PHILIPPINE LITERATURE

1. For a piece of writing to be classified as literature, it must be universal, timeless,

imaginative, expressive and must have nobility of thought. Explain this in your own
words.

Literature must be universal that maintaining roots in time & culture, it leafs out beyond
that anchor so that we all may see and feel its beauty and meaning. Great literature is as
universal as the pleasure of the first sip of a fine brew; culture and history are merely
the bottle and paper label. So too in literature, while one shouldn’t ignore culture and
history with literary texts, certainly. These elements are more often than not trivia and
play to the universal experience of genius that the best literature offers. Literature is
often said to be timeless. The condition of literature being timeless means that it can be
applied to different contexts and situations. When placed in these different realities,
literature can illuminate and enlighten. In this regard, literature is transformative
because it transcends temporality and context. Literature is expressive in the sense that
we can express our ideas, emotions, creativity and opinions through writing in different
genres such poem, short story, history, prose, poetry, drama etc… With this other
people will know or understand what we feel, what we fight for, and when our culture
started through literature. Literature has the nobility of thought in the sense that it
contains values and morale. As what we can observe, most literary pieces rely its value
on the implied life-lessons and learning to be imparted among readers as well.

2. Discuss the development of Philippine Literature during the Pre-Spanish and the Spanish
Periods.

The development of Philippine Literature during the Pre-Spanish and the Spanish
Periods is that Filipinos were being exposed to the Alphabet called ALIBATA which was
replaced by Roman alphabet. The teaching of the Christian Doctrine became the basis of
religious practices. The Spanish language which became the literary language during this
time lent many of our words to our language until today. European legends and
traditions brought here became assimilated in our songs, corridos and more-moros.
Ancient literature was collected and translated to Tagalog and other dialects. Long
before the Nowadays, our ancient literature shows our customs and traditions in
everyday life as traced in our folk stories, old plays and short stories. The Spaniards who
came to the Philippines tried to prove that our ancestors were really fond of poetry,
songs, stories, riddles and proverbs which we still enjoy today and which serve to show
to generations the true culture of our people.
3. What were the significant contributions of the Americans to Philippine literature?

First of all, Independence is one of the significant contributions of the Americans. They
helped the Philippines to eliminate the Spaniards in the country thus helping the
Filipinos to end the suffering from the Spanish reign. This was the first step of the
country to stand on our own and start a new beginning with full of hope. Philippine
Literature during the American rule was influenced by education. With the Americans
providing free education, many were given the chance to study and English was used as
the language of instruction. Unlike the Spanish, the foreigners were willing to teach
their language to the Filipinos. Free education served as the stepping stone for others to
improve their social status. Early works in English showed styles of which is American. It
can also be seen that writers who just started learning English cannot fully showcase
their talent because of the lack of mastery of the language. Newspaper in our different
dialects flourished all over the archipelago. With some newspaper having a space for
literary pieces, writers were given the chance to show and prove the true talent of the
Filipinos. The combination of the foreign language and the culture of a Filipino enabled
fictionists to produce great literary works. In addition, through the helped of American
we won against the Spaniards who colonized us for more than 300 years. Many Filipinos
started writing again and the nationalism of the people remained undaunted. Filipino
writers went into all forms of literature like new, reporting, poertry, stories, plays,
essays, and novels. Their writings clearly depicted their love of country and their
longings for independence. Also, they was able to bring about significant changes to the
existing Philippine literature. Some of the literary forms introduced include critical essay
in poetry. The American influence soon became deeply entrenched due to the
establishment of the English language as a medium in public schools.

4. To heighten one’s enjoyment, evaluation and comparison of different short stories, he

has to understand the elements of a short story. Enumerate those elements and explain
each in detail.

Short story is a work of fictional narrative prose with a few characters, limited setting,
and a single major event. Here are the elements of a short story: 1. Characters – are the
people, animals, strange creatures or objects that think, talk and act. We have types of
Characters; the protagonist and antagonist. Protagonist is the one who undergoes a
change or learns something during the course of the story or the one who takes the
leading part while the antagonist is the one who contends with the protagonist or the
villain. Second element is the setting meaning provides the place and period of the short
 story it may also be real or make believe place and time. Third one is the plot meaning
the series of events which leads to a climax, or high point of interest. Plot has part;
initially is exposition meaning the characters and setting are introduces, as is the conflict
– the struggle between a character and some other force. There are different types of
conflict the Man vs Man which could be specific person or society in general, Man vs
Nature which could weather conditions or animals), Man vs. Himself which means
involvement of personal life circumstances or psychological issues. Second to the parts
of plot is the rising action meaning during this time the tension builds as the conflict
becomes more evident. Third part is the climax, so this is the highest point of interest in
the story. It involves important discovery or decision. During this time, one of the
battling forces wins and conflict is resolved. Fourth part of plot is the falling action
which the event that immediately follows the climax and during this part, the story
draws to a close. Lastly, the resolution which is the part the story in which loose ends
are tied up. Next element is the theme of a short story; it is a general truth about life
and this is a considered as the message of the story to the readers. Example greed
brings one’s downfall. Another element is the point of view, so this is the way in which
the story is narrated. It is the method, the vantage point, that writers use to tell the
story. Types of point of view; first person it is the narrator, using the word “I” tells the
story and participates in it. Limited third person is the narrator, who is not in the story,
tells the story through the use of “she” or “he”. The narrator cannot see into the minds
of the characters. Last type of point of view is the omniscient third person is the
narrator, who is not in the story tells the story through the use of “she” or “he”. The
narrator can see into the minds of the characters and tell their thoughts. Another
element is the symbol it is a person, object, situation or action that operates in two
levels of meaning, the literal and the figurative or suggestive such as dove, peace, flag,
and nationality of a country, handshake or gift: friendship. As well as the tone which
tells us the author feels about his or her subject.

