LESSON 2

History of Philippine Literature

LEARNING OUTCOMES
Name the authors and literary works that shaped the
literary repertoire of the Philippines.
Sequence historical and cultural events in to show how
each period developed.

BEFORE READING

The Journey of Philippine Literature: From

Precolonial to Contemporary Period
An Essay by Marlon T. Salvador
ABOUT THE ESSAY

The essay gives us an overview of how Philippine

literature shaped and was shaped by our country’s cultural
traditions and socio-political histories. It outlines the
journey of Philippine literature through different periods:
Precolonial era, Spanish colonial period, American colonial
period, Japanese colonial period, Martial Law regime, and
the Contemporary period.

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MAKE CONNECTIONS

If you could go back in time, what time and place would you visit? Why?

 If I was given a chance to visit a place, I would rather visit my

hometown where my life begins. It’s been a decade since I was
there, I miss my memories in that place. My hometown is the
place where I spend my happiest and saddest childhood days .
It’s just make me sad that there’s possibility that I can’t comeback
there anymore.

ANALYZE LITERATURE: Literary Periods

Literary period is basically defined as a span of time for literature that

shares intellectual, linguistic, religious, and artistic influences. In Philippine
context, describing the evolving patterns of our literary heritage prompts us to
recount also the socio-cultural milieu that produced it in the process. Philippine
historical and literary periods are: Precolonial Period, Spanish Colonial Period,
American Colonial Period, Japanese Regime, Martial Law Period, and
Contemporary Period.

Precolonial Period: The Philippines already had its own rich literary tradition,
written and oral, long before the Spaniards came. This oral literary tradition in
particular plays a crucial role in reproducing the structure of native society
(Quiros, 2019).

Spanish Colonial Period: Literature during this period may be classified as

religious prose and poetry, and secular prose and poetry (Godinez-Ortega). This
period also includes literature produced by the Propaganda Movement.

American Colonial Period: The introduction of free public instruction for all
children of school age, and the use of English as medium of instruction in all
levels of education in public schools encouraged literary production during this
period (Quindoza-Santiago).

Japanese Colonial Period: Philippine Literature was interrupted in its

development during this period. Philippine Literature in English came to a halt,
and most publications in English were stopped. The use of Filipino language was
also mandated.

Contemporary Period: The flowering of Philippine literature in the various

languages continues especially with the appearance of new publications after the
Martial Law years and the resurgence of committed literature in the 1960s and
the 1970s. Commission on Higher Education mandated the teaching of Philippine

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Literature in all tertiary schools in the country emphasizing the teaching of the
vernacular literature or literatures of the regions (Godinez-Ortega).

USE READING SKILLS: Analyze Sequence of Events

Sequence of events refers to the order of events as they happen. As you

read the essay, keep track of the sequence of events by completing the Sequence
Map below. Draw the order of events as they are explained. Include a short
caption under each image.

Sequence Map

oral literature like epics

and folksongs were chanted

Negritoes contributed in Malays also contributed Spaniards first arrive at

the Philippines literature. in Philippines literature. land of Philippines.

__________________________

The Pasyon was used The three martyr priest Propaganda movements

To replace the old epics. has been executed. emerged.

_________________________ __________________________ _________________________

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 Rizal was executed. The Spain sell the Martial Law is

Philippines to the US. Implemented.

DURING READING

The Journey of Philippine Literature: From

Precolonial to Contemporary Period
Analyze Literature
An Essay by Marlon T. Salvador

Before
Literary the Spaniards
Periods: came
Describe tokind
the the Philippines,
of literature produced in precolonial times.
our forefathers had already their own
Identify also the contributions of the Negritoes, Indons, and Malays to the literary
literature,
heritage of thewhich can be described as oral
Philippines.
because they written
Oral and were handed
play adown
vitalby word
role in the society during precolonial
of mouth from one generation to another.
period. The literature make them stronger and rich that they handle it
The vagrant Negritoes contributed songs
andtosuperstitious
transcend from one
beliefs. generation
They did not have to another. Negritoes contributed
songsofand
a system superstitious
government unlike beliefs.
the Indons Indons brought literary genres or
who brought
forms likeliterary genres
folktales, or forms
epics, like
paganistic faith, and Legends. Lastly,
folktales, epics, paganistic faith, and
Malays contributed the baybayin, the syllabary with seventeen
legends. The Malays contributed the
symbols.
baybayin, They alsowith
the syllabary brought legends, folktales, the “balangay”
seventeen
symbols.
system They also brought legends,
of government, and the proverbs.
folktales, the “balangay” system of
government, and the brief statements of
practical
Culture wisdom
Notecalled proverbs which are
based on long experience about life.
Riddle or bugtong abounds in many ethnolinguistic groups in the Philippines. Give one
example
Puzzlesof that
riddle from your
usually culture
consist orlines
of two group.
that
rhyme
Napanak
calledidjay bantay
riddles are considered as the
early forms
Adda of poetry,
nasabat ko which is now
nga lakay
developed in various forms that usually
Sinagid ko, natay.
appear in stanzas. Early drama, now
Sagot: bain-bain
performed onstage, was in the form of
(I went to
paganistic the farm
rituals led byand met an
babaylan, old man. I touched him and he died.
a priest
Answer: Makahiya) CASS-DELL | Literature of the Philippines 4
or priestess.

