• Mindanao is known in the Philippines as the “Land

of Promise.”
It is consisted of the major islands of Mindanao mainland, Camiguin, Siargao, Samal, Dinagat,
Bucas Grande, Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi
GEOGRAPHY: • The island is consisted of the regions
namely BARMM, CARAGA, Davao,
Northern Mindanao, SOCCSKARGEN, and
Zamboanga Peninsula.
• Davao City is said to be the most populous place in
Mindanao.
• Mt. Apo in Davao is known as the highest point in the Philippines.
• Famous local destinations are the Maria Cristina Falls, Limunsudan Falls, Tinago Falls,
Tinuy-an Falls, Lake Lanao, Lake Sebu in South Cotabato, Agus River, Siargao, Dahilayan
Forest Park, Rio Grande River, and Enchanted River in Surigao del Sur.
• Famous landmarks are Sunken Cemetery in Camiguin Island, The Grand Mosque of
Cotabato, Dapitan, Zamboanga City and the Islamic City of Marawi.
• Population consists of 63% Christians, 32% Muslims, and 5% affiliated with other religions.

• Cebuano – generally the native language • Mandaya • Mansaka

in most regions, except for Muslim areas • Kalagan • Sangirese

on the west coast and hill tribes • Giangon • Obo

• Dibabawon • Sarangani
LANGUAGE(S):
• Tagabawa • Hiligaynon
Lumads from the different regions: • Moros: Other Groups:
• Zamboanga Peninsula - Subanons • Maguindanaos • Butuanons
• Northern Mindanao and CARAGA – • Maranaos • Surigaonons
Bukidnon, Ata Manobos, Mamanwas. • Tausugs • Kagay-anons
Matigsalugs, Agusan Manobos, • Yakans • Zamboangueños
ETHNIC Talaandigs, Kamigins, Higaonons • Iranuns • Hiligaynons
GROUPS: • SOCCSKARGEN – T’Bolis, Tirurays, • Samas • Cebuanos
B’laans, Saranganis, Cotabato Manobos • Bajaos
• DAVAO – Obos, Mandayas, Giangans,
Tagabawas, Kalagans, Sangirese,
Mansakas

• MINDANAO LITERATURE FROM THE PAST TO THE PRESENT:

• each Muslim cultural community has its own inventory of folk literature, which usually displays themes that
are unique ad peculiar, yet unified by Islamic faith.
• Oral literary forms may be didactic, hortatory, entertaining, instructive, or informative.
• Just like the other Filipino groups that follow oral tradition, Mindanao Muslim folk literature has a rich
variety of folktales, myths, legends, poems, epics, ballads, riddles, and proverbs.
• Folktales are called differently according to the ethno-linguistic groups and its origin:
➢
Kana-kana (from Jama Mapun and Sama) ➢ Totol (from Maranao)
➢
Katakata (from Tausug) ➢ Tudtol (from Iranon)
➢
Oman-oman (from Davaoeños) ➢ Tudtolan (from Maguindanao)
• Famous folktales include:
➢
Agamaniyog Folktales from Maranao
➢
Manuk-manuk Bulawan from Indanan (also known as Agta and Datu Dakula)
➢
Posong or Pusung from Tausug – stories of how Posong the trickster has always deceived the datu and get
away with it
• Famous epics include:
➢
Bantugan – Maranao epic
➢
Indarapatra and Sulayman – Maguindanao epic
➢
Parang Sabil hi Abdulla iban hi Isara – Tausug epic/ ballad
• For every folk literature such as ballads, proverbs, riddles, the ethnic groups have their own ways of naming
it.
• Most ballads are historical which feature heroic deeds of important personalities.
• In the present time, Filipinos have lack of access to the textual materials of the oral literature of Mindanao.
Literature scholars concluded that the people themselves don’t seem to realize that their cultural products are
already vanishing due to lack of literary preservation. Moreover, the people of Mindanao seem to be
preoccupied in mundane with politics and economics.
• Modern Mindanao literature themes revolve on topics such as war and conflict, quest for peace, social
inequality, landlessness, love of one’s land, and others.
• Mindanao Harvest 4: A 21st Century Literary Anthology was published in 2018 by Far Eastern University
(FEU) Publications. This anthology is said to be the first comprehensive literary anthology on Mindanao’s
contemporary literatures including 63 Mindanao writers. This book is edited by Jaime An Lim, Christine F.
Godinez-Ortega, and Ricardo M. de Ungria.

• Derived from Malay and Maranao languages, Agamaniyog is a combination of the words agama and niyog.
Agama means a village or town that has people, land, mosque, wealth, and power. Niyog is the Filipino
word that refers to coconuts. In shorter explanation, Agamaniyog translates as “land of coconuts.”

