elt-311-1st-exam-handouts.pdf

lOMoARcPSD|39530117 ELT 311 1ST EXAM Handouts Bachelor of Secondary Education (University of Mindanao) Scan to open on Studocu Studocu is not sponsored or endorsed by any college or university Downloa...

lOMoARcPSD|39530117 ELT 311 1ST EXAM Handouts Bachelor of Secondary Education (University of Mindanao) Scan to open on Studocu Studocu is not sponsored or endorsed by any college or university Downloaded by nova marie ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|39530117 LITERARY PERIODS OF PHILIPPINE LITERATURE A time and place characterized by an assemblage of interrelated cultural, societal, ideological, technological, historic, and other trends—in other words, a milieu—in which related groups of authors wrote. PERIODS OF PHILIPPINE LITERATURE Pre-colonial Period (? BC to 1564) Characteristics Based on oral traditions Crude on ideology and phraseology Literary Forms Oral Literature Folk Songs Folk Tales Epics Spanish Colonization Period (1565 – 1863) Characteristics 1. Literature has two distinct classifications: religious and secular 2. It introduced Spanish as the medium of communication Literary Forms 1. Religious Literature 2. Secular Nationalistic / Propaganda and Revolutionary Period (1864 – 1896) Characteristics 1. Planted seeds of nationalism in Filipinos 2. Language shifted from Spanish to Tagalog 3. Addressed the masses instead of the “intelligentsia” Literary Forms 1. Propaganda Literature 2. Revolutionary Literature PHILIPPINE LITERATURE IN ENGLISH Pre-War (1920 – 1941) Historically, Philippine Literature in English began with the coming of the Americans in 1898. Downloaded by nova marie ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|39530117 The Filipinos learned another foreign language and were introduced to another alien culture. Used to the "leisurely tempo and orate phraseology of the Castilian speech", they had to adapt to a new language that was more or less direct and less intricate. Spanish continued to dominate the circle of the elite but in the 30's, it began to give way to English. The most effective means of subjugating a people is to capture their minds. - Renato Constantino The founding of the University of the Philippines in 1908 triggered the development and flowering of Philippine Literature in English, with the UP College Folio serving as vehicle for the first literary attempts. Along with this, later publications served to encourage such attempts, namely, The Philippine Review, the Philippines Free Press, the Philippine Herald, and still later, the Philippine Magazine. The U.P. Writers Club was organized in 1927. The Literary Apprentice, its literary organ, became the most prestigious college literary publication in the country. It was also at about this time that the Varsitarian of the University of Santo Tomas began to see publication, existing side by side with its literary supplement, The Spectrum. It was not however until the establishment of the Commonwealth in 1935 that the writers began to be more concerned with the creation of a "national literature.” Prior to this, literary attempts were merely personal outpourings, most of the time about love, newly felt, lost or unrequited, or about the common sorrows and joys of life. At first, this concept of national literature was understood in terms of "local color" through the use of localisms and rustic landscapes, customs, traditions. Later, some few years before the war, the writer's view of nationalism intensified into a growing rejection of American influences which were mostly based on old romantic conventions, and an increasing emphasis on realism and social consciousness. This led to the famous literary conflict between Salvador P. López on one hand and poet José García Villa on the other, between two opposing and rather extreme ideas on literature. ”The real artist has a deep compassion for the sufferings of the oppressed and anger of the oppressors. The highest form of art is that which springs from the wells of man's deepest urges and longings... his love of his own kind and his longing to be free... of all the ends to which he (the artist) may dedicate his talents, none is more worthy than the improvement of the condition of man and the defense of freedom.” - S.P. Lopez José García Villa believed in "art for art's sake"; that in art, craft comes before meaning, that poetry should never be useful and propagandistic, that it must only arouse pleasure in the beautiful, must lead to contemplation, not action. POETRY (PRE-WAR YEARS) 1920-1941 Prior to the 20's, the poems that were written were nothing more than mere versifications, exercises in rhetoric, using specific classical molds or patterns and poetic forms more for discipline than for art. Literary models were mostly Romantic and Victorian 19th century Anglo-American poets. Add to this Romantic influence the essentially romantic temperament of the Filipino and understandably, the poetic attempts became very sentimental (outdoing the Romantic's glorification of the emotion and the imagination), personal and subjective, at their best Downloaded by nova marie ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|39530117 reaching peaks of rich lyricism and inspired moments expressed in sincere, naive, almost childlike candor. The 20's and on to the 30's up to the establishment of the Commonwealth regime saw the profusion of romantic