
onisbasedonconf l
ictandthi
sconf
li
ctispr
esent
edi
nast
ruct
ured
formatcal
ledPLOT.
Thereareanumberofdi
ff
erentelement
stoapl
ot.

Theyi
ncl
ude:

Exposit
ion
Theintr
oductor
ymat er
ial
whi chgiv
esthesett
ing,cr
eatesthet
one,pr
esentst
he
charact
ers,
andpresentsotherfact
snecessar
yt ounderst
andi
ngthestor
y.

For
eshadowi
ng
Theuseofhi
ntsorcl
uest
osuggestwhatwi
l
lhappenl
ateri
nthest
ory
.

I
ncit
ingfor
ce
Theeventorchar
act
ert
hatt
ri
gger
stheconf
li
ct.

Confli
ct
Theessenceoffict
ion.Itcreatesplot
.Theconfl
ictweencount
ercanusuall
ybe
i
dentifi
edasoneoff ourkinds.
Manv ersus…
Man Nat
ure
Societ
y Sel
f
Risi
ngaction
Aseriesofevent
sthatbui l
dsf rom t
heconfl
ict
.Itbegi
nswit
htheinci
ti
ngforceandends
withthecl
imax.
Cri
sis
Theconfl
ictr
eachesaturni
ngpoint.Atthi
spoi
nt,t
heopposi
ngfor
cesmeeti
nthest
ory
andtheconfl
ictbecomesmoreintense.Thecr
isi
soccur
sbefor
eoratt
hesametimeas
thecl
imax.

Climax
Theclimaxisther
esul
tofthecri
sis.Iti
sthehighpointofthest
oryf
orthereader
.
Frequent
ly,
iti
sthemomentofthehi ghesti
nterestandgreat
estemot
ion.Thepoi
ntat
whichtheoutcomeoftheconf
li
ctcanbepr edicted.

Fal
li
ngAction
Theevent
saftert
hecl
i
maxwhi
chcl
oset
hest
ory
.

Resol
uti
on(denouement)
Roundsoutandconcl
udestheact
ion.