Literature
Literature comes from the Latin word “LITERA” which
literally means an acquaintance with letters, the root
definition of literature. It is a body of literary
productions, either oral, written or visual, containing
imaginative language that realistically portrays
thoughts, emotions and experiences of the human
condition.
Literature is language in use that provides insights
intellectual stimulation to the reader. As one explores
literature, he likewise discovers the beauty of language.
Literature is a product of a particular culture that
concretizes man’s array of values, emotions, actions and
ideas. It is therefore a creation of human experience
that tells about people and their world.
Literature is an art that reflects the works of
imagination, aesthetics and creative writing which are
distinguished for the beauty of style or expression as in
fiction, poetry, essay, or drama, in distinction from
scientific treatises and works which contain positive
knowledge.
Literary Standards
Literature, as compared to any other forms of writing,
possesses distinct qualities that separate it from the
rest. These include:
Universality
Literartue appeals to everyone, regardless of culture,
race, sex and time which are all considered significant.
Artistry
Literature has an aesthetic appeal and thus possesses a
sense of beauty.
Intellectual Value
Literature stimulates critical thinking that enriches
mental processes of abstract and reasoning, making
man realize the fundamental truths and its nature.
Historical Approach
Literature is seen both as a reflection and
product of the times and circumstances in which it was
written.
Sociological Approach
Literature is viewed as the expression of man
within a given social situation which is reduced to
discussions on economics, in which men are somewhat
simplistically divided into haves and haves not, thus
passing into the “proletarian approach” which tends to
underscore the conflict between the two classes.
Cultural Approach
Literature is seen as one of the manifestation
and vehicles of nation’s or race’s culture and tradition.
Psychological Approach
Literature is viewed as the expression of
“personality”, of “inner drives,” of “neurosis.” It
includes the psychology of the author, of the characters
and even the psychology of creation.
Impressionistic Approach
Literature is viewed to elucidate “reaction-
response” which is considered as something very
personal, relative, and fruitful.
Fiction
Fiction is a narrative in prose that shows an
imaginative recreation and reconstruction of life and
presents human life in two levels – the world of
objective reality made up of human actions and
experiences, and the world of subjective reality dealing
with human apprehension and comprehension. Fiction
is categorized either as novel or short story.
Elements of Fiction
Setting is the time and place in which the events of a
story occur.
Characters are the representations of a human being in
a story.
Characterization – is the method used by the writer to
reveal the personality of the characters.
Ways of Revealing Literary Characters
The characters are revealed according to:
Actions of the characters
Thoughts of the characters
Descriptions of the characters
Descriptions of other characters
Descriptions of the author
Kinds of Character
According to Principality:
Protagonist is the character with whom the reader
empathizes.
Antagonist is the character that goes against the main
character, usually the protagonist.
According to development:
Dynamic is the character that exhibits noticeable
development
Static is the character who exhibits no changes and
development.
According to Personality:
Round is the character that displays different/multiple
personalities throughout the story.
Flat is the character that reveals conventional traits,
who remains the same throughout the story.
Plot is the sequence of events in the story, arranged and
linked by causality.
Kinds of Plot
Linear Plot moves with the natural sequence of events
where actions are arranged sequentially.
Circular Plot is a kind of plot where linear development
of the story merges with an interruption in the
chronological order to show an event that happened in
the past.
En Medias Res is a kind of plot where the story
commences in the middle part of the action.
Parts of a Plot
Exposition is the part of the plot that sets the scene by
introducing the situation and setting and likewise lays
out the characters by introducing their environment,
characteristics, pursuit, purposes, limitations, potentials
and basic assumptions.
Complication is the start of the major conflict or
problem in the plot.
Crisis is the part that establishes curiosity, uncertainty
and tension; it requires a decision.
Climax is the peak of the story which leads to an
affirmation, a decision, an action, or even a realization.
Denouement is the finishing of things right after the
climax, and shows the resolution of the plot.
Ending is the part that brings the story back to its
equilibrium.
Literary Devices
Flashback is the writer’s use of interruption of the
chronological sequence of a story to go back to related
incidents which occurred prior to the beginning of the
story.
