WORLD LITERATURE Preliminaries
something that may have been real at one
GENRE
 A literary genre is a style of writing. Your
favorite literary genre might be science fiction,
for example.
 The word genre means "artistic category or
style," and you can talk about a movie's genre,
or the genre of music that drives you crazy.
 When you use the term literary genre, you make
it clear that you're talking about books and
writing.
 Bookstores sometimes use literary genres as a
way to separate books into different sections,
like "classics" or "mysteries." The word genre is
French, and it means "kind, sort, or style."
 Fiction: stories that come from the author’s
imagination.
o Historical Fiction: based on a person or
event from history.
o Science Fiction: dealing with aliens, the
distant future, or advanced technology.
o Fantasy: containing monsters, magic, or
other supernatural elements.
o Realistic Fiction: a story that could have
happened, but didn’t.
 Nonfiction: writing that is true or factual.
o Informational Writing: provides
information on a topic.
o Persuasive Writing: attempts to
influence the reader.
o Autobiography: the story of one’s life told
by oneself.
o Biography: the story of one’s life told by
another.
 Drama: writing that is meant to be acted on a
stage (a play).
o Comedy: has a happy ending.
o Tragedy: ends in death and sadness.
 Poetry:  writing that is concerned with the
beauty of language. Written in verses to form
stanza. It has rhyme and rhythm for artistic
purpose.
 Folklore: stories handed down through speech
from generation to generation.
o Fairy Tale: a story with magic, monsters,
and/or talking animals (like fiction /
fantasy, but part of the oral tradition).
o Fable: a very short story that has a moral or
life lesson; usually has talking animals as
main characters.
o Myth: has gods or goddesses and often
accounts for how something came to be.
o Legend: an exaggerated story about
time.
o Tall Tale: stories set in the Wild West; the
main character’s strengths, skills, or size
have been exaggerated and the tone is
funny.
CLASSIFICATION OF LITERATURE
Characteristic
 a feature or quality belonging typically to a
person, place, or thing and serving to identify it
 "inherited characteristics such as blood groups"
 Fiction
o Novels, Short Stories, Myths, Tales, Legends
 Non- Fiction
o Essay, Speeches, Auto/Biography, Diaries
 Poetry
o Narrative
 Epic, Ballads, Metrical Tale, Metrical
Romance
o Lyrics
 Ode, Elegy, Sonnets, Song, Simple Lyric
o Dramatic
 Comedy, Tragedy, Melodrama,
Historical Play
 Prose
o Essays, Short Story, Novel, Novelette,
Legends, Speeches
Narrative Poetry tells a long story in verse.
 Epic is a long narrative poem in which a series
of heroic adventures are presented.
 Ballad is a short narrative poem intended to be
sung. A well-known example of this is Lord
Randall, a traditional Scottish ballad, which
employs a lot of repetition all throughout.
 Metrical Tale is a narrative poem written in
verse. Its characters are ordinary people
concerned with ordinary events. Canterbury
Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer is its best example.
 Metrical Romance is a long rambling love
story in verse. The themes of most stories are
chivalry or knighthood, romantic love, and
religious elements. Sir Gawain and the Green
Knight
Lyric Poetry
 Ode is a song of praise for something or
someone.
 Elegy is a song of lamentation. Its usual theme
is about death of a loved one.
 Song is also accompanied by music. Sacred
songs and Secular Songs
 Simple Lyric includes all lyric poems that do
not fall under any of the four types.
 Sonnet is a poem of 14 lines.
Shakespearean Sonnet
 English sonnet written in iambic pentameter
lines (pattern: bab- cdcd-efef-gg). It presents
and develops its theme in in the first three
quatrains and states a conclusion in the couplet,
or the last two lines.
Petrarchan or Italian Sonnet
 It contains an octave and a sestet (abbaabba-
cdecde pattern) where any of the following
themes are presented: octave (8lines) ;
problem, hope, or desire, sestet (6 lines)
presents the resolution or conclusion
Dramatic Poetry
 Portrays life and character in extreme
situations.
