21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World (Hum 01) Reviewer

I. DEFINING LITERATURE
 Literature (from the Latin Littera meaning 'letters’ and referring to an acquaintance with the
written word) is the written work of a specific culture, sub-culture, religion, philosophy or the
study of such written work which may appear in poetry or in prose
(https://www.ancient.eu/literature/)

II. HISTORICAL TIMELINE OF PHILIPPINE LITERATURE(from Prezi and Scribd)

A. Pre-Colonial Literature (before 1564) - Pre-colonial literature showed certain elements
that linked the Filipino culture to other Southeast Asian countries (e.g. oral pieces which
were performed through a tribal dance have certain similarities to the Malay dance);
- Baybayin was the writing system used
- LITERARY WORKS:
1. Riddles (Bugtong) – a statement or question having double or veiled meanings.
2. Proverbs (Salawikain) – wise sayings with metaphors that serves as lessons.
3. Tanaga – one-stanza poem with four lines and seven syllables, all lines rhyming.
4. Folk Songs – one of the oldest forms of Philippine Literature
5. Myths – stories on how things happened or how things possess certain characteristics.
6. Legends – origin of things
7. Fables – stories with animal characters
8. Epics – narratives of certain lengths based on oral tradition revolving on supernatural
events.
9. Folk Tales (Kwentong bayan) – made up stories on life

B. Spanish Colonial Literature (1565 – 1863)- The Spanish culture, as reflected in the works
of this literature period, showed a clash with the pre-colonial Filipino literature in the
beginning. However, due to the length of stay of the colonizers, the Spanish culture was
eventually imbued in the Filipino literature of the period. Was divided into two
classifications – religious and secular.
- LITERARY WORKS:
i. Religious Literature
a. Doctrina Christiana (1593)
b. Pasyon
c. Senakulo
ii. Secular Literature
a. Awit – tales of chivalry
b. Korido – metrical tale in octosyllabic quatrains
c. Prose Narraties

iii. Oral Literature

a. Songs
 b. Religious Drama – biblical plays
c. Drama – enacted in front of live audiences.
iv. Written Literature
a. Short Stories
b. Poetry
- Florante at Laura
- NOTABLE FILIPINOS DURING SPANISH COLONIZATION
1. Jose dela Cruz
2. Francisco Baltazar

C. Nationalistic/Propaganda and Revolutionary Literature (1864-1986)

- LITERARY WORKS:
1. Propaganda Literature – aims to reform
a. Political Essays – satires, editorials, and news articles against Spaniards
i. Diariong Tagalog
ii. La Solidaridad
b. Political Novels
i. Noli Me Tangere
ii. El Filibusterismo
2. Revolutionary Literature – more propagandastic
a. Political Essays
b. Poetry
- NOTABLE FILIPINOS DURING NATIONALISTIC PERIOD
1. Jose Rizal
2. Marcelo H. Del Pilar and La Solidaridad people
- Dasalan at Tocsohan – prayer satire
3. Andres Bonifacio

D. AMERICAN COLONIZATION PERIOD (1901-1946)

- The gradual decline of the Philippine literature written in Spanish. The English language
eventually became the medium of writing and instruction in schools. As the Spanish
colonizers left the country in accordance with the Treaty of Paris, the spirit of
nationalism and the desire to be acknowledged of independence did not disappear just
yet. Instead, these uniting forces geared into revolting against the new colonizers.
- LITERARY WORKS:
1. Period of Apprenticeship (1910-1930)
a. Tagalog Novels
i. Banaag at Sikat (1906) – Lope K. Santos
b. Romantic Poetry
c. Short Stories
i. Dead Stars (1925) – Paz Marquez Benitez
ii. The Small Key (1927) – Paz Latorena
iii. Footnote to Youth (1933) – Jose Garcia Villa
2. Period of Emergence (1920-1930)
 Jose Garcia Villa – “Poet of the Century”
- Writers were given the chance to write in newspapers

E. JAPANESE OCCUPATION PERIOD (1942-1960)

a. War Years (1942-1944)
Poets broke away from tradition and wrote in simple language.
Fiction prevailed over poetry.
i. 25 Pinakamabuting Maikling Kathang Pilipino (1943)
ii. Suyuan sa Tubigan – Macario Pineda
iii. Lupang Tinubuan – Narciso Reyes
iv. Uhaw sa Tigang na Lupa – Liwayway Arceo
b. Period of Maturity and Originality (1945-1960)

