LITERATURE

It originated from the Latin term litera which means letter.

It refers to any printed matter written within a book, a magazine or a pamphlet.
It may refer to written materials which may be true or just a product of ones imagination.
A faithful reproduction of mans manifold significant human experiences blended into one
harmonious expression.
It is the written record of mans best thoughts, feelings, ideas and ideals presented in an
artistic form touched by the authors personality and written in an enduring language.

General Classifications

Oral Literature literature which is handed down from one generation to another through the
words of mouth. Examples include folksongs, riddles, fokltales, etc.
Written Literature literature which is printed and embodied in a document. Examples are
novels, short stories, essays, etc.

Divisions of Literature

Prose The general term for literary works which are written in common flow of conversation
usually in sentences or paragraphs.
Poetry Literary works which have meter, rhyme, rhythm, verses and melodious tone.

Differences Between Prose and Poetry

Prose
Form
Language

Appeal
Aim

Poetry

Written
in
sentences
paragraphs
Written in ordinary language

or

It appeals to the intellect

To imitate and reflect life
To convince, inform and instruct

Written in verses or stanzas

Written
in
ordinary,
figurative,
metrical
and
rhythmical language
It appeals to the emotion
To stir the imagination
To set an ideal of how life
should be

Values of Literature (Why do people read)

for
for
for
for
for
for

information
enjoyment
amusement
higher and keener pleasure
cultural upliftment
the discovery of broader dimensions of life

Hallmarks of Great Literature

It
It
It
It

is dependent upon time and place.

makes us realize fundamental truths about life.
is a thing of beauty and joy forever.
reveals a mastery of expression.

Literary Standards

1. Artistry - this is a quality which appeals to our sense of beauty.

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2. Intellectual Value - a literary work stimulates thought. It enriches our mental life by making
us realize fundamental truths about life and human nature.
3. Suggestiveness - this is the quality associated w/the emotional power of literature.
4. Spiritual Value - Literature elevates the spirit by bringing out moral values which make us
better persons.
5. Permanence - a great work of literature endures.
6. Universality - great literature is timeless and timely.
7. Style - this is the peculiar way in which a writer sees life, forms his ideas and expresses
them.
Prose Writings

Anecdote a short, witty fictitious narrative revolving around human experiences and is
usually infused with lesson.
Myth a fictitious narrative whose characters are usually gods and goddesses and other
mythological characters
Legend - a fictitious narrative about origins of places, people or things
Fable a fictitious narrative whose characters are usually animals and other inanimate
objects which act like humans
Parable a narrative from the Bible
Oration a formal speech delivered in public
News writings about daily events in the society
Essay a written work expressing the viewpoint of a writer about a particular topic

Narrative a kind of essay whose purpose is to narrate a story or incident

Expository an essay that presents information or explains facts

Descriptive an essay that describes a subject

Argumentative a kind of essay whose purpose is to convince through reasons or
substantial evidence
Biography an account of a person written by another person
Autobiography an account of a persons life written by himself
Play/Drama a literary work usually presented on stage, consisting of dialogues and divided
into acts or sequence
Epistles apostolic letters in the New Testament
Novel a long narrative divided into chapters, involving many characters and consisting of a
plot and various subplots
Short story a fictional narrative involving only a few characters and setting and creates a
single impression.

Picaresque a novel/short story involving princesses, knights and lovable rogues

Psychological a novel/short story focusing on the behavior of a character

Regional also called local color, this novel/short story puts more emphasis on the
place setting where the action occurs
Naturalistic - a novel/short story which focuses on a character who is trapped in the
forces of nature
Social Criteria - a novel/short story focusing on the problems in the society
Philosophical a novel/short story which aims to give inspiration or lesson to the
readers
Gothic a tale of mystery and fear

Elements of a Short Story

Setting the time and place of action in a short story

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Purposes
It helps in creating the mood or atmosphere of the story.
It serves as the backdrop of the action.
It can be the force that the protagonist struggles against or it can be the source of
central conflict
Characters the persons or animals who act in the story
Kinds of characters according to role

Protagonist the hero in the story

Antagonist the antagonist in the story
Deuteragonist a character who is of second importance to the protagonist
Villain a character between the protagonist and antagonist but has an antagonistic
nature
Dead a character who is just mentioned in the story but did not perform any role
Extra a character who just performs a snap of a finer role
Stock a character who is stereotyped in a particular role (example: wicked
stepmother, beautiful princesses, etc)

