Highlights of the Philippine Literature during the different timeline in Philippine History.

1. Pre-Colonial

 Oral Tradition
 No distinguished authors or poets
 Centered on Mysticism, Deities, and Superstition
 Pamahiin, Bugtong, Salawikian are first created during this period and were handed down orally.
 Myths are one of the common prose during this time period
 Literary Works varies from one region to another.
 Written Literature is called Floating because due to the fact there are no surviving written
records and majority were revived by authors from another time period.
 Paganism is the religion in most regions (except a few areas in Mindanao as there are some that
are Muslim prior to the Spaniards arrival)
 There is one supreme God for Philippine Pagan religion and that is Bathala and a number of
deities that serve Bathala
 People live in scattered villages called Barangay which are ruled by a Datu or a Rajah.
 Sawa and Bakunawa are Mythological Beings that represents a Serpent that has some stories
that swallowed the moon.
 Some Mythological Creatures that still lives in our heart in modern days are the duwende,
mananangal, aswang, tikbalang, sirena, kapre.

Some famous literary works:

1. Biag ni Lam-Ang (Ilocos)
2. Sarimanok (A Legend found in Mindanao)
3. Bathala and the Creation of the World (Tagalog)
4. Si Malakas at Maganda (Tagalog)
5. Hudhud ni Aliguyong (Ifugao)
6. The Ibalon (Bicol Region)

2. Spanish Occupation/Colonial Period

 Secular and Religion are the themes for the first half of this period in Prose and Poetry
 Printing was introduced by the Dominicans during 1593 and their first published book is the
Doctrina Christiana
 Divided into two periods (Occupation and the Revolutionary Period)
 The works of the revolutionary writers awakened the minds of the Filipinos of the inequality
between the Spaniards and Indios.
 Latin (Spanish) as the language of Literature
 Spaniards mainly control the books and education
 Shift from Paganism to Christianity
 Poetry are centered on the following:
- Pasyon: Commemoration of Jesus Christ’s Agony and Ressurection
- Metrical Romances like Awit and Corrido which have themes in European. Awit is meant to
be sung, while Corrido is meant to be narrated.
- Folk Songs such as Leron-Leron Sinta, Ating Cu Pu Singsing
 For prose we have Religious plays such as Senakulo, Salubong, Zarzuela, and Panunuluyan
 Other notable dramas and plays are the Moro-Moro, Moriones, Balagtasan, Duplo, and
Karagatan
 Few Distinguished Writers such as Jose Rizal, Graciano Lopez Jaena, Francisco Balagtas, and
Marcelo H. Del Pilar (known also as Plaridel)
 Laong Laan and Dimasalang are the penname that Jose Rizal used.
 The Revolutionary Writers never seek freedom but they wanted Spain to treat the Philippines
equally and fair and assimilation of the Philippines as a country of Spain.
Some famous literary works:

1. Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo (Novel) by Jose Rizal

2. Mi Ultimo Adios, Sa aking Kababata (Poem) by Jose Rizal
3. La Solidaridad (Newspaper) founded by Graciano Lopez Jaena
4. Kalayaan (Newspaper) by Emilio Jacinto
5. Lupang Hinirang (National Anthem Song) composed by Jose Palma
6. Urbana at Feliza (Novel) by Modesto Castro

3. American Occupation/Colonial Period

 While Filipinos established a revolutionary government, the Spaniards lost to the Americans in
the Spanish-American War that first started in Cuba.
 The Treaty of Paris was signed in Paris, France and one of the conditions was that Spain will give
up its control of Philippines therefore before Philippine formally declared itself independent, the
Americans are now the new owners of the Philippines. It Led also to the Filipino-American War
with the Americans winning in 1902.
 Americans, introduced English as the new language to be adopted however some writers and
poets still use Spanish and Tagalog. Literature became diverse in three languages during this
period.
 Many literary works are in English but the context and setting are all Filipino.
 Early Literary works have the theme of love of country and longing for independence.
 The First Short Story in English was “Dead Stars” by Paz Marquez-Benitez
 Start of Free Education in the Primary and Secondary. More Children are now taught the basics of
grammar and literature.
 The very first public school erected is Tarlac National High School and is still staying strong
 Rise of Poetry inspired by Western Authors occurred during this period.
 Asides the revival of Balagtasan, Public Debates are now more common.
 Adelina Guerra was the first Filipina Poet and wrote El Nido.
 Many distinguished writers in the period such as Alejandro R. Roces, Maximo Kalaw, Severino
Reyes, Lope K. Santos,

Some famous literary works:

1. Dead Stars (Short Story) by Paz Marquez-Benitez

2. Walang Sugat – (Theatrical Play) by Severino Reyes
3. Ang Panday (Poem) by Armando V. Hernandez
4. The Filipino Rebel – (Novel) by Maximo Kalaw
5. Banaag at Sikat (Novel) by Lope K. Santos
6. Urbana at Feliza (Novel) by Modesto Castro

Special section in American Period: World War II and Japanese Occupation

 Decrease of Literature Works because of the War and survival is the utmost priority of every
writer and poets living in that period.
 Balagtasan declined and shifted to Free Verse
 Philippine Literature in English came to a halt as it is discouraged by the Japanese.
 Rise of Fiction over Poetry
 Encouraged of tagalong writing. Many of the works focused on everyday life were seen and
untouched by war.
  Literature performed by the guerillas through satirical skills, and the people who are fighting
against Japanese movement.
 Literary Works in Filipino Language increased due to the banning of English Writing by the
Japanese.
 Freedom of Speech and Press were suppressed by the Japanese Occupation Forces.
 Haiku was introduced.

5. Contemporary/Modern Period

 21st century literature – all literary works written and published at the latter part of the 21st
century (from 2001 onwards). These works are often characterized as gender sensitive,
technologically alluding, culturally pluralistic, operates on the extreme reality or extreme fiction,
and questions conventions and supposedly absolute norms
 Modernization of Literature via Technology
 Memes on Social Networking Sites are now considered as a work of art and as a form of
literature which originated from comic strips and cartoon illustrations on editorials.
 Balagtasan to Fliptop and Pick up Line on Youth
 Internet made literature accessible worldwide.
 Vlogs are now becoming common from reviews or to showcase a place/object/food.
 Fanfiction is now rampant as many people can compose and share their stories on online
platforms.
 Creative Writing/Flash Fiction are now used in online platforms such as Wattpad and some
authors there are credited and became successful.
 Bob Ong and Marcelo Santos are some of the new generation writers during the 21st century
Literature.