SHS

21st Century Literature from the

Philippines and the World
Quarter 1 Module 1: Lesson 1
Pre-Colonial to Contemporary Philippine Literature
21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World
Quarter 1 Module 1: Lesson 1

MELC 1: Writing a close analysis and critical interpretation of literary texts and doing
an adaptation of these require from the learner the ability to identify:
a.) the geographic, linguistic, and ethnic dimensions of Philippine literary history
from pre-colonial to the contemporary
b.) Representative texts and authors from each region (e.g. engage in oral history
research with focus on key personalities for the students’
region/province/town)
Specific Objectives:
1) Identify the geographic, linguistic, and ethnic dimensions of Philippine
literary history from pre-colonial to the contemporary
2) take to heart these aspects and develop a genuine love for Philippine
literature

Republic Act 8293, section 176 states that: No copyright shall subsist in any
work of the Government of the Philippines. However, prior approval of the
government agency or office wherein the work is created shall be necessary for
exploitation of such work for profit. Such agency or office may, among other things,
impose as a condition the payment of royalties.

Borrowed materials (i.e., songs, stories, poems, pictures, photos, brand names,
trademarks, etc.) included in this book are owned by their respective copyright
holders. Every effort has been exerted to locate and seek permission to use these
materials from their respective copyright owners. The publisher and authors do not
represent nor claim ownership over them.

Published by the Department of Education

Regional Director: Gilbert T. Sadsad
Assistant Regional Director: Jessie L. Amin

Development Team
Sorsogon City Division

Author: Agnes P. Marcial

Teacher II, Sorsogon NHS
Editors: Emily D. Dolot and Anne E. Mancia
MT II, SNHS Asst. Principal, SNHS Senior High School
Reviewers: Cleofe D. Ariola and Albay Division (headed by Mai Anne D.
Rondola)
 I. Introduction
Henry James, considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the
English language, once said that “it takes a great deal of history to produce a little
literature.” Indeed, literature and history are inarguably intertwined, for literature is
not only a piece of writing that contains an author’s thoughts and emotions about a
certain idea. It may also be a writer’s reaction and opinion about a particular societal
event, a citizen’s feelings about his fellowmen and leaders, or a country’s collective
hopes and dreams for its citizens.

As a twenty first century learner, you should be able to familiarize yourself with
the history of Philippine literature and identify a literary work’s geographic, linguistic,
and ethnic dimension. You must understand, too, our respected Filipino writers’
works to be able to appreciate our literary history as Filipinos. It is essential that we
make this understanding deeper so that we shall be able to express our concern for
these literary works and give value to our rich literary heritage.

This module provides meaningful activities and discussions for you to be able to:

• identify the geographic, linguistic, and ethnic dimensions of Philippine literary

history from pre-colonial to the contemporary; and
• take to heart these aspects and develop a genuine love for Philippine
literature.

II. Pre-Test

Activity 1: Matching Literary Works and Literary Periods

Read the items under column A and column B. Then match them by writing the
letters of your answers in a separate sheet of paper. One literary period may match
more than one literary work.

Column A Column B

1.Ang Doctrina Cristiana A. Pre-colonial (BC to 1564)

2.I Saw the Fall of the Philippines B. Spanish Colonial (1565 to 1898)
3.Biag-Ni-Lam-Ang C. Japanese Occupation (1941 to
1945)
4.Dead Stars D. Contemporary (1970 to present)

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 5.Kundiman E. American Colonial Period (1898 to
1941)
6. Pres. Aquino’s Speech before F. Nationalistic Period (1864 – 1896)
the US Congress
7. Pasyon
8. Myths
9. Footnote to Youth
10. Korido

Was it easy for you to match the given literary works with the periods they were
written? Why? Why not? Do you think that sometimes, the title of a literary piece
alone can give us a clue to the period that it was written? Explain.

III. Lesson Proper

Try to recall the literary works you had discussed in junior high school. Can you
remember them and be able to tell their linguistic and geographic origins? Let us see
how you will be able to recall these details by answering the activity below.

Activity 2: Matching Literary Works and Places

Directions: Look at the Philippine map. Copy it on your notebook and write
down the given titles of literary works on the appropriate location on the map to
indicate their geographic origin.

Literary Works
1. Alim 6. Atin Cu Pung Singsing
2. Tigsik 7. The Dung-aw
3. Pamulinawen 8. Ibalon
4. Dandansoy 9. Mariang Makiling
5. Sarong Banggi 10. Bidasari

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 THE PHILIPPINE MAP

source:
Were you able to correctly match the literary works with t heir google.com
respective place s of
origin? Can you tell the linguistic and geographic origin of some literary works by just
reading through their titles? Why is it important that we should also know the
geographic origin of a literary piece?

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REMEMBER:

Geographic origin refers to the place where a piece of literature came from. For
example, the classic song Matud Nila came from the Visayas region.

The linguistic origin of a piece of literature is somewhat related to its geographic

origin. For example, if a poem is written using the Visayan dialect, most probably, it
originated from the Visayas region. Note though that a particular region may have
more than one dialect. Take as an example the Bikol dialect which may be classified
into Bikol Sorsogon, Bikol Albay, Bikol Camarines Sur, and other dialects in the Bicol
Region.