5. Identify and describe the generic classification of literature.

The general categories of literature are poetry, prose, drama etc... These are usually
called genres. Literature is broken down into genres to make it easier to identify and
discuss. Poetry is often considered the oldest form of literature, because the rhyming
technique used in poems would have been helpful in a time before written language.
Poetry is often filled with emotion. Under poetry are first the lyric poetry under this we
have subcategories and these are: elegy, ode, sonnet, dramatic monologue, occasionally
poetry. Other subcategories are the narrative poetry under this are epics, mock-epic and
ballad last is the descriptive and didactic poetry are. Also, not all poems are required to
be written in complete sentences unlike prose it is always written in complete sentences
and those sentences are put together to create paragraph. Prose is any type of
literature that is not poetry. While in genre of non-fiction it is almost always written as
prose. Though it can be creative, non-fiction is most often used for educational reasons.
There are two types of prose the fiction and non-fiction: types of non-fiction are journal,
essays, memoir, diaries, documents, histories etc… Next is the drama it is a text that is
meant to be performed. It can be read, but the sole purpose of the piece is
performance. In modern society, drama is usually either a play or a movie script. There
are types of drama such as comedy, tragedy, farce, melodrama and musical. Last is the
genre of the short story so it is a brief fictional prose narrative that is shorter than a
novel and that usually deals with only a few characters under this is the elements of
short story.
 CREATIVE WRITING

1. In your own words, explain briefly why a writer needs to be familiar with and be
knowledgeable about the different parts of speech, the kinds and parts of
sentences, the subject-verb agreement, and the uses of punctuation marks?

Can you imagine a nutritionist who eats exclusively at fast food restaurants? A
personal trainer who never exercises? A writer who can’t be bothered with
grammar, spelling, and punctuation?
Knowing the parts of speech, the kinds and parts of sentences even the subject-
verb agreement and uses of punctuation marks are absolutely vital to writing
good sentences. These grammar rules in general are the building blocks of
sentences; to achieve good writing. It is impossible to write grammatically
correct sentences without knowing at least some of them. Knowing all these
grammars can help advance our skills and prevent us from plateauing. Without
grammatical system, we wouldn’t be able to communicate with one another. We
need to be familiarized with our grammar for us to be able write clearly and
concisely especially in choosing our words deliberately, constructing our
sentences carefully and using grammar properly. In addition, we will get straight
to the point in a way that the receiver of our message can easily comprehend. It
is important for effective communication. It also makes written content more
readable and in turns more interesting. Nowadays, grammar skills are very useful
in every aspect of life from education to leadership, and social life to
employment opportunities.

Furthermore, if we aren’t familiar with them, assuring ourselves that a sentence

we have written is correct is difficult.

2. What is paragraph? Name and explain its parts by giving examples/illustrations.

Paragraph is a collection of related sentences dealing with one topic or theme. it

is composed of the topic sentence that develop a single topic or idea. It is
composed of the topic sentence that contains the main or central idea to be
developed, the details that support or develop it, and the clinching sentence that
concludes or closes the paragraph. Here are the parts of a paragraph; usually the
first sentence called the topic sentence states the kernel idea of the paragraph.
It tells the reader what the paragraph is going to be about. It also introduces the
main idea of the paragraph and summarizes the main idea of the paragraph.
 Next to topic sentence is the supporting detail or the body of the paragraph. In
this, all other sentences must be related to this sentence; those sentences must
further explain or support the main idea. Supporting detail or body come after
the topic sentence and give details and support the main idea. Write them by
giving facts, details, and examples. Lastly, is the closing sentence it was located
at the last sentence in a paragraph. It restates the main idea but using different
words. The closing sentence or concluding sentence should be very similar to the
topic sentence. I have here an example below.