F. MARCOS ERA (Late 1960 – 1986)

- Martial Law repressed and curtailed human rights, including freedom of the press.
- Writers used symbolisms and allegories to drive home their message
- Theater was used as a vehicle for protest.
- Writers show dynamism and innovation

G. MODERN PERIOD ( 1986- present)

- Things that were used and exercised during the Contemporary Period are:
Onomatopoeia – the use of words that imitate the sounds associated with the objects or
actions they refer to.
Messages in Poetry – the idea about life that a poet writes about is called the theme or
message of the poem.
Free Verse – a poem that has no regular rhyme or rhythm. Cause and Effect Relationship
Using Adjectives – is a word that describes, limits, or points out a noun.
Making Clear and Correct Comparison

- 1997 – sa Ngalan Ng Ina, by prize-winning poet-critic Lilia Quindoza Santiago, is, to date,
the most comprehensive compilation of feminist writing in the Philippines.
- 1998 – Many are writing novels. As fictionist Rony Diaz noted as judge, he had to read
350 novel entries for the Philippine centennial literary contest in 1998.
- 2000s  Many novels in English seem to have been written for literary contests like
Palanca and Asia Man.
- 2010s  The debate over textual and contextual criticism, balagtasismo and modernism,
formalism and historical criticism has persisted to this day in the academe. The more
popular but banal issue is called “literature (art) and propaganda.”
- Overall, the character of the Philippine literary scene after "EDSA" maybe pinpointed be
referring to the theories that inform literary production, to the products issuing from the
publishers, to the dominant concerns demonstrated by the writers' output, and to the
direction towards which literary studies are tending.
III. PHILIPPINE NATIONAL ARTISTS (basahin niyo nalang yung binigay ni Tita Nats)

IV. LITERARY CRITICISM

a. FORMALISM
- Originated from Russia “Russian Formalism”
Pioneer Formalists:
1. Viktor Shklovsky
2. Yuri Tynyanov
3. Vladimir Propp
4. Boris Eicheunbaum
5. Roman Jakobson
- Known as structuralism; text dependent
- Has two parts: explication and exegesis
1. Explication – details of the parts of the story
a. Characters – types according to role
i. Protagonist
ii. Antagonist
iii. Round characters
b. Setting
i. Direct setting – straight to the point (e.g., Quezon City, Laguna, etc.)
ii. Implied – characteristic based (e.g., in a galaxy far far away)
c. Point of view
i. 1st POV – “I”
ii. 2nd POV – “You”
iii. 3rd POV –
 Limited – he/she/we/it
 Unlimited
ii.i – omniscient
ii.ii – omnipresent
d. Types of Conflict
i. Man vs. Man
ii. Man vs. Nature
iii. Man vs. Supernatural
iv. Man vs. Technology
v. Man vs. Circumstance
vi. Man vs. Himself
e. Symbols/symbolisms used
 f.Plot (using Plot Diagram)
i. Exposition
ii. Rising Action
iii. Climax
iv. Falling Action
v. Resolution/Denouement
2. Exegesis – detailed/in-depth explanation of the Plot

b. READER RESPONSE
- Straight to the point criticism
- Own view or analysis of the text

c. HISTORICAL CRITICISM
- Works by looking in literary works’ background, cultural, and social context
- Etched in history

d. BIOGRAPHICAL CRITICISM
- Considering the author and fact based knowledge of his/her life
- Events that took place during the author’s life/time period

e. FEMINISM
1. First Wave (1800’s – late 1950’s)
- Women fighting for suffrage
2. Second Wave (1960 – 1970)
- Equal rights to amendment, on the family, workplace, sexuality, against violence
3. Third Wave (1970’s – present)
- Move society from patriarchal culture

f. MARXISM
- Karl Marx as the main proponent
- Finding the differences between the class system in society
- Finding sources of oppression

g. PSYCHO-ANALYSIS
- Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung as proponents
- More on analyzing texts using emotions or with the help of dreams – id – ego –
superego
 h. ARCHETYPAL CRITICISM
- Sees different recurring patterns in a story
- Stereotypes/giving labels
- Different types of archetypes depend on the characteristics of people in the story (can be
searched on the internet)

i. POST-COLONIALISM
- What changed during the course of history?
- Analyzing texts while looking at the culture
- Differences between cultures

j. INTERTEXTUALITY
- Obligatory: knowing situation/text A before going to B
- Optional: your decision to research further

TERMS
- Intended
- Unintended
- Direct
- Indirect
-