What is Literature? Poetry vs Prose

• "Every man's memory is his literature" - Aldous Huxley
• Literature is derived from the Latin words "literature/litteratura" (littera, letter or handwriting) and was used to refer to all written accounts
• Literature is writing considered an art form, or of artistic/intellectual value via language use
• Literary works are classified as fiction or non-fiction, poetry, or prose

Poetry vs Prose

• Poetry uses language for evocative/aesthetic qualities and apparent meaning
• Prose is ordinary language following grammatical conventions without a formal metrical structure
• Poetry originates from 'poeta' (Latin for poet)
• Prose comes from 'prosa oratio' (Latin for straightforward/direct speech)
• Poetry's primary goal is selling the language itself as music
• Prose's primary goal is sharing information
• Lines are basic units of poetry
• Sentences are basic units of prose
• Poetry is lyrical, with structure, format, and rhymes, divided into lines or phrases
• Prose is typical writing without structure, format, and rhymes, divided into sentences
• Poetry is expressive and excites readers
• Prose is dull and simple
• Poetry is found in songs and poems
• Prose is found in articles, stories, and letters

Types of Prose

• Novels are long narratives divided into chapters and events and are based on true-to-life stories (e.g., "Without Seeing the Dawn" by Stevan Javellana)
• Short stories are narratives with one or more characters, one plot, and one impression (e.g., "The Laughter of my Father" by Carlos Bulosan)
• Plays are presented on stage, divided into acts with many scenes (e.g., “Thirteen Plays" by Wilfredo M. Guerrero)
• Legends are fictitious narratives about origins (e.g., "The Bikol Legend" by Pio Duran)
• Fables are fictitious narratives in which animals and inanimate objects speak and act (e.g., "The Monkey and the Turtle")
• Anecdotes are imaginative works that aim to teach lessons
• Essays express the writer's viewpoint on a particular problem or event (e.g., "Of Studies" by Francis Bacon)
• Biographies deal with the life of a person written by someone else
• News reports everyday events
• Orations are formal treatments of a subject intended for public speaking

Types of Poetry

• Narrative poetry describes important events, real or imaginary:
  • Epic
  • Metrical Tale
  • Ballads
• Lyric poetry is intended to be sung with a lyre:
  • Folksongs
  • Sonnets
  • Elegy
  • Ode
  • Psalms
  • Awit
  • Corridos
• Dramatic Poetry:
  • Comedy
  • Melodrama
  • Tragedy
  • Farce
  • Social poems

Literary Criticism

• Literary criticism explains literary works via its production, meaning, design, and beauty
• Literary criticism involves principles for evaluating literature
• There is no single approach to literary criticism
• Criticism is formal with many approaches, representing widely used literacy works that are either written down or passed down via oral tradition, but is meant to be recited
• Literary criticism is a natural response & by-product of the reading process

The Critic

• Literary critics address the author's intent and expression in their work

Literary Theory

• Jonathan Culler defines literary theory as the systematic account of literature and methods for analyzing it
• Literary theory uses concepts, methods, and frameworks for analyzing/interpreting literary texts, concerning how literature functions and considering perspectives
• Interpretating a literary text is literary criticism
• Examining the criteria of our interpretation is applying literary theory
• Literary criticism applies critical theory to a literary text, whether the critic is aware of assumptions or not
• Recognizing literary criticism is tied to theoretical assumptions explains why "criticism" includes "theory"

Reasoning for studying theory and criticism

• Studying literary theory will allow for seeing underlying assumptions
• Literature offers different perspectives that can be understood by examining a certain work of art

Functions of Literary Criticism

• Studying literary criticism helps one understands exactly how readers (critics) analyze texts
• Meaning is produced via interpretative strategies readers apply ("Meaning is a function of the different interpretative strategies that various readers bring to bear upon a text.")
• The 'answers' you get from a text depend entirely upon the kind of ‘questions' you put to it"