What is Literature?

What Is Literature?

• Literature comes from the Latin words 'litteratura' or 'littera', meaning letter
• Literature means writing formed with letters
• Literature covers all types of printed writing
• Literature includes written artistic expressions with universal interest
• Literature can be based on facts or imagination
• Literature can be a force that motivates society

Two Types of Literature

• According to Thomas De Quincey's concept (KP) there are two types of literature
• Literature of knowledge is didactic or informative and includes scientific, piano, and promotional literature
• Literature of power depicts passions and feelings, including poetry, fiction, and drama
• This concept separates the creation of literary work as art versus occupation

Important Information Regarding Literature

• Literature is commonly known as an art
• Literature is a field of study since it offers many situations and characters

What Makes Literature Significant?

• Universal Characteristics of Literature (TEUP) determine its significance

Timelessness

• Literature does not expire
• Literature has the ability to cross time boundaries
• Literature is transformative
• Literature can be applied to different situations

Eternity

• Literature is appealing
• Literature gives lasting impressions and moral values to its audience

Universality

• Literature has global applicability, regardless of locality
• Literature works transcend across culture, gender, religion, age, time, and generation

Permanence

• Literature is a permanent expression
• Once written or told, literature will never be forgotten

Why Study Literature?

• Literature is a mirror of life
• Literature expresses ideas and feelings
• Literature enlarges the reader's world to reality
• Literature preserves culture and promotes cultural heritage appreciation

Historical Backgrounds of Philippine Literature (PSA-JC)

• The pre-colonial period is the first
• The Spanish colonial period is second
• The American and Japanese colonial periods are third
• The contemporary period is fourth

The Pre-Colonial Period

• The history of the Philippines began at least 709,000 years ago
• Negrito groups settled first, then Austronesians migrated
• Remains were near rivers and seas, suggesting a rich past influenced by Southeast Asian neighbors
• Oral tradition was the primary means of passing down stories and wisdom due to a lack of a writing system
• Chanters passed down stories, considered treasures, to guide the community

Literary Forms Passed On

• Folk Speeches are words of mouth and wisdom that help early Filipinos survive
• Proverbs (salawikain) or aphorisms are observations, codes, philosophy, and beliefs written in rhyming schemes
• Proverbs entertain while teaching basic survival skills
• Riddles (tigmo, bugtong, paktakon, patototdon) resemble proverbs but demand an answer
• Riddles are talinghaga/metaphors that reveal subtle resemblances and tested wits
• Tanaga is an extended form of proverbs in a mono-rhyming heptasyllabic quatrain
• Tanaga consists of seven syllables per line, four lines per stanza, and consistent rhyme
• Folk Songs (awiting-bayan) are music from a specific place or nationality with unknown composers
• Folk songs express hopes, aspirations, lifestyles, and love
• Folk songs are repetitive, sonorous, didactic, and naïve
• A lullaby (oyayi) is a song to rock a baby to sleep
• A courting song (Bansal) is to serenade a girl (harana)
• A kundiman (love song) shows parental or romantic love
• Folk Narratives are stories passed down reflecting tradition, feelings, beliefs, and judgments
• Myths (mito) focus on gods, heroes, and nature's origins
• Legends (alamat) explain the origins of things, considered factual with magic/supernatural elements
• Fables (pabula) feature animals and impart moral lessons
• Epics (guman, darangen, hudhud, ulahingan) are long narrative poems in elevated style
• Epics recount the deeds of a legendary/historical hero
• Epics embody beliefs, customs, ideals and were sung to indigenous instruments
• Epics were performed during harvests, weddings, or funerals
• Oral works translated to written using alibata (first Filipino alphabet)
• Efforts from colonialists, archaeologists, ethnologists and anthropologists helped to preserve this prior to colonization

The Spanish Colonial Period

• Philippine history started in 1521
• The island was discovered by Spanish explorers due to scattered islands
• No centralized power enabled Spanish control
• Spanish colonization began in 1565
• Spain shaped and recorded Philippine literature and more
• Filipino greeting "Kumusta” comes from Spanish "Como esta"
• Spanish numbers are used in business
• Spain controlled the Philippines for 300+ years
• Christian faith was the center of everything
• Literature was classified as religious and secular
• Poetry has meter/rhythm and focuses on syllable sounds
• Corrido is a poem in octosyllabic quatrains detailing lives of saints/traditions' history
• Awit is a chivalric poem in dodecasyllabic quatrains, usually sung in religious processions
• Prose is written in organized paragraphs of didactic literature (teach) and religious translations
• Drama texts are meant to be performed
• Komedya/comedy is a play in verse about Christian saints, events, or kingdoms
• Komedya is also known as Moro-moro or Comedia de Capa y Espada
• Sarswela/zarzuela is a musical comedy/melodrama about human passions with satire/begrudged life
• Sainete, a short musical comedy, was popular in the 18th century and performed by lower classes
• Carillo uses shadows as the main spectacle

Literature Developed

• National consciousness roused with educated Filipinos (ilustrados) writing and forming the Propaganda movement and La Solidaridad
• Propaganda movement and La Solidaridad lead to downfall of colonization

Literary forms in this period of Nationalistic, Propaganda, and Revolutionary

• Propaganda Literature promotes political viewpoints to influence
• Noli Me Tangere (Touch Me Not) is a political novel that exposes injustices from Spanish Catholic Friars
• El Filibusterismo continues abuses of the Spanish government
• Dasalan at Tocsohan is a satire on friars' hypocrisy
• Political Essays and fictions published in newspapers
• Revolutionary Literature advances political revolution and is the complete change
• Pag-ibig sa Tinubuang Lupa aroused nationalism and self-dependence

The American and Japanese Colonial Periods

• After Spanish colonization the Philippines encountered a new colonizer
• The new colonizer added to traditions, religion, and literature
• Filipinos were forced to adopt Anglo-American culture
• Modern short tales and essays were far from the traditional types
• English was implemented medium of teaching
• Authors wrote many works aware of their experimentation with various genres
• National Artist Jose Garcia Villa employed free verse and espoused "Art for art's sake"
• Others writers imitated storytelling craft from American fiction writers
• Heavy influence from Western literary trends like Romanticism
• Romanticism emphasizes the individual and imagination, with the use of realism
• Realism portrays the very real lives in writing
• Filipino authors explored all genres
• Nationalism remained unflinching
• Writings showed their love for nation
• Weekly publications in original languages increased

Literary forms in this period

• Tagalog Novel is a long story of fictional characters/events
• Poetry expresses emotion through art
• Short Stories are brief and written in narrative form
• Easily readable format
• Writers could show real events
• Public education institutionalized in the Philippines in 1901 with instruction in English
• Soldiers were replaced by educators
• Philippine Literature was interrupted in its development and conquered again; this time by Japan
• Publication was discontinued, but the underground radio program called “Voice of Freedom” allowed some writers to continue

The Contemporary Period

• The Philippines achieved independence on July 4, 1946
• Texts emphasized nationalism
• Revolutionary literary genres thrived
• Opposition began to form
• Protest literature appeared
• Proletarian literature discussed societal experiences
• Circumnavigation literature, like protest, was partially hidden or concealed
• Philippine literature continued to grow in various languages with socially committed individuals
• Gender and ethnicity became more related
• Mass and social media were used to promote ideas Writers' workshops and literary awards inspired writers