Subject: ENGLISH

Republic of the Philippines Course Title: 21st Century Literature

Region VI Western Visayas
Grade : 11-SHS
ANTIQUE VOCATIONAL SCHOOL
Bugasong, Antique
Prepared by: Miss Michelle Plaza Jordan

The Literature of the World: A 21st Century Perspective

LITERARY COMPOSITIONS THAT INFLUENCED THE WORLD
1. The Bible or the Sacred Writings – This has become the basis of Christianity originating from Palestine and Greece.
2. Koran (Qur’an) - The Muslim Bible originating from Arabia.
3. The Iliad and Odyssey – These have been the source of myths and legends of Greece. They were written by Homer.
4. The Mahabharata- The longest epic of the world. It contains the history of religion of India.
5. Canterbury Tales- It depicts the religion and customs of the English in the early days. This originated from England
and written by Geoffrey Chaucer.
6. Uncle Tom’s Cabin- by Harriet Beecher Stowe of the US. This depicted the sad fate of slaves; this became the basis
of democracy later on.
7. The Divine Comedy – by Dante Alighieri.
8. El Cid – This shows the cultural characteristics of the Spaniards and their national history.
9. The Song of Roland – This includes Doce Pares and Ronscesvalles of France. It tells about the Golden age of
Christianity in France.
10. The Book of the Dead – This includes the cult of Osiris and the mythology and theology of Egypt.
11. One Thousand and One Nights or the Arabian Nights – From Arabia and Persia (Iran) It shows the ways of
government, of industries and of the society of the Arabs

OVERVIEW OF LITERATURE THROUGH THE AGES

I. ANCIENT LITERATURE
 All literatures began with simple words
 Rhythmic sounds that might have meanings
 Lullaby songs
 Religious chants or hymns
 Praises for heroes, gods and goddesses
 The oldest existing literature are the literary remains of the MIDDLE KINGDOM OF EGYPT
which are written in ink papyrus
 Religious literature of Babylonia and Assyria consisted of the ritual worship, magic incantations
to repel evil spirits, predictions of the future, epics dealing with such topic such as creation and
the flood which appear on the Hebrew Book of Genesis
 Homeric poems in Greece represented an age of epic poetry with the Odyssey as a shining
example
 Rome derived not only its literature but its religious, mythology and historical legends from
Greeks
 The oldest existing Chinese Literature are the Five Classics which became the component
stones in China’s true Great Wall against barbarianism

II. MEDIEVAL PERIOD

 Romance originated in Medieval France
 The Dark Ages boast of
1. Britain’s Arthurian Legends
2. France’s Chanson de Roland
3. Germany’s Dr. Schwanritter
4. France’s Amadis de Gaula
 One important contribution of this period is John Wycliff’s translation of the Bible into English
 The most important writer of the medieval period was the poet Geoffrey Chaucer who wrote
the Canterbury Tales

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 MEDIEVAL LITERATURE
 The medieval literature encompasses 1,000 years. From the fall of the Western Roman Empire
to the Beginning of the Florentine Renaissance in the late 15th century.
 During the medieval period, there was no central gov’t. Lords often went to gain or to defend
their land through war. Society was based on feudalism, a system where lords rewarded land
to vassals or retainers for protection.
 There are three Classes or Society:
1. Those who pray- Clergy of the Roman Catholic Church
2. Those who fight- Ranks of Nobles, Princes and Knights
3. Those who work- Peasants
 The Noble Classes had more wealth or power. A Knight must abide by a code of chivalry and
must devote himself to honor, piety, and service God. Minstrels or troubadours sang of courtly
love and celebrates romantic love.
 The Roman Catholic Church influenced the culture and society of the Medieval Age.
 Latin was the Language of the Roman Catholic Church. It dominated Western and Central
Europe. The church is the only source of information
 Women were never accorded full equality with men in Medieval Times
 There are Four Types of Writing: (1) religious, (2) secular, (3) women’s literature, (4) allegory
 Secular literature talks about a courtly love
 Anonymity is a notable amount of literature is anonymous, names of the authors seem
unimportant and important works were never attributed to any specific person.

