Introduction to Literature: Types and Prose

What is Literature?

• The word literature comes from the Latin word "litera," meaning letters or words.
• Literature is the complete collection of preserved writings or spoken words belonging to a specific language or group of people.
• Literature interprets the meanings of nature and life, including thoughts, emotions, and feelings, through the use of charm and power. It is touched by the author's personality and presented in artistic forms of permanent interest.
• Literature expresses significant human experiences.

Literary Types (Based on Structure)

• Literature can be divided into two main types: prose and non-prose (poetry).

Prose

• Novels are a type of prose.
• Short stories are a type of prose.
• Plays are a type of prose.
• Legends are a type of prose.
• Fables are a type of prose.
• Anecdotes are a type of prose.
• Essays are a type of prose.
• Biographies are a type of prose.
• News is a type of prose.
• Orations are a type of prose.

Non-prose (Poetry)

• Narrative poetry includes epics, metrical tales, and ballads.
• Lyric poetry includes folk songs, sonnets, elegies, odes, psalms, awits, and corridos.
• Dramatic poetry exists as a type of non-prose literature.

Literary Types (Based on Content)

Fiction ("Literature of Power")

• Myths, poems, short stories, novels and plays are types of fiction.

Non-fiction ("Literature of Knowledge")

• Biographies and news are types of non-fiction.

The 7 Literary Standards

Universality

• It appeals to everyone regardless of culture, race, sex, and time.

Permanence

• It endures across time showcasing timeliness, occurring at a particular time, and timelessness, remaining invariably throughout time.

Artistry

• It has an aesthetic appeal to everyone and possesses a sense of beauty.

Intellectual Value

• It stimulates critical thinking, enriches mental processes, and helps people realize the fundamental truths of life.

Suggestiveness

• It unravels and conjures emotional power to define symbolism, nuances, implied meanings, images and messages to evoke visions beyond ordinary experience.

Spiritual Value

• It elevates the spirit and soul, inspiring motivation derived from the morals or lessons in different literary genres.

Style

• It presents unique ways of seeing life, evidenced in ideas, forms, structures, and expressions marked by memorable substance.

Literary Devices

• Literary devices are typical structures used by writers to convey messages in a simple manner to readers.
• Literary devices have two aspects: literary elements and literary techniques.
• Literary elements are inherent in the work and extensively used by writers.

Literary Elements

• Plot is the logical sequence of events in a story.
• Setting refers to the time and place where a story occurs.
• Protagonist is described as the "good guy" and is the main character of a story, novel, or play.
• Antagonist is described as the "bad guy," is the character in conflict with the protagonist.
• Point of view pertains how a reader experiences a story
• Conflict is the central issue in a narrative.
• Mood is the general atmosphere of a narrative.
• Tone is the speaker or narrator's attitude conveyed through language.
• Theme is the central idea or concept of a story.

Literary Techniques

• Literary techniques involve structures, words, or phrases in literary texts used to achieve artistic goals and enhance reader understanding and appreciation.

Symbolism

• Symbolism uses an object or action to represent something beyond its literal meaning.
• Pink can symbolize the fight against breast cancer.
• The Statue of Liberty symbolizes freedom.
• Roses stand for romance.

Flashback

• It tells an interjected scene taking the story back in time, offering insight into events before another important event.

Flash Forward

• It tells a scene that takes the narrative to a future time from the current point of the story.

Cliffhanger

• It tells an abrupt ending that places the main characters in a perilous situation without resolution.

Foreshadowing

• It entails important hints from the author that prepares the reader for what is coming, helping them anticipate the outcome.

Imagery

• It uses figurative language to create visual representations of actions, objects, and ideas that appeals to the different senses.
• Taste (gustatory imagery) describes imagery relating to taste.
• Sight (visual imagery) describes imagery relating to sight.
• Smell (olfactory imagery) describes imagery relating to smell.
• Touch (tactile imagery) describes imagery relating to touch.
• Hear (aural imagery) describes imagery relating to hearing.

Simile and Metaphor

• Both compare two distinct objects.
• Simile uses "as" or "like," while a Metaphor does not.

Personification

• It attributes human qualities to non-human objects or animals.

Hyperbole

• It is a deliberate exaggeration of actions and ideas for emphasis.

Literary Approaches

Feminism

• Feminist literature involves pieces written by women that deal with women in society.
• It includes characters who chide gender norms dominated by masculinity.
• This approach has an impact on the voice of women.

New Historicism

• It deals with the cultural context during the writing of a literary piece.
• This approach interprets literature in a specific socio-historical atmosphere.

Formalism or New Criticism

• Formalists' interpretation of a work of art is based on the information and details of the piece itself.
• Formalists focus on rhetorical and logical connections within the writing.

"Morning in Nagrebcan" by Manuel Estabillo Arguilla

Writer

• Manuel Estabillo Arguilla was an Ilokano writer in English, a patriot, and a martyr.
• Manuel Estabillo Arguilla was born in Nagrebcan, Bauang, on June 17, 1911, and died on August 30, 1944.

Title Background

• The title sets the scene, capturing the essence of rural life in the Philippines.
• "Nagrebcan" is the name of the barrio or village where Manuel E. Arguilla was born and where many of his stories are located.

Characters

• The characters include; Baldo, Ambo, Nana Elang and Tang Ciaco.