Foreshadowing is the writer’s use of hints or clues to
indicate events that will occur later in the story.
Conflict as Part of the Plot
Conflict is the opposition of persons or forces in
the story that give rise to the dramatic action in a
literary work.
Types of Conflict
Person vs. Person is a type of conflict where one
character in the story has a problem with one or more
of the other characters.
Person vs. Society is a type of conflict where a
character has a conflict or problem with some element
of society – the school, the law, the accepted way of
doing things, and so on.
Person vs. Self is a type of conflict where a character
has trouble deciding what to do in a particular situation.
Person vs. Nature is a type of conflict where a character
has a problem with some natural happening; a
snowstorm, an avalanche, the bitter cold, or any
elements common to nature.
Person vs. Fate is a type of conflict where a character
has to battle seems to be an uncontrollable problem.
Whenever the problem seems to be strange or
unbelievable coincidence, fate can be considered the
cause and effect.
Point of View determines the narrator of the story, the
one who tells it from different point of view.
Types of Point of View
First – Person Point of View is a character – narrator
who tells the story in the “I” voice, expressing his own
views. He is either a minor or main character that tells
the story in his own words.
Third –Person Omniscient Point of View has a narrator
that tells the story from an all-knowing point of view.
He sees the mind of all the characters.
Third – Person Limited Point of View has a narrator that
tells only what he can see or hear “inside the world” of
the story. This narrator is otherwise known as “camera
technique narrator” as he does not reveal what the
characters are thinking and feeling.
Third – Person Central Point of View has a narrator that
limits narration to what the central character thinks,
feels, does, and what and whom the central character
observes.
Third – Person Editorial Point of View has a narrator
that comments on the action by telling the readers its
significance or evaluating the behaviour of the
characters.
Theme is a significant truth about life and its nature
which takes place in the illustrations of the actions,
preoccupations, and decisions of the characters.
Principle in Stating the Theme of the Story
It reports for all major details of the story.
It may be avowed in more than one way.
It is stated in complete statements
It asserts a sweeping statement about life.
It avoids statement that condense the theme to some
familiar adage, aphorism, dictum, maxim, saying, or
value.
Poetry
Poetry is a patterned form of verbal or written
expression of ideas in , imaginative, and rhythmical
terms that often contain the elements of sound ,
structure. It is considered as the oldest literary form.
selected words. Is often
considered as the most difficult and most sophisticated
of all literary genres. One of its distinct characteristic is
that it is briefly written but it suggests many
connotations. As compared to other literary forms, it is
more musical.
Elements of Poetry
Sense of the Poem
Denotation vs. Connotation
Denotation is the dictionary meaning of the word while
Connotation is the suggested or implied meaning/s
associated with the word beyond its dictionary
definition.
Imagery is the use of sensory details or descriptions that
appeal to one or more of the five senses: sight, hearing,
touch, taste, and smell. These are otherwise known as
“sense of the mind”
Figurative Language is a language used for descriptive
effect in order to convey ideas or emotions which are
not literally true but express some truth beyond the
literal level.
Figure of Speech are specific devices or a kind of
figurative language that uses words, phrases, and
sentences in a non-literal definition but, rather, gives
meanings in abstraction.
Types of Figures of Speech
Allusion is a reference in a work of literature to a
character, a place, or a situation from history, literature,
the Bible, mythology, scientific event, character, or
place.
I imagine myself thus,
my fearless navigator, as you scribe;
Antonio Pigafetta annotating
the progress of our journey inside
the Trinidad, the sturdy galleon
of our newfangled love.
Ralph Semino Galan, “You Name”
Antithesis is a disparity of words or ideas.
It is virtually a sea but dry like a heart
That has forgotten compassion.
Mike Maniquiz, “Lahar On My Mind”
Apostrophe is an address to an inanimate object, an
idea, or a person who is absent/long dead.
For what were you before the birth of the daystar,
O my
soul where were you in that deep and darkest night?