EXAMPLES OF LITERARY TEXTS IN THE MEDIEVAL PERIOD

a. Political Situation
 Beowulf – epic of United Kingdom specifically during the time of the Anglo-Saxon
 Song of Roland (Les Chances de Roland)- epic of France
 The Death of Arthur by Thomas Malory
b. Medieval Society
 Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
c. Medieval Economy
 The Travels of Marco Polo
d. Religious Order
 The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri
 Summa Theologica
 Revelations of Divine Love
e. Aristocratic Behavior
 Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
 Tristan

III. RENAISSANCE PERIOD

 This period marks the rebirth of the humanistic spirit of classical antiquity
 The new type of the Renaissance poetry begun in Italy and France the model and inspiration of
which was the Italian Petrarch who lived at about the same time as Chaucer

IV. THE 17TH AND THE 18TH CENTURIES

 The 3 leading Spanish writers of the 17th century were Cervantes, Lope de Vega and Calderon
 The spirit of the 18th century, called the Age of Reason, was greatly influenced by the good
taste of French Literature, the empirical and practical philosophy of John Locke, and the
mathematically simplified science of Isaac Newton.
 Three discreet literary eras that emerged in the 18th century:
1. The Restoration- dominated by Dryden. Dryden’s occasional verse, comedy, blank verse
tragedy, heroic play, ode, satire, translation, critical essay and his precepts had great
influence
2. The Age of Satire- dominated by Swift and Pope. Chiefly a literature of wit, concerned with
civilization and social. Critical and in some degree, moral or satirical.
3. The Age of Johnson- dominated by Johnson. A new kind of poetry and a major new literary
form, the novel.
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 FAMOUS LITERARY WRITERS
 John Milton- an English poet, polemicist and civil servant for the English Commonwealth. He is
most famed for his epic poem Paradise Lost which talks about the fall of man, the temptations of
Adam and Eve and their expulsion form the garden
 Ben Jonson- an English dramatist, poet and actor. He is best known for his satirical plays that
include Volpone and The Alchemist.
Volpone of the Fox (1606)- drawing on elements of city, comedy, black comedy and fable.
 John Dryden- an influential English poet, literary critic, translator and playwright. He dominated
the Age of Restoration
All for Love- an acknowledged imitation of Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra. Focuses on the
remaining or last hours of the hero and heroine.
 Jonathan Swift- a prolific writer, famous for his satires. His writing represents the new, the
different and the modern attempting to change the world by parodying the ancient and
incumbent.
The Battle of the Books- it depicts a literal battle between books in the St. James Library, as
ideas and authors struggle for supremacy.
 Daniel Dafoe- a British writer, journalist and spy. He gained enduring fame for his novel Robinson
Crusoe.
Robinson Crusoe- regarded as the first novel in English. It is a fictional autobiography of the
title character, and English castaway who spend 28 years in a remote island.
 Alexander Pope- generally regarded as the greatest poet of the early 18th century, best known for
his satirical verse and for his translation to Homer. He is regarded as the most quoted poet in
English Literature except Shakespeare
An Essay on Criticism- it is written in a type of rhyming verse called heroic couplets.

V. PERIOD OF CLASSICISM
 Historians often identify the rise of the Romanticism with the Industrial revolution, or American
War of Independence showing major changes in the arts, including literature, are usually
related to some social upheaval or to changes in the philosophical concept of man.
 About this time, literary works on love of country flowered in the Philippines.
 Classicism is a type of writing that shows restraint, careful planning, and a deep respect for the
past.
 In the Philippines, notable writers were Jose Rizal, Emilio Jacinto, Graciano Lopez Jaena and
Marcelo H. del Pilar

VI. ROMANTIC PERIOD

 Romanticism is turning away from classicism and may be considered a reaction against neo-
classicism or against what is called The Age of Reason, The Augustan Stage, The Enlightenment,
and The Eighteenth Century Materialism.
 The romantic writer expresses his feelings. He is imaginative, adventurous and sentimental.
 Works of Victor Hugo, the giant of Romantic Movement, Lord Byron, Charles Dickens, and
Spanish models were being imitated.

