WELCOME TO

HGE 1113
CLASS!
LET'S START WITH AN
ACTIVITY
Literature is…
GROUP PRESENTATION
[Acrostic]
L
RUBRICS: I
T
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Creativity: 10 R
Relevance: 10 A
Content: 10 T
Presentation: 10 U
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40
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Introduction to
Literature
 ?
AL
Identify salient
S
UR T'
O features of literature
A
G
H
W

Reflect one's
O

literary experience
 Literature

The etymology of the word literature was derived

from the Latin words:
'littera' - letters
'litteratura' - writing
'litteratus' - learning
“Literature is a criticism of life.”

Matthew Arnold (1822-1888),

English poet and cultural critic.

Literature Life
 “Literature must be an analysis of experience
and a synthesis of the findings into a unity.”

American Heritage Dictionary of

the English Language

“Literature always anticipates life. It does not

copy it but molds it to its purpose.”

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900),

Irish author, playwright, and poet.
“Literature consists of writings which interpret
the meanings of nature and life, in words of
charm and power, in artistic forms of permanent
interest (Van Dyke, as cited in Baldick, 2009)”

Henry Van Dyke,

American author, educator, and clergyman

Central to the given definitions is LIFE and

how this life is given to HUMANKIND.
How Literature is. . .

It is not enough to write about life; rather, a writer has

to render it imaginatively.

Literature orients the reader to the beauty of order

and arrangement, as in a beautifully written poem or
a well-structured story.
How Literature is. . .

A literary work is subjected to certain literary standards

to be considered literature in the true sense of the word.
A literary work must be aesthetically satisfying,
intellectually simulating, and spiritually uplifting.
A reader should refer to these standards when analyzing
and evaluating a literary production.
Features of Literature

1. Literature is a form of communication.

Literature engages us to share and impart a portion of
ourselves which may be interesting and benefiting to
other people.
Features of Literature

2. Literature is an art.
Literature takes an excellent form. Its beauty is a
deliberate manifestation of mind’s ability to create and
imagine.
Features of Literature

3. Literature has the nobility of thoughts.

It is necessary to highlight ideas of great importance
and significance.
Features of Literature

4. Literature is timeless.
The significant truth about that a literary work reveals
should not wane and dissipate as time passes by.
Features of Literature

5. Literature is universal.
A work must have global applicability in which a work
transcends across space.
Features of Literature

6. Literature serves a purpose.

We will learn more about individuals, society, and culture
through reading literature. Literature can also help
people refresh and change themselves into what it has
to offer.
Collective Body of
Literary Productions

Poetry
Prose
Drama
POETRY
Literature that evokes a concentrated imaginative
awareness of experience or a specific emotional
response through language chosen and arranged
for its meaning, sound, and rhythm.
Four major types of poetry:
• Lyric
• Narrative
• Dramatic
• Prose poetry
 Major Types of Poetry
Lyric Poetry
• Consists of poems that deal with emotions or feelings
• “Spontaneous flow of emotion” – William Wordsworth
• Lyric types that abound with figures of speech
include the sonnet, song, elegy, ode, and simple lyric

Narrative Poetry
• A story-telling verse
• Poems that narrate stories
• Ballads, metrical tale, metrical romance, and epic
Major Types of Poetry
Dramatic Poetry
• Consists of poems in which everything is conveyed
through the words of a single speaker.
• Dramatic Monologue – the speaker converses with a
silent listener who is present during his or her crisis.
• Soliloquy – the speaker recites in long verse his or
her private thoughts and feelings to no one in
particular; rather, he or she directs this to the
audience.
Major Types of Poetry
Prose Poetry
• Has all the characteristics of poetry such as vivid
imagery, poetic meter, heightened emotion, and
language play – except that it is written in sentences.
PROSE
• It uses a natural form of expression.
• It does not adhere to the rules of rhyme, rhythm,
and meter.
• It employs a language characterized by its close
resemblance to the patterns of everyday speech.
Two major types of prose:
• Fiction
• Non-Fiction
Major Types of Prose
Fiction
• A form of narrative that tells about imaginative
characters and events.
• Short story and novel.
Non-Fiction
• Prose writing based on real people and events.
• Essay, oration, biography, autobiography, memoir,
letters, and epistles.
DRAMA
“Composition in verse or prose intended to portray
life or character or to tell a story usually involving
conflicts and emotions through action and dialogue;
it is typically designed for theatrical performance.”
• Dialogue – lines spoken by characters
• Plot and action – interaction of characters
Classifed as:
• Tragedy
• Comedy
Major Types of Drama
Tragedy
• Deals with serious subjects and involves persons of
significance
• Reveals the nobility of the human condition
Comedy
• Treats themes and characters with humor and
typically has a happy ending
• Demonstrates its folly portraying human beings as
selfish, hypocritical, vain, weak, and irrational.
 LET'S SYNTHESIZE!

What remarkable idea of Literature

will you remember in today’s
discussion? How will it help you in
your daily life?
VALUES FORMATION
 VALUES FORMATION

Literature is life. It presents significant human

experiences in various forms (like feelings, moods,
attitudes, ideas and events) in an interrelated series.
Through the medium of language, it presents man’s
dreams and aspirations, his joys and sorrows, his
triumphs and failures, his wisdom and folly.
 THANK YOU!
HAVE A NICE DAY AND KEEP
SAFE!