 The characters present some actions in
powerful, emotion packed lines like those of
Shakespeare’s plays
Poetic Plays
 Comedy is a type of drama which aims
primarily to amuse, hence it ends happily. It
started in a ritual in honor of Dionysius.
o Examples of comedies are Birds which ridiculed
Athenian democracy; Clouds which attacked the
philosopher Socrates; and Lysistrata which
denounced war.
o Menander is considered the best of the writers
of the new comedy.
o The word comedy comes from a Greek term
“komos” which means festivity or revelry.
 Tragedy is a type of drama in which the chief
characters undergo a morally significant
struggle which ends disastrously.
o It presents humanity having a sense of dignity
and free will.
o There are three great tragic writers. Aeschylus
wrote 90 plays, out of which only 7 remained.
Prometheus Bound, a well-known work, tells
the story of the great Titan Prometheus. He is a
superhuman who stole fire from heaven and
gave it to mankind.
o Sophocles is a “golden age” writer who
produced more than 100 plays. His drama,
Antigone, is a model of self- sacrifice. He also
wrote the famous play Oedipus the King.
o Eurepides had written 92 plays, only 19 of
which existed in full. His tragedies are about
real men and women instead of real characters.
o Aristotle called him the “the most tragic”
because his plays are the most moving. His
dramas are often performed on the modern
stage. His best well known dramas are Medea,
Trojan Women, Orestes and Electra.
 Melodrama presents sensational actions,
sentimental love stories, and extravagant
emotions that usually end up happily.
o Farce is an exaggerated comedy based on
humorous situations. The characters use funny
lines or situations that are too ridiculous to be
true. The characters seem to be caricatures and
the motives are undignified and absurd.
o Masque is a form of court pageantry that
flourished in England in the 16th century but
was not revived later. It had a prologue serving
to introduce the group of actors who came in a
sort of decorative float.
 Historical Play / Histography is a drama
based on the lives of outstanding figures in
history.
o Herodotus and Thucydides are two important
historians who flourished during the classical
age.
o Herodotus is commonly called the “Father of
History,” and hid writings contain the first truly
literary use of prose in western literature. His
work presents a reverent spirit, giving a certain
air of moral dignity to the entire composition.
He is considered as the earliest and the best
historian by scholars. His works describe the
war between the Persians and the Greeks – the
struggle for supremacy between Europe and
Asia, between civilization and barbarism,
freedom and despotism.
o Thucydides, they say, is a better historian
because of his critical use of sources, inclusion
of documents and laborious research that made
his History of Peloponnesian War a significant
influence on later generations of historians.
o Xenophon was the third historian who wrote
Hellenica. His writings were superficial but he
wrote with authority on military matters.
 PROSE is written in paragraphs. For example,
novels, novelettes, short stories, legends,
contemporary dramas, legends, essays,
anecdotes, and speeches. (fiction/nonfiction)
 does not observe metrical structure
Fiction
 Novel is a long narrative with considerable
number of characters and setting.
 Novelette is a prose narrative that is more
elaborate than a short story but can also be read
in one sitting and can produce a single,
 concentrated effect. Ernest Hemingway’s “The
Old Man and the Sea” is an example of a
novelette.
 Short Story is a short narrative which usually
involves one or more major characters, one plot,
and a single conflict.
 Legend is a story about the origin of things.
The characters are normally fictitious.
 Myth is a fictional tale about god and
goddesses
 Fables have animals and other inanimate
things that are gifted with human attributes as
characters.
 Anecdotes are short humorous stories about
animas or children.
 Fairy Tale is a story that presents folkloric
characters such as fairies, goblins, elves, giants,
and other unusual creatures. The story usually
presents a happy ending.
 Folk tales are also called “migratory tales.” A
folk tale is a story which consist of one or a
combination of many folklore themes (motifs).
They are handed from generation to generation
through word of mouth and spread all over the
world
Non- Fiction
 Autobiography is a combination of three
Greek words “auton” which means self, “bio”
means life, and “graphein” to write. It tells
about the author’s own life story.
 Biography is a written accounts of another
person’s life.
