21st Century Literature from the sentences forming paragraphs to

Philippines to the world express ideas, feelings, and

actions.
Literature
 Literature is a written or printed Division of Prose
productions of the human mind
collectively, which deals with Fiction
themes of permanent and  is a literary work which is a result
universal interest characterized of the author's imagination.
by creativeness and grace of  -short story
expression, as poetry, fictions,  -novel
essays, etc, distinguished from  -Play
works of scientific technical or  -Legend
journalistic nature. (webster,  -Fable
comprehensive, dictionary,
international edition.) Non-fiction
essay
Types of literature
 Is an attempt to express the
viewpoint and opinion of the
Oral Literature
writer on a particular problem or
 is preserve and handed down event.
from one generation to another
by word of mouth. oration
 Is a formal treatment of the
Written Literature
subject and intendedto be spoken
 is one that gets its form from the before a crowd.
used of the pen by literary
genius. Biography
 A literary works that gives the life
The reason why people write.
account of a person written by
 To express themselves. another person.
 To share knowledge and
information. autobiography
 To pass on values and ideas.  Is a literary work where the
 To impart truth, accuracy, and author writes his own life
evaluation. account.

Prose news
 is discourse that follows the usual
flow of conversation which uses
 Is a report of expected and physical strength, leadership,
unexpected events in society and who respects a nation or race,
government and incidents. and performs superhuman
 Letters deeds. The dominant tone is
 Diaries and Journals heroic. The poem style is
elevated, stylized, formal.
Poetry
 is a type of literature based on The primary epic was based on the oral
the interplay of words and traditions of a country – see the Iliad
rhythm. It often employs rhyme and Odyssey. The major Anglo-Saxon
and meter (a set of rules example is Beowulf. The literary or
governing the number and secondary epic was modeled on the
arrangement of syllables in each primary epic, and was the work of a
lined). In poetry, words are strung learned, refined writer. Examples are
together to form sounds, images, Virgil’s Aeneid and, in Englang, John
and ideas that might be too Milton’s Paradise Lost. The commonest
complex or abstract to describe metre of the epic blank verse (unrhythm
directly. iambic pentametre).
The solemnity and seriousness of the
There are three main kinds of poetry: epic led, almost inevitably, to parody and
narrative, dramatic and lyrical. It is not burlesque. This is how mock-heroic or
always possible to make distinction mock-epic poetry was born. One of the
between them. For example, an epic best examples in English is Alexander
poem can contain lyrical passages, or Pope’s The Rape of the Lock.
lyrical poem can contain narrative parts.

The tale in verse

Narrative in verse was very popular
Narrative poetry during the Renaissance, and met great
 Is the kind of poetry which tells a favour again in the Romantic period
story. Typical are the epic, the thanks to Walter Scott, who started his
tale in verse, the romance. The career as a poet, and George Byron.
ballad can also be included into
narrative poetry because it
contains a story. The romance
The medieval romance was a tale in
The epic poem verse dealing with chivalry and love.
Edmund Spencer’s Faerie Queene and
 The hero of epic poem is a Alfred Tennyson’s Idylls of the king are
special man endowed with modeled on the medieval chivaltric
romance.
 In general terms, it is its quality,
its expression of individual
thought and feeling that gives
lyrical poetry its character. Ruskin
defined it as “the expression by
Dramatic poetry the poet of his own feelings”.
 The word “drama” implies one or 
more characters and action.  A lyric is a non-narrative poem,
Dramatic poetry aims at involving featuring a single speaker, whose
the reader in an experience or purpose is to share a state of
situation, and creates tension, mind, a mood or attitude his
immediacy, expectation, conflict. reader.
The speakers act out roles and 
therefore must not be identified  It is easy to identify this speaker
with the poet. Many of John with the poet, especially when the
Donne’s lyrics represent vivid poem reflects feelings and events
examples of dramatic poetry. that characterized the poet’s life
(e.g Pascoli). However, what
When one speaker only is involved and makes a poem significant as a
the poem is his/hers speech, we have work of art is the universal value
the dramatic monologue. It aim is to get of the emotion and concepts it
the reader to understand the personality expresses.
and state of mind of the speaker, and The ode
thus sympathize with him/her. This form  A rather long poem, elevated in
of composition was famous by poets like tone and elaborated in style. It
Alfred Tennyson, Robert Browning and usually begins with an invocation
T.S. Eliot. and contains archaism. The
subject is usually serious, and the
Lyrical poetry concept conveyed is abstract.
 This kind of poetry has, and has
always had, the most appeal. As The sonnet
the name suggests, lyrical poetry  A person of fixed form, in
was originally associated with fourteen lines. It can be divided
music, and the term lyrical is till into an octave and sestet
used to indicate a song (Petrarchan form) or three
accompanied by a musical quartrains and a couplet
instrument. As Patrick Murray (Elizabethan form). It appeals to
writes in Literary Criticism: feelings directly and intensely.
D.G Rossetti (a painter and a
poet) defined it a moment’s have certain qualities in common.
monument. Example: Roberto was white as a sheet
after he walked out of the horror movie.
The ballad
 A poem narrative in kind and Synecdoche: A figure of speech in
dramatic in style. It used to be which a part is used to represent the
transmitted in oral form, as a whole. Example: Tina is learning her
song. The metre was simple. ABC's in preschool.
Repetitions – of words, lines, or Alliteration: The repetition of an initial
stanzas – are a typical feature of consonant sound. Example: She sells
ballads. The stanza consists of seashells by the seashore.
four lines, rhyming ABCB. The
ballad appealed especially to the
poets of the Romantic period. Anaphora: The repetition of the same
word or phrase at the beginning of
The pastoral successive clauses or verses. Example:
Unfortunately, I was in the wrong place
 One of the oldest literary forms, at the wrong time on the wrong day.
which conventionally describes
the life of shepherds and the Antithesis: The juxtaposition of
idyllic aspects of rural life. It contrasting ideas in balanced phrases.
developed in classical times (3rd Example: As Abraham Lincoln said,
century BC) and was renewed in "Folks who have no vices have very few
the Renaissance. virtues."

