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SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL DEPARTMENT

QUARTER 4 MODULE|2nd SEM|SY: 2021-2022

21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World

Lesson 6: Literature in Europe and Asia

At the end of this course, the learners will be able to:

 Produce a creative representation of a literary text by applying multimedia skills
 Do self and/or peer assessment of the creative adaptation of a literary text based on a
rationalized criterion, prior to presentation.

Find a partner and complete the table:

What do we know about Asian What do we want to learn What have we learned about
and European literature? about Asian and European Asian and European literature?
literature?

Afterward, share your ideas with a classmate and compare your answers.

Asia and Europe boast a spectrum of literary

masterpieces that transcended through time. In
this unit, we are going to explore the literature of
Europe and Asia. Part of getting to know their
literary treasuries is learning about the various
writers who made their countries well-known all
over the world.

ASIAN LITERATURE: CHINA

 Modern Chinese literature began in the late Qing period (1895–1911), which was described as
a period of active intellectual pursuits sparked by a nationalistic climate.
 Translated Western writings introduced new ideas and cultures, thereby resulting in the
flowering of prose fiction that expressed new social and cultural roles for writers.
 During the modern period, during the late Qing dynasty the new “civilized drama” emerged,
a hybrid of Chinese operatic drama and Western-style drama. The New Culture Movement
(1917–1923) saw the vernacular language being widely used and eventually displacing the
classical language in all genres.

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 Classical and modern literary works in China
1. The Book of Changes - It is a book of divination based on eight trigrams, which existed
during the Zhou dynasty.
2. The Classic of Poetry - is the earliest collection of poetry, consisting of 305 poems that
included folk and festival songs, hymns, and eulogies.
3. Classic of History - The collection of documents and speeches written by rulers and officials
of Zhou period.
4. The Classic of Rites - is a collection of texts that describes ancient rites and court ceremonies
during the Zhou dynasty.
5. The Spring and Autumn Annals - is a chronological history of the state of Lu. It contains
monthly narrations of important events during the rule of the twelve leaders of Lu.
6. The Analects of Confucius - is a book of sayings recorded by his disciples that talks about
his teachings on how to live a harmonious life and how to deal with other people

Asian Literature: Japan

 The literature of Japan presents a rich source of beauty and new ideas highly significant to the
West. The literary forms of China, as well as Chinese ideographic forms, are at the root of Japanese
literature.
 The Japanese have an extensive literature spanning more than twelve centuries, which are divided
into different periods.
 literature during the modern period is characterized by the denial of the worth of traditional
writings and by themes of disaffection, loss of purpose, and coping with defeat as a result of World
War II and Japan’s defeat. Osamu Dazai’s novel, The Setting Sun, is one of the stories that reflect
the aftermath of war.
 In the 1980s, Japan established its prominence in the literary scene by producing the manga
(comic books), which features retellings of ancient narratives and make use of modern
experiences of the highly technological Japan.
 Manga became popular as a material for leisure reading of children and young adults. Part of the
reason why manga was successful was its portrayal of women in the modern world, and ultimately
its representation of a traditional country, such as Japan, which embraces the challenges of urbanity
and the future.
Some classical and modern literary works in Japan

Asian Literature: India

 Indian literature pertains not only to the literature of what we know as India today but also that
of Pakistan and Bangladesh. Historically, these countries were considered one until the partition
of India in 1947, which created India and Pakistan. Then, in 1971, Bangladesh seceded from
Pakistan. In the case of literature, although the countries are no longer one, their literary tradition
is unquestionably united.
 India prides itself as a civilization that holds some of the world’s oldest epics: the Mahabharata
by Vyasa and Ramayana by Valmiki. Mahabharata narrates an ancient tale of war within a
family caused by a desire for power.
 Some of the notable contemporary authors of Indian literature include Arundhati Roy and
Rabindranath Tagore. Roy was known for her famous novel, The God of Small Things (1997).
It won the Man Booker Prize for Fiction in 1997. Meanwhile, Tagore was awarded with the Nobel
Prize in Literature in 1913. Some of his remarkable works include Manasi (1890), Chitrangada
(Chitra,1892), and Sonar Tori (The Golden Boat, 1894).

Asian Literature: Thailand

 Indian literature greatly influenced Thai literature. In fact, the national epic of Thailand is called
Ramakien and was referred to as the Thai version of Ramayana.
 The Inao is an important classical literary work in Thailand because it presented the history of the
land, including the people’s traditions, customs, manners, and figures prominently in the repertoire
of classical dramas.

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 In Thailand, even members of the royalty are revered as literary personalities. Historically, King
Rama V and King Rama VI had great passion for poetry.
 In the early 20th century, Phya Anuman Rajadhon, a literary writer and scholar, wrote about Thai
culture, language, and folklore. His works influenced the succeeding generations of scholars in
various fields.