 Diary /Journal is a chronological
presentation of life events. It includes the
writer’s observations, feelings and experiences.
 Essays are classified into formal and informal.
They usually express the opinions of the writer
about an event, people, or things. Michel
Eyquem de Montaigne is considered the Father
of Modern Essay while other philosophers call
him the Father of Modern Skepticism.
TYPES OF ESSAY
Reflective Essays
 Serious and dignified.
 The writer examines his or her experiences in
life, presents how he or she has changed,
developed or grown from those experiences.
 These types of essays usually employ aphorisms
(a short clever saying that is intended to express
a general truth.
 Oscar Wilde was famous for such aphorisms as
"Experience is the name everyone gives to their
mistakes".
Biographical Essay
 also known as character sketch
 In a biographical essay the writer talks about
the life and personality of a person who actually
lived.
 It has the following characteristics:
o a real-life subject
o a thesis statement that states a specific idea
about that person’s life and achievements
o an account of one or more major events in
the subject’s life
o description of the subject’s key character
traits
Descriptive Essays
 present a vivid description of things, people,
events, feelings, places, experiences, or
situation
 The best way to create a vivid description, the
writer should consider the five senses:
o sight, sound, smell, touch, and taste
Nature Essay
 Attempts to picture the natural creations of God
like seas, mountains, skies, and everything on it.
 Nature: soothing, serene, magnificent,
overwhelming, spectacular, beautiful, peaceful.
Critical Essay
 a composition that offers an analysis,
interpretation, and/or evaluation of a text,
book, films, or even people’s behavior
Periodical Essay
 generally published in periodicals and is also
called journalistic essay
Didactic Essay
 Has a serious and instructive tone. It intends to
give moral lesson
IMPORTANCE OF LITERATURE
It is an agent of change.
 The way we look at life and the manner in which
we handle problems is greatly influenced by the
literary pieces we have read and films we have
watched.
 For example, an anxious and gang obsessed
teenager could be transformed upon watching a
bad guy meeting his horrible downfall.
It is a transmitter of values, aspirations,
customs, and traditions.
 Ours characters are molded by the lessons we
get from our parents, teachers, and lessons we
get from reading.

It provides cathartic effect.
 Catharsis is an extreme change in emotions like
happiness and sadness that results in renewal
and restoration.
 Literature aims at cleansing the reader’s
emotions.
 Watching movies or reading stories that aids in
the expression of the readers intense emotions
like love, hatred, fear, etc., will help a person be
renewed and feel better.
It is our link to the past.
It provides vicarious experience.
ELEMENTS OF FICTION
PLOT
 The summary of the story. It contains the
following parts:
o Introduction/Exposition, Rising Action,
Complications/Conflict, Climax, Falling
Action, And Resolution/ Denouement
Exposition
 The beginning of the story where the characters
and the setting is revealed.
Conflict
 This is the highest point of interest and the
turning point of the story.
 The reader wonders what will happen next and
whether the conflict will be resolved or not.
 It is the part where the obstacles, tension,
predicament, problems, or challenges are
presented.
Complications
 These are the plot events that plunge the
protagonists further into conflict.
Rising Action
 The part of the plot wherein the conflict
intensifies.
 This is where the events in the story become
complicated and the conflict in the story is
revealed (events between the introduction and
climax).
Climax
 It is the most dramatic and revealing moment,
usually the turning point of the story.
Falling Action
 It is the part where the drama subsides.
 The events and complications begin to resolve
themselves.
 The reader knows what has happened next and
if the conflict was resolved or not (events
between climax and resolution).
Resolution or Denouement
 The part of the plot that concludes the falling
action by revealing or suggesting the outcome of
the conflict.
CHARACTER
 It refers to a textual representation of human
being.
 They are the person or personages in the story.
 In fictional literature, authors use many
different types of characters to tell their stories.
 Different types of characters fulfill different
roles in the narrative process, and with a little
bit of analysis, you can usually detect some or
all of the types below.