The Blue Blood Writer of Sulu: Several Literary Works:

➢
Ibrahim A. Jubaira A Canto of Summer and Other Stories
➢
1920-2003 Mirror of Ancient Heritage
Hometown: Jolo, Sulu Newspapers and Magazines (contributor and editor):
➢
Occupation: Writer, editor and columnist, Philippines Free Press
➢
chronicler, public school teacher, public servant The Philippines Herald
Educational Attainment: Literary Award Received:
➢ Studied English-language education at
➢
Presidential Medal of Merit in Literature from
Zamboanga Normal Schoolunder the Ferdinand Marcos (1970)
 American government

The Man from the Land Hometown: Cagayan de Oro

of Promise: Occupation: poet, English-Tagalog translator, video-editor,
Joselito Asperin photographer, digital artist
Educational Attainment:
➢
Mindanao University of Science and Technology undergraduate
Other Poems (Published in Poetrysoup.com):
➢
Airplanes
➢
Amor
➢
For You and Me
➢
Lie of a Frog
➢
The Silence of the Rose

NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION

• The National Capital Region (NCR), official name of

Metro Manila and seat of the government, consists of 16
cities namely Manila, Quezon City, Las Piñas, Makati,
Mandaluyong, Marikina, Muntinlupa, Parañaque, Pasay,
Pasig, San Juan, Taguig, Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas,
and Valenzuela, as well as the municipality of Pateros.
• NCR is considered as the Philippines’s political, economic,
social, and cultural center. This is also reported as the 18 th
most populous city in the world in 2016 and one of the
modern metropolises in the Southeast Asia.

GEOGRAPHY: • Due to its dense population with its people coming from
the different areas of the country and its neighboring countries,
Merly M. Alunan, an Eastern Visayan writer and professor,
described Metro Manila as a “huge urban conglomeration.”
• NCR is also a place of economic extremes. High-income
citizens reside in highly developed urban cities such as
Makati and Muntinlupa while poor and low-income
families are scattered in slum areas such as Tondo and
Smokey Mountain
• Famous landmarks and tourist destinations in the NCR include Rizal Park, National
Museum of the Philippines, Intramuros where Fort Santiago, Manila Cathedral, San
Agustin Church, Bahay Tsinoy Museum, Anda Circle and others.
Most-visited museums in NCR are The Mind Museum, Ayala Museum, Ateneo Art Gallery, Museo Pambata,
Metropolitan Museum of Manila, Presidential Museum and Library, CCP Museo ng Kalinangang Pilipino, Jorge
B. Vargas Museum and Filipiniana Research Center, Philippine Science Centrum, Yuchengco Museum, AFP
Museum, San Agustin Museum, Money Museum, and The Museum at DLSU

LANGUAGES
• Filipino – more popularly known as Tagalog, the national language and an official
language of the country, is the most widely spoken language in Metro Manila
English – language of commerce, law, and several workplaces

• The Tagalog literature has been born and developed in the provinces of Southern Luzon,
Central Luzon, and the present Metropolitan Manila or the National Capital Region.
• Southern Luzon is consisted of the provinces of Region IV–A and Region IV–B. Region
IV-A, also known as CALABARZON, consists of the provinces of Cavite, Batangas,
NCR Laguna, and Quezon. Region IV-B, also known as MIMAROPA, consists of Oriental
LITERATURE Mindoro, Occidental Mindoro, Marinduque, and Palawan.
FROM THE • In Region III or Central Luzon, there are provinces where Tagalog has been
PAST TO THE predominantly used as communication tool. These are the provinces of Aurora, Nueva
PRESENT: Ecija, Bataan, and Bulacan.
• The Tagalog region is well-known nationwide as the birthplace of a rich tradition of
Philippine culture in the aspects of language, politics, economy and literature.
 • University of Sto. Tomas, the oldest university in the Philippines, is located in Manila.
• The first printing press that was built in Manila made the publication of the first book
Doctrina Cristiana possible in 1593, in the form of xylography. This was written in
Spanish and Tagalog languages.
• Pasyon, which narrated the life of Christ in the form of song and poetry was written in
Tagalog by the various writers Gaspar Aquino de Belen and Fr. Mariano Pilapil.
• Just like in the islands of Visayas, the literary tradition in the Tagalog regions had been
outstanding in the field of oral literature. Bugtong (riddle), proverbs, native songs, and
other forms had always been in poetic forms. Its form and perspective were distincted
as Asian, usually containing seven-syllabic rhymes.

SOME WRITERS OF CLASSIC PHILIPPINE LITERATURE FROM THE PAST:

Considering this rich and invigorating cultural matrix, the Tagalog region was also
the birthplace of several historic Filipino men in the field of Philippine politics, culture, and
literature. These writers are also known today as Filipino heroes:
➢
Francisco Balagtas Baltazar ➢
Amado V. Hernandez
➢
Jose Rizal ➢
Lope K. Santos
➢
NCR
Andres Bonifacio ➢
Lazaro Francisco
➢
LITERATURE Apolinario Mabini ➢
Faustino Aguilar
➢
FROM THE Emilio Jacinto ➢
Jose Corazon de Jesus
➢
PAST TO THE Marcelo H. del Pilar ➢
Alejandro Abadilla
➢
PRESENT: Jose P. Laurel ➢
Modesto de Castro
➢
Claro M. Recto
These men did not only historically play a great role in Philippine independence
movement but they are also men of letters. Meanwhile, the following writers from Metro
Manila have a timeless and permanent contribution to the development of Philippine
literature:
• Carmen Guerrero-Nakpil (July 19, 1922 – July 30, 2018) – was a Filipino author,
journalist, historian, and public servant and a recipient of S.E.A. Write Award; She wrote
Woman Enough and Other Essays
• Nicomedes “Nick” Márquez Joaquín (May 4, 1917 – April 29, 2004) – was a Filipino
author, historian, and journalist who is popular for his short stories and novels written in
the English language, using the pen name Quijano de Manila; In 1976, Joaquin was
declared as the 1976 National Artist of the Philippines for Literature.
• Alejandro Reyes Roces (July 13, 1924 – May 23, 2011) – was a dramatist, essayist,
and declared as the 2003 National Artist of the Philippines for literature. As a public
servant, he became the Secretary of Education from 1961 to 1965, during the
presidency of the former Philippine President Diosdado Macapagal.
• Bienvenido N. Santos (1911–1996) – was a Filipino-American fictionist, poet, and
nonfictionist; He was born and raised in Tondo, Manila. His family roots are originally
from Lubao, Pampanga, Philippines. He resided in the United States for many years
where he is popular as a pioneering Asian-American writer.

