21ST CENTURY LITERATURE FROM THE PHILIPPINES AND THE WORLD GRADE 12

Prepared by Ms. Denielle Anne U. Clemente, LPT

EXPLORING PHILIPPINE LITERARY FORMS, Some Examples of Major Forms of Literature

GENRES, ELEMENTS, AND TRADITIONS

Literary structure refers to the organizational method used

in literature.

TWO MAJOR FORMS OF LITERATURE

1. Poetry. This literary type is usually written in lines and

is characterized by having the element of rhythm, sound,
imagery, and form. Its main purpose is to express
feelings, thoughts, and ideas. It can be divided into three
types: narrative, dramatic, and lyrical poetry.

a. Narrative Poetry. This poetry tells a story and has the

21ST CENTURY LITERATURE GENRES
elements of a narrative such as characters, setting,
conflict, etc. An Illustrated Novel is a story or narrative told through
words complemented by illustrated images. In most
b. Dramatic Poetry. This is an emotionally appealing
illustrated fiction, 50% of the narrative is presented
drama written in verse that tells a story and is intended to
without words while some may not contain any text at all,
be recited or sung in front of the audience by a character
so the reader must interpret the images to comprehend
speaking in poetry.
the story completely.
c. Lyric Poetry. It is the most common type of poetry that Example: The Arrival by Shaun Tan
focuses on expressing feelings rather than telling a story.

Digi-Fiction is also called Triple Media Literature. It uses

2. Prose. In contrast to poetry, this literary piece applies the combination of three media: book, movie/video, and
a natural flow of speech and grammatical structures which internet website to tell a narrative, so readers must
are mainly consisting of complete sentences arranged engage in navigating, reading, and viewing in all three
logically and sequentially in a paragraph form. forms to comprehend the full story.

a. Fiction. This serves as a product of the writer's wild Example: Patrick Carman’s Skeleton Creek
imagination and

creative thinking where the characters react to the conflict

Graphic novels are narratives told in comic-strip formats
and various issues central to the main idea of a literary
and published as a book otherwise movies.
work. Its three types are: short story, novel, and
Encompassing non-fiction works and thematically linked
novella. The main genres are crime, fantasy,
short stories as well as fictional stories across several
romance, science fiction, western, inspirational,
genres.
historical fiction and horror.
Example: Captain Marvel by Jim Starlin
b. Non-fiction. These are stories inspired by real events
where the writers aim to present, interpret, or describe
experiences based on facts. The judgments, opinions,
and commentaries of the writers may be presented in the
form of essays, journals, diaries, feature articles,
editorials, and the like.
Manga is the Japanese word for comics. It is used in the Wind, Sand, and Stars by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
English-speaking world as a generic term for all comic
books and graphic novels originally published in Japan.

Some Manga categories include the following:
● Shonen-Boy’s Manga (Naruto, Bleach, One Piece)
● Shojo-Girl’s Manga (Sailormoon)
● Seinen-Men’s Manga (Akira)
● Kodomo-Children’s Manga (Doraemon, Hello Kitty)
Science Fiction is a genre of speculative fiction dealing
with imaginative concepts such as futuristic science and
technology, space travel, time travel, faster than light
travel, a parallel universe and extraterrestrial life.
It often explores the potential consequences of scientific
and other innovations and has been called a “literature
of ideas”.

Examples: Suzanne Collins’ Mockingjay and Sarah Maas’

Doodle Fiction is a literary presentation where the author
incorporates doodle writing, drawings, and handwritten
graphics in place of the traditional font (Gothic).
Examples: The Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
Text-Talk Novels are stories told almost entirely in
dialogue simulating social network exchanges. Narratives
are usually presented in blog, email, and IM (instant
messaging) format. Jenny Ruth Almocera’s Vince and
Kath released by ABS-CBN publishing is a good example
of this genre.
Chick Lit or Chick Literature is an often humorous and
lighthearted fiction which addresses issues of modern
womanhood. Stories may include romantic relationships,
friendships, and issues in the workplace. It generally
targets young women readers.
Example:
Kingdom of Ash.
Blog (shortened form of Weblog) is a website containing
short articles called posts that are updated regularly.
Some blogs are written by one person containing his or
her own opinions, interests and experiences, while others
are written by different people. Kryz Uy’s Break My Style
which includes stories of her travel and style is one of the
most followed blogs in the country.
Hyper poetry is digital poetry that uses links and
hypertext mark-up. It can either involve set words,
phrases, lines, etc. that are presented in variable order
but sit on the page much as traditional poetry does, or it
can contain parts of the poem that move and transform.
It is usually found online, but CD-ROM and diskette
versions exist. The earliest examples date to no later than
the mid-1980s.

The night before Christmas by Scarlet Bailey

It started with a Kiss by Miranda Dickinson

Flash Fiction is a story narrated in an extremely brief

way, but still offers plot and character development and
implies a larger story. It could range from a word to a
thousand.

Example: Longed for him. Got him, Shit. (Written

Margaret Atwood

Creative nonfiction is also known as literary nonfiction

or narrative nonfiction. It is a genre of writing that uses
literary styles and techniques to create factually accurate
narratives.

Example:

1000 Gifts by Ann Voscamp