21st Century Literature PDF

# 21st Century Literature ## What is Literature? - An enduring expression of a significant human experience in words well-chosen and arranged. - It comes from the Latin word "litera" which means an acquaintance with letters. It can be defined as everything in print. - A body of literary production...

# 21st Century Literature ## What is Literature? - An enduring expression of a significant human experience in words well-chosen and arranged. - It comes from the Latin word "litera" which means an acquaintance with letters. It can be defined as everything in print. - A body of literary productions, oral, written or visual, containing imaginative language that realistically portrays thoughts, emotions, and experience of the human condition. - A product of a particular culture that concretizes man's array of values, emotions, actions, and ideas. - Literature is imaginative - Expresses thoughts and feelings - Deals with life experiences - Uses words in a powerful, effective, and yet captivating manner - Promotes recreation and revelation of hidden facts - Literature is thus summed up as permanent expressions in words (written or spoken), specially arranged in pleasing accepted patterns or forms. - It expresses thoughts, feelings, ideas, or other special aspects of human experiences. ## 4R's of Literature 1. **Recreation:** Literature is a means of reassembling reality. We want to see what we cannot see in reality. 2. **Recognition:** Literature helps us recognize the people and their contribution. 3. **Redemption:** Literature is a means of modification of behavior. 4. **Revelation:** Literature is a means of recording history. It reveals the past, the present, and the future. ## Two General Classes of Literature ### a. Prose - From the Latin word "prosa oratio", which means direct or straightforward speech. It does not use rhymes, meters, or line breaks. It is written in paragraph form. ### Genres of Literary Prose #### a.1. Non-Fiction Prose - More informative and factual prose writing. It does not invent characters, events, or places. 1. **Autobiography:** coming from three Greek words "autos" (self), “bios” (life), and "graphien" (write). It is an account of a person's life written by that person. In other words, it is literally writing about oneself. 2. **Biography:** an account of a person's life written by another person or individual. 3. **Diary:** From the Latin word "dies" meaning "day", a diary is a book in which one keeps a daily record of experiences and events. Here, a person's thoughts, feelings, and fears are written, and thus, it is generally meant to be read by no one except its writer. 4. **Epistle:** a literary work in the form of a letter or a series of letters. 5. **Essay:** a short piece of writing on a particular subject. It may attempt to explain, define, and/or discuss this specific subject in a few paragraphs or more. #### a.2. Fiction Prose - Describes imaginary events and people. It is therefore, invented or made-up. 1. **Fable:** short story in which main characters are animals that talk like humans and retain their animal characteristics. In general, fables are written or told to teach lessons or convey a moral. 2. **Fairy Tale:** a simple folk narrative and oral in origin. It may be described as being magical, idealized, or extremely happy. These stories involve supernatural or magical elements such as fairies, wizards, witches, and other enchanted beings. 3. **Frame-Tale:** contains other tales within it. Thus, it may be described as a story within a story. 4. **Legend:** generally stories of origin. In particular, the most common of which are creation stories and the origins of a people, place, animal, or object. 5. **Novel:** a narrative prose of book length. It is however, difficult to define in terms of content since it can use fantasy, comedy, tragedy, romance, suspense, etc. The novel is, therefore, the most adaptable of all literary forms. 6. **Parable:** a simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson. 7. **Saga:** originally it was a medieval narrative prose in Old Norse or Old Icelandic with themes of European Scandinavian kings, histories of Icelandic individuals, families, and districts. Today the term "saga" refers not only to a long story of heroic achievement but also to any fictional history involving several generations of a family. 