poems, effusive personal expression of all kinds of emotions, specifically love, love lost, love betrayed, love unrequited, or love triumphant, and our poets were rhapsodizing over anything at all. Filipino poets have become a little more confident in the use of the language by now. It was not until 1940 that sentimentalism, too personal and effusively romantic poetry showed signs of giving way to a semblance of "Social commitment," in a "glowing celebration of the national destiny, an eloquent statement of Filipinism," using the words of S.P. López. While José García Villa started to write during the pre-war years, the spirit of his poetry as well as its demiurges belonged to another era. Three Phases of Pre-war Poetry poetry used as vehicle for mere rhetorical exercises in the service of language-learning rather than literature. poetry used as vehicle for mere self-expression, personal and uncontrolled outpourings. poetry as vehicle for a dawning nationalistic fervor in the wake of the great S.P. Lopez vs. Villa debate and the establishment of the Commonwealth in 1935. FICTION (PRE-WAR YEARS) 1920-1941 Prior to the 20's, quoting scholar critic Leopoldo Yabes, "the short stories are better classified as tales rather than stories." They were really mostly ghostly stories or folktales explaining natural phenomena, with a theme in which a moral was brought home to the reader. The plot structure was worked along the easy, chronological and then (or first-things-first) technique. It was not until the 20's that more sophisticated short stories started to appear. By this time, our writers had become more comfortable and confident in the language, more sure of their craft. Encouragement came in the form of literary contests by the Philippine Free Press, The Philippines Herald (Dead Stars), The Philippine Magazine. Collections of short stories began to get published. In fact, Paz Marquez Benítez decided to gather into a volume in 1928 the best stories written by her students under the title Filipino Love Stories. Another significant one was the Filipino Short Stories published by José García Villa in 1929. In the preface, Villa made clear his artistic creed. "The good short story would have vitality and magnificence of subject and an architectural execution of this vital magnificent subject." For the first time, an artistic credo by Villa was formulated and made known: it took stock of both form and content, a harmony of these two essential elements of the literary work, which is after all what craftsmanship is all about. S. P. Lopez once alluded not only to an American or European market for stories but for a world- audience. He said, "our writers are finally on the way of getting at the heart of the language, of perceiving the peculiar genius and letting the idiosyncrasies of the race beat upon it to make to their own." Downloaded by nova marie ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|39530117 This was also the time when Proletarian literature was beginning to take shape. Again, S.P.Lopez was the first loud voice which tried to "conscienticize” the young writers into making possible a body of socially conscious writings. The great López vs. Villa debate was on, and this was good for Philippine literature during the late 30s' and on; it gave our literature a conscience. The years immediately before the war was characterized by a desire to create a "national literature," not merely by writing about simple barrio life, Philippine birds, flowers and trees, rural landscapes, the great national heroes, but also by attempting to define the national psyche, the Filipino Identity however evasive it has become, the Filipino's aspirations and ideals, whether personal or more than merely personal. The goal was to be both socially and artistically committed thanks to both Lopez and Villa, and to produce writings that were not only national but literary as well. By the end of the 30’s, the literary characteristics of a good short story were already infused into the better-written, more carefully-crafted pieces: the unified single impression or effect through atmosphere, tone, and style. plausible characterization a well-defined plot structure control of language as medium interesting situation and a significant theme. Post-War (1945 – 1970) The granting of political independence did not end the American domination. On the contrary, many features of colonialism remain up to today. Somehow, the more important writers of this period tried to prove that even while they wrote in English, they remained essentially Filipino in essence. But another aspect of Philippine literature being written after the war was observed by critic Petronilo Daroy. Quoting him, "indeed, the national sensibility after World War II is characterized by indignant perceptions which often manifest themselves in stories which base their claim to realism on the mere fact of their brutal treatment of evil. At any rate, this attention to the unsmiling aspects of Philippine life liberated our literature from maudlin emotionalizing and excessive sentimentalism." (The URIAN lectures, Ateneo de Manila University,1969). Encouragements began to come from different quarters to give the post-war writers the much needed push after the long silence. Manuel Viray published Heart of the Island, an anthology of Filipino Poetry in English and the Philippine Poetry Annual, '47-49’. At around the