Philippine Colonial History

Colonial Influence and Filipino Identity

• Colonialists attempted to erase the Philippines' oral literary past, leading to a national movement among writers to reclaim ethnic traditions.
• The rise of nationalism in the 1960s and 1970s fostered a renewed interest in Filipino identity among new generations.

Pre-colonial Period (Early Times – 1564)

• The longest era in Philippine literary history occurred before Spanish colonization, highlighting indigenous literature.
• Ancient Philippine literature captured customs and traditions through folk stories, songs, and narratives.
• Oral literature dominated the period, with parents as the primary educators, imparting values through legends, myths, and folktales.
• Alibata, the original Filipino alphabet, transitioned to the Roman alphabet under Spanish rule.

Forms of Literature

• Oral Literature:
  • Riddles (bugtong): Engaging word plays also known as Tigmo (Cebu), Paktakon (Ilongo), and Patotdon (Bicol).
  • Includes short stories, folk narratives, and proverbs.

21st Century Literary Genres

• Hypertext: Non-linear electronic literature utilizing hyperlinks for reader interaction and story arrangement.
• SMS: Short Message Service, commonly called text messaging.
• Emails: A method for electronic communication.
• Blogs: Online journals with chronological entries; derived from "web log."
• Flash Fiction: Extremely brief literary works, varying from a word to a thousand words.
• Illustrated Novel: Combines images and text, requiring reader interpretation of visuals for narrative comprehension.
• Sci-fi: Speculative fiction focusing on futuristic elements and imaginative concepts.
• Chic lit: Light-hearted fiction exploring modern womanhood, featuring female protagonists.

Aspects of Short Stories

• Defined by a limited number of characters, concise settings, and a singular central event, ideal for quick reading.
• Essential elements include:
  • Character: Involved individuals or animals in the story's action.
  • Setting: Geographic and temporal context.
  • Plot: The series of events culminating in a climax.
  • Point of View: The narrative perspective chosen by the author.
  • Theme: The underlying message conveyed to readers.

Literary Devices in Poetry

• Imagery: Use of descriptive language to create vivid mental pictures appealing to the senses.
  • Examples: Dark forests, aromas of coffee, sensations of fabric.
• Symbolism: Objects representing deeper meanings beyond their literal sense.
• Figures of Speech: Enrich language through comparisons, evoking imagination beyond surface meanings.
  • Comparison Figures:
    • Simile: Direct comparisons using "like" or "as."
    • Metaphor: Indirect comparisons without linking words.
    • Personification: Imparting human traits to non-human entities.
    • Apostrophe: Directly addressing absent or inanimate entities.
  • Association Figures:
    • Metonymy: Substituting a term closely related to the thing meant.
    • Synecdoche: Using a part to represent the whole or vice versa.
  • Sound Effect Figures:
    • Onomatopoeia: Words formed from associated sounds.
    • Hyperbole: Exaggeration for emphasis.
    • Understatement: Minimizing the significance of an event or object.
    • Anaphora: Repetition at the beginning of successive clauses.
    • Epistrophe: Repetition at the end of successive clauses.
    • Rhetorical Question: Provocative questions that emphasize a point.
    • Litotes: Ironic understatements.
    • Pun: Playful use of language suggesting dual meanings.