1. What is literature?

Literature, most generically, is any body of written works. More restrictively, literature refers to writing considered to
be an art form or any single writing deemed to have artistic or intellectual value, often due to deploying language in ways
that differ from ordinary usage.
Its Latin root literatura/litteratura (derived itself from littera: letter or handwriting) was used to refer to all written
accounts. The concept has changed meaning over time to include texts that are spoken or sung (oral literature), and
non-written verbal art forms. Developments in print technology have allowed an ever-growing distribution and
proliferation of written works, culminating in electronic literature.
Literature is classified according to whether it is fiction or non-fiction, and whether it is poetry or prose. It can be further
distinguished according to major forms such as the novel, short story or drama; and works are often categorized
according to historical periods or their adherence to certain aesthetic features or expectations (genre).

2. What is importance of literature?

Literature is important because it develops critical thinking skills, fosters empathy for others, reduces stress and
develops readers' personal experiences. It can also be a learning tool for subjects including medicine, history, sociology
and psychology. One main benefit of literature is it engages the reader in an active learning style, as opposed to a
passive learning method such as gathering information by watching television. It promotes intellectual engagement and
stimulation with the introduction of new subjects including math, law and the sciences. People can learn about their
identities and history through literature, and they can even use literature as a way to improve their lives. Individuals with
depression, for instance, often benefit from reading books related to depression in addition to attending therapy sessions.

3.Genres of Philippine Literature

The five genres of literature students should be familiar with are Poetry, Drama, Prose, Nonfiction, and
Media—each of which is explained in more detail below. You’ll see some overlap between genres; for example, prose
is a broader term that includes both drama and non-fiction. At the end of this article, we’ll also touch on a couple of
narrower but still important literary categories.

Poetry

This is often considered the oldest form of literature. Before writing was invented, oral stories were commonly put into
some sort of poetic form to make them easier to remember and recite. Poetry today is usually written down but is still
sometimes performed.

A lot of people think of rhymes and counting syllables and lines when they think of poetry, and some poems certainly
follow strict forms. But other types of poetry are so free-form that they lack any rhymes or common patterns. There are
even kinds of poetry that cross genre lines, such as prose poetry. In general, though, a text is a poem when it has some
sort of meter or rhythm, and when it focuses on the way the syllables, words, and phrases sound when put together.
Poems are heavy in imagery and metaphor and are often made up of fragments and phrases rather than complete,
grammatically correct sentences. And poetry is nearly always written in stanzas and lines, creating a unique look on the
page.

Poetry, as experienced in the classroom, is usually one of three types. There are the shorter, more modern poems,
spanning anything from a few lines to a few pages. Often these are collected in books of poems by a single author or by
a variety of writers. Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Raven," is one of the most commonly taught poems of this type. Then there
are the classical, formulaic poems of Shakespeare’s time, such as the blank verse and the sonnet. And finally, there are
the ancient, epic poems transcribed from oral stories. These long, complex poems resemble novels, such as Homer’s The
Iliad and The Odyssey.

Prose

Once you know what poetry is, it’s easy to define prose. Prose can be defined as any kind of written text that isn’t poetry
(which means drama, discussed below, is technically a type of prose). The most typical varieties of prose are novels and
short stories, while other types include letters, diaries, journals, and non-fiction (also discussed below). Prose is written
in complete sentences and organized in paragraphs. Instead of focusing on sound, which is what poetry does, prose tends
to focus on plot and characters.

Prose is the type of literature read most often taught in English classrooms. Any novel or short story falls into this
category, from Jane Eyre to Twilight and from “A Sound of Thunder" to “The Crucible." Like poetry, prose is broken
down into a large number of other sub-genres. Some of these genres revolve around the structure of the text, such as
novellas, biographies, and memoirs, and others are based on the subject matter, like romances, fantasies, and mysteries.

Drama

Any text meant to be performed rather than read can be considered drama (unless it’s a poem meant to be performed, of
course). In layman’s terms, dramas are usually called plays. When written down the bulk of a drama is dialogue, with
periodic stage directions such as “he looks away angrily." Of all the genres of literature discussed in this article, drama is
the one given the least time in most classrooms. And often when drama is taught, it’s only read the same way you might
read a novel. Since dramas are meant to be acted out in front of an audience, it’s hard to fully appreciate them when
looking only at pages of text. Students respond best to dramas, and grasp their mechanics more fully when exposed to
film or theater versions or encouraged to read aloud or act out scenes during class.