8. **Short Story:** similar to the novel in that it has a fully developed theme. It is, however, significantly shorter and less elaborate than the novel since it tends to focus on a single event or episode. ### b. Poetry - It is a literary piece written in stanza form. It is said to have come from ancient songs, prayers, or rituals. Now, it has evolved to any literary work that is associated with the expression of feelings and ideas. And such expression is given intensity by the use of any of the following devices. - **Rhyme:** the resemblance of sound between words or the endings of words, especially when there are used at the ends of lines of poetry. - **Meter:** the number of syllables per line and the designated stress on syllables. - **Stanza:** a group of lines forming the basic recurring metrical unit in a poem. - **Line Break:** the interval that marks the end of a line in a poem. - **Figures of Speech:** a word or phrase used in a non-literal sense for vivid or rhetorical effect. #### Classifications of Poetry ##### Lyric Poetry - the word lyric comes from the word "lyre", a stringed instrument especially used by the ancient Greeks to accompany their poems. Thus, lyric poetry as it is known today has its links with music. - Expressing the writer's emotions, lyric poetry is usually short and in stanzas. And since the focus is more on description or expression, narration in lyric poetry is very limited. **Literary Forms which are considered lyric poetry:** 1. **Elegy:** a poem of a serious reflection, the elegy has death as its main theme. 2. **Epigram:** a short and satirical poem with a witty or ingenious ending. It is often used for remembrance, in epitaphs or dedication. 3. **Epithalamium:** originally written in praise of the Greek god of marriage Hymen, the epithalamium is a song or poem featuring a wedding celebration. In most epithalamium, nymphs, shepherds, and mythical figures often take part in the event. 4. **Haiku:** a traditional Japanese poem of 17 syllables in the three lines of 5-7-5. It generally evokes images of the natural world or scenes taken from daily life, like that of a leaf falling from a tree or a frog jumping into a pond. Influenced by Zen Buddhism, the haiku encourages meditation on the nature of things so as to attain enlightenment. Basho, Moritake, and Issa are writers of most famous haikus. 5. **Limerick:** a humorous five-line poem with a rhyme scheme of aabba. Sometimes nonsensical, it generally deals with everyday affairs like marriage and love. 6. **Ode:** From a Greek word meaning "song" the ode is a lyric poem written in a dignified tone to idealize objects, qualities, or ideas. It is, in general, the poetry of praise or tribute. 7. **Pastoral:** Coming from a Latin word linked to shepherding and animal breeding, the pastoral is a literary work that features shepherds and portrays or evokes country life, typically in a romanticized or idealized form. The genre covers the idyll, a short description of a picturesque scene or incident, and the eclogue, a short poem which uses dialogue. 8. **Sonnet:** Usually relating to love, the sonnet is a poem of 14 lines and is generally classified as either Petrarchan or Elizabethan. **Narrative Poetry** - It uses rhymes and other poetic devices but it tells of a longer and larger series of events. The emphasis is also on the progression of action and the settings of stories. 1. **Ballad:** a poem or song narrating a story in short stanzas. 2. **Epic:** a long poem, typically one derived from ancient oral tradition. It narrates the deeds and adventures of legendary or heroic people such as gods, kings, princes, knights, and other people of high stature, and may also feature the past history of a nation. 3. **Medieval Romance:** tales dealing with heroes of chivalry like famous kings and knights. Popular during the 12th and 15th centuries, they also feature Christian morals and courtly love. **Dramatic Poetry** - It is generally performed on stage which therefore allows the audience to see stories unfold before them. Lights, musics, and props are used to achieve effects such as changes in mood, setting, etc. 1. **Comedy:** characterized by its humorous or satirical tone and its depiction of amusing people or events. The comedy is a kind of drama in which the characters ultimately triumph over adversity. 2. **Morality Play:** a medieval allegorical drama which personifies abstract qualities such as faith and mercy as the main characters and presents a lesson about good conduct. 3. **Mystery Play:** performed during the late Middle Ages and the early Renaissance, the mystery play is a popular medieval play based on Biblical stories or the lives of saints. 4. **Shadow Play:** unique dramatic performance in which shadows cast from puppets are used to enact, for instance, themes from epics like the Ramayana. Music that lasts all night accompanies the performances which are presented in social functions like weddings, cremations, and religious festivals. 5. **Tragedy:** a play dealing with tragic events like death, suffering, hopelessness, and pain. It has an unhappy ending, especially one concerning the downfall of the main character.