21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World

THE PROMINENT PERIODS IN THE PHILIPPINE LITERARY TIMELINE

Pre-Colonial Times (BC- 1564)

Forms
A. Riddles (Mga Bugtong)- These are statements that contain superficial words, but they function
figuratively and as metaphors, and are in the form of questions. These are questions that demand
deeper answers and deals with everyday life.
B. Proverbs (Mga Salawikain)- These are statements that are considered as wise and are usually given
by parents or elders of the community, because it is believed that they are more experienced.
Forms of Folk Songs
1. Lullabies- these are locally known as the Hele. These are sung to put to sleep babies. The content varies,
but usually, parents sing these with ideas on how hard life is and how they hope that their child will not
experience the hardships of life.
2. Drinking Songs- these are locally known as Tagay and are sung during drinking sessions.
3. Love Songs- to many Filipinos, these are known as the Harana. It can also be called Courtship Songs and
are used by young men to capture the heart of the girl that they love.
4. Religious Songs- are songs or chants that are usually given during exorcisms and thanksgiving during
good harvest.
5. Songs of Death these are locally known as the Kanogon. These are lamentations that contain the roll of
good deeds of the dead.
6. Ambahan- love songs of the Mangyans which talks about human relationships, social entertainment and
tool for teaching the young people.
7. Kalusan- songs that depicts the livelihood of the people often sung to go with the movement of workers.
8. Soliranin- sung during rowing boats
9. Mambayu- sung during pounding rice.

C. Folk Tales (Mga Kwentong Bayan)

These are stories of native Filipinos. These deal with the power of nature- personified, their submission to a
deity- usually Bathala- and how this deity is responsible for the blessings and calamities. These also tackle
about irresponsibility, stupidity, deception, and fallibility that eventually leads to the instilling of good
morals.
Forms
1. Myths- these tackle the natural to strange occurrences of the earth and how things were created with an
aim
2. Legends- through legends, the natives understood mysteries around them. These stories usually come
with a moral lesson that gives credit to supernatural powers, supernatural occurrences, and other out-of-
this-world native imagination.
3. Fables- are short or brief stories that cater the children of the native Filipinos and are usually bounded by
good manners and right conduct. These stories use animals as characters that represent a particular value
or characteristic.
4. Epics- are very lengthy narratives that are based on oral traditions. These contain encounters of fighters,
stereotypical princes or heroes that save a damsel in distress. These revolves around supernatural events or
heroic deeds.
Colonial Times
The Spanish Occupation (1521- 1898)
Even though this was the situation, the Spanish occupation sparked many brilliant minds to come
up with their own written literature that was now written. Spanish was also introduced as the mode of
communication. Reading, writing, and arithmetic were taught in catechetical schools.
Ladinos – “Latinized” is anyone who could read and write in any of the Latin languages.
Two Classifications of Filipinos during the Spanish Period
Taga-bayan – Filipinos who were within easy reach of the power of the Church and State
- urbane and civilized
Taga-bukid or Taga-bundok – Filipinos who kept their distance from the colonial administrators
- Brutos salvages (savage brutes)
- Indio
Two Classifications of Literature during the Spanish Period
Oral literature was “Christianized” where it could not be suppressed or eradicated, but very little of it saw
print.
1. Religious Literature
a. Pasyon- It is a narrative poem (commemoration) about passion and the death of Jesus Christ.
b. Senakulo- It is the re-enactment or the dramatization of the passion of Christ.
c. Komedya – drew its plot from medieval Spanish ballads about highborn warriors and their colorful
adventures of love and fame, providing Filipinos with a glimpse of an idealized European society.
2. Secular or Non- Religious Literature
a. Awit- Tales of Chivalry (high respect of men for women). Usually portrays a knight saving a
princess or the like (Europe). Written in quatrains.
b. Korido- a metrical (a piece of literature that has a measurement for aesthetic purposes) tale. Written in
octave.
c. Prose Narratives- written to instruct readers on proper decorum.
Example:
Pagsusulatan ng Dalawang Binibini na si Urbana at Feliza (1864) – a popular book of manners (prose
narratives) is Modesto de Castro’s lasting contribution to the history of literature.