The dramas most commonly taught in classrooms are definitely those written by the bard. Shakespeare’s plays are
challenging, but rewarding when approached with a little effort and a critical mindset. Popular choices from his
repertoire include Hamlet, Taming of the Shrew, and Romeo and Juliet, among others. Older Greek plays are also taught
fairly often, especially Sophocles’ Antigone. And any good drama unit should include more modern plays for
comparison, such as Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman.

Non-Fiction

Poetry and drama both belong to the broader category of fiction—texts that feature events and characters that have been
made up. Then there is non-fiction, a vast category that is a type of prose and includes many different sub-genres.
Non-fiction can be creative, such as the personal essay, or factual, such as the scientific paper. Sometimes the purpose of
non-fiction is to tell a story (hence the autobiography), but most of the time the purpose is to pass on information and
educate the reader about certain facts, ideas, and/or issues.

Some genres of non-fiction include histories, textbooks, travel books, newspapers, self-help books, and literary
criticism. A full list of non-fiction types would be at least as long as this entire article. But the varieties most often used
in the classroom are textbooks, literary criticism, and essays of various sorts. Most of what students practice writing in
the classroom is the non-fiction essay, from factual to personal to persuasive. And non-fiction is often used to support
and expand students’ understanding of fiction texts—after reading Hamlet students might read critical articles about the
play and historical information about the time period and/or the life of Shakespeare.

Media

The newest type of literature that has been defined as a distinct genre is media. This categorization was created to
encompass the many new and important kinds of texts in our society today, such as movies and films, websites,
commercials, billboards, and radio programs. Any work that doesn’t exist primarily as a written text can probably be
considered media, particularly if it relies on recently developed technologies. Media literature can serve a wide variety
of purposes—among other things it can educate, entertain, advertise, and/or persuade.

More and more educators are coming to recognize the importance of teaching media in the classroom. Students are
likely to be exposed to far more of this type of literature than anything else throughout their lives, so it makes sense to
teach them how to be critical and active consumers of media. Internet literacy is a growing field, for example, since the
skills required to understand and use online information differ in important ways from the skills required to analyze
printed information. Teaching media literacy is also a great way for educators to help students become participants in
their own culture, through lessons on creating their own websites or home movies or commercials.

Other Types of Literature

These are far from the only important genres of literature. Here are a few more that are sometimes used in classrooms:

Oral Literature: The oldest type of literature, and the foundation on which culture was built. Now, most oral texts have
been written down, of course, and are usually taught in the form of epic poems or plays or folk tales.

Folklore/Folk Tales/Fables: A distinction is often made between regular prose and folklore. Most folk tales were
originally oral literature, and are short stories meant to pass on a particular lesson or moral. They often have a timeless
quality, dealing with common human concerns that are just as relevant to us today, while still being products of a very
specific culture and time period.

Graphic Novels and Comic Books: It used to be that most educators saw comic books as the lowest form of literature,
not suitable or valuable for children. But times have changed, and many teachers have come to realize that comic books
and the more modern graphic novels are both appealing to kids and are a valid form of literature in their own right.

Some Resources

“Literary Genres” by the California Board of Education

“Helping Children Understand Literary Genres” by Carl B. Smith

Literature of the Philippines

Philippine literature is the literature associated with the Philippines and includes the legends of prehistory, and the
colonial legacy of the Philippines. Pre-Hispanic Philippine literature were actually epics passed on from generation to
generation originally through oral tradition. However, wealthy families, especially in Mindanao were able to keep
transcribed copies of these epics as family heirloom. One such epic was the Darangen, epic of the Maranaos of Lake
Lanao. Most of the epics were known during the Spanish era.

Classical literature in Spanish during the 19th Century

On December 1, 1846, the first daily newspaper, La Esperanza, was published in the country. Other early newspapers
were La Estrella (1847), Diario de Manila (1848) and Boletin Oficial de Filipinas (1852). The first provincial
newspaper was El Eco de Vigan(1884), which was issued in Ilocos. In Cebu City, El Boleaetín de Cebú (The Bulletin of
Cebu) was published in 1890.

On 1863, the Spanish government introduced a system of free public education that increased the population's ability to
read Spanish and thereby furthered the rise of an educated class called the Ilustrado (meaning, well-informed). Spanish
became the social language of urban places and the true lingua franca of the archipelago. A good number of Spanish
newspapers were published until the end of the 1940s, the most influential of them being El Renacimiento, printed in
Manila by members of the Guerrero de Ermita family.