145
 • Carmen Acosta (February 1, 1904 and died on September 13, 1986) – She was the
daughter of Godofredo B. Herrera, and Paterna Santos. Her father was a journalist and
served for a time as municipal president (or mayor in modern usage) of Caloocan
during the American colonial rule. She was a University of the Philippines Bachelor of
Philosophy graduate and taught at the Torres High School in Manila.
• Genoveva Edroza Matute (January 3, 1915 – March 21, 2009) – Was born in Sta.
Cruz, Manila; Wrote several books and short stories such as Kuwento ni Mabuti, and
Paglalayag sa Puso ng Isang Bata

SOME CONTEMPORARY WRITERS FROM PAST TO PRESENT:

• Lualhati Bautista – was born on December 2, 1945 in Tondo, Manila; She is one of the
historical Filipino female novelists in the present time. Her famous novels are Dekada
'70, ‘GAPÔ, and Bata, Bata, Pa'no Ka Ginawa?,
• Gémino H. Abad – was born on February 5, 1939 in Sta. Ana, Manila; At present, he is
a University Professor Emeritus at the University of the Philippines. His current writing
and research include “Upon Our Own Ground”, a two- volume historical anthology of
short stories in English, 1956- 1972, with critical introduction; “Our Scene So Fair”, a
book of critical essays on the poetry in English since 1905 to the mid- 50s, and; “Where
NCR No Words break”, a volume of his own poems.
LITERATURE
• Linda Ty Casper – was born in 1931 in Malabon City; She has written and published
FROM THE
over fifteen books, including the historical novel DreamEden and the political novels
PAST TO THE
The Stranded Whale, The Peninsulars, Awaiting Trespass, Wings of Stone, A Small
PRESENT:
Party in a Garden, and Fortress in the Plaza.in addition, she has also published three
collections of short stories which focuses on the cross-section of Filipino society.
• Efren Abueg – born on March 3, 1937 in Tanza, Cavite but his life as a professor and
writer flourished in Manila since he was college; He wrote the famous short stories
Mabangis na Lungsod, and Sa Bagong Paraiso.
• Gilda Cordero-Fernando – was born on June 4, 1932 in Manila; A multi-awarded writer,
publisher and cultural icon from the Philippines; She has written the books We Live in the
Philippines, The last Full Moon: Lessons on My Life, The Magic Circle, and other books.

SOME FAMOUS WRITERS IN THE PRESENT TIME:

• Bebang Siy – Wrote It’s Raining Mens and It’s a Mens World, whose works are known
to be funny and comical; Despite the humorous writings, her novels are thought-
provoking.
• Bob Ong – Author of Stainless Longanisa, ABNKKBSNPLAKo, Ang Paboritong Libro ni
Hudas, Kapitan Sino, MACARTHUR, Alamat ng Gubat, and others which were known
to be written in an informal and comic manner but reflects the life of many as Filipinos
• Ricky Lee – Known as one of the greatest scriptwriters in movie and television; Author
of Si Amapola sa 65 na Kabanata, Para kay B (o kung paano dinevastate ng pag-ibig
ang 4 out of 5 sa atin), Trip to Quiapo, and other books.
• Ferdinand Pisigan Jarin – Author of Anim na Sabado ng Beyblade at Iba Pang
Sanaysay, a memoir about his son named Rebo; He is also a musician and teacher.
 The Woman Enough: Several Literary
Carmen Guerero-Nakpil Works:
➢
(July 19, 1922 – July 30, 2018) Woman Enough
Hometown: Manila and Other
Occupation: Writer, magazine editor, columnist, and Essays (1963)
➢
literature teacher, became the chairperson of the A Question of
National Historical Commission and the cultural Identity (1973)
➢
committee of the Philippine commission for UNESCO The Philippines
Educational Attainment: and the Filipino
➢
Studied at St. Theresa’s College (1977)
➢
Literary Award Received: The Philippines: The Land of the People (1989)
➢ ➢
Gawad Pambansang Alagad ni Balagtas Award for The Rice Conspiracy (1990)
English fiction in 1988 from the Unyon ng mga Newspapers and Magazines (columnist and
Manunulat sa Pilipinas (UMPIL) editor):
➢ ➢
Southeast Asian Writers (SEAWRITE) Award in The Orion (campus paper of STC)
➢
1990 Sunday Times Magazine
➢ ➢
National Book Award for anthology from the Manila Evening News Saturday Magazine
➢
Critics Circle for her The Philippines: The Land and Weekly Women’s Magazine
➢
the People. Malaya