Characters according to importance of roles

Major characters who perform important roles

Minor character characters who perform not so important roles

Characters according to complexity

Round characters who perform complex roles

Flat characters who perform simple roles

Characters according to the degree to which they change

Static character who does not change

Dynamic character who changes

Characterization the cat of creating or developing a character

Direct a kind of characterization wherein the author explains a characters traits

explicitly
Indirect a kind of characterization in which the author uses other means in order to
explain the traits of a character which may be through his actions, words or what
other characters in the story think of him or say about him

Motivation the reason that explains or partially explains a characters traits or behavior.
Characters may be motivated by their emotions, desires, physical needs, etc.
The Characteristics of a Person
In order for a story to seem real to the reader its characters must seem real.
Characterization is the information the author gives the reader about the characters themselves.
The
author
may
reveal
a
character
in
several
ways:
a)
b)
c)
d)

his/her physical appearance

what he/she says, thinks, feels and dreams
what he/she does or does not do
what others say about him/her and how others react to him/her

Conflict a struggle between opposing forces; the problems that exist in a short story

Internal man versus himself

External man versus man, man versus nature, man versus supernatural, man versus
culture, society and tradition
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Plot the sequence of events in a short story; its two basic elements are characters and
conflict
Parts of the Plot

Exposition it introduces the setting, the character and basic situation

Inciting incident it initially introduces the conflict in the story
Development the conflict runs its course and is usually intensified
Climax the highest point in the story in which suspense is evident
Resolution the part in which the conflict is ended or solved
Denouement - the storys falling action which ties up loose ends
Ending the storys concluding part which may be tragedy, comedy or open ending

Point of View the perspective or vantage point from which the story is written or told
Kinds of Point of View

First Person Limited a personal point of view which uses the pronoun I or we; the
narrator is a character in the story
Third Person Limited a point of view which uses the pronoun he or she in which the
story is narrated from the perspective of one of the characters in a short story usually
the protagonist
Third Person Omniscient a point of view in which the narrator tells the story from
various perspectives making him God-like and all-knowing

Narrators differ in their:

Reliability Reliable narrators can be counted to tell the truth; Unreliable narrators distort
the truth.
Subjectivity Subjective narrators make their emotions evident on the characters while
objective narrators report events or actions in the story as they are

Theme the idea or generalization about life that is presented in a short story
Tone the attitude of the writer towards the readers or the subject matter
Mood or Atmosphere the emotions/feelings created to the readers by a literary work
Moral the lesson that can be gleaned from a short story
Other elements
specific genre - the kinds of short story
specific audience the readers of the short story

Poetry generally classified either as narrative, lyric or dramatic poetry

Narrative Poetry poetry that narrates or tells a story

Epic a narrative poem about heroic exploits in which the hero is usually under
supernatural intervention. Examples are Iliad and Odyssey by Homer of Greece and
Mahabharata by Vyasa of India.
- ancient or popular epic epic that has no definite author
- modern or literary epic epic that has a definite author

Metrical Tale a narrative poem which describes important events in life whether real
or imaginary. Example is Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer.

Metrical Romance a narrative poem revolving around a romantic affair. Example is Le

Morte Arthur by Sir Thomas Mallory

Ballad the simplest and shortest among narrative poems intended to be sung.
Examples of these are sea ballad, war ballad, mythical ballad, love ballad, etc.

Lyric Poetry poetry whose name generally originated from the musical instrument lyre and
pertains to poems expressing emotions.

Sonnet a lyric poem consisting of fourteen lines and expressing an emotion. It may
be classified as English or Shakespearean sonnet or Italian or Petrarchan sonnet.

Miss Riczell Ann P. Villanueva

Folksongs simple lyric poems commonly about love, grief, sadness and melancholy
and are intended to be sung.

Psalm a song praising God or Virgin Mary

Elegy a lyric poem about death whose theme is grief and melancholy.

Ode a lyric poem expressed with dignity and is used to give praise to a person.