WRITERS IN THE ROMANTIC PERIOD

 Jane Austen  Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
 Pride and Prejudice  The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
 Emma  The Lost World
 Persuasion  Edgar Allan Poe
 Mansfield Park  The Raven
 Samuel Clemens  The Tell-Tale Heart
 The Adventures of Huckleberry Fin  Percy Bysshe Shelley
 The Adventures of Tom Sawyer  Ode to the West Wind
 The Mysterious Man  Ozymandias

VII. PERIOD OF REALISM

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  While romanticism was still fashion in writing, realism, a new literary movement began to be
popular.
 The term realism may be applied to any writing that seeks to portray life exactly as it is,
without embellishments or idealizations.

VIII. CONTEMPORARY PERIOD

 The 20th Century has brought many new writers and ideas because of the progress and giant
strides in all aspects of life, it is difficult to keep track of the dimensions of literature and the
various branches of knowledge.

LITERATURE ACROSS THE GLOBE

 LITERATURES OF ASIA
 In the last 2,500 years, it has been influence by the interaction between Chinese, Indian, Islamic and
European and including Russian factors.
 China molded the civilization of Eastern Asia including Japan, Korean, and a primary influence on
Mongolia, Tibet, Thailand, Cambodia and Burma.
 Indian influences has mainly expressed itself through Hinduism and Buddhism
 Philippine Literature like that of other countries, started with incantations, myths and folktales, and
developed through the years
 With the introduction of the Christianity, our literature underwent periods of orientation and
growth and now has a place among the great works of the world.

 CHINA
 Confucianism provides the Chinese with both a moral order and an order for the universe. It is not a
religion but it makes individuals aware of their place in the world and the behavior appropriate to it
 The Analects (Lun Yu) is one of the four Confucian texts. The sayings range from brief statements to
more extended dialogues between Confucius and his students. The Analects instructs on
moderation in all things through moral education, the building of a harmonious family life and the
development of virtues such as loyalty, obedience and a sense of justice.
 The Tao-Te Ching (Classic of the Way of Power represents a way of life intended to restore
harmony and tranquility to a kingdom racked by widespread disorders.
 The Book of Songs (Shih Ching), compiled around the 6th century B.C. is the oldest collection of
Chinese poetry.
 Journey to the West- most popular Ming novel. The story of monk Xuanzang’s journey to India to
fetch a Buddhist scripture.

 INDIA
 Rabindranath Tagore, the author of many works, including Gitangali and India's national anthem
'Jana Gana Mana'. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913 .He was the first person of
non-European lineage to win a Nobel Prize.
 Mahabharata and the Ramayana- India’s two great epics
 Vedas - a collection of sacred hymn or verse composed in archaic Sanskrit
 Bhagavad Gita (The blessed Lord’s Song) is one of the greatest and most beautiful of the Hindu
scriptures. It is regarded by the Hindus in somewhat the same way as the Gospels are by Christians,
It forms part of Book IV and is written in the form of a dialogue between the warrior Prince Arjuna
and his friend and charioteer, Krishna, who is also an earthly incarnation of the god Vishnu.
 Panchatantra is a collection of Indian beast fables originally written in Sanskrit. In Europe the work
was known under the title The Fables of Bidpai after the narrator, and Indian sage named Bidpai,
( called Vidyapati in Sanskrit).
 Kalidasa- a Sanskrit poet and dramatist is probably the greatest Indian writer of all time. As with
most classical Indian authors, little is known about kalidasa’s person or his historical relationships.
His poems suggest that he was a Brahman (priest).
 Anita Desai (1937). An English-language Indian novelist and author of children’s books, she is
considered India’s premier imagist writer. She excelled in evoking character and mood through
visual images. Most of her works reflect her tragic view of life.

 JAPAN
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  Poetry is one of the oldest and most popular means of expression and communication in the Japan
 Haiku- Japanese poem consist of 5-7-5 syllables and is commonly about nature
 Matsuo Basho (1644 – 1694) is regarded as the greatest haiku poet. He was born into a samurai
family and began writing poems at an early age. Basho means banana plant, a gift given him to
which he became deeply attached.
 The Tale of Genji by Lady Murasaki Shikibu, a work of tremendous length and complexity, is
considered to be the world’s first true novel. It traces the life of a gifted and charming prince.