Leonides Benesa,
“Fragments: The Deserts of God”
Hyperbole is an exaggeration used to express strong
emotion, to make a point, or to evoke humor.
“this heat,” I mutter
“melts the very bones.”
Merlie M. Alunan, “Young Man in a Jeepney”
Irony is a contrast or discrepancy between appearance
and reality.
Neither is man aware of the unkind
flight of time; for, though it gives him life,
it is dragging him nearer his grave.
Juan de Atayde, “The Man”
Litotes is a deliberate sarcasm used to affirm by
negating its opposite.
Even in his plain dress,
I find him not at all displeasing.
Anonymous
Metaphor implies comparison instead of a direct
statement and that equates two seemingly unlike things
or ideas.
Forgive these words that love impart,
And pleading, bare the poet’s breast;
And if a rose with thorns thou art,
Yet on my breast that rose may rest.
Fernando Maramag, “Rural Maid”
Metonymy is used of one word to stand for a related
term or replacement of word that relates to the thing or
person to be named for the name itself.
To say that the crown will have an heir
Is to assume a new life, a new beginning
(the crown substitutes for the word majesty, king
Queen, and the like)
Anonymous
Onomatopoeia is the use of a word/phrase that actually
imitates or suggests the sound of what it describes.
And early evening, like croaking
of the frogs, evoking memories lost.
Ralph Semino Galan, “Cartanella”
Oxymoron is putting together two opposite ideas in one
statement.
It is futile to ask for guidance or direction
in this unmappable landscape, the history
and scene of our unending sacrifice.
Francis M. Santos, “Strum and Drug”
Paradox is a phrase or statement that seems to be
impossible or contradictory but is nevertheless true,
literally or figuratively.
This shows
The absolute necessity
Of what has “no use”
Chuang Tzu, “The Useless”
Personification is giving human
attributes/characteristics to inanimate objects, an
animal, force of nature, or an idea.
Sunflower pushed
Out of the shadows
Betrayed into tracking
The sun.
Ramon T. Torrevillas, “Assylum Flowers”
Simile uses a word or phrase such as “as” or “like” to
compare seemingly unlike things or ideas.
His lips as soft as rose petals
Softly dry my tear drenched face
Melting the cold spell i cast upon myself.
Judi Anro Dizon, “The One I Love”
Types of Poetry
Narrative Poem is a poem that tells a story.
Lyric Poem is descriptive or expository in nature where
the poet is concerned mainly with presenting a scene in
words, conveying sensory richness of his subject, or the
revelation of ideas or emotions.
Dramatic Poem is a poem where a story is told through
the verse dialogue of the characters and a narrator.
Poem Appreciation is achieved not only when one has
comprehended the plain sense or information
communicated by the poem.
Tone is the writer’s attitude toward his subject, mood
and moral view.
Symbol is an image that becomes so suggestive that it
takes on much more meaning than its descriptive value.
Essay
Essay comes from the French word, ESSAI, which means
trial or test.
It is a prose composition of moderate length devoted to
a single topic from limited point of view.
Elements of Essay
Idea explore the general proposition or thesis that the
essay argues about its topic whether it is spelled out
fully at the start or revealed gradually.
Motive identifies the reason for writing, which is
suggested at the start of the essay and echoed
throughout.
Structure forms the shape of the ideas, the sequence of
sub-topics and sections through which ideas are
unfolded and developed.
Evidences identify the facts or details, summarized or
quoted that one uses to support, demonstrate, and
prove the main idea and sub ideas.
Explanations are bits of background information,
summary context to orient the reader/s who are not
familiar with the text being discussed.
Coherence shapes the smooth flow of argument
created by transition sentence that show how the next
paragraph or section follows from the preceding one,
thus sustaining momentum and echoing keywords or
resonant phrases quoted or stated earlier.
Implication places speculation on the general
significance of the particular analysis of a particular text.
Presence points out the sensation of life in writing of a
mind invested in and focused on a subject, freely
directing and developing the essay.
Strict or Impersonal deals with serious topics that are
authoritative and scholarly in treatment.