Asian Literature: Indonesia

 Since Indonesia is an archipelago, its literature can be described as multicultural because of the
great influences of its diverse ethnic groups. Its earliest form of literature is oral in nature and was
handed from one generation to another. When Indonesians had acquired a writing system of their
own, they wrote their literature on caves and on branches of trees and leaves.
 The modern Indonesian literature was characterized by works with Western influences, which
have emerged in the twentieth century. Prose narratives differ and are influenced by Indian
literature and those of the neighboring countries. They usually focus on “beast fables,” legends,
riddles, adventure stories, and more. Texts were written in various languages, chiefly in Javanese
and Malay.
 Early Javanese literature works existed between the ninth and the tenth century CE. Prose and
poetry were prevalent, which served as varieties of the famous Indian epics, Mahabharata and
Ramayana. Moreover, the Javanese adapted the Sanskrit court poetry and developed it as their
own.
 During the reign of Suharto, poets and playwrights, including W. S. Rendra and Pramoedya Ananta
Toer, had their works banned, and they were even imprisoned because their literary works
expressed their dissent against the government.
 The situation of the writers eased when Suharto was forced to resign in 1998.

EUROPEAN LITERATURE

 The 20th and 21st centuries started the pursuit of a change in the way people see the world. They
became more open to the importance of social issues and used literature to express their world
view.
 Modernism began in the early 20th century through roughly 1965. This period was marked by
sudden changes in man’s perspective of the world.
 The First World War caused the formation of a new literary movement. There was a greater
demand for all sorts of literature because of the higher literacy rate, which was quickly supplied by
the popular press.
 Modernism also challenged the prevailing order during its time and focused on experimentation
while self-consciously breaking away from traditional forms. The 20th century brought about a
cultural movement that not only questioned tradition but also suggested that knowledge, in fact,
is constantly shifting and changeable depending on who views it.

The European literary techniques that were invented during the modern period are:
a. Imagism - refers to the literary movement that focused on clarity and conciseness by using
specific images
b. Stream of consciousness - a technique in which a character’s thoughts and feelings are
written in an uninterrupted flow, for example, foregoing literary devices such as description
and dialogue
c. An unreliable narrator - a technique in point of view in which the speaker may or may not
know that his or her version of events is not entirely true
 Postmodernism shows a crisis of identity of the human being in ethnicity and sexuality, as well as
the struggle for social and cultural acceptance in a hypocritical society. Postmodern literary work
does not pretend to be new and original; rather, it juxtaposes the old and the new to contextualize
it in the readers’ minds
 Characteristics of postmodern texts include:
a. use of paradox or self-contradictory statement;
b. use of fragmentation or incompleteness whether in form or in content; and

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 c. the unreliable narrator.
 Postmodern writers tended to avoid “neat” endings and championed chance over craft. They also
attempted to examine and blur the lines between high and low cultures. Some of the literary
techniques frequently used during this time were pastiche and metafiction.
 Classical literary works from Europe:
a. Homer’s The Iliad and The Odyssey - The Iliad narrates the Trojan War and the siege of
Troy. The Odyssey, which is a sequel to The Iliad, recounts the journey of Odysseus at the end
of the war.
b. Much Ado About Nothing - This was considered as one of Shakespeare’s best comedies and
was probably written between 1598 and 1599. This play infused humor in serious topics like
honor, shame, and court politics.
c. Paradise Lost - This is an epic poem about the Fall of Man, where John Milton, the writer,
made Adam, Eve, Satan, and God his characters.
d. Gulliver’s Travels - In this novel by Jonathan Swift, Gulliver traveled on four separate
voyages and encountered different types of societies each time. Each journey is a metaphor
for different aspects of British society that the author wanted to criticize.

American Literature in the Modern and Postmodern Periods

Asian Literature: INDIA

Pole Star
Rabindranath Tagore

Standard translation by Kumud Biswas

I have made You the polar star of my
existence; never again can I lose my way in the
voyage of life.

Wherever I go, You are always there to

shower your benefience all around me. Your face
is ever present before my mind's eyes.

If I lose sight of You even for a moment, I

almost lose my mind.

Whenever my heart is about to go astray, just

a glance of You makes it feel ashamed of itself.

European Literature
Cupid and Psyche (Summary)
Lucius Apuleius Madaurensis (or Platonicus)

A stunningly beautiful girl, Psyche, is born after two older sisters. People throughout the
land worship her beauty so deeply that they forget about the goddess Venus. Venus becomes angry
that her temples are falling to ruin, so she plots to ruin Psyche. She instructs her son, Cupid, to
pierce the girl with an arrow and make her fall in love with the most vile, hideous man alive. But
when Cupid sees Psyche in her radiant glory, he shoots himself with the arrow instead.
Meanwhile, Psyche and her family become worried that she will never find a husband, for although
men admire her beauty, they always seem content to marry someone else. Psyche's father prays to
Apollo for help, and Apollo instructs her to go to the top of a hill, where she will marry not a man
but a serpent. Psyche bravely follows the instructions and falls asleep on the hill. When she wakes
up, she discovers a stunning mansion. Going inside, she relaxes and enjoys fine food and luxurious
treatment. At night, in the dark, she meets and falls in love with her husband.

