This is a primary activity administered to determine your baseline

knowledge and preparedness for the lesson.

Activity: Historical Background of Philippine Literature

I. Direction: Read in advance the history of Philippine Literature and tell us
how our literature evolves in the following periods.

1. Pre-colonial Period
• Pre-colonial literary pieces transferred in traditional narratives, speeches,
and songs include Tigmo in Cebuano, Bugtong in Tagalog, patototdon in
Bicol, and paktakon in Ilonggo. Baybayin was the pre-colonial writing
system in the Philippines. Some modern scripts in the Philippines
descended from Baybayin.

2. Spanish Colonization Period

• These literary works are in the form oral, consisting of epics, legends,
songs, riddles, and proverbs. These literary works are already present
even before the Spaniards arrived. We have lots of legends, sayings and
superstitious beliefs that we carry and still believed on it until now.

3. Nationalistic/Propaganda and Revolutionary Period

• Propaganda period was a period of Philippine history and literature when
the “Ilustrados” (intellectual indios) started calling for reforms, equality and
improvement which lasted approximately from 1868 to 1898 although most
of their activities happened between 1880-1895.

4. American Colonial Period

• The literary genres that flourished during the American Period were poetry,
sarswela, short story, and the novel. Poetry was written in the three
languages - Filipino, Spanish, English, and in the different dialects. Some
of the known poets during the American period were Maximo Kalaw,
Carlos P.

Chapter II: Historical Background of Philippine Literature 1

5. Japanese Occupation
• The Japanese censured all publications except Tribune and Philippine
Review. During the Japanese period, Philippine Literature in English was
stopped and writers turned to writing in Filipino. The Japanese authorities,
with extreme hate to the Americans, did their best to turn the Filipinos'
sympathy away from them.

6. Contemporary/Modern Period
• The American Revolution, the French Revolution, the Great Divergence,
the Industrial Revolution and the Russian Revolution happened in this
period. Primarily, it took most of the human history up to the year 1804 for
the population of the modern world to reach its 1 billion mark.

Chapter II: Historical Background of Philippine Literature 2