The elegy Apostrophe: Directly addressing a

 Sorrowful poem or song written nonexistent person or an inanimate
for someone who has died or object as though it were a living being.
something that is lost. Example: "Oh, you stupid car, you never
figurative language work when I need you to," Bert sighed.
 is a distinction within some fields
of language analysis, in particular Assonance: Identity or similarity in
stylistics, rhetoric, and semantics. sound between internal vowels in
Literal language uses words neighboring words. Example: How now,
exactly according to their brown cow?
conventionally accepted hiasmus: A verbal pattern in which the
meanings or denotation second half of an expression is
Simile: A stated comparison (usually balanced against the first but with the
formed with "like" or "as") between two parts reversed. Example: The famous
fundamentally dissimilar things that chef said people should live to eat, not
eat to live.
for a salesman," the manager said
Euphemism: The substitution of an angrily.
inoffensive term for one considered
offensively explicit. Example: "We're Onomatopoeia: The use of words that
teaching our toddler how to go potty," imitate the sounds associated with the
Bob said. objects or actions they refer to.
Example: The clap of thunder went bang
Hyperbole: An extravagant statement; and scared my poor dog.
the use of exaggerated terms for the
purpose of emphasis or heightened Oxymoron: A figure of speech in which
effect. Example: I have a ton of things to incongruous or contradictory terms
do when I get home. appear side by side. Example: "He
popped the jumbo shrimp in his mouth."
Irony: The use of words to convey the
opposite of their literal meaning. Also, a Paradox: A statement that appears to
statement or situation where the contradict itself. Example: "This is the
meaning is contradicted by the beginning of the end," said Eeyore,
appearance or presentation of the idea. always the pessimist.
Example: "Oh, I love spending big
bucks," said my dad, a notorious penny Personification: A figure of speech in
pincher. which an inanimate object or abstraction
is endowed with human qualities or
Litotes: A figure of speech consisting of abilities. Example: That kitchen knife will
an understatement in which an take a bite out of your hand if you don't
affirmative is expressed by negating its handle it safely.
opposite. Example: A million dollars is
no small chunk of change. Pre- spanish
Our forefathers already have a body of
Metaphor: An implied comparison literature even before the arrival of the
between two dissimilar things that have Spaniards. They have customs and
something in common. Example: "All the traditions comparable to other parts of
world's a stage." the globe. They have their own system
of writing, alphabet, and other nuance of
Metonymy: A figure of speech in a word a working body of literature. They are
or phrase is substituted for another with trading with the neighboring countries of
which it's closely associated; also, the Japan, China, Indonesia, Malaysia,
rhetorical strategy of describing India, and Arabia. In short, they are not
something indirectly by referring to savages nor uncivilized as maliciously
things around it. Example: "That stuffed declared by some friars during the
suit with the briefcase is a poor excuse Spanish colonization.
Our many language are related to the or events usually of a hero involving
Malaya-Polynesian Family of supernatural forces/phenomena. Listed
Languages spoken in vast areas below are some of the epics celebrated
covering mainland Southeast Asia, East among the various groups in the
Timor, Polynesia, Micronesia and South country.
Pacific Islands. We have our own Biag ni Lam-ang – Ilokanos
system of writing called Baybayin Hudhod hi Aliguyon – Ifugaos
consisting of 3 vowels and 14 Alim – Ifugaos
consonants. Baybayin came from the Ibalon – Bicol
word “baybay” which means “spelling”. Handiong – Bicol
The image below shows the Baybayin Hinilawod – Bicol
characters and the corresponding sound Maragtas – Visayan
represented. Haraya – Visayan
Lagda – Visayan
Pre-Spanish Prose Hari sa Bukid – Visayan
Legends. Pre-Spanish legends are Kumintang – Tagalog
fictitious narratives which explain the Bernardo Carpio – Tagalog
origin of things, places, or names. The Parang Sabir – Moro