Some members of the ilustrado group, while in Spain, decided to start a Spanish publication with the aim of promoting
the autonomy and independence projects. Members of this group included Pedro Alejandro Paterno, who wrote the
novel Nínay (first novel written by a Filipino) and the Philippine national hero, José Rizal, who wrote excellent poetry
and his two famous novels in Spanish: Noli Me Tángere (Touch Me Not), and El Filibusterismo.

Especially potent was La Solidaridad, more fondly called La Sol by the members of the propaganda movement, founded
on 15 February 1885. With the help of this paper, Filipino national heroes like José Rizal, Graciano Lopez Jaena,
and Marcelo H. del Pilarwere able to voice out their sentiments.
Poetry and metrical romance
Tanaga - Short poems consisting of four lines with seven syllables each that rhyme at the end of each line.
Ladino Poems – Were natives of first Tagalog versifiers who saw print: highly literate in both Spanish and the
vernacular.
Corridos – Were widely read during the Spanish period that filled the populace's need for entertainment as well as
edifying reading matter in their leisure moments.
Awit – like corridos, these were also widely read during the Spanish period as entertaining, edifying, reading
manner in their leisure time. It is also a fabrication of the writers imagination although the characters and the
setting may be European. The structure is rendered dodecasyllabic quatrains.
Moriones – Refers to the helmets of participants dressed as Roman soldiers, their identities hidden behind colorful,
sometimes grotesque, wooden masks. Found only on the island of Marinduque, it is down during Holy Week,
culminating in a Passion play that adds the scene of Saint Longinus' conversion and martyrdom.
Panunuluyan– the Tagalog version of the Mexican Las Posadas, and literally means "seeking passage". Held
during Christmastime but especially on Christmas Eve, it depicts Joseph and Mary' search for room at the inn
in Bethlehem. The actors playing the Holy Couple chant their pleas for lodging in slow, mournful tones, while the
innkeepers and householders would drive them away with haughty verses sang in dance-like metre.
Pangangaluwa – A practice formerly widespread during All Saints' Day which literally means for the soul[s], it is
analogous to the now-defunct English custom of Souling.
Salubong – A ritual performed in the early morning of Easter Sunday a few hours after the Easter Vigil and before
the Easter Mass, dramatising the meeting between the resurrected Jesus and his mother. In its basic form, the rite
begins with two separate processions—one consists of males accompanying a statue of the Risen Christ, the other
of women with a statue of the Virgin Mary veiled in black. Both processions meet at the churchyard, town plaza,
or some other suitable area, where a girl, dressed as an angel, stands from a scaffold or descends on a rope and
sings the Regina Caeli. The angel then removes the black veil to the sound of pealing bells and firecrackers,
ending the penance and mourning of Lent.
Senákulo – Essentially a Passion play, which depicts the passion and death of Jesus Christ. It is customarily
performed during Holy Week, and bears similarities to Mystery plays popular in medieval Europe.
Secular
Comedia – It is about a courtly love between, a prince and a princess of different religions, and highlights
concepts of colonial attitudes to Christian-Muslim relations.
Duplo – A forerunner of the balagtasan. The performances consist of two teams; One composed of young women
called Dupleras or Belyakas; and the other, of young men called Dupleros or Belyakos.
Karagatan – comes from the legendary practice of testing the mettle of young men vying for a maiden's hand.
The maiden's ring would be dropped into sea and whoever retrieves it would have the girl's hand in marriage.
Modern literature (20th and 21st century)

The greatest portion of Spanish literature was written during the American period, most often as an expression of
pro-Hispanic nationalism, by those who had been educated in Spanish or had lived in the Spanish-speaking society of
the big cities, and whose principles entered in conflict with the American cultural trends.[citation needed] Such period
of Spanish literary production—i.e., between the independence of Spain in 1898 and well ahead into the decade of the
1940s—is known as Edad de Oro del Castellano en Filipinas. Some prominent writers of this era were Wenceslao
Retana and Claro Mayo Recto, both in drama and essay; Antonio M. Abad and Guillermo Gomez Wyndham, in the
narrative;Fernando María Guerrero and Manuel Bernabé, both in poetry. The predominant literary style was the
so-called "Modernismo", a mixture of elements from the FrenchParnassien and Symboliste schools, as promoted by
some Latin American and Peninsular Spanish writers (e.g. the Nicaraguan Rubén Darío, the Mexican Amado Nervo,
the Spaniard Francisco Villaespesa, and the Peruvian José Santos Chocano as major models).

