21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World
Lesson #2
PRE-COLONIAL / SPANISH COLONIZATION PERIOD LITERARY FORMS
LITERARY FORM DEFINITION/DESCRIPTION
 Refers to the dialect, or style of
speaking, unique to people living
within a geographic area.
 Includes riddles, proverbs, and short
poems.
 When told in the native Tagalong
1. Folk speeches/ riddles
language, the riddles employ many
poetic devices. They usually rhyme
and they often rely on simile and
metaphor to other clues. The riddles
tend to be one or two lines and
refer to a specific object.
 A song that originates in traditional
popular culture or that is written in
such a style.
 A song of the people of a culture or
region that reflects their outlook
and life.
2. Folk Songs  A song originating among the
people of a country or area, passed
by oral tradition from one singer or
generation to the next, often
existing in several versions, and
marked generally by simple, modal
melody and stanza, narrative verse.
 Also known as “Legends”, and
“Fairy Tales”.
 Stories handed down from the
3. Folk Narratives remote past by words of mouth
from one generation to another,
reflecting the people’s tradition,
feelings, beliefs, and judgments.
EXAMPLES
 Munting anghel na lilipad-lipad, dala-dala'y
liwanag sa likod ng pakpak. - alitaptap
 Isang reynang maraming mata nasa gitna ang mga
espada. – pinya
 Pagkahaba-haba man daw ng prusisyon, sa
simbahan din ang tuloy.
 Daig ng maagap ang masipag.
 Bahay kubo - is a children's song. The song lyrics
contain the name of indigenous and traditional
vegetables.
 Paru-parung bukid - A traditional folk song
originated from "Mariposa Bella".
 Magtanim ay Di Biro - A rice-planting song.
 The Monkey and the Turtle
The Monkey and the Turtle is a perfect example of
folktale short story written by Philippine national
hero Jose Rizal. The story focuses on the monkey
and turtle who started as friends. They both saw a
floating banana plant on the water. They thought
of splitting it so they could plan it. The monkey
chose the upper part of the plant for he thought it
was better. Meanwhile, the turtle got the bottom
part with the roots so he grew an abundant plant.
Since the turtle couldn’t climb the tree to get the
fruits, he asked the monkey to get it for him.
Instead, the monkey betrayed the turtle and ate
every fruit. The turtle planned a revenge to him
which ended to the monkey’s death. The friends of
the monkey also planned a revenge but they did
not win over the turtle.
 The Necklace and the Comb
The Necklace and the Comb tells the story of Inday
who adored her necklace and comb. She was given
these as family heirloom during her sixteenth
birthday. She would keep with her the necklace
and comb even while working so to avoid spoiling
them, she put those on the cloud. Her necklace
and comb went up later on with the sky. Time
came, the comb became the quarter moon and
then the necklace turned into the stars.
  Ritual of Tambalan - Before tilling and cultivating
land for their crops, Cebuanos were known to
perform this ritual.
(Consisting of meat from a white chicken or white
pork along with wine or Buyo, these offerings
 Processes that are place-based, in
would be set on a table in the open field as gifts
relationship with the natural world,
for the unseen owner or spirit of the land.)
which draw together past, present,
 Tagalogs called upon their gods such Lakan-
and future into a space in which
4. Indigenous Rituals bakod, who they worship for an abundant harvest
personal and collective
of their fruit bearing plants and trees. Their rituals
transformations occur. The focus is
were often celebratory in nature where they held
on balance and harmony among a
a feast in the fields under a canopy. They would
vast network of relationships.
build an altar and wooden statue of Lakan-Bakod
wherein it’s genital was gilded and sized to
represent the desired rice stalk height. They
would give these statues food offerings and wine
for assurance of a bountiful harvest season.
 Tinikling - This dance imitates the movements of
the tinikling bird walking through tall grasses and
tree branches. It requires two bamboo poles. The
challenge of this dance is to try not to get your
 A style of dance that simply imitates
feet hurt between the poles.
5. Mimetic Dance behaviour found in nature,
 Cariñosa - The name cariñosa means “loving or
particularly of animals.
affectionate one”. It is basically a dance meant for
flirting. A fan or a handkerchief is usually plays a
vital role in performing this dance. The Philippines
National Dance.