same year (1949) the National Teachers College offered a 3-unit course in Contemporary Philippine Literature in English to stimulate interest in the subject and in our writers. Encouragements began to come from different quarters to give the post-war writers the much needed push after the long silence. In 1951, the Bureau of Civil Service included Philippine Literature as subject to be covered in the civil service examination for leachers. Downloaded by nova marie ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|39530117 Philippine Literature in English became an essential part of both the graduate and undergraduate curriculum. This provided the writers with the incentive, realizing that they finally were assured an audience, captive or otherwise. Pre-War publications were resumed, college papers were reactivated, among them being the U.P. Literary Apprentice, the Philippine Collegian, the UST Varsitarian, and etc., all of which served as training grounds for the later major writers of the country. Another significant encouragement came in the form of the country's most prestigious annual literary contest, the Carlos Palanca Sr. Memorial Awards for Literature. Post-war years began the spirited exodus of Filipino writers to the United States to imbibe the tricks of the trade as offered by the great American literary masters. "Jose Garcia Villa who was listed as a minor American poet in an American literature course, through his poetry classes in New York city, has influenced a score of American writers. Another major literary influence is Carlos Bulosan who led a host of Philippine writers who have made their mark in the United States. NVM Gonzales and Bienvenido Santos had tutored several American writers through their creative writing classes" The Filipino-writer-as-student ended up becoming writer-as-teacher, either abroad or right in his own country, passing on precious western learning to disciples who drank in everything they palmed off as part of the Western culture. This was of course from the 50's lo the 70's, roughly. POETRY (POST-WAR YEARS) 1945-1970 The beginning of modernism in poetry started during the 50's and onward. The modem poet is essentially an experimenter in techniques of versification, rhythm, music, imagery, who is now more aware of the problems of poetic diction and contemporary speech. To be a modern poet, then, si to be influenced by the following modern or western schools: 1. Imagism The imagist influence is reflected in the poet's emphasis on the poetic image as visual, the poem, as merely descriptive, not commenting. In other words, the important thing is to describe rather than convey a point. 2. The Metaphysical School The poet was the intellectual. The reader was expected to be such, also. The gap between the poet and the reader had started to widen. Modern poetry, in the sense of being metaphysical, had become a hard nut to crack. Poems combined emotions and intellect, this was a protest against too much emotionalism in poetry. 3. The Impressionistic-Symbolistic School The subjective description where what matters is the impression of the moment rather than the physical reality of the moment, or the poetic subject as usually drawn from an outside phenomenon. The emphasis of the musical qualities of the language rather than meaning. The rejection of ethical, political, historical, or sociological considerations. 4. The New Criticism School This critical school which was the leading influence in Anglo-American thinking and practice emphasized craftmanship or technique over content. Poems also became difficult to understand and appreciate, unless the reader had been previously initiated to the aesthetics of poetry. Downloaded by nova marie ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|39530117 The modern poet had less readers, therefore, and had become isolated in his so-called ivory tower. In other words, the poets writing at about this time fell in line more with the Villa coterie than the S.P. Lopez', remembering this great controversy which began before the war. Jose García Villa's star shone more brightly during the post-war years and is therefore included in this section even if most of the writers in the previous category (pre-war) were almost his contemporaries. Nick Joaquin, also a poet among other things, was said to have started modern poetry in the Philippines. Writers in this period felt that poetry should never be used in the service of politics or propaganda. Most of them started to be accused of "irrelevance" or being poets of the intellectual elite. Using the words of C.P. Hidalgo, "the late sixties and particularly the early seventies have a new tale to tell." FICTION (POST-WAR YEARS) 1945-1970 Making a survey of post-war fiction, one has to make a reassessment of the contribution of Manuel Arguilla to the literary world. The reason is that his collection How My Brother Brought Home a Wife and Other Stories is a kind of link between the two periods (pre-war and post-war). His works exemplify this dynamic tension between S. P. López' social commitment and Jose García Villa's art for art's sake beliefs. This social note was pursued in Carlos Bulosan's America is in the Heart in the choice of subject matter, the peasants, the laborers, and in the portrayal of the effects of politics in the private lives of people; the interrelation between economic conditions and political