Nature and Scope of

Literature
Prepared by: Ms. Angelica Lara Balaguer
 Learning Objectives
• Comprehend the concept and nature of literature,

2. Distinguish the characteristics of literature

3. Analyze the functions of literature

 Literature
• comes from Latin word "Litera" which means
"letters" or "litteratura" meaning, writing formed with
letters

• body of literary productions, either oral or written

• written creative works that have a high and enduring

value
 Characteristics of Literature
• Literature is language

2. Literature is a product of culture

3. Literature is an art
 Functions of Literature
• Entertainment

• Literary works are used for the sake of one’s enjoyment.

 Functions of Literature
2. Social and Political

• It helps show the social condition, political structure, and the

state of the people in the society.
 Functions of Literature
3. Ideological

• It shapes one's way of thinking.

 Functions of Literature
4. Moral

• Literature imparts morals and values.

• It develops people's upbringing.

 Functions of Literature
5. Linguistic

• Literature preserves the language of the civilization where it

was originated.
 Functions of Literature
6. Cultural

• Literature preserves culture and gives the readers ideas of the

way of life of people from the past.
 Functions of Literature
7. Knowledge Sharing

• Literature fill ourselves with new things about the world.

• It is use to portray the multiple facets of life.

 Divisions of Literature
• Prose

• written works that are structured in grammatical way

• writing style does not follow a strict structure of rhyming and/or
meter
• the language use is natural and grammatical
 TYPES OF PROSE
A. Fiction

• a prose that shows an imaginative narration, fashioned to entertain

and send compelling message to the readers.
 TYPES OF FICTION
a. Folktale

• narratives that have been transmitted from one teller to another

over an uncertain period of time

• popular or legendary stories, familiar to a specific group or culture

reflecting their values and ideas
 TYPES OF FICTION
b. Myths

• describes the origin of a person or place or the world,

• it tries to explain mysteries, supernatural events, and cultural

traditions
 TYPES OF FICTION
c. Fables

• fictional work of literature featuring inanimate objects or forces of

nature, animals, plants or legendary creatures having humanlike
attributes which usually gives values or morals to the readers
 TYPES OF FICTION
d. Parable

• fictional stories that illustrate a moral attitude or a religious

principle and informative lessons or teachings.
 TYPES OF FICTION
e. Legends

• a story that's purported to be historical in nature but that is without

substantiation

• about real-life people and what they did but some information are a
little exaggerated to make them more interesting and exciting
 TYPES OF FICTION
f. Novel

• book telling a single tale penned creatively with human experience

and exposure.

• has several chapters, each chapter is linked to each other through a

sequence of events
 TYPES OF FICTION
g. Novella

• A novella is a “short book" that can stand on its own as a book

• longer than a short story but shorter than a novel.

 TYPES OF FICTION
h. Short Story

• meant to be read in a single sitting

• a story with a fully-developed theme that has only one or few

events and passages, has few characters, and few to no chapters
 TYPES OF PROSE
B. Non-Fiction

• a literary work of "real life" nerration or exposition based on history

and facts whose main thrust is intellectual appeal to convey facts,
theories, generalizations, or concepts about a particular topic.
 TYPES OF NON-FICTION
a. historical non-fiction

• consists of true accounts of historical eras and events. Some

histories dwell purely in objective facts, and other histories are
refracted through the lens of the author's personal beliefs
 TYPES OF NON-FICTION
b. biographies

• written in the third person about someone's life or story

 TYPES OF NON-FICTION
c. autobiographies or memoirs

• both are written by the subject themselves, however,

autobiographies cover the author’s entire life, while memoirs only
cover a certain part of his life.
 TYPES OF NON-FICTION
d. academic texts

• designed to instruct readers on a particular topic. These are the

kinds of books that are required to read in college.
 TYPES OF NON-FICTION
e. travelogues

• close cousin of memoirs, but travelogues recount an author’s

specific experience traveling somewhere.
 TYPES OF NON-FICTION
f. journalism

• explore all of the intersections of a story, including cultural,

historical, social, corporate, and other interests that led to that
particular moment and particular series of incidents.
 TYPES OF NON-FICTION
g. Self-help books

• written with the intention to instruct its readers on solving personal

problems such as business success concerns, buoying confidence,
staying organized, relationship advice, dieting, and financial
management.
 Divisions of Literature
2. Poetry

a literary work expressed in verse, measure, rhythm, sound, and

imaginative language and creates an emotional response to an
experience, feeling, or fact.
 TYPES OF POETRY
A. Lyric Poetry