Several Literary Works:

➢ A Small Party in a Garden
The One who Saw the Transparent ➢ Awaiting Trespass
Sun: ➢ Fortress in the Plaza
Belinda “Linda” Ty–Casper ➢ The Peninsulars
Hometown: Malabon City ➢ The Stranded Whale
Occupation: Writer, wife, traveler, ➢ The Transparent Sun
and ➢ Triptych for a Ruined Altar –
mother included in the Honor Roll of The Best American Short
Educational Attainment: Stories
➢University
➢ Wings of Stone
Graduated as valedictorian at the
of the Philippines
In 1956, she married Leonard Casper, a professor
➢ StudiedMaster’sDegreefor emeritus of Boston College who is also a critic of Philippine
International Law at Harvard Literature. They have two daughters and reside in
University Literary Award Received: Massachusetts.
➢ Philippine PEN Short Story Award
➢ UNESCO International Writers' Day in
London
➢ SEA Write Award in Bangkok

\ “If a country’s history is its biography, its literature is its autobiography.” – Linda Ty-Casper

METHODS OF
CHARACTERIZATION
1. Physical Traits
This tells how the character looks like. The appearance of the character in the story reveals the roles
they portray. Facial expressions also tells us more about the character of a person in a story.

2. Thoughts and feelings

The character's thoughts are showed based on his/her motivations, decisions, personal beliefs,
emotions, and actions. Once the readers discover the thoughts and feelings of a character, they
would understand better the actions shown in the story

3. Speech and actions

What the character says and how they act tell us much about them. These things provide insights to the
reader. The character can speak in a loving, rude, or nervos manner. Actions done by a character makes
the readers determine whether the character is good or bad.

4. What other characters say

In a story, a character forms a relationship with other characters. Thus, how
each interact reveals something about each person. the way a character makes
other characters feel, talk, and act matters in a story.

ASIAN LITERATURE

Asian Literature encompasses various facets of literature. Primarily,

these are the poetry and prose writings produced in a variety of languages in
Asia. As religion, was, and politics influence Asian communities, literary
flourished to emulate these developments.

The literary mores of Asia which is considered the largest continent of the
world are immense in terms of scope and length of existence. With these, it is prudent to take a literary
exploration of Asian Literature by geographical region. By its technical term, it is basically the literary
products made in continent Asia throughout history.

Asian literature reflects the similarities in customs and traditions of African and Asian countries, their
philosophies of life, and the struggles and successes of their developing nations and its people.

The study of the massive amount of Asian literature as a whole requires the combination of literature
under specific headings. Asian literature can be divided into a host of different labels, categorized according
to religion, zone, region, ethnic group, literary genre, historical perspective or language of origin.

CHINA

Chinese literature is one of the major literary heritages of the world, with
an uninterrupted history of more than 3,000 years, dating back at least to the
14th century BCE.
❖ Its medium, the Chinese language, has retained its unmistakable
identity in its spoken and written aspects in spite of generally gradual
changes in pronunciation, the existence of regional and local dialects, and
several stages in the structural representation of the written graphs, or
“characters.”

❖ Culturally speaking, China has endured its attribute of keeping the

fundamental of its identity very firm. The Tang Dynasty is the finest era of
the Chinese literature because the poets like Tu Fu, Li Po and Wang Wei
created landmark works.

❖ Through cultural contacts, Chinese literature has profoundly influenced the literary traditions of other
Asian countres, particularly Korea, Japan, and Vietnam. Not only was the Chinese script adopted for the
written

language in these countries, but some writers adopted the Chinese language as their chief literary medium,
at least before the 20th century.

❖ The pronunciation of the Chinese graphs has also influenced the development of Chinese literature.
The fact that each graph had a monophonic pronunciation in each context created many homonyms,
which led to misunderstanding and confusion when spoken or read aloud without the aid of the graphs.

Famous Chinese Poets

Two of the greatest Chinese poets, and the best known, are Li
Po and Tu Fu. Li Po and Tu Fu, being respected poets from
the T'ang Dynasty period, competed heavily with one another,
but they have been called friends by many scholars. In fact,
many of the poems written by the two are directed towards the
other. Each of these poets use his emotions and experiences in
the T'ang Dynasty of China to create poems that illustrate and
comment on many different aspects of ancient Chinese life.
Also, both employ similar key images. However, by examining
the "friendship" poems for insights into their relationship, one
discovers the contrast between their attitudes toward life.
 JAPAN

Japanese literature places as one of the major literatures in

the world both in quantity and in quality, like in age, vibrancy, and
capacity to English literature, although its pattern of improvement
has been somewhat different. The surviving works comprise a
literary tradition extending from the 7th century CE to the present.

❖ The earliest writing of literature in Japanese was motivated by impact from China. But in the following years
Japanese tradition created its distinct literary landmark. One of the renowned poetic forms is haiku (a short
descriptive poem with 17 syllables) and the various theatrical genres, namely: the Noh and the Kabuki.

❖ Still, the texts entirely in Japanese depict an exceptional range of styles, which cannot be clarified
merely in terms of the natural progression of the language.

