Our written literature,

which is about four hundred

years old, is one of slow
and evolutionary growth.
Our writers strove to
express their sentiments
while struggling with a
foreign medium.
(? – 1564)
 Long before the Spaniards and other foreigners
landed on Philippine shores, our forefathers already had
their own literature stamped in the history of our race.
Our ancient literature shows our customs and
traditions in everyday life as traced in our folk stories,
old plays and short stories.
• from the dawn of our civilization to the
establishment of settlements
• the first period of Philippine literature – the
longest
• According to William Henry Scott, “discrepancy
between what is actually known about the pre-
Hispanic Philippines and what has been written
about it.”
• epics, tales, songs, riddles, proverbs
- subject matter – people’s common experience
* food-gathering
* creatures and objects of nature
* work in the home, field, forest, sea
- did not emphasize authorship; belongs to the
community
- language of daily life
 Whatever record our ancestors left were
either burned by the Spanish friars in the
belief that they were works of the devil or
were written on materials that easily perished,
like the barks of trees, dried leaves and
bamboo cylinders which could not have
remained undestroyed even if efforts were
made to preserve them.
(1565 – 1898)
Two distinct classifications:
religious and secular
1. Religious Literature
a. Pasyon – long narrative poem about the passion and death of Christ.
b. Senakulo – dramatization of the pasyon.
2. Secular (non-religious) Literature
a. Awit - colorful tales of chivalry made for singing and chanting. e.g. Ibong
Adarna
b. Korido – metrical tale. Eg. Florante at Laura
c. Prose Narratives – written to prescribe proper decorum.
1. The system of writing called Baybayin was replaced by the
Roman alphabet.
2. The teaching of the Christian Doctrine became the basis of
religious practices.
3. The Spanish language which became the literary language
during this time lent many of its words to our language.
4. European legends and traditions brought here became
assimilated in our songs, corridos, and moro-moros.
5. Ancient literature was collected and translated to Tagalog and
other dialects.
6. Many grammar books were printed in Filipino, like Tagalog,
Ilocano and Visayan
7. Our periodicals during these times gained a religious tone.
(1864 – 1896)
•Planted seeds of nationalism in Filipinos.
•Language shifted from Spanish to Tagalog.
•Addressed the masses instead of the
“intelligencia”.
•The Filipinos did not get the reforms demanded by the
propagandists.
•The government turned deaf ears to the oppression and abuses
of the colonial officials.
•The good intention of Mother Spain was reversed by the friars.
•Many Filipinos affiliated with Rizal’s La Liga Filipina (The
Filipino League).
Events which triggered the outbreak of Revolution include:
The Banishment of Rizal to Dapitan, Zamboanga del Norte;
The establishment of the then secret society KKK (Katipunan);
The execution of Jose Rizal; and
The discovery of Katipunan and arrest of its members.
(1898 – 1941)
A. PERIOD OF RE-ORIENTATION (1898 – 1910)
•By 1900, English came to be used as a medium of
instruction in the public schools. From the American
forces were recruited the first teachers of English.

•By 1908, the primary and intermediate grades

were using English. It was also about this time when
UP, the forerunner in the use of English in higher
education, was founded.
B. PERIOD OF APPRENTICESHIP (1910 – 1925)
1. Filipino Writers imitated English and
American models.
2. Poems written were amateurish and mushy,
which phrasing and diction is awkward and
artificial.