TYPES OF CHARACTER
Dynamic
 A dynamic character is a person who changes
over time, usually as a result of resolving a
central conflict or facing a major crisis.
 Most dynamic characters tend to be central
rather than peripheral characters because
resolving the conflict is the major role of central
characters.
Static
 A static character is someone who does not
change over time; his or her personality does
not transform or evolve.
Round
 A rounded character is anyone who has a
complex personality; he or she is often
portrayed as a conflicted and contradictory
person.
Flat
 A flat character is the opposite of a round
character. This literary personality is notable for
one kind of personality trait or characteristic.
Stock
 Stock characters are those types of characters
who have become conventional or stereotypical
through repeated use in particular types of
stories.
 Stock characters are instantly recognizable to
readers or audience members (e.g. the femme
 fatale, the cynical but moral private eye, the
mad scientist, the geeky boy with glasses, and
the faithful sidekick).
 Stock characters are normally one-dimensional
flat characters, but sometimes stock
personalities are deeply conflicted, rounded
characters (e.g. the "Hamlet" type).
Protagonist
 The protagonist is the central person in a story,
and is often referred to as the story's main
character.
 He or she (or they) is faced with a conflict that
must be resolved.
 The protagonist may not always be admirable
(e.g. an anti-hero); nevertheless s/he must
command involvement on the part of the
reader, or better yet, empathy.
Antagonist
 The antagonist is the character(s) (or situation)
that represents the opposition against which the
protagonist must contend.
 In other words, the antagonist is an obstacle
that the protagonist must overcome.
Foil
 A foil is any character (usually the antagonist or
an important supporting character) whose
personal qualities contrast with another
character (usually the protagonist). By
providing this contrast, we get to know more
about the other character.
Symbolic
 A symbolic character is any major or minor
character whose very existence represents some
major idea or aspect of society.
 For example, in Lord of the Flies, Piggy is a
symbol of both the rationality and physical
weakness of modern civilization; Jack, on the
other hand, symbolizes the violent tendencies
(the Id) that William Golding believes is within
human nature.
POINT OF VIEW
First - Person Point of View
 The author is also the participant in the story.
 The author uses the pronouns I, me, and we to
represent the narrator’s role in the story.
 The readers see the action through the eyes of
one character only
Second - Person Point of View
 The author uses the pronoun “you” in the story
to show that the readers are part of the story.
Omniscient or Third - Person Point of View
 The writer uses the third person pronoun to
suggest that the writer knows everything about
the characters thoughts and actions.
SETTING
 It refers to the exact place, time, and condition
when the story takes place.
 Social context and mood both affect the setting.
 Social context refers to the cultural issues while
mood is the underlying feeling or atmosphere
produced by the story.
THEME
 It is the central idea of the story.
 It is the meaning or concept we are left with
after reading a piece of fiction.
 The theme maybe a word, a phrase, or a
sentence.
IMAGERY and SYMBOLISM
 Imagery is a sensory impression used to create
meaning in a story.
 Types of Imagery
o Visual Imagery - Sight
o Aural Imagery - Sound
o Olfactory Imagery - Smell
o Tactile Imagery -Touch
o Gustatory – Taste
 Symbolisms is a figure of speech that is used
when an author wants to create a certain mood
or emotion in a work of literature. It is the use
of an object, person, situation or word to
represent something else, like an idea, in
literature
TONE
 Refers to the attitude or approach that the
author takes toward the work’s central theme or
subject.
 Tone is the attitude that an author takes toward
a work and the way characters say things, but
mood is the effect produced in the reader.
LANGUAGE
 refers to the choice of words used by the author
MYTHOLOGY - The Olympians
Greek = Roman
 Zeus = Jupiter
 Hera = Juno
  Poseidon = Neptune
 Hades = Pluto
 Pallas Athena = Minerva
 Phoebus Apollo/ Apollo = Apollo
 Artemis = Diana
 Aphrodite = Venus
 Hermes = Mercury
 Ares = Mars
ZEUS
 Though Zeus (Jupiter or Jove) is the closest
figure in mythology to an omnipotent ruler, he
is far from all-powerful.
