DEFINITION OF LITERATURE
the internal world of his feelings and not just the external world
• It is derived from the Latin term litera, which means
letters.
• Some loosely interpret literature as any printed matter
within a book, a magazine or a pamphlet.
• Others define it as a faithful reproduction of man’s
manifold experiences blended into one’s harmonious
expression.
• Literature is the story of man since the world began. It
deals with ideas, thoughts, grief, aspirations and dreams
of man. It is experiencing life through reading.
Ways of Studying Literature
WHY STUDY LITERATURE?
• Reading is one of the greatest and most satisfying
pleasures of human beings.
• Books hold the accumulated wisdom of the ages.
• Literature develops in the reader certain attitudes
towards life, experience, nature and people.
• Literature is a wonderful depository of the thoughts of the
best minds that the human race has produced.
Approaches to Literature
• THEORY OF ART AS IMITATION
This theory, formulated by Aristotle in about 300 B.C., states
that art is an imitation of life but not mere servile imitation. The
imitation is creative and it seeks to represent the truth.
• THEORY OF ART AS EXPRESSION
An artist does not only imitate, but seeks to express himself –
of his reality.
• THE AFFECTIVE THEORY OF ART
A work of art should arouse a definite calculated emotion on a
reader.
Literary Standards
Artistry
• All good literature is artistic.
• Literature is the expression of life in forms of truth and
beauty.
• An artist must have a strong and abiding sense of the
beautiful. In his interpretation of life, he must know what
to select, what to leave out and how to group details.
• To do this, he must have a sense of unity, harmony and
balance.
INTELLECTUAL VALUE
• It presents a challenge to our intellect, and our mental life
is enriched as a result.
• All good literatures should make us think, provoke us
thoughts, and move us to visualize fundamental truths.
SUGGESTIVENESS
• All artistic works have a strong emotional power.
• Emotions create interest and this is a reason why we
read literary works.
• Instead of stating absolute facts, the artist opens visions
and a tremendous world of feeling and speculation.
 • The author must arouse sincere emotions. Great
literatures are felt by the heart.
SPIRITUAL VALUE
• The history of literature tells us that great importance has
been laid in ethical values.
• The Bible, Koran and the sacred books of China and
India stressed great religious and moral truths.
• Many of the world’s greatest literary works are
professedly didactic. They teach the principles of right
conduct and moral ideas.
PERMANENCE
• The world will not willingly allow anything beautiful to
perish. Good literature endures and becomes more
attractive and meaningful as the years go by.
• Great literatures give something to their generation, and
more to future generations. Ex. Shakespeare.
UNIVERSALITY
• Good literature appeals to the widest and to the simplest
human emotions.
• It knows no limitations of race and time.
• It concerns itself with the elemental passions and
emotions of man – love, joy, hate, sorrow, fear – that are
true to human nature. Ex. The Prodigal Son for all
fathers, Homeric poems for noble people, Romeo and
Juliet for all lovers.
STYLE
• The unconscious reflection of an artist’s personality.
• It consists of his peculiar way of looking at things and the
manner he forms his ideas and expressions.
• It is the mark of ownership that a writer stamps upon his
creation. Ex. Joaquin’s verbose writing and N.V.M.
Gonzalez’s simplistic and nuanced writing.
ELEMENTS OF LITERATURE
Written works having excellence in:
• Form
• Expression
• Ideas
• Widespread and Lasting Interest
The Major Genres
• POETRY – it was the first to be developed and the best
literary works have been written in this form. It uses
rhyme, meter, exalted and figurative language, and has
melody, harmony and balance.
A. Narrative Poetry – a story-telling poetry.
1. Epic – long narrative poem set against the distant past
relating the exploits of a semi-legendary hero. Ex. The
Iliad & The Odyssey
2. Metrical Romance – long rambling story in verse
characteristic of the Middle Ages. Ex. King Arthur and
Knights of the Round Table
3. Ballad – story-telling verse meant to be sung.