Casual or Familiar deals with light, ordinary even
common place in subjects in a language that is bubbling,
casual, conversational, friendly, often humorous and
appeals more to the emotion than the intellect,
touching on sensitivity first then the mind.
Basic Parts
Introduction hints or relates to the main thesis.
Main Body presents the discussion and illustration of
the main ideas raised.
Conclusion presents the generalization or insights of the
essay.
Major Patterns
Inductive Patterns presents ideas from specific points
leading to a general principle or thesis.
Deductive pattern develops ideas from general
hypothesis to particular or specific proofs that lead to a
definite ending or conclusion.
Drama
Drama is a composition in prose form that
present a story told entirely in dialogue and action. It is
written with the intention of its eventual performance
before an audience.
Drama has a two-fold nature; that of literature
and theatre.
Elements of Drama
Setting indentifies the time and place in which the
events occur. It consist of the historical period, the
moment, day and season when incident take place. It
also include the scenery in the performance which is
usually found in the preliminary descriptions.
Character/s is/are the people in the play and thus
considered as the principal material in a drama.
Character Aspects
Physical identifies peripheral facts such as age, sexual
category, size, race, and color. It deals with the external
attributes which may be envisaged from the description
of the playwright and deduced from what the
characters say or what other characters verbalize about
his appearance.
Social embrace all aspects that can be gleaned from the
character’s world or environment as exemplified by the
economic status, occupation or trade, creed familial
affiliation of the character/s.
Psychological discloses the inner mechanism of the
mind of the character as exemplified by hid habitual
responses, attitudes, longing purposes, likes and
dislikes. It is considered as the most indispensable level
of character categorization because routines and
emotions, thoughts, attitude and behaviour enable the
readers to know the character intrinsically.
Moral disclose the decisions of the characters, either Non – Realism is a method of presentation identified as
socially acceptable or not, exposing their intention, thus something stylized or theatricalised whereby an artist
projecting what is upright or not. uses his imagination in projecting his ideas.
Plot lays out the series of event that form the entirely of Types of Drama
the play. It serves as a structural framework which Tragedy is a play in which the main character is brought
bring the events to a cohesive form and sense. to ruin or suffers a great sorrow.
Types of Plot Comedy is a play that brings laughter where the
Natural Plot is a chronological sequence of events protagonist leaps over all difficulties placed in his way
arrangement where actions continuously take place as and ultimately achieves his goal not withstanding
an end-result of the previous action. awkwardness .
Episodic Plot is made up of series of episodes where Melodrama is drawn from tragedy and characterized as
the story builds up and characters interrelate cohesively something overstated which concentrates on action.
as the theme develops. Each episodes independently Farce is a play that brings laughter for the sake of
comprises a setting, climax, and resolution; therefore a laughter, usually making use of grossly embellished
full story in itself is formed. events and character.
Plot as Framework
Beginning identifies information about hte place, such
as geographical location, social, cultural, political
background or period when the event took place.
Exposition is the point where the playwright
commences his story. It reveals the identity of the
story’s initial crisis.
Expository Approaches :
Unfolding Plot establishes the story at a pint near the
climax, conclusion, or end.
Accretive Plot begins the narration from the very first
incident to its peak.
Middle is composed of a series of difficulties.
Complications bring changes and alterations in the
movement of the action which takes place when
discovery of novel information, unexpected alteration
of plan, choosing between two courses of action or
preface of new ideas are revealed.
Crisis reveals the peak of anticipation in the series of
incidents.
Obligatory Scene identifies the open collision between
two opposing characters or forces.
Discovery discloses points which are previously
unknown, characterized as something mysterious,
strange, unfamiliar and thus revealed through objects,
persons facts, values, or self-discovery.
Ending is the final major component of the story which
brings the condition back to its stability.
THEME is considered as the unifying element that
defines the dramatized idea of the play.
Style refers to the mode of expression or presentation
of the play which points out the playwright’s position or
view point in life.
Major Dramatic Attitude:
Realism is an accurate, detailed and life-like description
in play where things are presented as real as can be set
in actual life, with dialogue/s sounding like day to day
conversation.