Related to the geographic and linguistic origins of a piece of literature is its ethnic
origin which refers to the racial or cultural beginning. An Ilocano poem that makes
use of the Ilocano dialect may most probably trace its origin to the Ilocano race and
discusses things related to the Ilocano culture. We may, however, have pieces of
literature written in Ilocano which discuss things that are not Ilocano in ethnicity.

Building Your Vocabulary

Activity 3: What is the synonym?

Give a synonym for the underlined word in each sentence by reading through the
given context clues and choosing from the given words inside the parentheses. Write
your answers in a separate sheet of paper
1.The president’s action of stealing money from the people is a brazen
and bold act coming from a government leader given trust by his people.(discreet,
friend, shameless)
2.His insatiable greed for money and power could not be controlled and
satisfied; it lasted for almost twenty years. (big, limitless, limited)
3.The soldiers were charged with subversion for going against the
government that they saw as corrupt. (compliance, murder, rebellion)
4.Ninoy Aquino’s decision to come home was irrevocable. Not even his
wife and children could convince him to stay.(changeable, irreversible, temporary)
5.His critics knew that Pres. Marcos would again stage a rigged
election, and he would again come out as winner. (genuine, engineered, organized)

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 6.He was known for his fraudulent ways – cheating during elections,
stashing money in backs, and buying properties abroad to enrich himself while in
office (dishonest, genuine, extravagant).
7.Cory Aquino was known for her implicit faith in democracy, being the
widow of Ninoy who fought Pres. Marcos’ dictatorship. (implied, spoken, explicit)
8.The Communists’ insurgency against the government was said to be
an uprising to fight the president’s dictatorial ways. (mutiny, obedience, friendship)
9.During the EDSA Revolution, the people showed up at the rally in
massive strength, showing the world that they were capable of gathering a solid and
big number. (tiny, slight, enormous)
10.Thousands died during the stringent and rigid days of Martial
Law.(lax, poor, harsh)

Study These

Speeches are forms of expressing great ideas. They are excellent ways to
communicate the geographic, linguistic, and ethnic dimensions of a literary work.
Below is a speech of Her Excellency Corazon Cojuangco Aquino, President of the
Philippines, delivered during the Joint Session of the United States Congress in
Washington, D.C. on September 18, 1986.

(As a background, you may have already known by this time that Pres. Cory Aquino
was the widow of opposition leader Ninoy Aquino who was one of the known critics
of Pres. Marcos’ oppressive government that ruled for 20 years. When Ninoy came
back to Manila from his US exile, he was brutally gunned down at the then Manila
International Airport just after alighting from the plane. After his death, things were
never the same anymore. Filipinos took to the streets to express their anger over
Ninoy’s death; all these ended with the Marcoses’ exile to the US and Cory Aquino’s
election as the country’s president through a peaceful revolution. With Cory’s
assumption into office, democracy was brought back to the Filipino people.)

Activity 4: Reading a Speech

Three years ago, I left America in grief to bury my husband, Ninoy Aquino. I
thought I had left it also to lay to rest his restless dream of Philippine freedom.
Today, I have returned as the president of a free people.

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 In burying Ninoy, a whole nation honored him. By that brave and selfless act of
giving honor, a nation in shame recovered its own. A country that had lost faith in its
future found it in a faithless and brazen act of murder. So in giving, we receive, in
losing we find, and out of defeat, we snatched our victory.

For the nation, Ninoy became the pleasing sacrifice that answered their prayers
for freedom. For myself and our children, Ninoy was a loving husband and father. His
loss, three times in our lives, was always a deep and painful one.

Fourteen years ago this month was the first time we lost him. A president-turned-
dictator and traitor to his oath, suspended the Constitution and shut down the
Congress that was much like this one before which I am honored to speak. He
detained my husband along with thousands of others – senators, publishers, and
anyone who had spoken up for the democracy as its end drew near. But for Ninoy, a
long and cruel ordeal was reserved. The dictator already knew that Ninoy was not a
body merely to be imprisoned but a spirit he must break. For even as the dictatorship
demolished one by one the institutions of democracy – the press, the Congress, the
independence of the judiciary, the protection of the Bill of Rights – Ninoy kept their
spirit alive in himself.

The government sought to break him by indignities and terror. They locked him
up in a tiny, nearly airless cell in a military camp in the north. They stripped him
naked and held the threat of sudden midnight execution over his head. Ninoy held up
manfully–all of it. I barely did as well. For 43 days, the authorities would not tell me
what had happened to him. This was the first time my children and I felt we had lost
him.

When that didn’t work, they put him on trial for subversion, murder, and a host of
other crimes before a military commission. Ninoy challenged its authority and went
on a fast. If he survived it, then, he felt, God intended him for another fate. We had
lost him again. For nothing would hold him back from his determination to see his
fast through to the end. He stopped only when it dawned on him that the government
would keep his body alive after the fast had destroyed his brain. And so, with barely
any life in his body, he called off the fast on the fortieth day. God meant him for other
things, he felt. He did not know that an early death would still be his fate, that only
the timing was wrong.