early Filipino customs are also depicted Darangan – Moro
in them as it entertains the people Indarapatra at Sulayman – Moro
during gatherings and occasions. Dagoy – Tagbanua
Examples include “The Legend of the Sudsod – Tagnbanua
Tagalog” of the Tagalogs and Tatuaang – Bagobo
“The Legend of the Philippine Folksongs. Folksongs are the oldest
Archipelago” of the Visayans. We will forms of Philippine Literature that
study the Legend of the Tagalog and the emerged which are composed mostly of
legend Why the Sea is Salty, both 12 syllables per line of four in a verse.
Ilokano and Tagalog versions. These songs mirrored the culture of
Folktales. Folktales are stories made up each group singing specific song per
about life, adventures, love, horror and occasion/celebration/activities. Listed
humor where one can derive lessons below are some of these songs and the
about life. corresponding
Popular examples include “The Sun and occasion/celebration/activities.
the Wind” and Kundiman – Songs of Love/Serenading
“The Boy who became a Stone” of the songs
Tingguians. Kumintang – War/Battle songs
Dalit – Worship songs
Oyayi/Hele – Lullaby songs
Pre-Spanish Poetry Diana/Danaya – Wedding songs
Epics. Epics are long narrative poems Soliraning – Laborer/Workmen songs
in which a series of heroic achievements Talindaw – Fisher/Fishing songs
Epigrams. Epigrams are more Among the Tagalogs: “Tabi-tabi po kayo,
commonly called Salawikain. These ako’y magbubuhos ng tubig at mainit ito,
have been customarily used and served kung masaktan ko kayo,
as laws or rules on good behavior. pagpasensiyahan niyo na po.”
These are like allegories or parables Sayings. Sayings are more commonly
that impart lessons for the youth called Sawikain. They are used to
consisting of couplets (2-lines) which emphasize lessons for the youth and
usually have rhyming end-syllables. these lessons are explicitly stated.
These lessons in life that they wish to Examples are:
impart are usually implied. Popular “Pag may itinanim, may aanihin.”
examples include: “Ang maglakad ng matulin, pag natinik
“Aaanhin pa ang damo, kung patay na ay malalim.”
ang kabayo.” Sample Pre-Spanish Prose
“Sa marunong umunawa, sukat ang The Legend of the Tagalog
salita.” In a certain wide region of Luzon, there
Riddles. They are called “Bugtong” by was a village frequented by young men.
the Tagalogs and “Burburtia” among the This town was full of trees, beautiful
Ilokanos. These are made up of one or flowers and a river where clear waters
two measured lines which may consist flowed. What attracted the young men
of 4 to 12 syllables. They are often used more than the scenery was a beautiful
to stir a thought-provoking questions. nymph-like maiden. The maiden was
They are often used for entertainment Maria and she had lots of suitors who
purposes during gatherings and came from afar and who fought for her
celebrations. Each group/region feature hand. But Maria remained undaunted so
unique riddles. Some of which are: Maria thought of a plan. She called all
Riddle: “Maliit pa si kumpare, umaakyat the young men together and told them:
na sa torre.” Answer: Langgam (ant)
Riddle: “Isda ko sa Mariveles, nasa loob “You are all good and kind and it is
ang kaliskis.” Answer: Sili (bell pepper) difficult for me to choose one among
Chants. Chants are customarily called you. Let me decide with a test.”
“Bulong” or “Pasintabi” by the Tagalogs
and referred to as “Bari-bari” by the “I’ll marry the first man who can bring
Ilokanos. These are sometimes in me a big, live, and strong serpent, “
witchcraft or enchantment often with an Maria said in jest.
accompanying “Anting-anting” (amulet
or talisman). Examples are: The young men were dumbfounded.
Among the Visayans: “Ikaw na After a while, the voice of Ilog broke the
nagnakaw ng mais ko, lumuwa sana silence.
ang mga mata mo, mamaga sana ang
kamay mo, parusahan ka ng mga anito.”
“I promise to bring you one, Maria. Even thinking that this was in answer to their
if I have to risk my life, I’ll bring you what question repeated the words:
you wish.”
“TAGA-ILOG, TAGAILOG”, which later
Ilog was a man known for his bravery. became TAGALOG.
He left immediately to fulfill his promise.
The men whispered among themselves. Japanese literature
They were sure that Ilog would never be