Nationalistic Propaganda and Revolutionary Literature (1864-1896)

These works of literature planted the seed of nationalism in the hearts of every Filipino. During this
period, the language was slowly shifting from Spanish to Tagalog and the works of literature were
addressed to the masses instead of addressing only the elite.
1. Propaganda Literature- its objective is to reform.
a. Political Essays and Political Novels- are composed of satires, editorials, and news articles that
aim to attack and expose the corrupt Spanish rule.
2. Revolutionary Literature
a. Political Essays- these entries were exposes that fired up the Philippine revolutionary movement into a
time bomb waiting to explode.
Prominent Produce during the Spanish Period
1. Doctrina Christiana (1593) – first book ever published in the Philippines by the Dominicans. Other
religious congregation put up their respective presses early in the 17th century.
Prominent Authors during the Spanish Period
1. Modesto de Castro – was a native priest who lived in the first half of the 19th century, notable for his
sermons in Tagalog.
2. Francisco Baltazar (1788-1862) popularly known as Balagtas:
3. Jose Rizal (1861-1896) – was sensitive to the forces that were building up in the Philippine society as the
clamor for reforms was met with repression that in turn generated a more insistent clamor for change.
4. Marcelo H. del Pilar (1850-1896) – was well-versed in the art of poetic jousting called
duplo before he assumed the post of editor of La Solidaridad. He is especially effective as a parodist.
The American Occupation (1900-1942)
The taga-bayan-taga-bukid polarization in Philippine society occasioned by the advent Spanish
colonization took on a decidedly political color during the Revolution of 1996.
Philippine literature burst forth with vitality and variety indicative of creative energy unleashed by the
Revolution and propelled by the vernacular languages proliferated in spite of threatening provisions of the
Sedition Law.
The best-known magazines that capitalized on short stories and poems for patronage were:

Liwayway (1922, Tagalog)

Bisaya (1930, Cebuano)
Hiligaynon (1934, Ilongo)
Bannawag (1934, Iloko)
Writers
1. Jose Garcia Villa- “National Artist for Literature”
- Wrote “Art for Art Sake”
2. Angela Manalang- writer in Liwayway

The Japanese Occupation (1941-1945), the Commonwealth and the Republic

(1946-1985)
Between 1941-1945, Philippine Literature was interrupted in its development when the Philippines
was again conquered by another foreign country, Japan. The weekly LIWAYWAY was placed under strict
surveillance until it was managed by Japanese named Ishiwara.
Noteworthy writer of the period was Carlos P. Romulo who won the Pulitzer Prize for his
bestsellers I SAW THE FALL OF THE PHILIPPINES, I SEE THE PHILIPPINES RISE and his MOTHER AMERICA AND
MY BROTHER AMERICANS.
Status of Poetry
The common theme of most poems during the Japanese occupation was nationalism, country, love, and life
in the barrios, faith, religion and the arts. Three types of poems emerged during this period. They were:
1. Haiku –a poem of free verse that the Japanese like. It was made up of 17 syllables divided into three
lines.
The first line had 5 syllables, the second, 7 syllables, and the third, five. The Haiku is allegorical in meaning,
is short and covers a wide scope in meaning.
2. Tanaga –like the Haiku, is short but it had measure and rhyme. Each line had 17 syllables and it’s also
allegorical in meaning which expresses insights and lessons in life.
 Elements of a Story
1. Narrative or Story – it is an account of series of related whether true or not.
 Setting – The time and place a story takes place.
 Characters – the people, animals or creatures in a story.
 Conflict – a problem or struggle between two people, things or ideas
 Mood- the atmosphere of the story
 Plot – the series of events that make up a story.