At any time during his long ordeal, Ninoy could have made a separate peace with
the dictatorship, as so many of his countrymen had done. But the spirit of democracy
that inheres in our race and animates this chamber could not be allowed to die. He
held out, in the loneliness of his cell and the frustration of exile, the democratic
alternative to the insatiable greed and mindless cruelty of the right and the purging
holocaust of the left.

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 And then, we lost him, irrevocably and more painfully than in the past. The news
came to us in Boston. It had to be after the three happiest years of our lives together.
But his death was my country’s resurrection in the courage and faith by which alone
they could be free again. The dictator had called him a nobody. Two million people
threw aside their passivity and escorted him to his grave. And so began the
revolution that has brought me to democracy’s most famous home, the Congress of
the United States.

The task had fallen on my shoulders to continue offering the democratic

alternative to our people.

Archibald Macleish had said that democracy must be defended by arms when it is
attacked by arms and by truth when it is attacked by lies. He failed to say how it shall
be won.

I held fast to Ninoy’s conviction that it must be by the ways of democracy. I held
out for participation in the 1984 election the dictatorship called, even if I knew it
would be rigged. I was warned by the lawyers of the opposition that I ran the grave
risk of legitimizing the foregone results of elections that were clearly going to be
fraudulent. But I was not fighting for lawyers but for the people in whose intelligence I
had implicit faith. By the exercise of democracy, even in a dictatorship, they would be
prepared for democracy when it came. And then, also, it was the only way I knew by
which we could measure our power even in the terms dictated by the dictatorship.

The people vindicated me in an election shamefully marked by government

thuggery and fraud. The opposition swept the elections, garnering a clear majority of
the votes, even if they ended up, thanks to a corrupt Commission on Elections, with
barely a third of the seats in parliament. Now, I knew our power.

Last year, in an excess of arrogance, the dictatorship called for its doom in a snap
election. The people obliged. With over a million signatures, they drafted me to
challenge the dictatorship. And I obliged them. The rest is the history that
dramatically unfolded on your television screen and across the front pages of your
newspapers.

You saw a nation, armed with courage and integrity, stand fast by democracy
against threats and corruption. You saw women poll watchers break out in tears as
armed goons crashed the polling places to steal the ballots but, just the same, they
tied themselves to the ballot boxes. You saw a people so committed to the ways of
democracy that they were prepared to give their lives for its pale imitation. At the end
of the day, before another wave of fraud could distort the results, I announced the
people’s victory.

The distinguished co-chairman of the United States observer team in his report to
your President described that victory:

“I was witness to an extraordinary manifestation of democracy on the part of the

Filipino people. The ultimate result was the election of Mrs. Corazon C. Aquino as
President and Mr. Salvador Laurel as Vice-President of the Philippines.”

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 Many of you here today played a part in changing the policy of your country
towards us. We, Filipinos, thank each of you for what you did: for, balancing
America’s strategic interest against human concerns, illuminates the American vision
of the world.

When a subservient parliament announced my opponent’s victory, the people

turned out in the streets and proclaimed me President. And true to their word, when
a handful of military leaders declared themselves against the dictatorship, the people
rallied to their protection. Surely, the people take care of their own. It is on that faith
and the obligation it entails, that I assumed the presidency.

As I came to power peacefully, so shall I keep it. That is my contract with my

people and my commitment to God. He had willed that the blood drawn with the lash
shall not, in my country, be paid by blood drawn by the sword but by the tearful joy of
reconciliation.

We have swept away absolute power by a limited revolution that respected the
life and freedom of every Filipino. Now, we are restoring full constitutional
government. Again, as we restored democracy by the ways of democracy, so are we
completing the constitutional structures of our new democracy under a constitution
that already gives full respect to the Bill of Rights. A jealously independent
Constitutional Commission is completing its draft which will be submitted later this
year to a popular referendum. When it is approved, there will be congressional
elections. So within about a year from a peaceful but national upheaval that
overturned a dictatorship, we shall have returned to full constitutional government.
Given the polarization and breakdown we inherited, this is no small achievement.

My predecessor set aside democracy to save it from a communist insurgency that

numbered less than 500. Unhampered by respect for human rights, he went at it
hammer and tongs. By the time he fled, that insurgency had grown to more than
16,000. I think there is a lesson here to be learned about trying to stifle a thing with
the means by which it grows.

I don’t think anybody, in or outside our country, concerned for a democratic and
open Philippines, doubts what must be done. Through political initiatives and local
reintegration programs, we must seek to bring the insurgents down from the hills
and, by economic progress and justice, show them that for which the best
intentioned among them fight.

As President, I will not betray the cause of peace by which I came to power. Yet
equally, and again no friend of Filipino democracy will challenge this, I will not stand
by and allow an insurgent leadership to spurn our offer of peace and kill our young
soldiers, and threaten our new freedom.