• originally sung or recited with a musical instrument, called a lyre

• about the poet's feelings and personal views

 TYPES OF LYRIC POETRY
a. ODE- the most majestic, spirit of praise of some persons or things.

b. ELEGY – usually written about a loved one who has passed away
 TYPES OF LYRIC POETRY
c. CORRIDOS – narrate a historical event oppression, daily life for
criminals, the vaquero lifestyle, and other socially relevant topics
 TYPES OF LYRIC POETRY
d. SONNET – a fourteen-line poem which usually uses love as its
central theme

I. Italian Sonnet- two quatrains making up a stanza of 8 lines and a

sestet (a stanza of six lines); abba-abbba-cdecde

II. Shakespearian Sonnet- has 3 quatrains and a concluding couplet;

abab-cdcd-efef-gg
 TYPES OF LYRIC POETRY
e. Limerick- five lines long, has a unique set rhyme scheme of AABBA,
with lines one, two and five all being longer in length than lines three
and four. The last line is often the punchline.
 TYPES OF LYRIC POETRY
f. Song- short lyric poem intended to be sung

a. Secular song- has a non-religious theme

b. Sacred songs- songs to praise God
 TYPES OF POETRY
A. Narrative Poetry

• a poetry that narrates a story or tale

• story is usually written in metered verse

 TYPES OF NARRATIVE POETRY
a. EPIC – tale about hero (war, tribal, conquest, struggles)

b. METRICAL ROMANCE - long narrative poetry about adventure,

love and chivalry.
 TYPES OF NARRATIVE POETRY
c. METRICAL TALE – single series of connecting events that are
simple, straightforward, and realistic manner. (emotions and phase of
life)

d. BALLAD – short narrative poem, simple meter and stanzas, intended

to be sung.
 TYPES OF POETRY
C. Dramatic Poetry

• a poem where a story is told through the verse dialogue of the

characters and narrators
 TYPES OF DRAMATIC POETRY
a. DRAMATIC MONOLOGUE

the actor is talking to someone else in the play, but the second person
doesn’t say anything, but their presence often makes the speech a little
bit more believable
 TYPES OF DRAMATIC POETRY
b. SOLILOQUY

it is spoken to oneself or to himself

 TYPES OF DRAMATIC POETRY
c. CHARACTER SKETCH

letting the reader know many things about the character in a few lines of
poetry or, writer’s main goal is to make the audience feel something for
the character; it could be a feeling of sympathy, hatred or anything in
between
 TYPES OF DRAMATIC POETRY
d. DIALOGUE

takes at least two people, who exchange lines to direct action, give
information or tell something about themselves. The benefit of this form
is that actors can play off each other, responding naturally to what the
other person does so that the play doesn’t seem overly rehearsed
 Divisions of Literature
3. Essay

•comes from French word "essai" meaning trial or test

•a composition of moderate length devoted to a single topic
•it explains a provisional exploration or appraisal of a subject or
anything that can be said on the subject
 TYPES OF ESSAY
A. Formal Essay

• it deals with serious topic that are authorized by scholars; typically

used for the discussion of ideas and reveals the writer's mastery of
the topic
 TYPES OF ESSAY
A. Informal Essay

• used for personal or casual purpose that deals with light, ordinary or
even common place as a subject that has a conversational tome
 Division of Literature
4. Drama

• a composition in prose from that presents a story told entirely in

dialogue and action.

• it is written with the intention of its eventual performance before an

audience
 TYPES OF DRAMA
a. Tragedy

• the main character is brought to ruin or suffer a great sorrow; it

shows downfall, suffering and sorrowful events that befall the main
character
 TYPES OF DRAMA
b. Comedy

• a play that brings laughter where the protagonist leaps over all
difficulties, it has a light or humorous tone that depicts amusing
incidents in which the characters ultimately triumph over adversity.
 TYPES OF DRAMA
b. Comedy

• a play that brings laughter where the protagonist leaps over all
difficulties, it has a light or humorous tone that depicts amusing
incidents in which the characters ultimately triumph over adversity.
 TYPES OF DRAMA
c. Melodrama

• it is a play that deals with stern feat and concludes in a happy

resolution, it is achieved when the power of the villain is neutralized
or combated
 TYPES OF DRAMA
d. Farce

• a play that brings laughter for the sake of laughter, it has an

intention to make the audience laugh usually by making grossly
embellished events and character