able to return. They waited for a long In 712 the new writing system was used
while but Ilog had not returned. Even in the compilation of orally preserved
Maria was saddened because she also poems and stories into the Kojiki
grieved the loss of a man as brave and [records of ancient matters], an account
accommodating as Ilog. After many of the divine creation of Japan and its
hours, Ilog returned. They crowded to imperial clan. Another historical work,
see how Ilog would prove his bravery. the Nihon-shoki [chronicles of Japan]
Ilog held a big snake by its nape and (721), was written in Chinese. The
tail. While the men were thus occupied, oldest anthology of Japanese verse,
two Spaniards passed by. Their Manyoshu [collection of a myriad
attention was caught not by what Ilog leaves] (760), contains about 4,500
held but by the beauty of Maria. poems, many from much earlier times. A
number of the poems in this collection
“Maria”, heroically called Ilog. “I’ve are more varied in form and more
brought you the serpent you wished for. passionate in statement than those
What else do you want me to do to written in later eras.
make you happy?”
The Heian Era
“Cut it up!” shouted Maria.
The addition of two phonetic syllabaries
The Spaniards were startled. They (katakana and hiragana) during the
asked the people around where they Heian era (794–1185) opened the
were and in what place they were in but classic age, in which Japanese literature
nobody paid attention for their attention reached its first peak of development.
were focused on the snake and on Classical Chinese still predominated in
Maria. When Maria saw the snake was intellectual literary circles and official
still struggling, she shouted: court communications, yet literature in
the native language, the only written
“Taga, Ilog! Taga, Ilog.” medium permitted to educated women,
gained increasing prestige. In his travel
(Cut Ilog! Cut Ilog!) which she journal Tosa Nikki [Tosa diary] (936), the
addresses to Ilog so he would cut the poet Ki no Tsurayuki assumed a female
snake up again. The two Spaniards, persona in order to write in Japanese.
period. Much medieval poetry and prose
Much Heian literature of note was is colored by Buddhist thought. The
written by aristocratic women, foremost somber Hojoki [account of my hut]
among whom was Murasaki Shikibu (c.1212) and the elegant Tsurezuregusa
(Lady Murasaki). Her Genji monogatari [essays in idleness] (1330), both written
[tale of Genji] (early 11th cent.) is ranked by Buddhist renunciants, exemplify the
with the world's greatest novels. Sei range of literary expression proceeding
Shonagon, another contemporary court from a Buddhist sensibility. Buddhist tale
lady, wrote Makura no soshi [the pillow literature, ranging from collections of
book], a compilation of miscellaneous short didactic lessons to lengthy
notes and reflections that provides an narratives, was also widely produced.
excellent portrait of Heian aristocratic The most famous of these, the late
life, with its emphasis on elegance— Heian Konjaku monogatari shû [tales
always an important element of the from past and present], consists of over
Japanese aesthetic. 1,200 stories of tremendous variety and
scope.
Ki no Tsurayuki was the leading spirit in
the compilation of the Kokinwakashu The medieval period witnessed the
[collection of ancient and modern verse], development of noh, a serious dramatic
the first imperial anthology of Japanese form combining dance, music, chanting,
poetry. This collection, which and mime, and kyogen, short comedies
established the model for 21 performed in interludes between noh
subsequent imperial anthologies, plays. The greatest writers of noh plays
contained some 1,100 poems organized were Kanami Kiyotsugu (1333–84) and
by topic, written in the tanka form of 31 his son Zeami Motokiyo (1363–1443),
syllables. The Japanese have always who developed the noh from its primitive
esteemed poetry as the highest of origins to the highly purified and
literary arts, and poets regarded rigorous art form that later influenced
inclusion in a poetry anthology as a such Western poets as W. B. Yeats and
supreme honor. Ezra Pound.
conventions, composed by single or
multiple poets, became popular in the
Medieval Literature latter half of the medieval period.