Yet, I must explore the path of peace to the utmost for at its end, whatever
disappointment I meet there, is the moral basis for laying down the olive branch of
peace and taking up the sword of war. Still, should it come to that, I will not waver
from the course laid down by your great liberator: “With malice towards none, with
charity for all, with firmness in the rights as God gives us to see the rights, let us
finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall

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have borne the battle, and for his widow and for his orphans, to do all which may
achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.”

Like Lincoln, I understand that force may be necessary before mercy. Like
Lincoln, I don’t relish it. Yet, I will do whatever it takes to defend the integrity and
freedom of my country.

Finally, may I turn to that other slavery: our $26 billion foreign debt. I have said
that we shall honor it. Yet must the means by which we shall be able to do so be
kept from us? Many conditions imposed on the previous government that stole this
debt continue to be imposed on us who never benefited from it. And no assistance or
liberality commensurate with the calamity that was visited on us has been extended.
Yet ours must have been the cheapest revolution ever. With little help from others,
we Filipinos fulfilled the first and most difficult conditions of the debt negotiation the
full restoration of democracy and responsible government. Elsewhere, and in other
times of more stringent world economic conditions, Marshall plans and their like were
felt to be necessary companions of returning democracy.

When I met with President Reagan yesterday, we began an important dialogue

about cooperation and the strengthening of the friendship between our two countries.
That meeting was both a confirmation and a new beginning and should lead to
positive results in all areas of common concern.

Today, we face the aspirations of a people who had known so much poverty and
massive unemployment for the past 14 years and yet offered their lives for the
abstraction of democracy. Wherever I went in the campaign, slum area or
impoverished village, they came to me with one cry: democracy! Not food, although
they clearly needed it, but democracy. Not work, although they surely wanted it, but
democracy. Not money, for they gave what little they had to my campaign. They
didn’t expect me to work a miracle that would instantly put food into their mouths,
clothes on their back, education in their children, and work that will put dignity in their
lives. But I feel the pressing obligation to respond quickly as the leader of a people
so deserving of all these things.

We face a communist insurgency that feeds on economic deterioration, even as

we carry a great share of the free world defenses in the Pacific. These are only two
of the many burdens my people carry even as they try to build a worthy and enduring
house for their new democracy, that may serve as well as a redoubt for freedom in
Asia. Yet, no sooner is one stone laid than two are taken away. Half our export
earnings, $2 billion out of $4 billion, which was all we could earn in the restrictive
markets of the world, went to pay just the interest on a debt whose benefit the
Filipino people never received.

Still, we fought for honor, and, if only for honor, we shall pay. And yet, should we
have to wring the payments from the sweat of our men’s faces and sink all the
wealth piled up by the bondsman’s two hundred fifty years of unrequited toil?

Yet to all Americans, as the leader of a proud and free people, I address this
question: has there been a greater test of national commitment to the ideals you hold
dear than that my people have gone through? You have spent many lives and much

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treasure to bring freedom to many lands that were reluctant to receive it. And here
you have a people who won it by themselves and need only the help to preserve it.

Three years ago, I said thank you, America, for the haven from oppression, and
the home you gave Ninoy, myself and our children, and for the three happiest years
of our lives together. Today, I say, join us, America, as we build a new home for
democracy, another haven for the oppressed, so it may stand as a shining testament
of our two nations’ commitment to freedom.

Activity 5: Comprehension Check

1. What is the geographic origin of Pres. Aquino’s speech?

2. What is the language used in her speech? What do you think is its linguistic
origin?
3. Explain the relevance of this speech to the political setting during that period.
Read up on this, or you may interview your parents or your grandparents about this
particular period of our nation’s history by asking them about what they remember.
Also, ask them about the situation when Ninoy was gunned down. How did the
different ethnic groups react to Ninoy’s murder? Was the whole Philippines affected
by his death? Write about 15 sentences for this activity.

Let us now focus on the different periods of Philippine literature and find out how our
nation’s writings developed from the pre-colonial period to the present.

Different Periods of Philippine Literature

I. PRE-COLONIAL PERIOD (BC to 1564)

A. Characteristics
1. Based on oral traditions
2. Crude on ideology and phraseology

B. Literary Forms
Oral Literature
a. Riddles (bugtong) – battle of wits among participants

Tigmo –Cebu Paktakon – IlonggoPatotdon – Bicol

b. Proverbs (salawikain) – wise sayings that contain a metaphor used to teach as a

food for thought etc.

