GODOFREDO REYES SR.

NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL

S/Y 2021-2022

LITERARY
COMPILATION
(DIFFERENT PERIODS OF PHILIPPINE LITERATURE)
GRADE 11- EINSTEIN(ICT)

SUBMITTED BY: ANNE REYES

JENNY BRILLANTES

LLONILA MAE MERCADO

EMMANUEL YUTAN

ANGELO CABINGAN

SUBMITTED TO:

MS. NANCY C. ARO

SUBJECT TEACHER
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION ……………………..........……………………………………………………….
1
PHILIPPINE LITERATURE

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF PHILIPPINE LITERATURE.........………………………………… 3

DIFFERENT PERIODS OF PHILIPPINE LTERATURE
FOUR MAJORS LITERARY PERIODS IN THE PHILIPPINES
 INTRODUCTION
Philippine literature withstood time and periods and has evolved through generations.  For every period
that passed, different genres appeared, and these literary works rooted from all regions reflecting their
culture, society and lifestyle.

The early stages of Filipino Literature consist of the Pre-Spanish period, the Spanish period and the
Propaganda and Revolutionary Periods. In the Pre-Spanish period, literature was in oral form as
technology of printing wasn’t available yet. Works such as epics, legends, folklore, salawikain, bugtong,
sawikain,  songs such as the Oyayi  or Hele  are passed on from generations to generations and they are
still well-known up to this day as they are being taught in schools. Philippine Literature changed during
the Spanish Period. It was centered on Christian faith. Pre-Spanish literary types continued to develop;
however, there was a gradual shift of interest from nature and natural phenomena to the lives of the
saints, hymns, miracles and invocations based on the teachings of the Catholic Church. The works during
this time are imitative of the Spanish theme, forms, and traditions. The corrido, awit, dalit, cenaculo,
moro-moro, duplo and karagatan, and zarzuela are reflective of the said characteristics. Religious
matters were in prose as novenas and prayer books, biographies of the saints, tales and novels. The
Filipinos were able to retain their native traditions and poems in the field of poetry reflected as lyrical
folksongs and riddles. Some examples of songs are Bahay Kubo, kundiman, and tapat.  Francisco Baltazar
also was popular during this time because of his “Florante at Laura”. Events such as the exposure of the
Filipinos to Europe’s liberal idealism, the opening of the Suez Canal, the Spanish Revolution in 1868, and
the martyrdom of Gomburza led to Filipino nationalism. This gave birth to two movements during this
time – the Propaganda movement and the Revolutionary movement. The Propaganda movement was
reformatory in objective and its members are college students mostly based in Spain. The primary
propagandists were Jose Rizal, Marcelo H. del Pilar, and Graciano Lopez-Jaena. The exposure of the evils
of the Spanish rule in the Philippines was because of Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo and
has paved the way to a revolution against Spain. Del Pilar’s essays and editorials in Diariong
Tagalog which he founded with Lopez-Jaena’s articles in La Solidaridad which he was an editor reflected
nationalism that was dominant at this time.

The Revolutionary movement took over as the propagandists failed to get much reforms. This was of
course more violent, and it demands complete independence from Spain. The Katipunan  was founded
by Andres Bonifacio who was inspired by Rizal’s novels. The articles written in tagalog (which was a form
of revolution) was published in the Kalayaan,  the newspaper of the society. The literature at that time
was more propagandistic than literary as the situation and events at that time needed such purpose for
liberation.

The three periods mentioned are the core of our history and literature. History has a very important role
in literature as literature not only reflects facts with aesthetic language but more importantly, it displays
the ideas and feelings of the people living at that time. Not only does literature exhibit history but so as
the hope that people have. It shows what they hope for the nation, or for themselves, may it be about
nationalism, love, or other aspects going on in life. As the Philippines underwent a lot of history, as well
as changes, literature also evolved. In the similar case as the first three periods, literary genres also
evolve depending on the influence, state and the condition that our country is in. From epics to
folksongs, to the cenaculo and Noli Me Tangere, to Tagalog and English short stories, essays, poetry, to
the Palanca Awards entries, drama and film, to Wattpad and blogs – these are all reflective of the
history, evolution, and developments or mishaps of the Filipino nation. Each period has its own distinct
genre and unique artists that everyone remembers.