❖ The complexities of interpreting Japanese literature can barely be exaggerated; even a specialist in one
period is likely to have trouble deciphering a work from another period or genre.

❖ Japanese style has always favored vagueness, and the elements of speech required for easy
understanding of a statement are often excluded as unnecessary or as thoroughly precise.

❖ Despite the great problems occurring from such qualities of style, Japanese literature of all periods is
extremely interesting to modern-day readers, whether read in the original or in translation.

❖ Because it is prevailingly personal and colored by an emotional rather than intellectual or moralistic
mood, its themes have a universal quality almost unchanged by time.

Japanese Poet Spotlight

Matsuo Basho (1644-1694) was one of the greatest Japanese poets. He

elevated haiku to the level of serious poetry in numerous anthologies and
travel diaries. The name of Matsuo Basho is associated especially with
the celebrated Genroku era (ca. 1680-1730), which saw the flourishing of
many of Japan's greatest and most typical literary and artistic
personalities. His poetry and in his attitude toward life he seemed to
harken back to a period some 300 years earlier. An innovator in poetry,
spiritually and culturally he maintained a great tradition of the past. One
of the most famous haiku of Matsuo Basho:

The old pond

A frog jumps in
Sound of water.
KOREA

❖ Korean literature consists the body of works written by Koreans,

at first in Classical Chinese, later in various transcription systems
using Chinese characters, and finally in Hangul

❖ Although Korea has had its own language for several thousand
years, it has had a writing system only since the mid-15th century, when
Hangul was invented. As a result, early literary activity was in Chinese
characters. Korean scholars were writing poetry in the traditional
manner of Classical Chinese at least by the 4th century CE.

❖ By the 7th century a system, called idu, had been devised that
allowed Koreans to make rough transliterations of Chinese texts.
Eventually, certain Chinese characters were used for their phonetic
value to represent Korean particles of speech and inflectional endings.

❖ In general, then, literature written in Korea falls into three

categories: works written in the early transcription systems, those
written in Hangul, and those written in Chinese.

❖ There are four major traditional poetic forms in Korean Literature:

o Hyangga (“native songs”) poems were written in four, eight, or 10 lines; the 10-line form—comprising
two four-line stanzas and a concluding two-line stanza—was the most popular and oldest form in
Korean literature.

o Pyŏlgok (“special songs”) or changga flourished during the middle and late Koryŏ period. It is
characterized by a refrain either in the middle or at the end of each stanza. The theme of most of these
anonymous poems is love, the joys and torments of which are expressed in frank and powerful language.

o Sijo (“current melodies”) is the longest-enduring and most popular form of Korean poetry. Sijo are
three-line poems in which each line has 14 to 16 syllables and the total number of syllables seldom
exceeds 45. Each line consists of groups of four syllables. Sijo may deal with Confucian ethical values,
but there are also many poems about nature and love.

o Kasa (“verses”) tends to be much longer than other forms of Korean poetry and is usually written in
balanced couplets. During the earlier period, the poem was generally about 100 lines long and dealt
with such subjects as female beauty, war, and seclusion.

❖ In another system, kugyŏl, abridged versions of Chinese characters were used to denote grammatical
elements and were inserted into texts during transcription.

❖ Existing literary works indicate, however, that before the 20th century much of Korean literature was
written in Chinese rather than in Korean, even after the invention of Hangul.
 Korean Poet Spotlight

Seo Jeong-ju (May 18, 1915 – December 24, 2000) was a Korean poet
and university professor. He taught Korean literature in universities,
who wrote under the pen name “Midang”.

He is widely considered as one of the best poets in twentieth-century

Korean literature and was nominated five times for the Nobel Prize in
literature. His grandmother’s stories and his interest in Buddhism had a
strong influence upon his writing.

He wrote over 1,000 poems over more than 60 years and had
considerable influence on Korean literature, being considered the
‘founding father of modern Korean poetry’.

Under the pen name Midang, he published at least 15 collections of poetry. His works have been
translated into several languages, including English, French, Spanish, and German. His 100th
anniversary in December 2016 was commemorated by the republication of his collected works which
included recently discovered and previously unpublished.
INDIA

❖ The original Indian literature took the form of the canonic Hindu
sacred writings, recognized as the Veda, which were written in Sanskrit.
To the Veda were added prose notes such as the Brahmanas and the
Upanishads.

❖ In addition to holy and moral writings, such genres as suggestive and

religious lyrics, court poetry, plays, and narrative folktales surfaced.

❖ Other related languages appeared in the modern languages of northern India from these. The literature
of those languages varied largely on the ancient Indian experience, which consist of two Sanskrit epic
poems, the Mahabharata and Ramayana, as well as the Bhagavata-purana and the other Puranas.

❖ The South Indian language of Tamil is an exemption to this form of Sanskrit influence since it had a
classical practice of its own. Urdu and Sindhi are other exemptions.

❖ Beginning in the 19th century, especially during the height of British control over the subcontinent,
Western literary models had an impact on Indian literature, the most remarkable result being the launch of
the use of language prose on a major scale.

❖ Such forms as the texts began to be embraced by Indian writers, as did realism and an attraction in
social questions and psychological explanation. A practice of literature in English was also recognized in
the subcontinent.