3. Explain the three qualities of an effective paragraph. Give specific example for
each characteristic.

A good paragraph is characterized by these 3 qualities of an effective paragraph

namely: Unity in the paragraph, coherence in the paragraph and last the
emphasis in the paragraph. Let me explain first the unity in the paragraph means
oneness of idea. A good paragraph possesses unity when all the sentences
develop the main idea. Achieving unity in a paragraph is like making a
hamburger. The lower bun serves as your topic sentence. It sets the limit of your
discussion (controlling idea) provides a good foundation for your paragraph.
They patty, cheese, and veggies are your supporting details. These provide color,
value and taste to what you are writing. The more details you have, the tastier
the paragraph gets. Of course, you would not eat a burger without an upper bun.
This serves as the closing part of the paragraph (clinching sentence). It binds all
the elements together so that when your readers take a bite, they will be
hooked because the reading experience is one of a kind.

In coherence in the paragraph the sentences should be orderly sequenced and

linked to one another to ensure a smooth progression of ideas. A coherent
paragraph allows the reader to grasp easily the meaning of what he read
because he sees the orderly sequence of ideas and their relationship to one
another. There are no gaps in thoughts. But sometimes, the ideas are expressed
in a jumbled fashion or area not clearly linked so that the reader fails to follow
the flow of thoughts in the paragraph. Such a paragraph needs coherence. For
example,
The industry has many advantages it can draw on a great deal of
research, particularly in terms of strategies used for entering new markets.
While there is significant growth potential in the medium to long term. It is clear
 that workers within this sector need training. Therefore, it is important to keep
staff up-to-date with software used in this industry

In emphasis it is the principle of the paragraph composition in which the

important ideas are made to stand. In here it is very important that the main
points of the writer should be evident inside the paragraph. In writing and
speech, the emphasis is the repetition of key words and phrases or the careful
arrangement of words to give them special weight and prominence. Also,
emphasis may also refer to the intensity of expression or the stress put on words
to indicate their importance or special significance. Aside from this, there is also
emphasis by position which elaborates that the beginning and end of the
paragraph are considered as crucial points where emphasis should be placed,
emphasis are usually positioned in these places. For example,
The world had experience much warming and we loved it. Between AD
900 and 1300, the earth warmed by about one-and-a-half degrees according to
the Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine, and most favourable climates in
human history. Death rate declined in many places partly because of the
decrease in hunger, and party because people spent less time huddled together
in damped smoke-filled novels that helped spread tuberculosis and other
infectious diseases.
A paragraph illustrates emphasis through position. The topic sentence at
the beginning of the paragraph is made by its position.

4. Describe the writing process. What are its stages? What are the steps to be
followed in each stage to produce a good and effective writing?

The writing process teaches students to internalize the steps for producing a
finished piece of writing. Writing process is divided into five steps: pre-writing,
drafting, revising, editing and last publishing. Pre-writing this is the planning
phase of the writing process, when students brainstorm, research, gather and
outline ideas, often using diagrams for mapping out their thoughts. Audience
and purpose should be considered at this point. Next is drafting in this process
students create their initial composition by writing down all their ideas in an
organized way to convey a particular idea or present an argument. Purpose need
to be finalized. Then, editing at this point in the writing process, writers
proofread and correct errors in grammar and mechanics, and edit to improve
style and clarity. Having another writer’s feedback in this stage is helpful. Lastly,
publishing in this last step of the writing process, the final writing is shared with
 the group. Sharing can be accomplished in a variety of way, and with the help of
computers. Learning, implementing, and internalizing the writing process helps
students to produce effective writing for a variety of purposes including writings
that may proceed through the full writing process.

5. Aside from the essential characteristics/qualities of an effective paragraph, there

are eleven methods of developing a paragraph; by narration, by character
sketch, by process, by description, by example, by classification, by comparison
and contrast, by analogy, by cause and effect, by definition, and from a non-
prose material.

Choose only one method; discuss the structure and characteristics of the
paragraph developed by your chosen method.

One way of explaining an idea or a concept is by comparing it with another of its

kind to reveal their similarities, or by contrasting them to show their differences.
Two common patterns of a comparison and contrast for developing a paragraph
are the opposing or block pattern and the alternating pattern.

In opposing pattern or block pattern, all the characteristics of Subject A

are explained fully or completely before the characteristics of Subject B are
discussed.
In the alternating pattern, the characteristics of Subjects A and B are
elucidated alternately; that is, the first characteristic of Subject A is discussed
fully, followed by the elaboration of the first characteristic of Subject B. Then the
second characteristic of Subject A is discussed fully after which the second
characteristic of Subject B is also taken up fully, and so on. Some signal word
used for comparison are like, in the same manner, equally, similarly, also, too,
likewise, both – and, so as—as. While for contrast are whereas, in contrast, on
the contrary, on the other hand, instead, to differentiate, however, but, and yet.