 He also lacks the perfection we might expect in
a divine ruler.
 However, this imperfection is only a detriment
if we view Zeus as a moral authority, which,
according to his stories, he is not.
Hamilton portrays Zeus as both an agent and victim
of fate. As ruler of the gods, Zeus is destined to
overthrow his father, Cronus, who himself became
lord of the universe after overthrowing his own
father, Heaven. Cronus’s inability to prevent his
overthrow is the first example we see of the
inevitability of fate—a recurring theme in
mythological stories. Even Zeus himself is fated to
be overthrown by one who is yet unborn.
Zeus attempts to learn the identity of his future
overthrower from Prometheus but continues his
daily habit of revelry, sometimes at the expense of
innocent mortals and other gods. Always conscious
of what he sees as an insurmountable difference
between gods and humans, he has no pity for
mortals. It is perhaps this essential lack of
sympathy that enables Zeus to toy with humans
heartlessly, raping and ruining the lives of many
women, who seem to exist only for his pleasure. Yet
this behavior only represents one side of Zeus’s
character; the other, more evolved side is his role as
the divine upholder of justice for both gods and
humans.
ILIAD AND ODYSSEY by Homer
 Homer was an ancient Greek poet. Traditions
say that Homer was blind.
 In Greek, his name is “Homeros” which is Greek
for “hostage.”
 Some say that his name was derived from the
name of society of poets called “Homeridan”
which literally means “sons of hostages,” or
descendants of prisoners of war.
 The two important works of Homer are Iliad
(The Wrath of Achilles and the Trojan War) and
the Odyssey (Travel of Odysseus)
 Both have very strong religious and
supernatural elements.
 Its heroes descended from divine beings. They
constantly offer sacrifices to the gods and
consult priest and prophets to decide on their
actions. Iliad covers only a few weeks of the
tenth and final year of the Trojan War.
Iliad is one of the most celebrated and well known
epics of the world. It is believed to be written by in
9th century BC by Homer. This poem is based on
the legend of Trojan War. Iliad means the tale of
Ilios or the tale of Troy. It narrates the story of the
Greek struggle to rescue Helen, from Trojans, the
wrath of Achilles and subsequent destruction of
Troy. Iliad covers only a few weeks of the tenth and
final year of the Trojan War.
THE GOLDEN APPLE
The story begins with the pairing of the mortal
Peleus and the immortal Thetis- the parents of
Achilles. All the gods and goddesses are invited,
except Eris, the goddess of Discord. During the
ceremony, Eris appears but she is turned away and
in her anger throws out a golden apple inscribed
with the words: “To the Fairest”. The three
goddesses Athena – the goddess of wisdom; Hera -
the queen of the gods; and Aphrodite – the goddess
of love, claim the title. Zeus is asked to mediate but
because all the goddesses are important to him he
commands Hermes, the winged god, to lead
Hera is the wife of Zeus, Aphrodite is the daughter
of Zeus to a sea nymph, while Athena is the
daughter of Zeus with Metis. Zeus was told that his
son would take his throne from him, just as he had
taken power from his father Cronus. Accordingly,
when Metis was pregnant, he swallowed her and
Athena was born from Zeus’ head, wearing armor
and fully grown. Each goddess offers Paris a bribe.
Athena offers him an infinite wisdom and an equal
amount of influence over men; Hera promises a
great kingdom and lordship over men; Aphrodite
offers him the love of the most beautiful woman in
the world. Paris accepts the bribe of Aphrodite.
Incidentally, Helen, the daughter of Zeus, is
considered as the most beautiful woman in the
world and who has a squadron of suitors ready to
avenge and protect her. Aphrodite helps Paris to
steal Helen from her husband, Menelaus, who is
also the brother of the most powerful king in
Greece, Agamemnon. The suitors of Helen, who are
true to their pledge of protecting Helen, sail to
retrieve her. They besiege Greece for nine years.

1ST Year 2ND Semester Prelims

NURS 1 – 3
RN2024
Sources: PPT (Dr. Velarde)
02/27/2020