21st century literature per se, is anything that was written and published in the year 2000s. It is a bit too
early to give a definite and elaborate description of the 21st century literature in the Philippines and the
world. It is possible, however, to approach contemporary literature as a reaction to and dialogue with
existing forms of expressive culture. As we engage in technology more and more, we create and
discover more existing forms of expressive culture as well. We have a wide range of resources through
the internet and this gave opportunities to people, especially the youth, to begin writing and expressing
their thoughts, ideas, and feelings. A perfect example would be WattPad.  It became popular to the
Filipino youth in 2006.

The idea is to create an e-book reading application, as e-books are becoming in demand during that
time, however, the founders thought that it would be time consuming to maintain their own catalog, so
they decided to let the community decide what they want to read, and they can also upload their works
and content into the application. This had made it possible for the youth to read more and to start
creating their own compositions

By Katrina Melissa Cruz

WHAT IS PHILIPPINE LITERATURE?
Philippine literature is literature associated with the Philippines from prehistory, through its
colonial legacies, and on to the present.
Pre-Hispanic Philippine literature was actually epics passed on from generation to generation,
originally through an oral tradition. However, wealthy families, especially in Mindanao, were
able to keep transcribed copies of these epics as family heirloom. One such was the Darangen,
an epic of the Maranaos.

HISTORY OF PHILIPPINE LITERATURE

The literature of the Philippines is predominantly a reflection of the influence of the Spaniards on the
indigenous culture and traditions. The people of Manila and native groups within the Philippines used to
write on bamboo and the arecaceae palm. They used knives for inscribing the ancient Tagalog script. The
literature thus preserved was limited to the seventeen basic symbols of the language. With just three
vowels and consonantal symbols that had predetermined, inherent sound, the literature handed down
was in a 'raw' state and needed to be developed. 

The Tagalog language script that was used initially to preserve and hand down literature, was limited to
a diacritical mark or 'kudlit' that further modified pronunciation and writing. The dot, line or arrow head
was either placed above or below the symbol. The literature thus preserved has played a very important
role in the public schooling arena and the rise of the educated class. 'Ilustrados' such as José Rizal and
Pedro Paterno contributed to important Spanish literary work in the Philippines and subsequently,
Philippine Classical Literature. The cultural elite penned a number of historical documents. Literature in
the Philippines also includes various national anthems, revolutionary propaganda and nationalist
articles. Most of the literature of the land was initially in the Spanish language and the contributions
were profound writings by Marcelo H. Del Pilar and Claro M. Recto, among a host of others. Philippine
literature was preserved well through private publications like 'Plaridel' and the first Spanish newspaper
'El Boletín de Cebú' and 'Flora Sentino', by Orlando Agnes.

Literature in the Philippines was developed and preserved by native Filipino intellectuals. Isidro Marfori,
Enrique Fernandez Lumba, Cecilio Apostol, Fernando Ma. Guerrero, Jesús Balmori, Flavio Zaragoza Cano
and Francisco Zaragoza played a major role in the preservation of the stories handed down in time.
Writers such as Castrillo, Fernandez, Rivera, Licsi and Estrada also spent a major part of their lives in the
documentation of 'by-word-of-mouth' hand-downs. Columns and articles in newspapers such as El
Renacimiento, La Vanguardia, El Pueblo de Iloilo, La Democracia and El Tiempo and magazines such as
'Independent' and 'Philippine Review' kept the legacies alive in Spanish and English.

Many of the world's best short stories are native to the Philippines. When the Filipino writers began
using the English language for artistic expression, they took the original works of the Philippines to the
west. The folk tales and epics were, in time, put into written word along with poems and chants that
were the legacies of the ethnolinguistic groups. Literary work now available includes articles on Spanish
conquest, native cultural heritage, pre-colonial literature and traditional narratives. Another very
interesting segment of Philippine literature includes inspiring speeches and songs. This segment has
effectively maintained the mystifying characteristic of Philippine epics and folk tales. The narratives and
descriptions of various magical characters, mythical objects and supernatural are surreal, distinctly
adhering to the ideologies and customs of the natives. 

Ethno-epics such as Biag ni Lam-ang or the Life of Lam-ang, Agyu or Olahing, Sandayo of Subanon,
Aliguyon, the Hudhud and Labaw Donggon are great examples of assimilated styles and language
variations. Today, Philippine literature reflects national issues through political prose, essay
writing and novels. Novels by Jose Rizal, El Filibusterismo and Noli Me Tangere patronize the revival of
the rich folk tradition.