Corridos lyric poems consisting of eight syllables (octosyllabic)

Song a lyric poem consisting of dodecasyllabic quatrains

Dramatic Poetry poetry which is intended to be performed on stage

Tragedy dramatic poems infused with sadness and end tragically

Comedy dramatic poems which have happy ending

Melodrama a lower form of tragedy which is usually performed with the opera

Farce an exaggerated comedy consisting of laughable lines and is used to ridicule

the follies of men in the society

Social Poems dramatic poems whose topics usually revolve around problems in the
society
POETRY

Definitions:

It is derived from the Greek term poesis which means making or creating.
It is a rhythmic, imaginative language expressing the invention, thought, imagination,
taste, passion and insight of the human soul. Its purpose is enthrallment. Garcia, et.
al.
It is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings from emotions recollected in
tranquility. It begins in delight and ends in wisdom William Wordsworth
It is the rhythmical creation of beauty Edgar Allan Poe
It is prose with poetic qualities Webster
Poetry is meant to be listened to like a song Goodman

The Elements of Poetry

1. Sound poems use rhyme, rhythm and repetition to create special sound effects
Rhyme the regular recurrence of similar sounds at the end of lines
End Rhymes rhyming words at the end of lines of a poem
Internal Rhymes rhyming words within a line of a poem

Example:

I
I
I
I

am a lean dog, a keen dog, a wild dog and lone;

am a rough dog, a tough dog, hunting on my own;
am bad dog, a mad dog, teasing silly sheep;
love to sit and bay the moon to keep fat souls from sleep.
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The Lone Dog (Irene Rutherfold Macleod)

End rhymes are lone and own and sheep and sleep.
Internal rhymes are lean and keen, rough and tough and bad and mad.

This pattern is charted by using letters of the alphabet to show which lines end with the
same sound. Rhyme scheme is the definite pattern of sound set by end rhymes. The
rhyme scheme is:

lone A
own A
sheep B
sleep B
Other Forms of Rhymes are:
1.1.1 Perfect or Exact Rhyme Unidentical initial consonant sound is followed by
identical stressed vowel sound, and the following sound if there is any should also
be identical.
foe toe
meet fleet

fix sticks
rougher buffer

1.1.2 Half Rhyme or Off Rhyme Unidentical initial consonant sound is followed by
unidentical stressed vowel sound and only the final sound is identical.
soul foil
mirth forth

trolley - bully

1.1.3 Eye Rhyme The sounds do not rhyme but the words look as though they would
rhyme.
cough bough

ballet wallet

1.1.4 Masculine Rhyme Initial syllable is unstressed and unidentical followed by

stressed identical syllable.
embark remark

retort support

1.1.5 Feminine Rhyme Initial syllable is stressed and identical followed by unstressed
identical syllable.
flatter batter
revival arrival

father mother

1.1.6 Triple Rhyme a kind of feminine rhyme in which an identical stressed syllable is
followed by two unstressed identical syllables.
machinery scenery

tenderly - slenderly

Rhythm It is the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a poem. This gives the
poem its musical quality and makes it grand, solemn and majestic, sonorous and
mournful, slow and full. Meter and rhyme have often been regarded as essentials of
rhythm.
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Purposes of Rhythm
It is enjoyable for its own sake.
Example: This is chanted while children jump rope:

Along came the doctor!

Along came the nurse!
Along came the lady
With the big fat purse!
It allows the poet to fit the movement of the poem to the mood.
Example:
the WIND was a TORrent of DARKness AMONG the GUSTy TREEs,
the MOON was a GHOSTly GALleon TOSSed upon CLOUDy SEAS,
the ROAD was a RIBbon of MOONlight Over the PURple MOOR,
and the HIGHwayman CAME RIDing RIDing RIDingthe HIGHwayman CAME RIDing RIDing RIDingthe HIGHwayman CAME RIDing, UP to the OLD INN DOOR.
The Higwayman Alfred Noyes

The poet can use rhythm to emphasize important words.

Example:

MOST WEARy SEEMED the SEA

WEARy the WANDERing FIELDS of BARren FOAM
Prosody the study of the principles of verse structure including meter, rhyme, stanzaic
patterns and other sound devices

Meter the measure with which the beat of the rhythm is counted. It came from the
Greek word metron which means to measure.