Climax: the turning point,

the most intense moment—
either mentally or in action

Falling Action: all of the

Rising Action: the series
action which follows the
of events and conflicts in
climax
the story that lead to the
climax

Exposition: the start Resolution: the conclusion, the

of the story, before tying together of all of the threads
the action starts

Special Techniques of A Plot

• Flashback- interrupts the normal sequence of events to tell about something that
happened in the past
• Surprise Ending- conclusion that reader does not expect
• Foreshadowing-A hint to the reader about what will happen next
• Suspense- excitement or tension
 Elements of Poetry

POETIC DEVICES
-A technique or tool used in poetry
FORM
- is the way a poem looks.
LINES
-The number of lines in a poem may vary.
-They may or may not be complete sentences.
Couplet- two lines
Tercet- three lines
Quatrain- four lines
Quintet- five lines
Sextet- six lines
Octave- eight lines
STANZAS
-are lines separated into groups.
-The number of lines in each stanza may vary.
RHYME
-Rhyme is when words end with the same sound.
RHYTHM
- is the beat of the poem.
REPETITION
- is the repeating of sounds, words, phrases, or lines.

Figurative language helps us picture ordinary things in a new way.

1. ONOMATOPOEIA
-is when a word’s sound suggests its meaning.
Ex: buzz, swish, bang
2. ALLITERATION
-is the repetition of similar beginning sounds and consonants (like tongue twisters).
3. SIMILE
-compares two unlike things using like or as.
Ex: He was as sly as a fox.
4. METAPHOR
- is an implied comparison of two unlike things. It doesn’t use like or as.
Ex: Laughter is the best medicine.
5. Personification
- is when animals or objects are given human characteristics.
Ex: The wind whispered to the trees.
6. HYPERBOLE
-Extreme exaggeration; usually meant to be funny.
Ex. It was a million degrees in the shade.
7. ALLUSION
-an object, circumstances, person, or place from unrelated context is referred to covertly or
indirectly.
FORMALIST CRITICISM
 Regards literature as a unique form of human knowledge that needs to be examined on its own
terms
 Can only be understood only by reference to its intrinsic literary features-those elements, that is
found in the text itself.
BIOGRAPHICAL CRITICISM
 Begins with the simple but central insight that literature is written by actual people and that
understanding an author’s life can help readers more thoroughly comprehend the work
 Begins with the simple but central insight that literature is written by actual people and that
understanding an author’s life can help readers more thoroughly comprehend the work

HISTORICAL CRITICISM

 Seeks to understand a literary work by investigating the social, cultural, and intellectual context
that produced it
 Begins by exploring the possible ways in which the meaning of the text has changed over time

GENDER CRITICISM

 Examines how sexual identity influences the creation and reception of literary works
 Feminist criticism explored (a) how an author’s gender influences-consciously and unconsciously-his
or her writing and (b) how sexual identity influences the reader of a text

PSYCHOLOGICAL CRITICISM
 Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theories changed our notions of human behavior by exploring new
or controversial areas like wish-fulfillment, sexuality, the unconscious and repression.
 Is a diverse category, but it often employs three approaches: (1) it investigates the creative process
of the artist, (2) the psychological study of a particular artist and (3) the analysis of fictional
characters

SOCIOLOGICAL CRITICISM
 Examines literature in the cultural, economic, and political context in which it is written or
received
 An influential type of sociological criticism has been Marxist criticism which focuses on the
economic and political elements of art

MYTHOLOGICAL CRITICISM
 Is an interdisciplinary approach that combines the insights of anthropology, psychology, history
and comparative religion

DECONSTRUCTIONIST CRITICISM
 Rejects the traditional assumption that language can accurately represent reality
 Language is a fundamentally unstable medium; literary texts, which are made up of words, have no
fixed, single meaning.

READER-RESPONSE CRITICISM
 Believe that no text provides self-contained meaning; literary text do not exist independently of
reader’s interpretation
 A text is not finished until it is read and interpreted