THE STUDY OF

LITERATURE
ESSENCE AND SIGNIFICANCE OF LITERATURE

1. Literature (origin of term – litera which means

letter) deals with ideas, thoughts and emotions
of man – thus it can be said the literature is the
story of man. (Kahayon, 1998, p.5-7);

Literature comes from the French phrase “belles-

lettres” which means beautiful writing. (Baritugo, et
al. 2004, p.1)
2. The best way to understand human
nature fully and to know a nation
completely is to study literature. (Garcia, et
al, 1993, p.3)
3. Through literature, we learn the innermost
feelings and thoughts of people – the most
real part of themselves. We gain an
understanding not only of others, but of
ourselves and of life itself. (Garcia, et al, 1993,
p.4)
4. Literature offers us an experience in
which we should participate as we read and
test what we read by our own experience.
5. Literature does not yield much unless we
bring something of ourselves to it.
6. Literature is a faithful production of life.
In a sense that it is a product and a
commentary on life process.
7. Literature illuminates life.
8. Literature is our life’s story including its
struggles, ideas, failures the imagination
and arouses noble emotions and it
enriches man by enabling him to reflect on
life and by filling him with new ideas.
9. Literature appeals to man’s higher nature
and its needs – emotional, spiritual, intellectual,
and creative. Like all other forms of art,
literature entertains and gives pleasure. (Garcia,
et al, 1993, pp. 1-3)
10. Literature is one of the seven arts (i.e.,
music, dance, painting, sculpture, theatre
and architecture) and as such, literature is a
creative product of a creative work, the
result of which is form and beauty.
11. People read literature for information, for
amusement, for higher and keener pleasure,
for cultural upliftment and for discovery of
broader dimensions in life.
12. The ability to judge of literature is based on
the application of certain recognizable
standards of good literature.
HALLMARK OF LITERATURE
Permanence – a great
work of literature endures –
it can be read again and
again as each reading gives
fresh delight and new
insights and open new
worlds of meaning and
experience.
 DIVISIONS OF LITERATURES: PROSE AND POETRY

All literature falls under two main divisions:

PROSE POETRY
Form Written in paragraph Written in stanza or verse
form form
Language Expressed in ordinary Expressed in metrical,
language rhythmical and figurative
language
Appeal To the intellect To the emotion
Aim To convince, inform, Stir the imagination and set
instruct, imitate and an ideal of how life should be
reflect
Prose
• written in the form of ordinary written or spoken
language and within the common flow of a conversation

• Easily understood compared to poetry

• Generally concentrates on the familiar and the ordinary

• May also deal with subjects such as heroism, beauty,

love, and nobility of spirit

• Usually categorized into fiction and nonfiction.

I. FICTION

• Defined as a series of imagined facts which illustrates

truths about human life.
• It is not contrary to truth at all.
Types of Fiction

A. SHORT STORY – a brief, artistic form of prose fiction which is

centered on a single main incident and is intended to produce a
single dominant impression which may be sadness, surprise,
sympathy, terror or other reactions.

The qualities:
 Economy
 Compression
 Brevity
 emphasis
A Short Story..

 may be developed within a day or two or even hours,

usually in one place.

Only the important features of the action are narrated

and events are compressed to allow the meaningful and
indispensable to be included in the narration.

Emphasis is placed on important details.

B. NOVEL
a more extensive form of prose.
The modern novel is a novel of fiction which is elastic.
length extends to hundreds of pages.
It has expanded its scope to include various types of
objectives
Its length permits a greater number and a variety of
characters, a more complex plot, and a more elaborate
use of setting
It has greater complexity of theme
Capable of revealing both a broader and deeper view of
human nature and the human experience
C. PROSE ALLEGORY – a prose form in which the
characters, ideas, and actions stand for something else or
for a system of ideas with meanings implied.

1. Fable – a short allegorical tale conveying a moral or

principle of behavior; the characters are usually animals
talking like human beings., but keeping their animal
traits. Often the moral is appended in the form of a
proverb.
 2. Myths
traditional tales common to the members of a tribe, race,
or nation usually involving the supernatural and serving to
explain natural phenomena or suggest a religious or moral
truth.

Myths of a people when taken all together form a

mythology

All peoples everywhere have always had their

mythologies to explain such things as the origin of the
world and of man and woman, etc.
 3. Legends

Stories of some wonderful events popularly believed to

have some historical basis and passed down through the
ages.

D. PROSE ROMANCES - types of stories in which there

occur some supernatural or magical events, fantastic, and
unrealistic.
1.Fairy tales – make use of folklore motifs, commonplace
expressions, and typical themes are those which develop
from stock characters such as cruel king, cruel
stepmother, etc.
2. Folk tales – are part of folklore (traditions transmitted
through memory and practice rather than by the printed
page).
A folk tale is a story which consists of one or a
combination of many folklore themes (motifs). Folk tales
easily pass from language to language and spread all over
the world; hence, they are sometimes called “migratory
tales.”

3. Also Myths and Legends

E. PROSE SATIRES – stories which human vices and follies
are held up to ridicule.
The humor arises from the plot, an intrigue, or practical
joke told in a rapid succession of events that form a
single episode.

Boccaccio’s Decameron contains brilliant illustrations of

this type.
F. NOVELETTES – prose narratives that are
intermediate between the short story and the novels.
It is about 50 to 150 ordinary pages long, but no exact
limits can be given as to length.

Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea (1952) is an

excellent example of a novelette.
II. NONFICTION

These are literary works that are based mainly on fact

rather than on the imagination, although they may contain
fictional elements.

Non-fiction prose types:

a. Biography and Autobiography
b. Letters (Epistles): Diaries; Journals
c. Book reviews
d. Literary criticism
e. Scientific and Current Publications
III. THE ESSAY

The essay is a prose composition of moderate

length, usually expository in nature, which aims to
explain an idea, a theory, an impression or a point of
view.
It may be classified as formal (impersonal) or
informal (personal or familiar).
A.Reflective essays – are serious and dignified and
usually employ aphorisms (a short phrase that
expresses a true or wise idea).
B.Narrative or story essay – makes use of an
incident to illustrate an idea or a theme.
C.Descriptive essay – has some narrative elements
as well as color, vividness, and realistic portrayals.
D.Biographical essay – sketches life or presents
character analysis.
E. Nature essay – attempts to picture the world of God’s
creation and may do so in a graphic, pictorial vein or a more
thoughtful, philosophical manner.

F. Critical essay – includes biographical criticism, literary

criticism, and book reviews.

G. Periodical essays – generally published in periodicals,

hence, they are also called journalistic.

H. Didactic essays – enforce a moral and, therefore, the

tone is serious and didactic (designed or intended to teach
people something).
IV. PROSE DRAMA
literary work written in dialogue and intended for
presentation by actors. The essence of drama is the make-
believe by which an actor impersonates a character of the
play.

The same divisions under poetic plays apply to prose drama:

a.Comedy
b.Tragedy
c. Melodrama
d.Farce
e.History Play
However, there are scores of special types such as:
1. Closet drama – intended for private reading rather than stage
performance
2. Tragicomedy – a combination of the elements of a tragedy and
comedy
3. Problem plays – neither comedies nor tragedies but deal with
middle-class life and problems
4. Comedy of manners – play which satirizes the extremes of
fashion and manners – the acquired follies of a highly
sophisticated society
5. Comedia del l’arte – a type of comedy developed in 16th century
Italy and its essential characteristic was that it was based on a
plot (scenario) outlined in advance but the dialogue was
improvised during performance.