Foot the basic unit of measurement in poetry. In counting the metric feet, the following
are used:

monometer - 1 metric foot per line

dimeter - 2 metric feet per line
trimester - 3 metric feet per line
tetrameter - 4 metric feet per line
pentameter - 5 metric feet per line
hexameter - 6 metric feet per line
heptameter - 7 metric feet per line
octometer - 8 metric feet per line
nonameter 9 metric feet per line
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Miss Riczell Ann P. Villanueva

According to stanzaic pattern, the following are used:

couplet two lines
tercet three line
quatrains four lines
quintuplet five lines
sextet/sestet six lines
heptet seven lines
octave eight lines
The most common feet in English poetry are:

1. Iamb or Iambic (U/) one unstressed syllable followed by one stressed syllable.
My heart is like a singing bird Christina Rosetti
The curfew tolls the knell of parting day Gray (Elegy in a Country Churchyard)
2. Trochee or Trochaic (/U) - one stressed syllable followed by one unstressed syllable.
Up the airy mountain
Down the rushy glen Allingham, The Fairies
3. Anapest or Anapestic (UU/) - two unstressed syllables followed by one stressed
syllable.
There are many who say that a dog had his day Dylan Thomas
Did you fail in the race?
Did you faint in the spurt? Robins, The Best
4. Dactyl or Dactylic (//U) - two stressed syllables followed by one unstressed syllable.
Take her up tenderly Dylan Thomas
5. Spondee or Spondaic (//) - two stressed syllables most often used as a substitute for
an iamb or a trochee.
Smart lad to slip betimes away A.E. Housman

6. Pyrric (UU) two unstressed syllables not considered as a legitimate foot in English
poetry
Repetition the repeated use of a sound, word, phrase, sentence, rhythmical pattern or
grammatical pattern
Alliteration repetition of initial consonant sounds
Let me not to the marriage of true minds Sonnet 116, Shakespeare
Full fathom five thy father lies The Tempest, Shakespeare
Consonance repetition of internal consonant sounds
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Miss Riczell Ann P. Villanueva

The spotted kitten slept quietly on the matted fur.

Assonance repetition of vowel sounds
Young fuzzy puppy
Parallelism repetition of grammatical pattern
Through the door and up the stairs
Onomatopoeia words that sound like what they mean
buzz, roar, hiss, crash, zoom, boom and bang

Euphony the use of pleasant, harmonious sounding combination of words in poetry.

Poets regard the use of letters l and h helps produce euphony.
He lay, yet there he lay
Asleep on the moss, his head on his polished cleft small ebony hooves
The child of the doe, the dappled child of the deer.
The Fawn- Edna St. Vincent Millay
Cacophony the use of words with harsh or grating sounds or words that are hard to
pronounce to create unpleasant or disturbing images.
If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs
Dulce et Decorum Est Wilfred Owen

2. Shape poets often play with the shapes of words of potery to suggest meaning.
Fury
said to a mouse. That
he met in the house,
Let us both go
to law. I prosecute you Come,
Ill take no denial:
We must have the
trial for really
this morning Ive
nothing to do
said the mouse
to the cur,
Such a trial
dear sir
with no
jury
or judge,
would be
wasting our
breath, Ill
be jury
said cun
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Miss Riczell Ann P. Villanueva

ning old
Fury, Ill
try the
whole
cause
and
con
demn
you
to death

This poem is shaped like a mouses tale from Alice in Wonderland

3. Image poets present vivid pictures through sensory images. Images are words that appeal
to sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell.
Imagery an expression evocative of an object of sensous appeal. It often involves the use of
symbols and figures.

Kinasthesia an image that projects body movement

Of your black mane when you hold out your arms.
You play in the sun as in a tidal river
Brown and Agile Child Pablo Neruda

Thermal sense an image that suggests hotness or coldness

Under the blazing heat of the sun
I embrace the winter with a solitude heart

Synaesthesia the coalescence or combination of two or more senses

Out in the night that covers me (black- sight and cold feeling)
Snows are falling down (fineness touch, white sight, and cold thermal)

Figurative language any language that deviates from the literal language to furnish novel
effects. The devices used to achieve figurative language are called figures of speech.

4. Idea a poem provides ideas, enlightens the readers, reveals truths, inspires or arouses pity,
sympathy, horror or anger. The poem can be rooted in real life situations, meaning,
responses to experiences like falling in love or losing a loved one, praising God or losing
ones faith, celebrating a war or lamenting over the destructions brought by war, etc. When
reading a poem, it would help much to look up the meaning of unfamiliar words; to keep in
mind that a poem is never purely literal; and to remember that the poet means and feels
more than what he actually says.

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Miss Riczell Ann P. Villanueva

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Miss Riczell Ann P. Villanueva