AMERICAN COLONIZATION PERIOD LITERARY FORMS

LITERARY FORM DEFINITION/DESCRIPTION EXAMPLES

 Poetry that does not rhyme or have
a regular meter
1. Free Verse  Poems written in free verse can
have lines of any length, from a
single word to much longer.
 Brief fictional prose narrative that is
shorter than a novel and that
usually deals with only a few
characters.  Dead Stars – A short story written by the Filipino
 Usually concerned with a single author Paz Márquez Benítez. The story was the first
effect conveyed in only one or a few story by a Filipino writer to be written in English. It
significant episodes or scenes. The was published in 1925 in the “Philippine Herald.”
form encourages economy of The story focuses on a man, Alfredo, who is
2. Modern Short setting, concise narrative, and the engaged to one woman but falls in love with
Story omission of a complex plot; another.
character is disclosed in action and  The Bread of Salt - a short story that was written by
dramatic encounter but is seldom N. V. M. Gonzalez in 1958. Written in the first
fully developed. Despite its person, it tells of a simple fourteen-year-old boy
relatively limited scope, though, a who is infatuated with the niece of a rich plantation
short story is often judged by its owner.
ability to provide a “complete” or
satisfying treatment of its
characters and subject.
 Noli Me Tangere (Touch Me Not) - Written by Dr.
 Fictitious prose narrative of book
3. Novels Jose Rizal, is the most controversial and well-known
length, typically representing
piece of literature the Philippines has. The book has
 character and action with some
degree of realism.
 An invented prose narrative of
considerable length and a certain
complexity that deals imaginatively
with human experience, usually
through a connected sequence of
events involving a group of persons
in a specific setting.
 A short nonfictional piece of formal
writing assigned to students to
improve their writing skills or assess
4. Essays
their knowledge of a given subject.
 Composed of Introduction, Body,
and Conclusion.
JAPANESE COLONIZATION PERIOD LITERARY FORMS
LITERARY FORM DEFINITION/DESCRIPTION
 The first and last lines of the
poem have five syllables, and
the second or middle line has
seven, traditionally evoking
images of the natural world.
 First emerged in Japanese
1. Haiku
literature during the 17th
century, as a terse reaction to
elaborate poetic traditions,
though it did not become known
by the name haiku until the 19th
century.
 The Filipino Haiku
 It is an untitled poem of four
2. Tanaga
lines with each line equally
having seven syllables.
3. Karaniwang Anyo
(Usual Form)
impacted the country so much that it is included in
the current education curriculum of Filipino high
school students. The author, Dr. Rizal, the nation’s
national hero, raised the social awakening of the
Filipinos through this controversial piece. The
awakening happened during the Spanish colonial
era. During this time, Rizal could not swallow the
injustices the Spanish priests and the ruling
government gave the Filipinos. Noli Me Tangere was
written to expose and shed some light on the issues
of the Philippines’ society during the Spanish
colonial era.
 Florante at Laura - written by Francisco Balagtas is
another well-known masterpiece in the literature
industry of the Philippines. Florante at Laura is
written in the form of “awit” or “poetry” if
translated to English. This means there are four
lines per stanza and twelve syllables per line. Set in
the fictional kingdom of Albania, the book takes us
to the journey of Duke Florante and Princess Laura,
who is also being pursued by Duke Florante’s
enemy, Count Adolfo.
 The Philippines a Century Hence - an essay written
by Philippine national hero Jose Rizal to forecast the
future of the country within a hundred years. Rizal
felt that it was time to remind Spain that the
circumstances that ushered in the French
Revolution could have a telling effect for her in the
Philippines.
EXAMPLES
 Everything I touch by Kobayashi Issa
“Everything I touch
with tenderness, alas,
pricks like a bramble.”
 After Killing a Spider by Masaoki Shiki
“After killing a
spider, how lonely I feel
in the cold of night!”
 Palay by Idelfonso Santos
“Palay siyang matino,
Nang humangi’y yumuko;
Nguni’t muling tumayo
Nagkabunga ng ginto”
 Tag-Init by Idelfonso Santos
“Alipatong lumapag
Sa lupa — nagkabitak,
Sa kahoy nalugayak,
Sa puso — naglagablab!”
CONTEMPORARY/MODERN PERIOD LITERARY FORMS