When the Spaniards set their feet on the

Philippine soil, they found out that
literature had been existing in two
forms: prose and poetry. The riddles, proverbs
and sayings were in the form of poetry , while
the legends, fables and folktales were in
Use Reading Skills
prose. The conquerors destroyed written
literature in perishable materials because Analyze Sequence of Events
they believed that these were the handicraft Use the Sequence Map to write
of evil. Later, the printing press was set up four events that occur on this
and Doctrina Christiana was the first output page of the essay. Write each
in 1593. The pasyon, which relates the life event in a complete sentence.
and death of Christ, was used to replace
the old epics. The most popular of this type
was Gaspar Note
AquinothedeFacts
Belen. There also
born forms of metrical romance of
EuropeanWhatorigin,literary
namely:genres or forms
awit and became popular during the Spanish
corrido,
examplesColonial
of whichPeriod?
are the Florante at Laura
and Ang Alamat  The literature
ng Ibong Adarna.genres which is romance became popular
because of the Awit and corrido, examples of which are
The first printed literary work in Tagalog
the Florante at Laura and Ang Alamat ng Ibong Adarna.
was the poem May Bagyo Ma’t May Rilim
(1605) while the first known published
prose was in the form of letter, the
Ang Pagsusulatan ng Dalawang Binibini
Analyze Literature
na sina Urbana at Feliza by Modesto de
Castro. Meanwhile, the first recorded
Literary Periods: epic and their literary works during
Name authors
(only in 1889) wasColonial
Spanish the Biag Period.
ni Lam-ang
among the Christian Ilokos.de
 Modesto They noticed
Castro
that Filipinos were fond of plays so they
— Ang Pagsusulatan ng Dalawang Binibini na sina
began to stage the Cenaculo, which depicts
Urbana
the life and passion of Christ; theat Feliza
Santacruzan, which portrays
Pedro Reyna Elena’s
Paterno
search for the cross where Christ died;
— Ninay
and others.
 Jose Rizal
— Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo
In 1872, the three priest-martyrs were
executed. From then,
Marcelo H. del
a clamor forPilar
change
against Spanish abuses
— began to bloom.
Dasalan at Tocsohan
The event anchored the launching of the

CASS-DELL | Literature of the Philippines 5

Propaganda Movement in Spain that aimed
to clarify issues, denounce abuses and
injustices, and refute accusations. Its
newspaper La Solidaridad became the organ
that projected the views of the group where
essay found its place. Meanwhile, in 1885,
Pedro Paterno published the first novel
Ninay which awakened national
Use Reading Skills
consciousness. It became the precedent for
Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere and its sequel, the Analyze Sequence of Events
El Filibusterismo. Marcelo H. del Pilar’s Use the Sequence Map to write
Dasalan at Tocsohan is considered as his five events that occur on this
most daring work against the friars. page. Write each event in a
complete sentence.
When Rizal was captured and exiled in
Dapitan, the Katipunan was formed with
Note
its paperthe Factswhere Katapusang
Kalayaan
Hibik ng Pilipinas and Pag-ibig sa
Tinubuang Lupa were printed to campaign
for freedom.
What poems were published by the Katipunan during the Spanish
Colonial Period?
In 1899, the Spaniards formally turned
 The Pag-ibig sa Tinubuang Lupa and Katapusang hibik ng
over the Philippines under the governance
of America inPilipinas are with
conformity published by the katipunan to campaign
the Treaty
of Paris. Theagainst
first group of American
Spaniards.
teachers known as Thomasites who were
aboard a ship named Thomas, arrived and
brought changes to the educational system.
NoteFilipino
Hence, the Facts
writers began writing in
English because The Philippine Free Press
Whatand
(1905) event
theended
CollegeSpanish
Folio (UPRule in the
school Philippines?
organ,
1910) had been circulated.
 In 1899, the Spaniards formally ended their rule over the
Philippines
The outbreak because
of the World War IIofcaused
the Treaty
the Of Paris. That time when
scarcity ofSpain
paper.sell theperiod,
In this Philippines to US.
the haiku
became popular because it does not need much
space for it only contains three lines and a total
Analyze
of seventeen Literature
syllables.

