21ST CENTURY LITERATURE FROM
THE PHILIPPINES AND THE WORLD
HISTORY AND TIMELINE OF
PHILIPPINE LITERATURE
1. Pre-Colonial Period (__B.C. to
1564)
a. Longest period in PH lit.
b. Much of the literary outputs
in this era is oral
c. Riddles – gives an enigma
or puzzle
d. Proverbs – wise saying
e. Songs and rituals were
accompanied by mimetic
dances which were the
precursor of the drama
form
f. In prose, it contained
myths, tales, fables,
legends, and fantastic
stories
g. Folk epic was the most
significant and longest form
of poetry from this era,
either chanted or sung,
embodying beliefs,
customs, ideals, or life
h. Popular Epics: Biag ni
Lam-ang (Ilocos Region),
Hinilawod (Panay Island),
Bantugan and Indarapatra
at Sulayman
(Maguindanao)
2. The Spanish Regime (1565-1863)
a. Focused on religious themes due
to the Christianization of the
Philippines
b. Introduced the first printing press
c. Doctrina Christiana – first ever
published book
d. Literary Output: Catechisms,
Grammar Books, Dictionaries
e. Poems in Spanish and Tagalog
were written by Ladinos who knew
both languages
Pasyon
– the most popular form of
religious literature
– long narrative poem about the
passion and death of Christ
– Ang Mahal na Pasyon ni Jesu
Cristong Panginoon Natin by
Gaspar Aquilino de Belen
Senakulo
– dramatization of the Pasyon
– play on the passion and death of
Jesus Christ
– Performed during holy week
Two Popular Narrative Poems:
i. Awit
ii. Korido
– Sung or chanted
– Florante at Laura is the most
famous awit
Other Literary Types:
i. Duplo and Karagatan
ii. Komedya
– most popular drama form
iii. Prose
iv. Urbana at Feliza ni Marcelo De
Castro
3. The Nationalistic Period
(1864-1896)
a. Saw a new breed of writers
b. Strong feeling of
nationalism was the main
agenda of this period
c. Divided into Propaganda
and Revolution
d. At the close of 19th
centure, there was a shift in
both the language and the
audience from the
intelligentsia to the masses
e. Bonifacio, Jacinto, and
Mabini were the prominent
revolutionary writers
f. Produced realistic and trule
Filipino pieces
4. The United States Colonial Rule
(1910-1920, 1920-1945)
a. Languages that flourished were
Spanish, English, and Filipino
b. Reading, writing, speaking
Two periods:
i. The Period of Apprenticeship
– Dead Stars by Paz Marquez Benitez
– The Small Key by Paz Latorena
– Footnote to Youth by Jose Garcia Villa
– Child of Sorrow by Zoilo Galang
ii. The Period of Emergence
– Before the war and the Japanese
Occupation
– Notable Short Story Writers
- Manuel E. Arguilla
- Arturo Rotor
- N.V.M. Gonzales
- Francisco Arcellana
- Bienvenido N. Santos
5. The Japanese Occupation
(1942-1944)
a. Poets wrote in simple language
and free verse
b. Beautiful harvest in poetry, fiction
and in the fields of drama and
essay
c. Broke away from the tradition of
rhetorical, verbose, and figurative
The Achievements of this Period:
a. Portray Filipino Life and Culture:
Short Story
b. Flowering of Tagalog Short Poetry
c. Palanca Awards/National Awards
were launched
6. The Contemporary Period (1960 -
1986)
a. Upheavals in Nation’s History
– First quarter storm of the
Seventies
b. Martial Law Years
c. Assassination of Ninoy Aquino
Three Traditions Were Merged:
- Oral Lore (Ethnic Tradition)
- Spanish Tradition
- American Colonial Tradition
d. Literary Expressions
– give responses to the historical and
political force that have shaped Philippine
society since the Pacific war
7. Post EDSA Literature (1986-__)
a. Adventurousness, willingness to
gamble on non-traditional projects
b. Developing thrust towards the
retrieval and the recuperation of
writing in Philippine Languages
other than Tagalog
Classifications of Philippine Literature
Today
The Residual
– oral and regional
– remaining in the margins because the
center of writing and publishing is in Metro
Manila
– solidom-ay in Cordillera
– ismayling in Samar
– Baliling in Mindanao
– used to convey contemporary messages
of struggle and commitment and thus
emergent
The Dominant Language
– largely in English and Tagalog-based
Filipino
The Emergent
– produced by the marginalized sectors,
including workers, peasants, urban poor,
women, LGBTQIA+, and ethnic groups
Filipino writers published abroad in
English:
– N.V.M. Gonzales
– F. Sionil Jose
– Ninotchka Rosca
– Jessica Hedgehorn
– Cecilia Manguerra Brainard
– Epifanio San Juan Jr.
– Wilfredo Nolledo