Definitions, Types, and Divisions

 Literature is from the Latin word

“Literatura”

• “Literatura” is taken from “littera”

which means letter or writing that is
showcased through spoken/oral or
written accounts.
 The best way for a man to understand his
nature is to study literature; and since man
write to express himself, his thoughts,
ideals, and experiences, thus, literature is
the reflection of his innermost feelings.

 the study of literature aka is the “study of

life”.
 Literature is the total of preserved writings
belongings to a given language or people
(Webster).
 Literature consists of those writings which
interpret the meanings of nature and life, in
words of charm and power, touched with the
personality of the author, in artistic forms of
permanent interest (Henry Van Dyke).
 Literature is an oral or written reproduction of
human experiences expressed artistically either
in prose or in poetry.
 Literature is a written record of man’s best
thoughts and feelings.
 Literature gives us a picture of life – not the
picture that science gives and not the picture
that is actually (historically) true, but picture
that has its own kind of truth—a “truth” that
includes important elements that science,
from its very nature, is forced to leave out. The
“truth” of literature takes the form, not the
abstract statement, but of a concrete and
dramatic presentation; which may allow us to
experience imaginatively the “lived” meanings
of piece of life (An Approach to Literature (Fourth Edition)
by Cleanth Brooks, John Thibaut, Robert Penn Warren).
 Oral Literature
 Generally the literature of the ancient
times when men did not yet have much
concern about a permanent
preservation of the expressions of their
wits and emotions or their experiences.
 It is preserved and handed down from
one generation to another by word of
mouth. Oral literature started
unwritten, but eventually captured for
writing.
 Written Literature
 One that gets its form from the use
of the pen by literary genius.

 Compared to the oral from, it is

likely to be permanent in form
because once written, it remains as
is.
 For self-expression.
“The mouth speaks what the heart is full of.”
 To spread knowledge and information.
Some ideas are worth recording and remembering.
 To pass on ideas and values.
Right attitudes are formed and good character is
developed.
 To impart truth, accuracy, and evaluation.
This allows others to analyze, evaluate, form valid
judgments, and make wise decisions.
1. Permanence – can stand through the ages and
still opens to new world of meaning and
experience; has lasting appeal.
2.Universality – appeals to anyone, anytime,
anywhere, because of its elemental feelings,
fundamental truths, universal conditions
3. Artistry – appeals to our aesthetics or sense of
beauty
4. Intellectual value – it stimulates our thought,
helps us understand human life and nature.
5. Spiritual Value – brings out moral values,
relates God’s plans and purpose to humanity
6. Style– marked with the writer’s peculiarity
on how he sees life and forms his ideas and
express them artistically
7.Suggestiveness – stirs our emotions,
imagination, feelings, evokes vision and
moves us deeply and into actions beyond the
level of ordinary life.
Drama
Fiction
Nonfiction
Poetry
Prose is discourse that follows the usual flow of
conversation which uses sentences forming
paragraphs to express ideas, feelings and actions.

Forms of Prose:

1. FICTION is a literary work which is a result

of the author’s imagination.
a. Short Story is a narrative involving one
or more characters, one plot, and one
single impression. Ex: Dead Stars by Paz
Marquez Benitez
b. Novel is a story divided into chapters where many
characters are involved and spans long period of time.
Ex: Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe.

c. Play is a scripted story executed on stage.

Ex: Call Me Flory by Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero

d. Legend is a narrative about the origin of man, place,

event and happenings. Ex: Bakit Maalat ang Dagat

e. Fable is a narrative where the characters are animals

and inanimate objects that speak and act like people,
and usually ends with values that can mold their
attitudes. Ex. Aesop’s The Pitcher and the Crow
2. NON-FICTION

a. Essay is an attempt to express the

viewpoint and opinion of the writer on a
particular problem or event.
• Formal Essay
• Informal Essay
b. Oration is a formal treatment of the
subject and intended to be spoken before a
crowd.
c. Biography is a literary work that gives the
life account of a person written by another
person.
d. Autobiography is a literary work where the
author writes his own life account.

e. News is a report of expected and unexpected

events in society and government
and incidents in the field of science, business, etc.

f. Letters a collection of correspondence/letters by

an individual to another.
Ex. Rizal’s letters to F. Blumentritt

g. Diaries and Journals

Ex. The Diary of Anne Frank
A personal diary during her family’s hiding from
Hitler’s persecution of Jews
 a type of literature that combines the
sound and meaning of language to
create and express ideas and feelings.
 The language of poetry which uses
imagery and figurative language closely
related terms is very rich, suggestive and
powerful.
 It is expressed in regimented manner by
the force of stanza, meter, rhyme and
other regulating devices.
“It is the spontaneous
overflow of powerful feelings
taking its origin from emotion
recollected in tranquility”
-William Wordsworth
“It is the rhythmical creation of beauty”
(Edgar Allan Poe).
“It is a record of the best and happiest
moments of the best minds, the very
image of life expressed in its eternal
truth” (Percy Bysshe Shelly).
Its words are selected for their beauty,
sound and power to express feelings
more intense and expressive than
everyday speech.
1. Narrative Poetry-tells stories and has 2 forms:
 Epics are long poems that exemplify the
adventures of epic heroes and divine forces.
They are the oldest surviving form of poetry.
 Ballads are narrative poems intended to be
sung. They are shorter than the epics and they
usually tell stories about a particular person.
Because ballads originated from the common
people, they use repetitive and simple
language as well as supernatural touches.
2. Dramatic Poetry tells stories but one or
more characters act out the poem. There
are plays that are written as dramatic
poetry. William Shakespeare, An English
Playwright, is the most famous dramatic
poet.
In the dramatic monologue, the story is
dramatically told by only one character.
Robert Browning, an English poet of the
1800, wrote many poems of this style.
3. Lyric Poetry, the most common of the three, is a
short poem that expresses the poet’s thoughts and
feeling. The word lyric comes from the Greek word
rhein which means lyre, a harp-like musical
instrument used by poets in ancient Greece. Lyric
poetry comes in many forms:
a. Haiku, one of the shortest lyric poems, is a
Japanese verse of 17 syllables arranged
in three lines, the first line has 5, the second 7
and the third 5.
b. Ode is a serious elaborate lyric poem full of
high praises and noble feelings.
Example: “Ode to Evening” by William Collins
(1721-1759).
c. Elegy is a poem of meditation on life and death. Many
elegies mourn the death of a famous person or a close
friend.
Example: “An Elegy Written on a Country Church Yard”
by Thomas Gray.
d. Sonnet is a 14-line lyric poem with a certain pattern of
rhyme and rhythm. Example:
“How Do I Love Thee?” by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
(1806-1986) an English Poet.
e. Song is a lyric poem intended to be sung.
Example: “Blowing in the Wind” and “Sound of Silence” by
Bob Dylan and Paul Simon respectively.