Indian Poet Spotlight

Rabindranath Tagore (May 7, 1861 - August 7, 1941), Bengali poet,

short-story writer, song composer, playwright, essayist, and painter
who introduced new prose and verse forms and the use of colloquial
language into Bengali literature, thereby freeing it from traditional
models based on classical Sanskrit.

He was extremely influential in introducing Indian culture to the West and

the other way around, and he is commonly considered as the outstanding
creative artist of early 20th-century India. In 1913 he became the first non-
European to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Tagore’s works are practically untranslatable, as his over 2,000 songs,

which attained considerable recognition among all groups of Bengali
society.
 KALIDASA RUPI KAUR

Kalidasa, (flourished 5th century CE, India), Sanskrit Rupi Kaur (born 4 October 1992) is an Indian-born
poet and dramatist, mostly considered the greatest Canadian poet, illustrator, and author. Kaur rose to
Indian writer of any era. As with most classical Indian fame on Instagram and Tumblr through sharing her
authors, not much is known short visual poetry. She
about Kalidasa’s person or his received widespread
historical connections. His popularity, after the
poems indicate but does not publication of her debut
declare that he was a book Milk and Honey
Brahman (priest), open- (2014), which went on to
minded yet dedicated to the sell over 2.5 million copies
traditional Hindu worldview. He worldwide and spent more
showed the vivid and than a year on The New
expressive peaks of which the York Times Best Seller list.
Sanskrit language is efficient In 2017, Kaur released her
and showed the very core of a second book, The Sun and
whole civilization. A Sinhalese tradition revealed that Her Flowers, leading her to be named on the BBC's
he died on the island of Sri Lanka in the reign of 100 Women in 2017. Her work explores relationships,
Kumaradasa, who rose the throne in 517. the immigrant experience, and sexual trauma.
 AFRICAN LITERATURE

❖ There are 54 nations which make up Africa. Each of these

separate countries have their own history, culture, tribes, and
traditions. With that being said, there are some commonalities
shared by literature which comes from the continent as a whole.

❖ Describing African literature can be difficult. There are some

writers who think African literature can only be written in African
languages. While others consider African literature can be written in
any language if it is created by writers from Africa.

❖languages
African literature comprises of a body of texts in various
and several genres, varying from oral literature to
literature written in foreign languages (French, Portuguese, and
English).

❖ Oral literature, including stories, dramas, riddles, histories, myths,

songs, proverbs, and other expressions, is frequently employed to educate and entertain children. Oral
histories, myths, and proverbs additionally serve to remind whole communities of their ancestors' heroic
deeds, their past, and the precedents for their customs and traditions. Essential to oral literature is a
concern for presentation and oratory. Folktale tellers use call-response techniques. A griot (praise singer)
will accompany a narrative with music.
❖
Some of the first African writings to gain attention in the West were the poignant slave
narratives. Since the early 19th century writers from western Africa have used
newspapers to air their views. Several founded newspapers that served as vehicles for
expressing nascent nationalist feelings.

❖ Africa suffered several difficulties in its lengthy history which gave an influence on
the themes and topics of its literature. One difficulty which headed to several others is
that of colonization. The problem with colonization is when the incoming people take
advantage of the indigenous people and the properties of the occupied land.

❖ Colonization led to slavery. Millions of African people were enslaved and brought to Western countries
around the world from the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries. This spreading of African people, largely
against their will, is called the African Diaspora.

❖ After World War II, as Africans began demanding their independence, more African writers were
published. The writers written in European languages, and often they shared the same themes: the clash
between indigenous and colonial cultures, condemnation of European suppression, pride in the African
past, and hope for the continent's independent future.

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, born on July 8, 1918, and died on

December 5 2013 at the age of 95. He was a South African anti-
apartheid revolutionary, politician, and a philanthropist, who served as
the President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999.

Nelson Mandela was the president of South Africa from 1994-

1999. He was the first black president of South Africa, and the first
president to be elected in a fully representative election.
 In school, Mandela studied law and became one of South Africa’s
first black lawyers.

Mandela is considered the father of Modern South Africa. He was instrumental in tearing down the
oppressive government and installing democracy.

Mandela received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 for peacefully destroying the Apartheid regime and
laying the foundation for democracy. In addition to the Nobel Peace Prize, he won over 250 other awards.

In 2009, the United Nations proclaimed Mandela’s birthday (July 18th) to be Nelson Mandela
International Day. The holiday asks people to spend 67 minutes doing something good for others, which
represents the 67 years he spent working toward change. Take a look on what Nelson Mandela said as a
message to the youth:

“There are certain precautions you should take to prepare yourself for a fruitful study career. You
must brush up your knowledge through systematic reading of literature and newspapers.”