Santacruzan – Performed during the month of May, which reenacts Saint Helena's Finding of the True Cross and
serves as an expression of devotion to the Virgin Mary. The young women of a town, parish, or village dress in formal
gowns and bear attributes related to religious themes, such as titles of Mary, with the last (often most beautiful) lady
"Reyna Elena" representing the empress, and holding a crucifix, representing the True Cross. Its May observance is
due to the pre-1962 date for the feast
of Roodmas.
Notable Philippine literary authors
Nicanor Sta. Ana Abelardo (February 7, 1893 – March 21, 1934) was a Filipino composer known for
his Kundiman songs, especially before the Second World War.

He was born in San Miguel de Mayumo, Bulacan. His mother belonged to a family of artists in Guagua, the Henson.
He was introduced to music when he was five years old when his father taught him the solfeggio and the banduria.
Abelardo completed his first composition, a waltz entitled "Ang Unang Buko" dedicated to his grandmother, at the age
of eight. By the age of thirteen, he was playing at saloons and cabarets in Manila, and by fifteen, he was teaching at
barrio schools in San Ildefonso and San Miguel in Bulacan

In 1916, Abelardo entered the University of the Philippines Coservatory of Music, taking courses under Guy F.
Harrison and Robert Scholfield. During his studies, he composed the melody of the university's official anthem, U.P.
Naming Mahal. After earning a teacher's certificate in science and composition in 1921, he was appointed head of the
composition department at the Conservatory in 1924. Years later, he ran a boarding school for young musicians,
among which were Antonino Vuenaventura, Alfredo Lozano, and Lucino Sacramento.

Abelardo died in 1934 at the age of 41, leaving behind a collection of roughly 140 compositions. [1] He is known for
redefining thekundiman, bringing the form to art-song status. Notable among his works are 'Nasaan Ka Irog,"
"Magbalik Ka Hirang," and "Himutok."

The main theater of the Cultural Center of the Philippines and the building housing the College of Music in UP
Diliman (Abelardo Hall) were named in his honor and memory.

José Rizal

josé Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda or popularly known as José Rizal (Spanish pronunciation: [xoˈse
riˈsal]; 19 June 1861 – 30 December 1896) was a Filipino nationalist and polymath during the tail end of the Spanish
colonial period of thePhilippines. An ophthalmologist by profession, Rizal became a writer and a key member of the
Filipino Propaganda Movement which advocated political reforms for the colony under Spain. He was executed by the
Spanish colonial government for the crime ofrebellion after an anti-colonial revolution, inspired in part by his writings,
broke out. Though he was not actively involved in its planning or conduct, he ultimately approved of its goals which
eventually led to Philippine independence. He is widely considered one of the greatest heroes of the Philippines, and is
implied by Philippine law to be one of the national heroes. He was the author of the novels Noli Me Tángere, and El
Filibusterismo, and a number of poems.
Early life

Francisco Mercado Rizal (1818–1897)

José Rizal was born in 1861 to Francisco Mercado and Teodora Alonso in the town of Calamba in Laguna province.
He had nine sisters and one brother. His parents were leaseholders of a hacienda and an accompanying rice farm by
the Dominicans. Both their families had adopted the additional surnames of Rizal and Realonda in 1849,
after Governor General Narciso Clavería y Zaldúa decreed the adoption of Spanish surnamesamong the Filipinos for
census purposes (though they already had Spanish names). José traced his patrilineal lineage back to Fujian province
in China through Lam Co, a Chinese immigrant who came to the Philippines in the late 17th century and was later
baptized as a Christian and renamed Domingo.

From an early age, José showed a precocious intellect. He learned the alphabet from his mother at 3, and could read
and write at age 5. Upon enrolling at the Ateneo Municipal de Manila, he dropped the last three names that make up
his full name, on the advice of his brother, Pacianoand the Mercado family, thus rendering his name as "José Protasio
Rizal". Of this, he later wrote: "My family never paid much attention [to our second surname Rizal], but now I had to
use it, thus giving me the appearance of an illegitimate child] This was to enable him to travel freely and disassociate
him from his brother, who had gained notoriety with his earlier links to Filipino priests Mariano Gomez, Jose
Burgos and Jacinto Zamora (popularly known as Gomburza) who had been accused and executed for treason.

Rizal's house in Calamba, Laguna.