*Period of Imitation
•The Filipino writers imitated American and English
writers. This fact is hardly surprising since the early
writers were, for the most part, college students or
young graduates whose literary education had
been largely confined to American and English
authors.
• The most significant short story produced during this
period was “Dead Stars” by Paz Marquez-Benitez. It was
published in the Philippines Herald on September 20,
1925.
• The poetry of the apprenticeship period was dominated
by sentimental love lyrics. Verbal exuberance made the
poems artificial and insincere. “Sursum Corda” by Justo
Juliano is the first known Philippine poem in English; it
appeared in the Philippine Free Press in 1907.
•The early novels in English were sentimental. The fact is
that the cultural basis of literature was too thin to support
a sustained, complex tradition necessary for a novel.
Zolio M. Galang’s “Child of Sorrow,” the first Filipino
novel in English, was published in 1924.
C. PERIOD OF SELF-DISCOVERY AND GROWTH
(1925-1941)
• By this time, Filipino writers had acquired the
mastery of English writing. They now confidently
and competently wrote on a lot of subjects
although the old-time favorites of love and youth
persisted. They went into all forms of writing like
the novel and the drama.
*Period of Emergence
(1941 - 1945)
•The stride and growth of the Philippine literature in
English language and the development of Philippine
literature in general was interrupted during the Japanese
period. The Japanese censured all publications
except Tribune and Philippine Review. During the
Japanese period, Philippine Literature in English was
stopped and writers turned to writing in Filipino.
•Because of the strict prohibitions imposed by the
Japanese in the writing and publishing of works in English,
Philippine literature in English experienced a dark period.
The few who dared to write did so for their bread and
butter or for propaganda. Writings that came out during
this period were journalistic in nature. Writers felt
suppressed but slowly, the spirit of nationalism started to
seep into their consciousness. While some continued to
write, the majority waited for a better climate to publish
their works.
PERIOD OF MATURITY AND ORIGINALITY (1945-
1960)
•Bountiful harvest in poetry, fiction, drama and essay.
•Filipino writers mastered English and familiarized
themselves with diverse techniques.
•Literary “giants” appeared.
(1960 - )
•The early post-liberation period was marked by a kind
of “struggle of mind and spirit” posed by the sudden
emancipation from the enemy, and the wild desire to see
print.
PERIOD OF ACTIVISM (1970 – 1972)

• Youth activism in 1970-72 was due to domestic and

worldwide causes. Activism is connected with the history
of our Filipino youth. Because of the ills of society, the
youth moved to seek reforms.

* Period of the Bloody Placards

PERIOD OF THE NEW SOCIETY (1972-1980)
•The period of the New Society started on September
21, 1972. The Carlos Palanca Awards continued to give
annual awards.
•Almost all themes in most writings dealt with the
development or progress of the country –like the Green
Revolution, family planning, proper nutrition,
environment, drug addiction and pollution.
PERIOD OF THE THIRD REPUBLIC (1981-1985)

•After ten years of military rule and some changes in the

life of the Filipino which started under the New Society,
Martial Rule was at last lifted on January 2, 1981.
• The supplications of the people were coached in fiery,
colorful, violent, profane and insulting language.
AFTER EDSA (1986 - PRESENT)

• When the enemies were overthrown in 1986, the

literary activity showed a certain disorientation
manifesting itself in a proliferation of concerns taken up
by individual writers and groups.
•1. There is in the academe an emerging critical
orientation that draws its concerns and insights from
literary theorizing current in England and the United
States
•2. Post-EDSA publishing has been marked by
adventurousness, a willingness to gamble on "non-
traditional" projects.
•3. The declining prestige of the New Criticism, whose
rigorous aesthetic norms has previously functioned as a
Procrustean bed on which Filipino authors and their works
were measured, has opened a gap in the critical
evaluation of literary works.
•4. The fourth and final characteristic of post-EDSA
writing is the development thrust towards the retrieval
and the recuperation of writing in Philippine languages
other than Tagalog.
CHARACTERISTICS OF CONTEMPORARY
LITERATURE
• English and Filipino continue to be the major media of literature.
• Literature as a venue for socio-politico-economic-religious discussions and
a vehicle for personal thoughts and feelings has become more marked.
• Literary themes cover a wide range of subjects most outstanding among
which are existentialism and the search for identity in varying levels and
settings, deception and violence perpetuated by those in power, grinding
poverty especially in the country-sides and in some cities, nationalism,
tenant-landlord relationship, human rights violation and the search for the
desaparecidos, and the Filipino diaspora and the experiences of overseas
Filipino workers(OFWs) and migrants.
CHARACTERISTICS OF CONTEMPORARY
LITERATURE
• The Anglo-American tradition, which includes the free verse and the blank
verse, gained acceptance among writers.
• The Euro-Hispanic tradition was blended with the tradition of propaganda and
revolutionary literature to become a truly Filipino tradition.
• The ‘60s and the ‘70s saw the resurgence of cause-oriented literature. This
militancy, although markedly toned down, has continued to the present.
• Further development of regional literatures has been given a stronger impetus
through the inclusion of regional literary masterpieces in the college curriculum. •
Filipino writers have become more conscious of their craft as shown by the
regular conduct of writing workshops