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Example: Nasa Diyos ang awa, nasa tao ang gawa.

c. Tanaga - a mono-riming heptasyllabic quatrain expressing insights and lessons on

life, is "more emotionally charged than the terse proverb, and thus, hasaffinities with
the folk lyric."

d. Folk Songs It is a form of folk lyric which expresses the hopes and aspirations,
the people'slifestyles as well as their loves. These are often repetitive and sonorous,
didactic, and naive.
1. Hele or oyayi – lullaby
2. Ambahan (Mangyan) – 7-syllable per line poem that are about human
relationships and social entertainment
3. Kalusan (Ivatan) - work songs that depict the livelihood of the peopled.
4. Tagay (Cebuano and Waray) – drinking song.
5. Kanogan (Cebuano) – song of lamentation for the dead

Folk Tales

a. Myths – explain how the world was created, how certain animals possess certain
characteristics, why some places have waterfalls, volcanoes, mountains, flora, or
fauna.

b. Legends – explain the origin of things; examples are Why the Pineapple Has
Eyes and The Legend of Maria Makiling.

c. Fables – use animal characters and allegory

d. Fantasy stories – deal with underworld characters such as “tiyanak,” “aswang,”
“kapre,” and others.

e. Epics - these are “narratives of sustained length based on oral tradition revolving
around supernatural events or heroic deeds.” (Arsenio Manuel)

Examples: Lam-ang (Ilocano),Hinilawod (Panay),Kudaman (Palawan), and

Darangen (Maranao)

II. SPANISH COLONIZATION PERIOD (1565 – 1863)

A. Characteristics

1. It has two distinct classifications: religious and secular. It introduced Spanish as

the medium of communication.

B. Literary Forms

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1. Religious Literature - Religious lyrics written by ladino poets or those versed in
both Spanish and Tagalog were included in early catechism and were used to teach
Filipinos the Spanish language.

a. Pasyon – long narrative poem about the passion and death of Christ. The most
popular was “Ang Mahalna Passion ni Jesu Cristong Panignoon Natin” by Aguino de
Belen

b. Senakulo – dramatization of the pasyon; it shows the passion and death of Christ

2. Secular (non-religious) Literature

a. Awit - colorful tales of chivalry made for singing and chanting

Example: Ibong Adarna

b. Korido – metrical tale written in octosyllabicquatrains (a line of verse with eight

syllables)

Example: Florante at Laura by Francisco Baltazar

c. Prose Narratives – written to prescribe proper decorum

* Dialogo

* Ejemploii.Manual de Urbanidad

* Tratado

Examples: Modesto de Castro's "Pagsusulatan ng Dalawang Binibini na si Urbana at

si Feliza" and Joaquin Tuason's "Ang Bagong Robinson" (The New Robinson) in
1879.

III. NATIONALISTIC / PROPAGANDA AND REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD (1864 –

1896)

A. Characteristics
a. Planted seeds of nationalism in Filipinos
b. Language shifted from Spanish to Tagalog
c. .Addressed the masses instead of the “intelligentsia”

B. Literary Forms

1. Propaganda Literature - Reformatory in objective

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a. Political Essays – satires, editorials, and news articles were written to attack and
expose the evils of Spanish rule

Diariong Tagalog – founded by Marcelo del Pilar

La Solidaridad – editor-in-chief was Graciano Lopez-Jaena

b. Political Novels

Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo – Jose Rizal’s master pieces that paved the
way to the revolution

2. Revolutionary Literature – more propagandistic than literary as it is more violent in

nature and demanded complete independence for the country

a. Political Essays – helped inflame the spirit of revolution

Kalayaan – newspaper of the society, edited by Emilio Jacinto

b. Poetry

True Decalogue – Apolinario Mabini

Katapusan ng Hibik ng Pilipinas –Andres Bonifacio
Liwanag at Dilim – Emilio Jacinto

IV. AMERICAN COLONIAL PERIOD (1910 – 1945)

A. Period of Apprenticeship (1910-1930)

1. Filipino writers imitated English and American models.

2. Poems written were amateurish and mushy, whose phrasing and diction was
awkward and artificial.

a. Short Stories

1. Dead Stars by Paz Marquez Benitez

2. The Key by Paz Latorena

3. Footnote to Youth by Jose Garcia Villa

b. Novels

1. Child of Sorrow – first novel in English by Zoilo Galang

B. Period of Emergence (1920-1930)

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*Highly influenced by Western literary trends like Romanticism and Realism.

a. Short Stories – most prevalent literary form

*Jose Garcia Villa – earned the international title “Poet of the Century”

V. JAPANESE OCCUPATION (1942 - 1945)

War Years (1942-1944)

1. Tagalog poets broke away from the Balagtas tradition and instead wrote in simple
language and free verse

2. Fiction prevailed over poetry

a. 25 Pinakamabuting Maikling Kathang Pilipino (1943) – compilation of the entries

to the short story contest by the military government.

b. Suyuan saTubigan by Macario Pineda

c. Lupang Tinubuan by Narciso Reyes

d. Uhaw ang Tigang na Lupa by Liwayway Arceo

Period of Maturity and Originality (1945-1960)

1. Bountiful harvest in poetry, fiction, drama, and essay

2. Filipino writers mastered English and familiarized themselves with diverse

techniques 3.Literary “giants” appeared

A. Palanca Awards for Literature

1. Jose Garcia Villa 4.Bienvenido Santos

2. Nick Joaquin 5.Gregorio Brillantes

3. NVM Gonzales 6. Gilda Cordero Fernando

B. National Artist Awards

1. Jose Garcia Villa 2.Nick Joaquin

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VI. THE REBIRTH OF FREEDOM (1945 – 1970)

A. Characteristics

1. Americans came back to the Philippines in 1945, and there was a lot of
palpable rejoicing among Filipinos.
2. Filipinos regained their freedom on July 4, 1946.