Despite the name change, José, as "Rizal" soon distinguished himself in poetry writing contests, impressing his
professors with his facility with Castilian and other foreign languages, and later, in writing essays that were critical of
the Spanish historical accounts of the pre-colonial Philippine societies. Indeed, by 1891, the year he finished his El
Filibusterismo, this second surname had become so well known that, as he writes to another friend, "All my family
now carry the name Rizal instead of Mercado because the name R

Education

Rizal, 11 years old, a student at the Ateneo Municipal de Manila

Rizal first studied under Justiniano Aquino Cruz in Biñan, Laguna, before he was sent to Manila.As to his father's
request, he took the entrance examination in Colegio de San Juan de Letran but he then enrolled at the Ateneo
Municipal de Manila and graduated as one of the nine students in his class declared sobresaliente or outstanding. He
continued his education at the Ateneo Municipal de Manila to obtain a land surveyor and assessor's degree, and at the
same time at the University of Santo Tomas where he did take up a preparatory course in law. Upon learning that his
mother was going blind, he decided to switch to medicine at the medical school of Santo Tomas specializing later
in ophthalmology.

Rizal as a student at theUniversity of Santo Tomas

Without his parents' knowledge and consent, but secretly supported by his brother Paciano, he traveled alone
to Madrid, Spain in May 1882 and studied medicine at the Universidad Central de Madrid where he earned the
degree, Licentiate in Medicine. He also attended medical lectures at the University of Paris and the University of
Heidelberg. In Berlin, he was inducted as a member of the Berlin Ethnological Society and the Berlin Anthropological
Society under the patronage of the famous pathologist Rudolf Virchow. Following custom, he delivered an address in
German in April 1887 before the Anthropological Society on the orthography and structure of the Tagalog language.
He left Heidelberg a poem, "A las flores del Heidelberg", which was both an evocation and a prayer for the welfare of
his native land and the unification of common values between East and West.

At Heidelberg, the 25-year-old Rizal, completed in 1887 his eye specialization under the renowned professor, Otto
Becker. There he used the newly invented ophthalmoscope (invented by Hermann von Helmholtz) to later operate on
his own mother's eye. From Heidelberg, Rizal wrote his parents: "I spend half of the day in the study of German and
the other half, in the diseases of the eye. Twice a week, I go to the bierbrauerie, or beerhall, to speak German with my
student friends." He lived in a Karlstraße boarding house then moved to Ludwigsplatz. There, he met Reverend Karl
Ullmer and stayed with them in Wilhelmsfeld, where he wrote the last few chapters of Noli Me Tángere.

Rizal was a polymath, skilled in both science and the arts. He painted, sketched, and made sculptures and
woodcarving. He was a prolific poet, essayist, and novelist whose most famous works were his two novels, Noli Me
Tángere and its sequel, El filibusterismo.[note 2][8]These social commentaries during the Spanish colonization of the
country formed the nucleus of literature that inspired peaceful reformists and armed revolutionaries alike. Rizal was
also a polyglot, conversant in twenty-two languages.

Rizal's multifacetedness was described by his German friend, Dr. Adolf Meyer, as "stupendous."[note 5] Documented
studies show him to be a polymath with the ability to master various skills and subjects.[17][19][19][20] He was
an ophthalmologist, sculptor, painter, educator, farmer, historian, playwright and journalist. Besides poetry
and creative writing, he dabbled, with varying degrees of expertise, in architecture, cartography,
economics, ethnology, anthropology, sociology, dramatics, martial arts, fencing and pistol shooting. He was also
a Freemason, joining Acacia Lodge No. 9 during his time in Spain and becoming a Master Mason in 1884.

rizal means persecution! Good! I too want to join them and be worthy of this family name...".

"Selection and Proclamation of National Heroes and Laws Honoring Filipino Historical Figures

Nery, John (2011). "Revolutionary Spirit: Jose Rizal in Southeast Asia", p. 240. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies,
Singapore. ISBN 978-981-4345-06-4.

Thomas, Megan C. Orientalists, Propagandists, and "Ilustrados": Filipino Scholarship and the End of Spanish
Colonialism (University of Minnesota Press; 2012) 277 pages; Explores Orientalist and racialist discourse in the
writings of José Rizal and five other ilustrados.
Pre-colonial

Pre-Colonial Times

Owing to the works of our own archaeologists, ethnologists and anthropologists, we are able to know more and
better judge information about our pre-colonial times set against a bulk of material about early Filipinos as recorded
by Spanish, Chinese, Arabic and other chroniclers of the past.