In the subsequent medieval period Literary Forms of the Edo Era

(c.1200–1600), themes and concerns
central to the newly ascendant warrior Otogi-zoshi, short prose fiction popular
class took expression in such works as among a range of social classes,
the Heike monogatari [tale of the Heike], anticipated the broadening social base
an epic account of the struggle between of literature that developed with the
two great clans that ended the Heian establishment of the Tokugawa
shogunate in 1603, when almost total psychological realism. Tsubouchi Shoyo
cultural and physical isolation from other (1859–1935) had a profound effect on
countries created economic conditions the modern Japanese novel with his
that led to a thriving culture of the critical study Shosetsu-shinzui [the
bourgeoisie. Early Edo prose literature essence of the novel] (1885), in which
encompassed a diverse range of he urged the use of colloquial speech
subjects: didactic tracts, travel guides, rather than the rarefied literary language
essays, satires, and picaresque fiction. used by previous writers. Ukigumo [the
Ihara Saikaku was the foremost master drifting cloud] (1887–89), by Futabatei
of this last form; his novel Koshoku Shimei (1864–1909), was the first novel
ichidai onna [the life of an amorous written in colloquial language. The "I
woman] is an ironic look at a world of novel," a type of personal semifictitious
pleasure and eroticism. autobiography, was dominant for a time,
followed by naturalist and proletarian
The literary tastes of the bourgeoisie novels.
also contributed to the development of
the kabuki and puppet (joruri; also Natsume Soseki and Mori Ogai were
known as bunraku) theaters. Plays by two major figures of early-20th-century
dramatist Chikamatsu Monzaemon fiction. Ryunosuke Akutagawa (1892–
(1653–1724), originally written for the 1927) is known for his unusual stories
puppet theater but adapted into kabuki based in part on earlier tale literature
performance as well, are important in and folklore. Japanese literature
world literature as the first mature suffered a slump during World War II,
tragedies written about the common when the government censored literary
man. Matsuo Basho, regarded as the expression it considered contrary to the
greatest of haiku poets, brought the interests of the state. Nagai Kafu (1870–
developing haiku, a 17-syllable poem, 1959), with his talent for verbal
into full flower. Yosa Buson (1716–81) portraiture, nevertheless remained a
and Kobayashi Issa (1763–1828) were popular figure during this time.
also important haiku poets. Later Edo
fiction, called gesaku, was mostly comic Postwar Literature
or satirical in nature, although it also
included long Confucian didactic tales. The immense public demand for fiction
in postwar Japan has been fed by the
Western Influence prolific output of its writers. Yasunari
Kawabata, who won the Nobel Prize in
After the dramatic opening of Japan to Literature in 1968, has been praised for
the West in 1858, the flood of the delicate aesthetic sensibility of his
translations from Western literature that novels. Junichiro Tanizaki, Yukio
followed induced the Japanese to give Mishima, Kobo Abe, Fumiko Enchi,
prose fiction a new direction and Shusaku Endo, Sawako Ariyoshi, and
Kenzaburo Oe, who won the Nobel
Prize in Literature in 1994, are just a few
of the modern Japanese writers who
have attracted international admiration.

In their search to define a modern

Japanese poetic voice, modern poets
and dramatists have both revived old
forms and created new means of
expression. Akiko Yosano is known for
the lushness and eroticism of her tanka;
Sakutaro Hagiwara (1886–1942), for his
deft incorporation of symbolism into the
lyric mode; and Kotaro Takamura, for his
free verse on a range of subjects. In
modern drama, playwright Junji
Kinoshita (b. 1914) borrowed elements
from the Japanese folk tradition;
Mishima wrote dramatic adaptations of
noh plays and Japanese legends, while
Minoru Betsuyaku (b. 1937), Makoto
Sato (b. 1943), and others pioneered
underground theater in the late 1960s.

Although modern Japanese poetry and

drama have not received as much
attention from the West as have novels
and short stories, Japanese literature is
recognized as a major branch of world
literature, and most major works are
available in English translation.