EUROPEAN LITERATURE

Greece and Rome are considered the birth place of European Literature. Literary pieces were conserved,
remolded, and spread through Christianity and thus communicated to the diverse vernacular languages of
the European Continent, both in the Western Hemisphere, and other regions the Europeans settled in.
Today, this body of writing displays a unity in its main features making it different

750BC – 450

The birth of the European literature can be traced back to circa 750 BC. It
was the time when two significant literary works were developed. The first was the
Old Testaments of the Bible which was composed of 39 books in Hebrew
language. It is made of various genres which include lyric poem, tales, and
histories. On the other hand was the realization of the timeless epics: The Iliad
and the Odyssey which were associated with Homer. The Greek literary
masterpieces were conceived by scholars to have been collected across years by
poets using the oral tradition. Evidently, the Old Testament was highly religious
and moralistic while the Iliad and Odyssey narrated the heroic deeds of Greek
characters like Achilles and Odysseus who reflected the culture of warfare.
 450 – 1066

As the beginning of the Current Era (CE) comes, Greece endured its reputation to be a cultural
overpowering force. The Greek drama flourished during the 5th and 4th centuries BCE. The playwright of
comedy (like Aristophanes) and tragedy (namely: Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripedes) became popular
in this time. Notable lyrical poets like Pindar and Sappho were also famous. The varied works of the great
philosophers: Plato and Aristotle were also eminent.

The Greek tradition was later endured by the Romans, who resembled their civilization after Greeks.
When Romans gained their imperial authority in 27 BC, the emperor Augustus Caesar urged to have a literary
identity that would reflect Rome’s potency. Approximately a decade
after, the poet Virgil became renowned because of his Aeneid, an epic
modeled on Iliad and Odyssey. Rome continued to produce literary
giants in drama (Seneca, Terence, and Plaurus), poetry (Horace),
and prose (Cicero and Apuleius).

1066 – 1500

Medieval, “belonging to the Middle Ages,” denotes the literature of both Europe and the Eastern
Mediterranean from the founding of the Eastern Roman/Byzantine, Empire about 300 AD for medieval Greek,
to the period following the fall of Rome in 476 for medieval Latin, and from about the time of Charlemagne and
the “Carolingian Renaissance” he fostered in France (c. 800) to the end of the 15th century for most written
vernacular literatures.

The central literary ideals of the period are found in works created from the
dialect. The pre-Christian literature of Europe belonged to an oral tradition that was
mirrored in the “Poetic Edda” and the “sagas”, or heroic epics, of Iceland, the
Anglo-Saxon “Beowulf”, and the German “Song of Hildebrand”. These were
from a common Germanic alliterative tradition, but all were initially recorded by
Christian scribes at times later than the historical events they relate, and the pagan
elements they hold were merged with Christian thought and feeling.

Two well-known literary writers from the religious aspect: Dante Alighieri (whose Divine Comedy
depicts the three realms of afterlife and St. Augustine (whose The Confessions and City of God last as
spiritual foundation up to this day).

Heroic deeds and dignified actuations were underscored in the epics like Beowulf (Anglo-Saxon), The
Song of Roland (French), The Song of Nibelungs (German), and El Cid (Spanish). The culture of chivalric
adventure was evident in the works associated to King Arthur, including Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte
d’Arthur. Moreover, Geoffer Chaucer gained his title as The Father of English Literature with his
paramount literary work, The Canterbury Tales.
 1485 – 1680

Renaissance (“Rebirth”) refers to the historical period in Europe that occurred

after the Middle Ages. This left behind the medieval ways of the past and launched a
society towards a modern world. The age was marked by three major characteristics
namely: (1) the new interest in education, emulated by the classical scholars known as
humanists and instrumental in providing appropriate classical models for the new
writers; (2) the new form of Christianity, introduced by the Protestant Reformation
headed by Martin Luther, which drew men’s interest to the individual and his inner
experiences and encouraged a response in Catholic countries summarized by the term “Counter-
Reformation” and; (3) the journeys of the great explorers that culminated in Christopher Columbus’s
discovery of America in 1492 and that had extensive consequences on the countries that developed overseas
empires, as well as on the minds and consciences of the most exceptional writers of the era.

During this period, people were concerned with individualism, as well as self and societal improvement.
The emergence of a fresh essence of intellectual and artistic inquiry, which was the leading feature of this
political, religious, and philosophical phenomenon, was basically a resurgence of the spirit of ancient Greece
and Rome. In literature, this intended a new attention and investigation given to the works of the great classical
writers. Scholars examined and translated “lost” ancient texts, whose distribution was much helped by
developments in printing in Europe from about 1450. Art and literature in the Renaissance reached a height
unattained in any previous period.

On the other hand, many writers produced literary pieces that catered to wealthy patrons who
commissioned their work. In 1440, Johannes Gutenberg created the printing press, which allowed for mass
production of pamphlets and novels. This event gave people more opportunities to read publication of authors
like Petrarch and Boccaccio. Following are notable literary works written during the Renaissance:

❖ Christopher Marlowe: Doctor Faustus ❖ Niccolo Machiavelli: The Prince

❖ Dante Alighieri: Divina Commedia ❖ Petrarch: Canzoniere, Trionfi
❖ Giovanni Boccaccio: The Decameron ❖ Sir Thomas More, Utopia
❖ John Milton: Paradise Lost ❖ William Shakespeare: King Lear, Hamlet,
❖ Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quixote Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet

196
 1650 – 1800

Also known as the “Age of Enlightenment,” the Age of Reason aims

not to grab a hold on a useful half-truth but to cause misperception in the
over-all picture, because the predominance of reason had also been a mark of
certain periods of the previous era. In literature, the rational desire nurtured
satire, argument, wit, plain prose; the other stimulated the psychological novel
and the poetry of the magnificent. Since the print culture emerged from the
previous period, the volume of printed reading materials increased. Literary
works during this period centered on human nature, people-government
relationship, property, natural laws and rights, and organized religion. Thus,
this period caused a dramatic change in the political, economical, and social
policies and beliefs of people.