Pre-colonial inhabitants of our islands showcase a rich past through their folk speeches, folk songs, folk narratives
and indigenous rituals and mimetic dances that affirm our ties with our Southeast Asian neighbors.

The most seminal of these folk speeches is the riddle which is tigmo in Cebuano, bugtong in Tagalog, paktakon in
Ilongo and patototdon in Bicol. Central to the riddle is the talinghaga or metaphor because it "reveals subtle
resemblances between two unlike objects" and one's power of observation and wit are put to the test. While some
riddles are ingenious, others verge on the obscene or are sex-related:

Gaddang:

Gongonan nu usin y amam If you pull your daddy's penis

Maggirawa pay sila y inam. Your mommy's vagina, too,

(Campana) screams.
(Bell)

The proverbs or aphorisms express norms or codes of behavior, community beliefs or they instill values by
offering nuggets of wisdom in short, rhyming verse.

The extended form, tanaga, a mono-riming heptasyllabic quatrain expressing insights and lessons on life is "more
emotionally charged than the terse proverb and thus has affinities with the folk lyric." Some examples are
the basahanon or extended didactic sayings from Bukidnon and the daraida and daragilon from Panay.

The folk song, a form of folk lyric which expresses the hopes and aspirations, the people's lifestyles as well as
their loves. These are often repetitive and sonorous, didactic and naive as in the children's songs
or Ida-ida (Maguindanao), tulang pambata (Tagalog) or cansiones para abbing (Ibanag).

A few examples are the lullabyes or Ili-ili (Ilongo); love songs like the panawagon and balitao (Ilongo); harana or
serenade (Cebuano); the bayok (Maranao); the seven-syllable per line poem, ambahan of the Mangyans that are about
human relationships, social entertainment and also serve as a tool for teaching the young; work songs that depict the
livelihood of the people often sung to go with the movement of workers such as
the kalusan (Ivatan), soliranin (Tagalog rowing song) or the mambayu, a Kalinga rice-pounding song; the verbal
jousts/games like the duplo popular during wakes.

Other folk songs are the drinking songs sung during carousals like the tagay (Cebuano and Waray); dirges and
lamentations extolling the deeds of the dead like the kanogon (Cebuano) or the Annako (Bontoc).

A type of narrative song or kissa among the Tausug of Mindanao, the parang sabil, uses for its subject matter the
exploits of historical and legendary heroes. It tells of a Muslim hero who seeks death at the hands of non-Muslims.

The folk narratives, i.e. epics and folk tales are varied, exotic and magical. They explain how the world was
created, how certain animals possess certain characteristics, why some places have waterfalls, volcanoes, mountains,
flora or fauna and, in the case of legends, an explanation of the origins of things. Fables are about animals and these
teach moral lessons.
 Our country's epics are considered ethno-epics because unlike, say, Germany's Niebelunginlied, our epics are not
national for they are "histories" of varied groups that consider themselves "nations."

The epics come in various names: Guman (Subanon); Darangen (Maranao); Hudhud (Ifugao);
and Ulahingan (Manobo). These epics revolve around supernatural events or heroic deeds and they embody or validate
the beliefs and customs and ideals of a community. These are sung or chanted to the accompaniment of indigenous
musical instruments and dancing performed during harvests, weddings or funerals by chanters. The chanters who were
taught by their ancestors are considered "treasures" and/or repositories of wisdom in their communities.

Examples of these epics are

the Lam-ang (Ilocano); Hinilawod (Sulod); Kudaman (Palawan); Darangen (Maranao); Ulahingan (Livunganen-Arum
anen Manobo); Mangovayt Buhong na Langit (The Maiden of the Buhong Sky from Tuwaang--Manobo); Ag Tobig
neg Keboklagan (Subanon); and Tudbulol (T'boli).

The Spanish Colonial Tradition

While it is true that Spain subjugated the Philippines for more mundane reasons, this former European power
contributed much in the shaping and recording of our literature. Religion and institutions that represented European
civilization enriched the languages in the lowlands, introduced theater which we would come to know as komedya,
the sinakulo, the sarswela, the playlets and the drama. Spain also brought to the country, though at a much later time,
liberal ideas and an internationalism that influenced our own Filipino intellectuals and writers for them to understand
the meanings of "liberty and freedom."

Literature in this period may be classified as religious prose and poetry and secular prose and poetry.

