The Study of Literature

Ella Mae T. Ronquillo

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 When you hear the word
“literature”, what comes into
your mind?
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 Essence and Significance of Literature
➔ Literature, in its broadest sense, is everything that has ever
been written.
➔ came from the word litera which means “letter”
➔ is one of the seven arts (music, dance, painting, sculpture,
theater, and architecture)
➔ can be referred to as the “story of man” and the “mirror of
life”
➔ does not yield much unless we bring something of
ourselves to it
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 Why do we read literature?
➔ For information
➔ For amusement
➔ For higher and keener pleasure
➔ For cultural upliftment
➔ For discovery of broader dimensions in life
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 Literary Standards
Artistry Intellectual Value

sense of beauty stimulates critical thinking

Suggestiveness Spiritual Value

brings out moral values and

emotional power
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elevates the spirit and the soul

 Literary Standards
Permanence Universality

timelessness appeals to everyone regardless of

social differences

Style

distinct way the author expresses

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his or her thoughts

 Divisions of Literature
Prose Poetry

Form Written in paragraph form Written in stanza or verse form

Language Ordinary language Metrical, rhythmic, and

figurative language

Appeal To the intellect To the emotion

Aim To convince, inform, instruct, Stir the imagination and set an

imitate, and reflect ideal of how life should be
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 Forms of Prose
1. Prose Drama - dialogues in prose; acted on stage

2. Essay - a short literary composition which is expository in nature

3. Prose Fiction - something invented, imagined, or feigned to be

true

a. Novel - a long fictitious narrative with a complicated plot; it is

made up of chapters
b. Short Story - a fictitious narrative compressed into one unit
of time, place, and action
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 Forms of Prose
4. Biography and Autobiography

Biography - a story of a certain person’s life written by

another who knows him/her well

Autobiography - a written account of man’s life written by

himself

5. Letter - a written or printed message from one person to

another
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 Forms of Prose
6. Diary - a daily written record or account of the writer’s
own experience, thoughts, activities, or observations

7. Journal - a magazine or periodical especially of a serious

or learned structure
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 Other Forms:
● Historical Prose
● Scientific Prose
● Satirical Prose - ridicules the vices and follies of men
● Current Publications - books, magazines, or newspapers
that are commonly known or accepted for general usage
● Literary Criticism - the analysis, interpretation, and
evaluation of literary works
● Book Review - an article dealing with the contents, literary
worth, etc. of a book
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 Other Forms:
● Travelogue - a written account of trips, journeys, tours, etc.
taken by the writer
● Parody - an imitation of another author’s work, where
ridicule is the main objective
● Anecdote - a brief narrative concerning a particular
individual or incident
● Character Sketch - a short description of the qualities and
traits of a person
● Parable - a short tale that illustrates principle
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 Other Forms:
● Pamphlet - a small book of topic of current interest
● Eulogy - writing in praise of a dead person, event, or thing
● Speech - a discourse delivered to an audience whether
prepared or impromptu
○ Address - a formal, carefully prepared speech
○ Oration - an eloquent, rhetorical, sometimes merely
bombastic speech, especially delivered on some special
occasion
○ Lecture - a carefully prepared speech intended to inform
or instruct an audience
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 Other Forms:
○ Talk - informal; the speaker uses simple conversational
approach
○ Sermon - a speech by a clergyman intended to give
religious or moral instruction
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 Literary Genres
a. Fiction
b. Poetry
c. Essay
d. Drama
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 Fiction
➔ an imaginative recreation and re-creation of life
➔ includes short stories and novels
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 Elements of Fiction
a. Character
b. Setting
c. Conflict
d. Plot
e. Point of View

a. Characters f. Mood
b. Setting g. Tone
c. Conflict h. Symbolisms
d. Plot i. Images
e. Point of View j. Theme
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 Characters
➔ are the representations of a human being; persons involved in a conflict

Types of Characters

1. Round Character

- a dynamic character who recognize changes in circumstances

- a fully developed character, with many traits — bad and good

2. Flat Character
- typically a stereotype character who does not grow and develop
- not fully developed
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 Characters
Others:

● Protagonist - hero/heroine
● Antagonist - a foil to the protagonist; villain
● Deuteragonist - second in importance
● Fringe - one who is destroyed by his inner conflict
● Typical or minor characters
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 Setting
➔ the locale (place) or period (time) in which the
action of a story takes place
➔ also known as the background of the story
➔ the author uses words, mentions things in the
native language, gives names to character’s lines to
create a vivid picture of a native place
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 Conflict
➔ the struggle or complication involving the characters

Types of Conflict:

a. man vs. man

b. man vs. himself
c. man vs. society
d. man vs. nature
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 Plot
- causally related sequence of events which involve the character/s in
conflict
- beginning → middle → ending

Narrative Order - the way the events are sequenced

● Chronological - most common type of narrative order

● Flashback - narration of an event that took place before the current time of the story
● Time lapse - the story skips a period of time that seems unusual compared to the
rest of the plot
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 Pyramidal Structure of a Plot
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Freytag’s Pyramid
 Pyramidal Structure of a Plot
1. Exposition (beginning) - introduces the setting and the main
characters
2. Rising Action (complication) - unfolds the problem and struggles that
would be encountered by the main characters
3. Climax - most exciting part and has the greatest emotions
4. Falling Action - untying the entangled knots; shows a conflict or a
problem is solved; leading to its downward movement or end
5. Denouement/Resolution - ending; last statements about the story
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 Qualities of the Plot

1. Exciting
2. Good structure
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 Plot Devices

1. Flashback
2. Foreshadowing
3. Suspense
4. Surprise Ending
5. In Medias Res (“in the midst of things”)
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 Point of View
1. First Person Central - the writer uses the pronoun “I”; he/she is central
to the plot

“If only I had a time machine…”

2. First Person Peripheral - not central to the plot but tells the story
from his/her perspective

“I wish I had known him sooner, then I could have been his.”
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 Point of View
3. Second Person - the narrator, who is distant from the plot, tells the
story from “your” perspective

“You wished upon a star to make you live longer.”

4. Third Person - the writer-narrator is a character in the story who

narrates based on what he observed

“His eyes sparkled the way I’ve never seen before.”

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 Point of View
Third Person Limited - an outsider or observer who is not part of the
story

“Once upon a time, there lived a beautiful princess named Snow

White.”

Third Person Omniscient - the writer-narrator sees all; he can see into
the minds of the characters and even report everyone’s innermost
thoughts
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 Other Elements

Mood - atmosphere or emotional effect generated by the

words, images, situations

ex. Melancholy, joyous, tense

Tone - attitude of feeling of the speaker or author conveyed

by the language in its artful arrangement
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 Other Elements

Symbolisms - stand for something other than themselves

Images - characterized by concrete qualities rather than

abstract meaning

The sun rose in a cloudless sky and flooded the earth

with liquid gold.
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 Other Elements

Theme - central or domination idea in a literary work,

- topic or subject
- It is NOT some familiar saying or moral lesson.
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