B. State of Literature During This Period

1. “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. Filipinos had, by this time, learned to express themselves
more confidently, but post-war problems beyond language and print-like
economic stability, the threat of new ideas, and mortality had to be grappled
with side by side.” (Kahayon and Zulueta)

NEWSPAPERS:

A. Free Press
B. Morning Sun of Sergio Osmeña, Sr.
C. Daily News of Manuel Roxas
D. Manila Times and Daily Mirror of Joaquin Roces
E. Evening News of Ramon Roces
F. The Philippines Herald of Andres Soriano, Sr.
G. Chronicle of the Lopezes
H. Bulletin of Menzi

WRITERS AND THEIR BOOKS:

A. The Voice of the Veteran by Amante Bigornia, Roman de la Cruz, Ramon

de Jesus, and J. F. Rodriguez
B. Twilight in Tokyo, and Passion and Death of the USAFFE by Leon Ma.
Guerrero
C. For Freedom and Democracy by S. P. Lopez
D. Betrayal in the Philippines by Hernando Abaya
E. Seven Hills Away by NVM Gonzales

POETS AND THEIR POEMS

A. Have Come, Am Here by Jose Garcia Villa

B. Prose and Poems by Nick Joaquin
C. Who Spoke of Courage in His Sleep by NVM Gonzales

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 D. Speak Not, Speak Also by Conrado V. Pedroche
E. Philippine Harvest by Amador Daguio

NOVELS AND SHORT STORIES IN ENGLISH

A. Without Seeing the Dawn by Stevan Javellana

B. Pen Anthology of Short Stories (1958) by Francisco Arcellana
C. The Hand of the Enemy (1961) by Kerima Polotan
D. The Adversary (1968) and The Trail of Professor Riego (1969) by Luis V.
Teodoro, Jr.

PHILIPPINE LITERATURE IN TAGALOG

A. Mga Piling Katha (1947-48) by Alejandro Abadilla

B. Sining at Pamamaraan ng Pagaara lng Panitikan (1965) by Rufino
Alejandro
C. Manlilikha, Mga Piling Tula (1961-67) by Rogelio G. Mangahas
D. Manunulat: Mga Piling Akdang Pilipino (1970) by Efren Abueg
E. Mga Aklatni Rizal (Many books about Rizal were written by Filipino
authors during this period.)

2. The Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature (headed by Carlos Palanca, Sr.)
was launched in 1950 and served as inspiration to Filipino writers. Till now,
The Palanca Awards are still being given although Mr. Palanca had already
passed away.

VII. CONTEMPORARY/MODERN PERIOD (1970 – PRESENT)

A. Characteristics

1. The seeds of activism resulted in the declaration of Martial Law by Pres.

Ferdinand Marcos in 1972.The youth became completely rebellious during this
period. This was proven not only in the bloody demonstrations and in the sidewalk
expressions, but also in literature. Campus newspapers showed rebellious emotions.
(Kahayon and Zulueta)

2. Martial Law repressed and curtailed human rights, including freedom of the press,
and Filipino writers wrote about these dark days in their writings.

3. Writers used symbolisms and allegories to drive home their message, at the face
of heavy censorship. Theater was used as a vehicle for protest, such as the PETA
(Philippine Educational Theater Association) and UP Theater. From the eighties
onwards, writers continued to show dynamism and innovation.

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4. The period of the New Society lasted from 1972-1980, and this period had writings
about the theme of development and progress of the country – the Green
Revolution, family planning, proper nutrition, environment, drug addiction, and
pollution. However, all these supposed to be ideal projects were being done with the
military in the background. The military government were supervising the
newspapers, books, and other publications.

5. Though Martial Law was lifted on January 2, 1981, the oppression and
suppression being done by the Marcos government continued, and rebellion was
seething among Filipinos. History would turn a sudden twist when Ninoy Aquino, one
of Pres. Marcos’ critics, was assassinated on August 21, 1983. When this happened,
the people’s emotions could not be suppressed; they were mad, and this showed in
the pieces of literature churned out during that period.

6. Cory Aquino, Ninoy’s widow, was elected in February 1986 through a peaceful
revolution, and People Power brought feelings of euphoria among the Filipino
people. All these showed in the songs, poems, speeches, news, and even in
television programs during that time.

7. When before, the press was suppressed and censored, the restoration of
democracy during the time of Pres. Cory Aquino brought back not only press
freedom, but also freedom for the Filipino people to speak up and express
themselves whenever they felt the need to, without the fear of being jailed or killed
for doing it. For that, the Filipino people, especially the Filipino writers, owe her a lot.

Sources: https://infogram.com/different-periods-of-philippine-literature-1g0q3plyvx5n21g
Philippine Literature through the Years

Enrichment Activities

Activity 6: Identifying and Reading the Tigsik

In the previous activity, you were able to read a short story written in English by a
Filipino writer. This time, you will learn how to write the tigsik. What is a tigsik, and
what is its origin?