The cult of wit, satire, and argument manifested in England in the writings of Alexander Pope,
Jonathan Swift, and Samuel Johnson, continuing the tradition of Dryden from the 17th century. The novel
was recognized as a major art form in English literature relatively by a rational realism shown in the works of
Henry Fielding, Daniel Defoe, and Tobias Smollett and partly by the psychological exploratory of the novels
of Samuel Richardson and of Laurence Sterne’s Tristram Shandy.

In France, the major characteristic of the period rests in the philosophical and political writings of the
Enlightenment, which had a deep influence all through the rest of Europe and prefigured the French
Revolution. Voltaire, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Charles de Montesquieu, and the Encyclopédistes Denis
Diderot and Jean d’Alembert all dedicated much of their work to controversies about social and religious
matters, often involving criticisms and direct conflict with the authorities.

It is more precise to say that the 18th century was marked by two key impulses: reason and
passion. The respect given to reason was displayed in search of order, regularity, propriety, and scientific
knowledge; the refinement of the feelings roused compassion, exaltation of personal relationships, religious
fervor, and sensibility. This period contributed to the betterment of humankind.
Famous authors and their literary works during this period are:

❖ Adam Smith: The Wealth of Nations

❖ Daniel Defoe: Robinson Crusoe

❖ Denis Diderot: Encyclopedie

 Jean-Jacques Rousseau: The Social Contract Emile, and Confessions.


 Jonathan Swift: Gulliver’s Travels
 Mary Wollstonecraft: A Vindication of the Rights of Women


 Montesquieu: Spirit of the Laws
 Thomas Hobbes: Leviathan
 John Locke: An Essay Concerning Human
❖
 Voltaire: Candide Understanding

1798 – 1870

Romanticism was the principal literary movement of the initial part of the 19th century, in
which literature had its origins in the “Sturm und Drang” period in Germany. A consciousness of
this first phase of Romanticism is an important modification to the usual impression of Romantic
literature as something that began in English poetry with William Wordsworth and Samuel
Taylor Coleridge and the publication of “Lyrical Ballads” in 1798.

Although it is true that the French Revolution of 1789 and the Industrial Revolution
were two major political and social influences affecting the Romantic poets of early 19th-century England,
many features of Romanticism in literature were from literary or philosophical sources. A philosophical
background was given in the 18th century largely by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, whose emphasis on the
individual and the power of inspiration inspired Wordsworth and also such first-phase Romantic writers as
Friedrich Hölderlin and Ludwig Tieck in Germany and the French writer Bernardin de Saint-Pierre, whose
“Paul et Virginie (1787)” predicted some of the sentimental excesses of 19th-century Romantic literature.

Here are the famous writers of Romantic period and their literary works:
❖ Horace Walpole: The Castle of Otranto
❖ Fredrick Schlegel: Lucinde
❖ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: The
❖ Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel: Phenomenology
Sorrows of Young Werther, Faust
of Mind
❖ Lord Byron: Don Juan, Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage Mariner, Lyrical Ballads
❖ Mary Shelley: Frankenstein ❖ Victor Hugo: Les Miserables
❖ Samuel Taylor Coleridge: The Rime of the Ancient ❖ William Wordsworth: The Prelude

1870 – 1965

Modernism, like realism, provided critique of morality of the people belonging to the middle-class society.
Writers during this period explored new forms and styles of writing, which paved way to a technique called “stream
of consciousness.” Developed by Marcel Proust, “stream of consciousness” is a style that allowed the author to
explore all of the facets of their thought processes in the absence of any suggested formatting rules.

1965 – present

Characterized by an unusual mix of high and low culture, this period served as the literary and
societal response to the horrifying events of World War II and elitism of high modernism. Fragmentation,
paradox, and narrators that are difficult to define are common. The style of writing evokes the absence of
tradition in a modern consumer-driven, technologically based society.

Authors began to use a jumble of various ingredients, known as pastiche, that had not been seen as
appropriate for literature before, in order to create a more complex story, filled with allusions to events and
style of other literary works that took a certain level of education to recognize or even begin to appreciate.
Here are the post-modernist famous authors and their literary works:
❖ Alan Moore: Watchmen ❖ John Fowles: The French Lieutenant’s
❖ Alasdair Gray, Lanark: A Life in Four Books Woman
❖ Dmitry Galkovsky: The Infinite Deadlock ❖ Umberto Eco: Foucault’s Pendulum
❖ George Perec: Life: A User’s Manual ❖ Venedikt Erofeev: Moscow-Petushki
❖ Gertrude Stein: The Autobiography of Alice B. ❖ Vladimir Nabokov: Mother Night
Toklas ❖ Walter Abish: How German Is It
❖ Italo Calvino: If on a winter’s night a traveler

An epic poem written by the ancient Greek poet Homer, “The Iliad“ recounts some of the significant
events of the final weeks of the Trojan War and the Greek siege of the city of Troy.

Written in the mid-8th Century BC, “The Iliad” is usually considered to be the earliest work in the whole
Western literary heritage, and one of the best known and loved stories of all time.