a) Folk – songs of the unlettered folk. Ex. Get Up and Bar
the Door, The Twa Sisters
 b) Literary – songs written by the literary people. Ex. La
Belle Dame Sans Merci – John Keats
4. Metrical Tale – it is to poetry what the short story is to
prose. Ex. Canterbury Tales – Geoffrey Chaucer
B. Lyric Poetry – derives its name from the musical
instrument lyre, played by wandering minstrels, and is primarily
intended to be sung.
1. Ode – most majestic lyric type and expresses
enthusiasm, lofty praise or homage for a person, thing or
object. Ex. Ode to the West Wind – Percy Bysshe
Shelley.
2. Elegy – voices the author’s personal grief for a loved
one, or loss affecting the public or simply a meditation
about death. Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard –
Keats, O Captain, My Captain – Whitman.
3. Sonnet – distinguished by its 14 iambic pentameter lines.
Ex. Sonnet 43 – Browning, Shakespeare’s sonnets
4. Song – are short poems meant to be sung, which are
either secular or sacred, anthems, oratories or hymns.
Ex. Song to Celia – Johnson, Auld Lang Syne – Burns
5. Simple Lyric – lyrical poems that do not belong to the
other types of lyric. Ex. Psalm 23 – King David, Birches -
Frost
Dramatic Poetry – poetic form used to set forth life and
character by means of speech and action.
1. Poetic Plays – comedy (protagonist succeeds over the
travails of his plight), tragedy (protagonist emerges as the loser
in the end), dramatic history, farce and melodrama
(exaggerated, excessive and plot situations are more important
than the plot).
2. Masque – is related more to the opera than to drama,
characterized by a splendid setting, elaborate costumes, make-
up, music and tableaux.
3. Dramatic Monologue – has only one speaker and is
adopted for small and non-regular productions.
PROSE – uses ordinary and personal language, sentences and
paragraphs and is more direct and intimate to the reader.
1. Modern Drama – three act and one-act plays. Ex. A
Doll’s House – Ibsen
2. Essay – presents in prose form the author’s thoughts,
feelings and observations on some phases of life that are
of interest. Ex. Of Studies – Bacon
3. Prose Fiction – prose narratives that employ creativity
and imagination:
a. Prose Allegory – long implied comparison between
unlike things. Characters are more symbols than
personages. Ex. Animal Farm – Orwell
b. Prose Romance – metrical romance in prose form.
Ex. Don Quixote – Cervantes
c. Novel – a three-element prose narrative (setting, plot
and characters) Ex. Harry Potter novels
d. Novelette – a short novel with a simpler plot and fewer
characters. Ex. Tuesdays with Morrie – Albom
e. Short Story – one unit of place, time and action prose.
Ex. The Necklace – Maupassant
4. Biography and Autobiography – fictionalized story of
human life as it presents the
highlights and struggles. Ex. The Life of Princess Diana
 5. Letters, Diaries and Journals – life accounts as they • Life is portrayed as good.
are lived from day to day, separated by dates. Ex. The
• The absent is more revered than the present.
Diary of Anne Frank
• Nostalgia and reminiscences are common themes.
6. Other Prose Forms
The hero is a perfect knight in shining armor – debonair,
Elements of a Short Story
intelligent, ideal.
• Plot Structure/ Conflict
REALISM
• Character/s
• Life is portrayed as objectively as possible.
• Setting
• Life is both good and bad, meaningful and meaningless.
• Theme
• The hero is a guy next door or a girl on the street, with

Conventions Used in Formalism (New both endearing and weak qualities.

• The approach of the writer is objectivity.
Criticism School)
Establishment of a key moment (epiphany)
Three Main Types of Character
Use of authority in fiction (point of view) – first person, third Alienation
person, omniscient, central intelligence or scenic
• Personal (Man Vs. Himself)
Use of symbols – literal and symbolic
• Social (Man Vs. Another Man, Man Vs. Society)
Use of a unified effect – beginning, middle and end
• Cosmic (Man Vs. God, Man Vs. the Universe)
(exposition-climax-key moment-resolution)
Three Main Character Changes:
1. A reversal of attitude
2. A heightening of an old awareness
3. A sudden realization of a truth about oneself, human
nature or condition.

LITERARY MOVEMENTS
ROMANTICISM