Religious lyrics written by ladino poets or those versed in both Spanish and Tagalog were included in early
catechism and were used to teach Filipinos the Spanish language. Fernando Bagonbanta's "Salamat nang walang
hanga/gracias de sin sempiternas" (Unending thanks) is a fine example that is found in the Memorial de la vida
cristiana en lengua tagala (Guidelines for the Christian life in the Tagalog language) published in 1605.

Another form of religious lyrics are the meditative verses like the dalit appended to novenas and catechisms. It
has no fixed meter nor rime scheme although a number are written in octosyllabic quatrains and have a solemn tone
and spiritual subject matter.

But among the religious poetry of the day, it is the pasyon in octosyllabic quintillas that became entrenched in the
Filipino's commemoration of Christ's agony and resurrection at Calvary. Gaspar Aquino de Belen's "Ang Mahal na
Passion ni Jesu Christong Panginoon natin na tola" (Holy Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ in Verse) put out in 1704
is the country's earliest known pasyon.

Other known pasyons chanted during the Lenten season are in Ilocano, Pangasinan, Ibanag, Cebuano, Bicol,
Ilongo and Waray.

Aside from religious poetry, there were various kinds of prose narratives written to prescribe proper decorum.
Like the pasyon, these prose narratives were also used for proselitization. Some forms are: dialogo (dialogue), Manual
de Urbanidad (conduct book); ejemplo (exemplum) and tratado (tratado). The most well-known are Modesto de
Castro's "Pagsusulatan ng Dalawang Binibini na si Urbana at si Feliza" (Correspondence between the Two Maidens
Urbana and Feliza) in 1864 and Joaquin Tuason's "Ang Bagong Robinson" (The New Robinson) in 1879, an
adaptation of Daniel Defoe's novel.

Secular works appeared alongside historical and economic changes, the emergence of an opulent class and the
middle class who could avail of a European education. This Filipino elite could now read printed works that used to be
the exclusive domain of the missionaries.
 The most notable of the secular lyrics followed the conventions of a romantic tradition: the languishing but loyal
lover, the elusive, often heartless beloved, the rival. The leading poets were Jose Corazon de Jesus (Huseng Sisiw) and
Francisco Balagtas. Some secular poets who wrote in this same tradition were Leona Florentino, Jacinto Kawili,
Isabelo de los Reyes and Rafael Gandioco.

Another popular secular poetry is the metrical romance, the awit and korido in Tagalog. The awit is set in
dodecasyllabic quatrains while the korido is in octosyllabic quatrains. These are colorful tales of chivalry from
European sources made for singing and chanting such as Gonzalo de Cordoba (Gonzalo of Cordoba) and Ibong
Adarna (Adarna Bird). There are numerous metrical romances in Tagalog, Bicol, Ilongo, Pampango, Ilocano and in
Pangasinan. The awit as a popular poetic genre reached new heights in Balagtas' "Florante at Laura" (ca. 1838-1861),
the most famous of the country's metrical romances.

Again, the winds of change began to blow in 19th century Philippines. Filipino intellectuals educated in Europe
called ilustrados began to write about the downside of colonization. This, coupled with the simmering calls for
reforms by the masses gathered a formidable force of writers like Jose Rizal, Marcelo H. del Pilar, Mariano Ponce,
Emilio Jacinto and Andres Bonifacio.

This led to the formation of the Propaganda Movement where prose works such as the political essays and Rizal's
two political novels, Noli Me Tangere and the El filibusterismo helped usher in the Philippine revolution resulting in
the downfall of the Spanish regime, and, at the same time planted the seeds of a national consciousness among
Filipinos.

But if Rizal's novels are political, the novel Ninay (1885) by Pedro Paterno is largely cultural and is considered
the first Filipino novel. Although Paterno's Ninay gave impetus to other novelists like Jesus Balmori and Antonio M.
Abad to continue writing in Spanish, this did not flourish.

Other Filipino writers published the essay and short fiction in Spanish in La Vanguardia, El Debate, Renacimiento
Filipino, and Nueva Era. The more notable essayists and fictionists were Claro M. Recto, Teodoro M. Kalaw, Epifanio
de los Reyes, Vicente Sotto, Trinidad Pardo de Tavera, Rafael Palma, Enrique Laygo (Caretas or Masks, 1925) and
Balmori who mastered the prosa romantica or romantic prose.