power. NVM Gonzales started writing in the 30s’ but his short story collections did not get published until 1947. The artistic creed during this time upheld the belief that art must be working with material (a serious craft) and must be a thing of beauty (artistic). The social note in the fiction of NVM Gonzales never called attention to itself (it never was preferred over the artistic objective). Nick Joaquin, who stood above his contemporaries, the craftsman as well as the cultural historian, the psychologist, sociologist, and at rare times, almost the mystic in the modem sense. These were the big names. They were the artists. Not any one of them used art as a tool for social and political propaganda. The writers’ preoccupation with form came in the form of certain strict standards to follow like, namely: emphasis on a key moment or moment of illumination which usually appears at the end of the story, a kind of psychic growth in the main character, a change, a momentary shaking. the use of a consistent point of view (point of authority, or the character through whose eyes the story is told the use of symbols, the story existing in more than one level (the superficial literal level) evocative use of language for atmosphere and tone an overall structural unity, blending of form and content. Modern and Contemporary (1971 - present) In the wake of political activism, writers in this period introduced the so-called "committed literature.” Many of these committed writers are converts from the "art for art's sake school" as previously advocated by Villa and company. Downloaded by nova marie ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|39530117 Still, in their effort to write for the masses, they are seriously limited by their language, English, and are therefore not even read by the very sector they have taken the cudgels for. Some of them have in fact switched to Pilipino, or at best, try to write in both tongues. In fact, today, it is not so much the writer's personal sense of commitment that is questioned as his very choice of medium. The February revolution (22-25) in 1986 brought about a drastic, even unexpected change in the political scene and very likely, the new climate augurs well for literature in general. POETRY (MODERN and CONTEMPORARY) 1971-present The younger poets who have become the voice of today's poetry are really not much different from the poets of the previous era. They are just as careful with form, just as Western in orientation and exposure. The only difference is that they have become more open to other post-modernistic methods as well as more susceptible to external stimulus, particularly that which is provided by the immediate socio-political milieu. Philippine contemporary poetry, circa 80's, has come a long way from the poetic effusions and naive outpourings of their predecessors circa the 20's and on towards the war. Poets in this time continue to be comfortably (not obsessively) conscious of form, and conscious of what life has wrought on their sensibilities and what society has done to them born as they are in this point of time and in this particular milieu. Purveyors of both truth and beauty, the best of them had written, do write, and will always write about the experiences of the men of their place and time. FICTION (MODERN and CONTEMPORARY) 1971-present The Protest Motif in fiction started as early as the 70's in the wake of the upsurge of student activism all over the world, when the students of local universities were flushed out of secluded classrooms by pill boxes and tear gas and a new awareness of current socio- political and economic issue. The younger writers turned back to political an social realities, recalled S. P. Lopez' proletarian literature, and begs writing "engaged" or “committed literature.” Fictionists became I more conscious of the political milieu, the poverty, the curtailment of freedom, social inequities, the tyranny of the rich, the widening gap between the haves and the have-nots. Post-modernistic traits have begun to surface. One manifestation if these post-modernistic traits is the deliberate rejection of plot, character, setting, theme, all of which used to be the very essence of the complete short story. With the deposition of Marcos and the dictatorship and the coming of democracy, a change in the literary climate took place. There was greater freedom, less political constraints, more incentive. ON PHILIPPINE LITERATURE IN ENGLISH Emmanuel Torres was urging in 1975: "The poet writing in English... may not be completely aware that to do so is to exclude himself from certain subjects, themes, ideas, values, and modes of thinking and feeling in many segments of the national life that are better expressed - in fact, in most cases, can only be expressed - in the vernacular." Downloaded by nova marie ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|39530117 To create our own literature, English had to be naturalized, as it were, and become Filipino - nothing short of a national language. We had to colonize English in and by our own turn of phrase, as it were, for we had to find ourselves again and found a homeland that had been lost. We had ourselves to inhabit the new language; our own way of looking, our own thinking and feeling in our own historical circumstances, had to become the nerves and sinews of that language. Downloaded by nova marie ([email protected])