 MALAYSIA
 Literature styles in Malaysia changed with the influences of Europeans (Portuguese, Dutch and
English). The classical literary style of Malays was eventually replaced in print with the vernacular
language.
 The Serajah Melayu (Malay Annnals), written in the 1500s is the most important Malaysian literary
works and tells the story of a Malacca sultanate

 KOREA
 Korean literature was written in Chinese and in Korean, first using the transcription system idu and
gugyeol and finally using the Korean script Hangul. It is commonly divided into classical and modern
periods.
 King Sejong- one of Korea’s emperor who ordered the creation of the Korean alphabet known as
“hangul”

 SINGAPORE
 The literature of Singapore comprises a collection of literary works by Singaporeans in any of
the country’s four main language: English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil
 Some poets have been labeled Confessional for their personalized writing, often dealing with
intimate issue such as sexuality
 Catherine Lim- The Teardrop Story Woman, Love’s Lonely Impulses
 Goh Poh Seng- We Dream Too Long, A Dance of Moths

 THAILAND
 Early Thai literature was primarily concerned with religion. Thai verse was written exclusively by the
aristocracy or the royalty
 One important Thai literary work is the Ramakian, a Thai version of the Indian epic, the Ramayana
 King Rama I’s Ramakian is the major historical source of medieval Thai courtly traditions.

 LITERATURES OF AFRICA
 Africa has a long literary tradition. Little of this literature was written down until the 20 th century. It
was primarily oral and passed down from one generation to another mostly written in European
languages.
 The first African writing were focused on slavery. Newspapers served as vehicles for expressing
nascent nationalist feelings.
 Africa’s form of literature are myth, legend, folktale,etc.

 KENYA
 Written literature in Swahili and later in English. Developed in the early 20th century, when these
languages were adopted for use in schools throughout the colony.
 Bothwell Allan Ogot- A Place to Feel at Home, My Footprints in the Sand of Time
 Ngungi wa Thiong’o- Weep Not Child, The River Between, A Grain of Wheat

 SOMALIA
 Produced a large amount of literature through Islamic poetry and Hadith from Somali scholars of
the last centuries to modern fiction
 Poetry in the form of Qasida’s was also popular among Somali Shaykhs who produced several
thousand poems in praise of the Prophet Mohammad

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  NIGERIA
 Nigerian literature manifests the struggle of a people whose country is undergoing the painful
process of transformation from colonial through neo-colonial to wholly self-determining nation.
 Nigerian literature in English has raised more issues relevant to contemporary situations that the
literature of the indigenous Nigerian languages.
 Wole Soyinka (1934) is a Nigerian Playwright, poet, novelist, and critic who was the first black
African to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1986. Among his works: plays- A Dance of
the Forests, The Lion and the Jewel, The Trials of Brother Jero; novels – The Interpreters, Season of
Anomy; poems – Idanre and Other Poems, Poems from Prison, A Shuttle in the Crypt, Mandela’s
Earth and Other Poems.

 EUROPEAN LITERATURE
 Traditional Latin was the language manifested in literary works in most states in the early time of
the European literature especially in Germany.
 As the prestige of the papacy began to decline, national consciousness began to increase in
different states. This nationalism was manifested in literature written in National Languages or
Vernacular instead of traditional Latin.
 Homer- was a legendary early Greek poet and rhapsode traditionally credited ith the ownership of
the major Greek epics: Iliad and Odyssey, Capture of Oechalia, Phocais
 Sophocles- ancient Greek playwright, dramatist, priest and politician in Athens. He is known as the
second, chronologically of the three Greek tragedians. His works include: Oedipus the King, Ajax,
Antigone
 Giovanni Boccaccio- Italian author and poet. The greatest of Petrarch’s disciple, an important
renaissance humanist in his own right. Works: Decameron, On Famous Women
 Miguel Cervantes de Saavedra- his influence on the Spanish language had been so great that
Spanish is often called “la lengua de Cervantes”. Writer of the famous satire “Don Quixote”
 William Shakespeare- great genius of the Elizabethan Era. He is known as “the bard of Avon”, a
notable poet, dramatist, and playwright. Some of his works are The Cask of Amontillado, The Tell
Tale Heart, King Lear, Macbeth. His most famous work is a play Romeo and Juliet
 Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm- well known for publishing collections of German fairy tales. (Hansel
and Gretel and a couple others)
 Victor Hugo- as a French author, the most important of the Romantic authors in the French
language. Famous works: Les Miserables, Les Contemplations, The Hunchback of Notre Dame
 Fyodor Dostoyevskey- Russian writer; one of the major figures in Russian literature. He is
sometimes said to be the founder of existentialism. Famous work: Crime and Punishment
 Leo Tolstoy- notable for his ideas on non-violent resistance and his contributions to Russian
literature. Famous work: War and Peace, Anna Karenina