But the introduction of English as medium of instruction in the Philippines hastened the demise of Spanish so that
by the 1930s, English writing had overtaken Spanish writing. During the language's death throes, however, writing in
the romantic tradition, from the awit and korido, would continue in the novels of Magdalena Jalandoni. But patriotic
writing continued under the new colonialists. These appeared in the vernacular poems and modern adaptations of
works during the Spanish period and which further maintained the Spanish tradition.

The American Colonial Period

A new set of colonizers brought about new changes in Philippine literature. New literary forms such as free verse
[in poetry], the modern short story and the critical essay were introduced. American influence was deeply entrenched
with the firm establishment of English as the medium of instruction in all schools and with literary modernism that
highlighted the writer's individuality and cultivated consciousness of craft, sometimes at the expense of social
consciousness.

The poet, and later, National Artist for Literature, Jose Garcia Villa used free verse and espoused the dictum, "Art
for art's sake" to the chagrin of other writers more concerned with the utilitarian aspect of literature. Another maverick
in poetry who used free verse and talked about illicit love in her poetry was Angela Manalang Gloria, a woman poet
described as ahead of her time. Despite the threat of censorship by the new dispensation, more writers turned up
"seditious works" and popular writing in the native languages bloomed through the weekly outlets like Liwayway and
Bisaya.

The Balagtas tradition persisted until the poet Alejandro G. Abadilla advocated modernism in poetry. Abadilla
later influenced young poets who wrote modern verses in the 1960s such as Virgilio S. Almario, Pedro I. Ricarte and
Rolando S. Tinio.
 While the early Filipino poets grappled with the verities of the new language, Filipinos seemed to have taken
easily to the modern short story as published in the Philippines Free Press, the College Folio and Philippines Herald.
Paz Marquez Benitez's "Dead Stars" published in 1925 was the first successful short story in English written by a
Filipino. Later on, Arturo B. Rotor and Manuel E. Arguilla showed exceptional skills with the short story.

Alongside this development, writers in the vernaculars continued to write in the provinces. Others like Lope K.
Santos, Valeriano Hernandez Peña and Patricio Mariano were writing minimal narratives similar to the early Tagalog
short fiction called dali or pasingaw (sketch).

The romantic tradition was fused with American pop culture or European influences in the adaptations of Edgar
Rice Burroughs' Tarzan by F. P. Boquecosa who also penned Ang Palad ni Pepe after Charles Dicken's David
Copperfield even as the realist tradition was kept alive in the novels by Lope K. Santos and Faustino Aguilar, among
others.

It should be noted that if there was a dearth of the Filipino novel in English, the novel in the vernaculars continued
to be written and serialized in weekly magazines like Liwayway, Bisaya, Hiligaynon and Bannawag.

The essay in English became a potent medium from the 1920's to the present. Some leading essayists were
journalists like Carlos P. Romulo, Jorge Bocobo, Pura Santillan Castrence, etc. who wrote formal to humorous to
informal essays for the delectation by Filipinos.

Among those who wrote criticism developed during the American period were Ignacio Manlapaz, Leopoldo
Yabes and I.V. Mallari. But it was Salvador P. Lopez's criticism that grabbed attention when he won the
Commonwealth Literay Award for the essay in 1940 with his "Literature and Society." This essay posited that art must
have substance and that Villa's adherence to "Art for Art's Sake" is decadent.

The last throes of American colonialism saw the flourishing of Philippine literature in English at the same time,
with the introduction of the New Critical aesthetics, made writers pay close attention to craft and "indirectly
engendered a disparaging attitude" towards vernacular writings -- a tension that would recur in the contemporary
period.

The Contemporary Period

The flowering of Philippine literature in the various languages continue especially with the appearance of new
publications after the Martial Law years and the resurgence of committed literature in the 1960s and the 1970s.

Filipino writers continue to write poetry, short stories, novellas, novels and essays whether these are socially
committed, gender/ethnic related or are personal in intention or not.

Of course the Filipino writer has become more conscious of his art with the proliferation of writers workshops
here and abroad and the bulk of literature available to him via the mass media including the internet. The various
literary awards such as the Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature, the Philippines Free Press, Philippine
Graphic, Home Life and Panorama literary awards encourage him to compete with his peers and hope that his creative
efforts will be rewarded in the long run.

With the new requirement by the Commission on Higher Education of teaching of Philippine Literature in all
tertiary schools in the country emphasizing the teaching of the vernacular literature or literatures of the regions, the
audience for Filipino writers is virtually assured. And, perhaps, a national literature finding its niche among the
literatures of the world will not be far behind.