LITERARY FORM DEFINITION/DESCRIPTION EXAMPLES

 Vintage Love by Agay Llanera
 Genre of fiction which addresses
issues of modern womanhood,
often humorously and light-
heartedly.
 Typically written by female
1. Chick Lit
authors, centred on female
protagonists, and marketed
toward young women.
 A fiction by women, for women,
about women.
Synopsis: 26-year-old Crissy Lopez’s life is in dire
need of a makeover. Her wardrobe revolves around
ratty shirts and beat-up sneaks; her grueling
schedule as a TV Executive leaves no room for a
social life; and worst of all, she’s still hung up on the
Evil Ex who left her five years ago. When her
fashionable grand-aunt passes away and leaves
behind a roomful of vintage stuff, the Shy Stylista
inside Crissy gradually resurfaces. Soon, she feels
like she's making progress -- with a budding lovelife
to boot! But the grim ghost of her past catches up
with her, threatening to push her back into
depression. To finally move on, Crissy learns that
walking away is not enough. This time, she needs to
take a leap of faith.

 A short poetry in a form of

tanaga that is sent through SMS
2. Mobile Phone Text on mobile phone with your
Tula friends, families, loved ones, and
through netizens (citizens of
internet).

 A broad term used to describe

genres and sub-genres of
literature (and film) that
incorporate some form of the
fantastic.  The Hunger Games
3. Speculative Fiction
 Any story that does not take  The Lord of the Rings
place in the real world and does
incorporate only real-world
elements.

 Sunrise by Don Tassone

Haiti awoke in the darkness, slipped out of her small
 A style of writing which involves
house and headed for the beach. She would be back
producing very short pieces of
in less than an hour, before her daughter and
fictional literature.
husband awoke.
 This is quite different to the
She followed a dirt path, the moon lighting her way.
concept of a short story, which is
4. Flash fiction The waves softly called to her, like old friends. She
usually several pages long and
took her shoes off, the sand cool on the soles of her
can notch up thousands of
feet, and sat down where she knew the sand was
words. Works of flash fiction, by
soft and dry.
contrast, can comprise as little
Haiti closed her eyes and whispered a prayer, then
as a single page or 250 words.
opened them just in time to watch the sun rise, as
she did every day.
  A web log: a website containing  Corporette - is actually a fashion and lifestyle blog,
but it focuses on women with corporate career
short articles called posts that
5. Blog paths, such as bankers, lawyers, and consultants.
are changed regularly. The site was founded in 2008 by Kat Griffin, a
professional litigator for a Wall Street law firm.
 Watch me weep: Butterflies by Lira Kale Pajarillo
“How nice is it to be a butterfly
 Includes verse with links to sub-
One that frolics across the gardens
poems or footnotes, poetry
Of succulent flowers, all vibrant
“generators,” poetry with
One that is admired for the beauty
movement or images.
of being a nature’s gift to man
6. Hyperpoetry  It is also known as cyberpoetry.
Tell me, one pretty butterfly!
 Usually highly steeped in the
Have time for me soon.
visual and sometimes involves
Tell me next to your admirers
parts that are read in varying
About how it is to be
orders
Adored and paid homage
Inside a glistening crystal glass frame.”

Prepared by:

JEANN VRINETTE T. PAVINO