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 She lives happily with him, never seeing him, until one day he tells her that her sisters have been
crying for her. She begs to see them, but her husband replies that it would not be wise to do so.
Psyche insists that they visit, and when they do, they become extremely jealous of Psyche's beautiful
mansion and lush quarters. They deduce that Psyche has never seen her husband, and they convince
her that she must sneak a look. Confused and conflicted, Psyche turns on a lamp one night as her
husband lies next to her.
When she sees the beautiful Cupid asleep on her bed, she weeps for her lack of faith. Cupid
awakens and deserts her because Love cannot live where there is no trust. Cupid returns to his
mother, Venus, who again decides to enact revenge on the beautiful girl.
Psyche, meanwhile, journeys all over the land to find Cupid. She decides to go to Venus
herself in a plea for love and forgiveness, and when she finally sees Venus, the great goddess laughs
aloud. Venus shows her a heap of seeds and tells her that she must sort them all in one night's time
if she wants to see Cupid again. This task is impossible for one person alone, but ants pity Psyche
and sort the seeds for her. Shocked, Venus then orders Psyche to sleep on the cold ground and eat
only a piece of bread for dinner. But Psyche survives the night easily. Finally, Venus commands her
to retrieve a golden fleece from the river. She almost drowns herself in the river because of her
sorrow, but a reed speaks to her and suggests that she collect the golden pieces of fleece from the
thorny briar that catches it. Psyche follows these instructions and returns a sizable quantity to
Venus. The amazed goddess, still at it, now orders Psyche to fill a flask from the mouth of the River
Styx. When Psyche reaches the head of the river, she realizes that this task seems impossible because
the rocks are so dangerous. This time, an eagle helps her and fills the flask. Venus still does not give
in. She challenges Psyche to go into the underworld and have Persephone put some of her beauty
in a box. Miraculously, Psyche succeeds.
On her way toward giving the box to Venus, she becomes curious, opens the box, and
instantly falls asleep. Meanwhile, Cupid looks for Psyche and finds her sleeping. He awakens her,
puts the sleeping spell back in the box, and takes her to Zeus to request her immortality. Zeus grants
the request and makes Psyche an immortal goddess. She and Cupid are married. Venus now
supports the marriage because her son has married a goddess—and because Psyche will no longer
distract the men on earth from Venus.

Anderson, Jan. World Literature. Pensacola, Fla: A Beka Book, 2002.

Dev, Anjana Niera., Bajrang Bihari Tiwari, and Sanam Khanna. Indian literature:
An Introduction. Delhi, India: Pearson, 2005.

D’haen, Theo, César Domínguez, and Mads Rosendahl Thomsen. World Literature: A Reader.
London: Routledge, 2013.

REMINDERS:
1. Read the instructions carefully before doing each task.
2. Do not forget to write your name, section, and date of submission.
3. Staple your paper, write the lesson number, and subject if you answer on a separate
sheet.
4. Submit only the assessment part. Keep the study guides.
5. Carry out the tasks with honesty and integrity; copied works will not be recorded.
6. Secure copies/pictures of your modules. Subject teachers will not be liable for any
module loss.
7. Do not write in all capital/uppercase letters. Also, use only black or blue ink pen.

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Name:___________________________________ Section: _________________

Exercise 1: For your performance task, you will be tasked to make a literary adaptation of
Rabindranath Tagore’s poem “Pole Star.” Do a self-assessment of your adaptation using the checklist
below. Tick the box if you have complied with the idea next to it.

Note: Submit this together with the Assessment.

 Does the entire poem is related to the assigned topic and allow the reader to understand much
more about the topic?
 Does the poem contain many creative details and/or descriptions that contribute to the reader's
enjoyment.?
 Did you assure that there are no spelling, punctuation, and grammar errors in the final draft?
 Is the title creative, sparks interest and is related to the poem and topic?
 Are there many vivid, descriptive words used? Can the reader picture the imagery in the poem?

Exercise 2: Ask a peer or other groups to assess your multimedia adaptation of the text that
you have just created. Use the assessment checklist below:

 Does the entire poem is related to the assigned topic and allows the reader to understand much
more about the topic?
 Does the poem contain many creative details and/or descriptions that contribute to the reader's
enjoyment.?
 Did the author assure that there are no spelling, punctuation, and grammar errors in the final
draft?
 Is the title creative, sparks interest and is related to the poem and topic?
 Are there many vivid, descriptive words used? Can the reader picture the imagery in the poem?