Lit 101: Philippine Literature

The Rise of Filipino

Nationalism

Louis L. Snyder defines nationalism as:

a condition of mind, feeling, or sentiment of a
group of people living in a well-defined geographical
area, speaking a common language, possessing a
literature in which the aspirations of the nation have
been expressed

Nationalism is the product of the French Revolution

in the 18th century, and it only came to the
Philippines in the 19th century

Accelerators of Filipino
Nationalism

opening of the Suez Canal (1869)

rise of the Clase Media (Middle Class) and the
Ilustrado
the Education Decree of 1863
racial discrimination against Filipinos
Regular-Secular conflicts
The Cavite Mutiny of 1872 (Execution of the
GomBurZa) (Jacinto Gomez, Jose Burgos
&Miguel Zamora)

Pedro Paterno

Pedro Paterno (1857-1911) and Jose Rizal (18611896) were writers who employed Spanish no
longer for the propagation of Christian religion but
for a changing concept of Filipino
Sampaguitas (1880) a collection of Spanish poems
by Paterno; by its insistence on being Filipino,
this anthology marked the beginning of national
consciousness among the Filipino intelligentsia
(educated elite)
Ninay (1885) the first Filipino novel

Jose Rizal

Noli Me Tangere (1887) marked the first time

realism as a literary concept entered Philippine
writing
El Filibusterismo (1891) sequel to Noli; more
loosely plotted, rich with political insight,
darker and bitter
A las Flores de Heidelberg (1886) patriotic
fervour evoked by imagery growing around a
situation that is always drawn with restraint;
conversational, only hinting at the pain of exile

The Propaganda
Movement (1872-1896)

Essay was extensively used by the movement

since issues had to be clarified, abuses and
injustices denounced, accusations refuted,
future action laid out.
La Solidaridad (1889-1895) newspaper of the
movement with goals: to fight all forms of
reaction, to impede all retrogression, to hail
and accept all liberal ideas, and to defend all
progress

The Katipunan

There was a shift from Spanish to Tagalog

Andres Bonifacio (1863-1896) and Emilio Jacinto
(1875-1899) used Tagalog to advantage as tool
for organizing the masses disenchanted when the
reform movement did not deliver results
Ang Dapat Mabatid ng mga Tagalog is an essay
that served as the manifesto of the Katipunan;
rallying call for revolution to end Spanish rule
Kalayaan the newspaper of the Katipunan

Literary Forms

the Novel
the Essay
Print Journalism
duplo -poetic joust
at the end of the 19th Century, Philippine
literature can be described as either religious
(poems and homiletic essays) or secular
(poems, plays, and songs on romantic subjects
taken from medieval Spanish ballads).