According to Paz Santos and Marifa Prado in their book, Obras Maestras (A
Manual for Teaching Bikol Literature), “the tigsik is the Bicol toast, performed during
weddings and social events, or simply recited while drinking at the sari-sari store or
declaimed at a school program. Also formerly called kangsinor atabayo, the tigsik
may be on any of a variety of topics – love, morality, religion, philosophical reflection,
even sex. The tigsik has also been used in verbal jousts, with one tigsik recited as a
rejoinder to a preceding one. In recent years, the tigsik has been used by the

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younger generation to ‘roast’ rather than to toast, thereby probably extending its life
for at least another generation.”

The tigsik has no prescribed number of lines in a stanza, or number of stanzas as

a whole. However, the last word in each line should rhyme with the word of the next.

Below are examples of a tigsik:

TIGSIK 1

Tigsik ko ining daraga

Na an hamot garo sampaguita
Magpuon kan maheling ko siya
An isip ko dai napapauntok na

TIGSIK 2

Tigsik ko ining sarong soltero

Ipaheling kun an sinasabi totoo
Tanganing an puso ko makua mo
Pitong bulod ngona an tukadon mo.

1. Who do you think is talking in the first tigsik?

2. What is he saying about the maiden in the tigsik?
3. What is the effect of the maiden to the man talking?
4. Who is talking in the second tigsik?
5. What is her challenge to the man she’s talking about?
6. Do you think men nowadays are still being challenged and given a hard time by
the women during courtship? Explain your answer in about 5 sentences.
Activity 7: Writing the Tigsik

Write your own tigsik about a current and relevant issue using your Bikol native
tongue. Use a maximum of 3 stanzas with 4 lines each.

Then, practice delivering your tigsik by recording it using the video in your mobile
phone. Listen to your delivery well, so that you will know what to improve on in your
tigsik delivery.

Afterwards, let your family members listen to your tigsik presentation and ask
them to grade your performance. They may use the rubrics below in grading you.

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 Total

Total Points

Rubric source: slideshare.net

After that, challenge any of your family members to recite their tigsik as a
response to your tigsik. You may do this as a round tigsikan activity, until all
members of the family have delivered their lines. Record again all your tigsik lines
using the video of your mobile phone.

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 Generalization

Activity 8: What I Remember

1. Can you recall two literary works that come from the Tagalog region? List them
down below.

A.

B.

2. List down below two literary works that trace their origin from Bicol.

A.

B.

Application

What do you know about myths, legends, and folk tales? To guide you before
reading this next piece of literature, read and be enlightened about what myths,
legends, and folk tales are.

Myths and legends are folktales that give the origin of things. Myths give the origin
of bigger things such as the gods, the world, and people, and as such are
considered as sacred literature. Legends explain the origin of some specific thing in
nature such as mountains, fruits, and animals. Folktales describe the adventures of
a folk hero.

Source: Obras Maestras by Santos and Borja-Prado

Activity 9: Read and Respond

Read first the literature given below. After reading, be able to tell its geographic
origin.

The Tacay Flower

Long long ago, where Lake Bato now sits, was a mountain where the beautiful
nymph Tacay reigned. The nymph who always wore a rare purple orchid in her long
black hair appeared only on a huge flat white rock during typhoons when thunder
rolled and lightning struck. Everyone was afraid of this rock because anyone on it,

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person or animal, was turned into stone when lightning struck. Tacay had been
chosen by Onos, the Lord of Floodwaters and Thunderstorms, as guardian of this
mountain. She alone remained safe from being turned into stone by lightning when
she stood on the rock during lightning storms. One day, a young and handsome
hunter named Kanawayfrom the nearby village of Kaliligno, fell off the cliff. Tacay
cared for Kanaway for weeks until he healed well. They fell in love, and when he
proposed to her, she asked him to wait for nine days. Kanaway built a house for
them, and on the ninth day, waited for her expectantly. At sunset, he and everyone
else in the village saw Tacay coming down the mountain path, fresh forest flower in
her hair. They were all astounded by her loveliness. Suddenly, the thunder rolled, the
lightning struck, and heavy rain poured from the clouds. As Kanaway and Tacay
rushed to hold each other, lightning struck again and again to separate them. Both
ran back together toward the white rock, but Tacay stood resolutely one step away
from the rock, instead reaching to touch Kanaway. To save Tacay, Kanaway stepped
forward to embrace her by pushing themselves on to the white stone. Kanaway was
immediately turned to stone in Tacay’s arms. As the nymph wept, the storm
intensified and the waters rose flooding the village and killing almost everyone.
When the storm subsided, in the place of Tacay’s mountain forest was a lake with a
single purple flower, the first water hyacinth, stretching its petals up to the sky.
(Espinas 1983)

1. Based on the definitions of myths, legends, and folktales given earlier, what kind
of story is The Tacay Flower?
2. What is its geographic origin? Where is its setting?
3. What do you think is the worldview that The Tacay Flower tells us about heroes
and mortals? (A worldview is a personal philosophy of life, a way of looking at things
and the world as a whole.)

