 Literature
 Latin worn – litera – which means letter
 Body of writings of specific criteria
(language, period, ppl)
 Written/oral literature
 Importance/essence of literature
 Best way to understand human nature is to
study literature
 Thru literature, we learn the innermost
feelings and thoughts of people
 Lit offers an experience in which we should
participate as we read and test what we
read by our own experience
 S(ignificant)H(uman)E(xperience)
 Lit illuminates life
 Literature in the Philippines
 Pre-colonial period (extends towards the
left)
 Untainted / “pure”
 Ancestors daily observations about life,
explanations for nat. phenomena, and
beginnings of rituals
 Paganism – religion of Filipino ancestors
 Worship of nature
 Passed through oral tradition
 Written in baybayin
 Forms of literature:
 Proverbs/salawikain
 Practical observations and philo
of everyday life usually
expressed with a rhyme scheme
 Ex: “kung ano ang puno, siya
ang bunga” / “kung ano ang
itinanim ay siya ring aanihin”
 Riddles/bugtong
 Observations but rephrased to
demand answers to test the wits
of those who are listening
 Ex: “heto na si kaka, bubuka-
bukaka” – gunting/scissors
 Folk songs
 Beautiful, informal expressions
of ancestors’ experiences in life
 Ranges from courtship, lullabies,
harvest and funerals
 Sonorous, didactic children
songs (intended to teach)
 Myths and legends
 Stories of origin if places, fruits,
and animals
 Tries to explain certain
phenomena that was limited by
science back then
 Diff between myth & legend
 Myth – symbolic storytelling
that was never based on
facts
 Legend – presumed to have
some basis in historical facts
and trends to mention real
people/events
 Epics/epiko
 Long-winded poems about a
hero and his adventures
 Based on the traditions and
superstitions of the region
 Usually contain heroes w/
superhuman capabilities
 Ex: biag ni lam-ang (ilocano),
bidsari (mindanao)
 Templates of an epic:
 Most of these epics are
designated by names
 Episodic and proceed
through constructions that
are en palier (in stages/level)
 Abound with supernatural
characters
 They reflect the society
where they originated
 There are always several
versions of these epics, as
well as proliferation of
episodes
 Colonial period
 Spanish colonization
 “divide et impera” – latin for divide
and conquer
 Replaced pre-colonial lit with the
Christian values & beliefs
 The promise of eternal life
 Doctrina Christiana – 1st book to be
published in the Philippines
(published in Spanish tho, full of
prayers)
 Religious prose & poetry:
 Teaching catechism and the
Spanish language
 Dalit
 Novena
 Examples:
  Pasyon – narrates the life of  Essays: George Bocobo –
Christ College Education (1942)
 Cenaculo – dramatization of  Novels: Zoilo Galang - A Child of
the passion of Christ Sorrow (1921)
 Komedya/moro-moro –  Popular authors:
depicts the conflict between  Carlos P Ramulo
Muslims and Christians  Ignacio Manlapaz
 Carillo – a play that uses  Salvador P lopez
shadows as its main  Literature & society (essay)
spectacle  Japanese colonization
 Duplo/karagatan – narrative  The Philippine republic
dramas that are connected to  1987 constitution
catholic mourning rituals and  21St century (Jan 1, 2001 & onwards)
harvest
 Tibag – dramatic
reenactment of St. Helena’s
search for the holy cross
 Zarzuela – musical comedy
that deals with the elemental
passion of men
 Secular prose & poetry:
 Did not focus on religion
 Examples:
 Awit – dodecasyllabic (12)
 Korido octosyllabic (8)
 Famous literary authors:
 Francisco Baltazar
 Jose Corazon de Jesus
 Jose Rizal
 Marcelo H del Pilar
 American colonization
 English became the medium of
instruction in schools
 Style of writing is imitative of the
americans
 Jose Garcia Villa. “Art for art’s sake”
 Emphasis on aesthetics than
utilitarianism (useful or practical)
 Purpose of lit/art during this time
was to appeal/look good
 Jose Garcia Villa – The Coconut
Song, 1929
 Angela Manalang Gloria –
Poems, 1949
 Golden age of the Philippine lit
 Forms of literature
 Poetry socially communicative
poems – share one’s thinking
 Short stories: Paz Marquez
Benitez – Dead Stars (1925)