Mapping Our Literary Past,

Present, and Future

21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World
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Lesson Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, I can:
a. Identify the geographic, linguistic, and
ethnic dimensions of Philippine literary
history from pre-colonial to
contemporary
b. Value contributions of local writers to the
development of regional literary
traditions.
c. Differentiate the various 21st century
literary genres and ones from the earlier
genres or periods citing their elements
and traditions.
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What is Literature?
Literature….
 Is a body of written works.
 Originated from oral traditions.
 Are imaginative works. Three Points of Literature
 Deals with stories and poetry.  Literature portrays human
experience.
 The content depends on the
 Authors interpret these human
author.
experiences.
 It is an art form and a style of
expression.
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The Philippine Literary

Eras?

1. Precolonial Era
2. Spanish Colonial Era
3. American Colonial Era
4. Japanese Colonial Era
5. Th Contemporary Era
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Philippine Precolonial Era
BC-1564
 This existed before the Spanish occupation in the
1500s.
 It is oral in nature and is full of lessons and ideas about
life, its blessings, and its consequences.
 It contains ideas from birth to the grave.
 The oral characteristic of pre-colonial literature gives the
possibility for many alterations.
 In the Philippine context, no matter how it may be
considered as altered, pre-colonial literature is still
revered to by many Filipinos.
 The sources are usually the local native town folk.
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Forms of Literature During Precolonial
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Era
Riddles
• 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.
• Deals with everyday life.
• It usually has mundane things as answers.
• This is used in the past as a form of game
in small or large gatherings.
Bisaya
Baboy sa lasang, (A wild pig of the forest,)
Ang tunok puro lansang. (Is covered with
spikes.)
Answer: Nangka (Jackfruit)
Maranaw
Sominub lawiyan, (It dived,)
Mbowat lawitan. (It rose.)
Answer: Ragum (Needle)
Chabacano
Tagia que tagia, (You keep on slashing it,)
Hende ta penetra. (But it does not penetrate)
Answer: Agua (Water)
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Forms of Literature During Precolonial
Era
Folksongs
• These are folk lyrics that are usually
chanted.
• These are usually contain ideas on and
aspirations, hopes, everyday expressions of
love for loved ones.
• It is bounded by the learning of good
morals.
• It is easy to understand because it is
straightforward and not figurative in
nature.
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Forms of Literature During Precolonial
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Era
Lullabies
This is 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 in life.
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.
Drinking Songs
These are locally known as Tagay and are
sung during drinking sessions.
Religious Songs
Are songs or chants that are usually given
during exorcisms and thanksgiving during good
harvest.
Songs of Death
Are lamentations that contain the roll of
good deeds that the dead has usually done to
immortalize his or her good image.
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Forms of Literature During Precolonial
Era
Folk Tales (Mga Kwentong Bayan) Usual Themes
• These are stories of native Filipinos. • Ceremonies needed to
• These deal with the power of nature- appease deities.
personified, their submission to a deity- • Pre and Post apocalypse
usually Bathala- and how this deity is • Life and Death
responsible for the blessings and • Gods and Goddesses
calamities. • Heroes and Heroines
• These also tackle about irresponsibility, • Supernatural beings
lust, stupidity, deception, and fallibility • Animals
that eventually leads to the instilling of
good morals.
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Forms of Literature During Precolonial
Era
Myths
These tackle the natural to strange
occurrences of the earth and how things were
created with an aim to give an explanation to
things.
-There is Bathala for the Tagalogs and
the Gueurang for the Bikolanos.
- Paradise is known as Maca, while
Hell is Kasanaaan
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.
Legends
Through legends the natives understands
mysteries around them. These stories usually
come with a moral lesson that give credit to
supernatural powers, supernatural occurrences,
and other out-of- this-world native imagination.
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.
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Spanish Colonial Era
1525-1898
 The start of the Philippine's more colorful history took place in March
6, 1521 when Ferdinand Magellan docked on the shores of Homonhon.
 The Filipinos were then called “Ladinos”, meaning they were
latinized.
 Filipinos were called two things. One is the “Taga-Bayan”, while the
other is the “Taga-bukid” or “Taga-bundok”.
 A person who is a Taga-bayan is considered urbane and civilized and
were in easy range of the church and state.
 A person who is a Taga-bundok or Taga-bukid is called a Bruto Salvage
(Savage Brute) or Indio and were the ones who lived far from the
center of the Spanish power.
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Forms of Literature During Spanish Colonial
Era
• Religious Literature
Revolves around the life and
the death of Jesus Christ.

Pasyon
It is about the passion (journey and
suffering) and the death of Jesus Christ.
Senakulo
It is the re-enactment of the Pasyon.
Komedya
It depicts the European society through love
and fame, but can also be a narrative about a
journey, just like Dante Alighieri's Divine
Comedy. It is also considered religous, because
it usually depicts the battle between the
Christians and the Saracens or the Moros.
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Forms of Literature During Spanish Colonial
Era
• Secular/Non-Religious
Literature Revolves around
tales of valiance and adventure.