Activity 10:

Read Vice President Leni Robredo’s graduation message to Class of 2020 and
identify its geographic and linguistic dimension.

Dearest Class of 2020,

Congratulations to you and to your proud parents for making it this far!

I know this is not how you imagined your graduation to be—no applause, no IG-
worthy photos, no parties, no big speeches. Many of you must feel robbed as we are
all stuck in our homes, forced to deal with all that is happening from a distance.

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The pandemic has brought our lives to a halt like nothing else could, compelling us
to imagine our world anew. How do we navigate through the uncertainties posed by
our time?

The simple truth is that there are no ready-made answers for this question. None of
us have gone through this before. No one is really 100-percent ready for what comes
next.
What I can say, however, is that I myself have gone through periods of uncertainty.
And my experiences have taught me to be at peace with the act of stepping into the
unknown, by anchoring myself on two things: looking outward and moving forward.

Look beyond ourselves

In times of crisis, many will feel the urge to think only of oneself, to flounder, and to
retreat in our small corners of comfort.When the fateful plane crash took the life of
my husband, Jesse, it turned my whole world and those of my children upside down.
But the way the nation grieved with us and the impact of the legacy Jesse left behind
plucked me out of the shadows. I realized that there are things greater than
ourselves and that there are causes that will always be worth fighting for, no matter
the risk.

I learned that shrinking back into our bubbles, allowing fear and grief to paralyze us,
only leads to deeper despair. We need to look beyond ourselves and expand our
circles of empathy—whom we will help, whom we will serve, whom we will live for.
We need to ask the hard, important questions: How can I make the world a better
place for others? How do I make sure that I will leave this world better than when I
found it? Where am I most needed now?

Many of you have big dreams. Some of you want to be doctors and scientists,
lawyers and accountants, engineers and architects, teachers and journalists, among
many others. There is no reason to put your dreams on hold. In fact, you are called
to pursue these dreams with even deeper resolve—to dream not only for yourselves
and for your families, but for the last, the least and the lost.

Move forward

Amid difficulty, what keeps me going is seeing that each small task, each effort to
help someone goes a long way. That every food pack eases a bit of the burden on
families who have lost their incomes. That every protective equipment set makes a
medical front-liner feel safer. That every palengke delivery made means that a
market vendor and tricycle driver earn enough to put food on the table.

This is how we can move forward.

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Forward, by regaining anchorage on small, real things with real outcomes, taking
one step after another as we strive to reach our goals. Forward, knowing that doing
something for someone else can be a spiritual salve for the crisis that we face.
Forward, knowing that we are called to do everything we can for the good of others,
especially those that need help the most.

Looking outward and moving forward—this is how we can bravely face this new
world. With passion and purpose. With grit and resolve. With compassion and with
courage.

Dear graduates, no matter what the future holds, stay on the side of courage and be
hopeful for better days. When the path seems too difficult, remember that you were
made for these times—to pave a new way forward for our nation, and for the rest of
humanity.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: Answer each given question below using about 3

sentences.

1. What did you feel after reading this speech? Explain why you think you felt that
way.
2. Give the general setting and situation in our country when Vice Pres. Robredo
delivered this speech in July 2020.
3. What is the main idea of the message that she is giving to the graduates of 2020
in this speech?
4. Why do you think VP Robredo chose those ideas in her message, and how is it
related to the current situation in our country?
5. Notice the language used in this speech and its message. Do you think it fits the
audience to whom the speech is addressed? Why? Why not?

IV. Assessment

Activity 11: Matching Literary Works and Literary Periods

Read the items under column A and column B. Then match them by writing the
letters of your answers in a separate sheet of paper. One literary period may have
more than one literary work.

1.Ibong Adarna A. Pre-colonial (BC to 1564)

2. Diariong Tagalog B. Spanish Colonial (1565 to 1898)
3.Biag-Ni-Lam-Ang C. Japanese Occupation (1941 to 1945)
4. La Solidaridad D. Contemporary (1970 to present)

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 5.Kundiman E. American Colonial Period (1898 to 1941)
6.Oyayi F. Nationalistic Period (1864 – 1896)
7. Senakulo
8. Haiku
9. Footnote to Youth
10. Did Duterte Just Blink?

V. Enrichment/ Additional Task

Activity 12:

Choose a short story written by a Filipino author sometime in 2015 – 2020. Identify
and discuss its geographic, linguistic, and ethnic dimension. Discuss, too, what the
story reflects about society. Write about 10 to 15 sentences for this.

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REFERENCES:

Borja-Prado, Marifa and Santos, Paz Verdades M. Obras Maestras: A Manual for
Teaching Literature. Ateneo de Naga University Press, 2014.

Cirujales, Aida B. Ang Tigsik sa Modernong Panahon. Bicol Standard. March 21,
2018.

Kahayon, Alicia H. and Zulueta, Celia A. Philippine Literature through the

Years.Capitol Publishing House, Inc., 2000.

Robredo, Ma. Leonor G. Graduation Speech for Class 2020.lifestyle.inquirer.net.

July 4, 2020.

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