 AMERICAN LITERATURE
 Earliest literature was mainly sermons by men
 African- American people who had come over from Africa as slaves met local Cherokee people and
translated traditional African and Cherokee stories into English as Br’er Rabbit stories.
 James Fenimore Cooper- factional writer of the famous story The Last of the Mohicans
 Uncle Tom’s Cabin, the most popular American book of 19th century. It is also known as “Life
Among the Lowly” which depicts the discrimination done to Negro slaves
 Ralph Waldo Emerson- Father of American literature and the proponent of “the American newness”

Other Notable Literary Writers/ Poets

o The Venerable Bede- a monk who was the greatest Anglo- Saxon scholar who wrote the “Ecclesiastical History
of the Nation”
o John Bunyan- wrote the masterpiece of the 17th century, “The Pilgrim’s Progress”
o John Keats- a writer who believed that “true happiness was to be found in art and natural beauty. Example of
his work is Ode to a Nightingale
o Benjamin Franklin – America’s “first great man of letters” who embodied the Enlightenment ideal of humane
rationality. His greatest work is Autobiography
o Henry David Thoreau – wrote “Walden” also known as “Life in the Woods”, a book written for 2 years, 2
months, and 2 days.
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 o Sir Thomas Malory – wrote ‘Le Morte de Arthur, a collection of stories about King Arthur and his Knights of the
Round Table
o Christopher Colombus – the famous Italian explorer who wrote the “Epistola” which recounts his voyage
o Harriet Beecher Stowe- wrote Uncle Tom’s Cabin, the most popular American book of 19th century. It is also
known as “Life Among the Lowly”
o Jack London – highest paid writer of 19th century. His best-seller is the Call of the Wild
o George Bernard Shaw- had the longest career of any writer who ever lived. He began in the Victorian age until
1950
o T. S. Eliot – received the best education of any American writer of his generation at Harvard College, the
Sorbonne and Merton College of Oxford University
o Elizabeth Barrett Browning- wrote the most exquisite love poems of the Victorian Era
o Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Bronte- famous poet sisters
o John Milton- English poet who went blind. His greatest works are Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained.
o Homer- blind poet of Greece. Wrote the Iliad and Odyssey

 21st CENTURY LITERATURE…….PAST FORWARD

 21st CENTURY LITERATURE refers to world literature in prose produced roughly from 2001 to the
present.
 The 2000s saw a steep increase in the acceptability of literature of all types, inspired by the coming-
of-age of millions of people who enjoyed the works of writers such as C. S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien
in their youths.
 The 2000s also saw the popularization of manga or Japanese comics with a broad range of genres:
action-adventure, romance, sports and games, historical drama, comedy, science fiction, fantasy,
mystery, suspense, detective, horror, sexuality and business/ commerce among others
 Many famous books like Harry Potter series were converted into movies. Books on wars, guides for
exams, myths, etc. were frequent sellers in this decade. Some books were written in simple English
and works of old writers were translated into language that was easier to understand. Mythology
was converted into graphical novel to build interest among young readers.

FAMOUS 21ST CENTURY WRITERS

 Clive Staples Lewis – Chronicles of Narnia
 Joanne Kathleen Rowling- Harry Potter
 Lord of the Rings- J.R.R. Tolkein
 Twilight- Stephanie Meyer
 Percy Jackson- Rick Riordan
 Quentin Tarantino- Pulp Fiction
 Jonathan Franzen- The Corrections, Purity, Freedom
 Ian McEwan- Atonement

Prepared by:

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 MICHELLE PLAZA JORDAN
Teacher II

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