Type of Conflict

• Man vs. man

"Tata Selo"

Writer

• Rogelio Sicat, sometimes called "Rogelio Sikat," was a prolific Filipino novelist, playwright, and short story writer.
• One of his masterpieces is the story of "Tata Selo" which won the second prize in the Carlos Palanca Award for 1963.

Title Background

• It is based on Rogelio Sikat's story about a male farmer named Tata Selo.
• "Tata Selo" primarily focuses on real-life land reform issues and recurring political cruelties in the Philippines.

"Tata Selo" Type of Conflict

• Man vs society

"Tata Selo" Summary

• The plot follows an old man who wanted to farm the land that was sold when his wife got sick.
• He wanted the land returned, but lacked the money.
• Tata instead asked Kabesa Tano to farm his land, and the Kabesa talked to him and left his farm.
• Tata then begged Kabesa Tano, but he did not listen which led to Tata Selo accidently killing him, and then Tata Selo was imprisoned.

Vietnam Literature

• Vietnam literature consists of folk and written literature.
• Folk literature is oral literature.
• Written literature includes: kanji, chu Nom letters and chu Quoc ngu.

Chu Quoc Ngu

• It became widespread over nationwide by the early 20th century.
• The literature in Vietnam witnessed development in literary genres, in which occupied an important position in the literature forum with poems.
• Changes in the literary life appeared with the advent of the New Poetry in the 1930s which liberated Vietnamese Poetry from restrictive rules of classical Chinese poetry.
• "Tu Luc Van Doan" created the modern vietnam novel.
• This period set a presence of movements, such as romanticism, realism, and literature associated with revolutionary politics.

3 Main Types of Vietnamese Literature

• TRUYEN: is described as traditional oral literature.
• HAN VIET: is described as Chinese-Vietnamese literature.
• QUOC AM: is described as having either modern literature, or anything written in the romanticized quoc ngu alphabet.

Vietnamese Poetry

Tone Rule

• Tones are important elements in most Vietnamese verse forms.
• The Vietnamese language are divided based on their falling and rising nature into two categories: Bằng (flat) and Trắc (sharp or non-flat).
• Bằng category comprises to tones: ngang and huyền.
• Trắc category is four tones: sắc, hỏi, ngã, nặng.

Rhyme Scheme Rule

• Two kinds of rhymes exist in Vietnamese Poetry: (rich rhymes) and VẦN NGHÈO (poor rhymes).
• VẦN GIÀU have the same final sound and tones with words from the same category.
• VẦN NGHÈO have nearly similar final sound and tones words from the same category.

Different Poetic Forms of Vietnam

Tho Bon Chu or Four Word Verse

• Measures the number of words per line rather than syllables.
• It is stanzaic, written in a series of couplets.
• Measured by the number of words in the line, each line has 4 words per line.

Tho Sau Chu or Six-Word Verse

• It uses either alternate or envelope rhyme.
• It can be written in quatrains or octaves, called Six-Eight Poetry when in in octaves.
• It is stanzaic, written in any number of quatrains or octaves.
• It is measured by word count, with 6 words per line.
• It uses rhymed techniques that can be alternate or envelope.

Tho Bay Chu or Seven Word Poetry

• Seemingly more flexible tonal pattern than most Viet verse with the exception of when an end word in the first line is flat, the 3rd word must be sharp and when the end word of second line is sharp, the 4th word in the line must be flat.
• It is stanzaic, written in any number of quatrains.
• It is measured by number of words, at 7 words per line.
• It is rhymed.

Tho Tam Chu or Eight Word Poetry

• It appears to be more flexible in stanza length as well as tonal and end rhyme.
• It is stanzaic, written in any number of either tercets, quatrains or septets.
• It is measured by the number of words in the line, at 8 words per line.
• It is rhymed.

Brunei Literature

• Brunei is known to be trading with and paying tribute to China in the 6th century CE, and came under Hindu influence in the Majapahit empire based in Java.
• Brunei gained independence on January 1, 1984, and an Islamic sultanate was proclaimed.

Brunei-Malay language

• Brunei Malay or Kedayan is the national language of Brunei, also a language in East Malaysia.
• Standard Malay is the official language in Brunei.
• Arabic is used by Islamic Scholars
• Chinese varieties; Hainanese. Hoisan and Fuchow is used actively in Brunei.
• English used in business and official language

Literature in Brunei

• The Language and Literature Bureau promotes the development of literature and folklore and publishes textbooks in Malay and English.
• The Sajak form of poetry is popular to school children.
• Sya'ir Awang Simawn is one of the most famous works of traditional literature.

Myanmar Literature

• Burmese is the mother tongue of the Bamar and the official language of Myanmar.
• Burmese is written in a script consisting of circular and semi-circular letters, which comes from the Mon script.
• The Mon language is a recognized indigenous language in Myanmar as well as a recognized indigenous language of Thailand.

Thailand Literature

• Thai language is the official language of Thailand.
• English is its unofficial second language.
• The Thai language features five tones: high, mid, low, rising, and falling, each of which changes the meaning of particular words.
• Written Thai is based on an alphabet adopted from the Khmers of Cambodia and became standardized as of King Ramkhamhaeng during the Sukhothai period.
• The traditional greeting of Thailand is the "wai" in which the younger person offers by, pressing their hands together with fingertips pointing upwards as the head is bowed.
• The Thailand national epic is a version of the Ramayana called the Ramakien.
• The most important poet in Thai literature was Sunthorn Phu, who is best known for his romantic adventure story Phra Aphai Mani and nine travel pieces called Nirats.