Awit
These are tales of chivalry where a knight Prose Narratives
saves a princess. Florante at Laura is a good Are easy to understand instructional
example. materials that in a literary light that teaches
Filipinos on proper decorum. Pagsusulatan ng
Dalawang Binibini na si Urbana at Feliza
Korido
(1864) is a good example.
Is a metrical tale or a tale that follows the
structure of a poem.
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Forms of Literature During Spanish Colonial
Era
Propaganda Literature
• These were in the forms of satires,
editorials, and news articles that aimed to
attack the Spanish Rule.
• The propaganda trinity is composed of Dr.
Jose Rizal, Marcelo H. Del Pilar, and
Graciano Lopez
Graciano Lopez Jaena
Ang Fray Botod- One of his works written in Jaro, Iloilo
in 1876, six years after the Cavite Revolt attacking the
friars in the Philippines. He exposed how some of the
friars were greedy, ambitious and immoral.
Marcelo H. Del Pilar
KAIINGAT KAYO (Be Careful)- a humorous
and sarcastic dig in answer to Fr. Jose
Rodriquez in the novel NOLI of Rizal,
published in Barcelona in 1888. He used
Dolores Manapat as pen-name here.
Jose P. rizal
NOLI ME TANGERE- his was the novel that
gave spirit to the propaganda movement and
paved the way to the revolution against Spain.
In this book, he courageously exposed the evils
in the Spanish-run government in the
Philippines.
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Forms of Literature During Spanish Colonial
Era
Revolutionary Literature
• Are exposes that sparked revolution and
resistance in the hearts of Filipinos.
Andres bonifacio
Katungkulang Gagawin ng mga Anak ng Bayan
(Obligations of our Countrymen)
– an outline of obligations just like the Ten
Commandments, hence, it is likewise called Ang
Dekalogo.
Emilio Jacinto
Liwanag at Dilim (Light and Darkness) – a collection of
essays on different subjects like freedom, work, faith,
government and love of country.
Apolinario Mabini
El Desarollo y Caida de la Republica Filipina
(The Rise and Fall of the Philippine Republic) –
this essay highlights the establishment of the
Philippine republic and its subsequent doom due
to disunity among the Filipinos
Jose P. Rizal
El Filibusterismo– This is a sequel to the NOLI.
While the NOLI exposed the evils in society, the
FILI exposed those in the government and in the
church. However, the NOLI has been dubbed the
novel of society while that of FILI is that of
politics.
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American Colonial Era
1900-1942
 The Philippines had a great leap in Education and
Culture.
 The use of English alongside Filipino was practiced.
 The Philippines Public School system was
introduced.
 Free public instruction was given to the Filipinos.
 The literature during the American period was
considered as imitative of American model. Instead
of asking the students to write originals, students
ended up following the form of American poets.
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Forms of Literature During American Colonial
Era
Poetry Drama
Poetry under the American rule still Usually used in the American period to
followed the style of the old, but had contents degrade the Spanish rule and to immortalize the
that ranged from free writing to societal heroism of the men who fought under the
concerns under the Americans. Katipunan.

Remake Novels
Took up Dr. Jose Rizal’s Portrayal of Social
conditions by colonial expression.
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Japanese Colonial Era
1941-1945
 The Philippine literature came into a halt.
 The use of the English language was forbidden, and the
use of the Filipino language was mandated under the
Japanese rule.
 For some this was a problem, but to most writers, it was
a blessing in disguise.
 Almost all news papers were stopped except for some.
 Filipino literature was given a break during this period.
Many wrote plays, poems, short stories, etc. Topics and
themes were often about life in the provinces.
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Forms of Literature During Japanese Colonial
Era
Drama Newspaper
The drama experienced a lull during the Japanese Writings that came out during this period
period because movie houses showing were journalistic in nature. Writers felt
American films were closed. The big movie houses suppressed but slowly, the spirit of nationalism
were just made to show stage shows. Many of the plays started to seep into their consciousness. While
were reproductions of English plays to Tagalog.. some continued to write, the majority waited for a
better climate to publish their works.
Poetry
The common theme of most poems during the Essays
Japanese occupation was nationalism, country, Essays were composed to glorify the Filipinos
love, and life in the barrios, faith, religion and the arts. and at the same time to figuratively attack the
Japanese.
Fiction
The field of the short story widened during the
Japanese Occupation. Many wrote short stories.
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Contemporary Literature
Present
21st Century Literature
 In the 21st Century Philippines, there are a lot of
literary innovations that are adapted and created by
Filipinos. Nowadays, even those who do not have any
 Significant literary background make their own way
using the freedom that they have to write and to
express.
 There are a lot of new forms from the basic genres of
literature; thus, proving how far the literature in the
Philippines has gone and how far it will go on from
here.
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