Literary Periods: Which literary period is considered the Golden Age of

The Declaration of Martial Law in 1972 greatly
Filipino literature where in writing in English was prohibited and writers in
affected literature. From this period to the
Filipino and in vernacular languages flourished?
present, writers and different artists continue to

 CASS-DELL | Literature of the Philippines 6

Japanese Colonial Period
flourish with the aim of bringing social reform
and subscribing to freedom of expression.
All this just proves that the history of a nation
affects its literature.

AFTER READING
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Name: Mariel Esteban Subject: Lit 111: Literature of the Philippines
Yr/Cr/Sec: 2BPED-B Date: 09/08/21

READING CHECK

A. Circle the letter of the correct answer.

1. Which of the following is considered the earliest form of drama in Philippine

literary history?
A. folksongs C. cenaculo
B. rituals D. legends

2. Which historical and literary period in the Philippines is considered the Epic
Age?
A. Precolonial C. American
B. Spanish D. Contemporary

3. Which of the following is the Christian epic which talks about the life and
suffering of Christ?
A. pasyon C. bodabil
B. cenaculo D. awit

4. Which of the following is NOT a product of the Spanish period?

A. Doctrina Christiana C. Footnote to Youth
B. Dasalan at Tocsohan D. Urbana at Feliza

5. Who among the following propagandists used the pen name Plaridel?
A. Marcelo H. del Pilar C. Jose P. Rizal
B. Pedro Paterno D. Graciano Lopez Jaena

6. Which of the following is NOT a work of Jose Rizal?

A. Noli Me Tangere C. Sa Aking Mga Kabata
B. El Filibusterismo D. Ninay

7. Who wrote Katapusang Hibik ng Pilipinas and Pag-ibig sa Tinubuang Lupa?

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 A. Marcelo H. del Pilar C. Pedro Paterno
B. Andres Bonifacio D. Apolinario Mabini

8. Who among the following are the first American teachers in the Philippines?
A. Dominicans C. Thomasites
B. Augustinians D. Jesuits

9. Which of the following did NOT emerge during the Pre-Spanish period?
A. Haiku C. Proverbs
B. Folksongs D. Riddles

10. Which of the proverbs does NOT talk about hypocrisy?

A. She seems to be a saint, but her heart is naughty.
B. The ant is where the sugar is.
C. When she turns her back she looks like a virgin, but when she faces
you she looks like a ‘sigbin’.
D. It is hard to wake a person who pretends to be asleep.

B. Identify the period of Philippine literature which is characterized by items 1-

10. Write the letter on your answer on the space provided before each number.

A. Precolonial B. Spanish C. American D. Japanese E. Contemporary

A 1. Literature was handed down by word of mouth.

B 2. Pre-colonial epics were changed.
B 3. First work of prose was written.
D 4. Short story flourished.
B 5. There were metrical romances.
B 6. There were religious and rebellious literatures.
D 7. The short poem of three lines was known.
D 8. Liwayway magazine was under strict supervision.
E 9. Filmmaking has become the most popular art form.
E 10. There are vast literary works in different literary forms.

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Name: Mariel Esteban Subject: Lit 111: Literature of the Philippines
Yr/Cr/Sec: 2BPED-B Date: 09/08/21

USE READING SKILLS: Analyze Sequence of Events

1. Review the Sequence Map you created. Briefly retell the sequence of events in
writing as they occur.

 The Negritoes, Indos and Malays has a big contributions in the

literature of the Philippines I precolonial period. The time comes
the Spaniard set their feet in the land of the Philippines. There’s a
lot of happenings during Spanish period in the Philippines, the
Spaniards affect the literature of the Philippines for example the
pasyo. Replaced the old epics. In 1872, the three martyr priest
were executed and the propaganda movements exist. Some of the
work of Andres Bonifacio used to campaign against to Spaniards.
Afterwards, Rizal was captured and got executed in Dapitan. In
1899, the Spain signed to turn over the Philippines under US
governance called “Treaty of Paris”. The declaration of Martial
Law in 1972 greatly affected literature. From this period to the
present, writers and different artists continue to flourish with the
aim of bringing social reform and subscribing to freedom of
expression.

2. After looking into the events that shaped Philippine literary landscape, we may
find that we have become a society of various or heterogeneous traditions. Is this
an advantage or disadvantage? Explain your answer.

 In my opinion, it is advantage. Because it contributed a lot to

Philippine literary, we gained a lot of lessons and ways on how to

love and preserve Philippine literary that is why it is advantage for

me

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