LITERATURE

 On a general perspective, anything that is written is classified as

literature.
 On a stricter sense, however, and across cultures and ages,
literature is associated with a poem, or a fiction article, or a stage
play, a book or a classroom lesson.

LITERARY STANDARDS

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

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.
LITERARY GENRES

A. Poems

It refers to those expressions in verse, with measures, rhymes,

lines, stanzas and melodious tone.

1. Narrative Poetry- it tells a story in richly imaginative and

rhythmical language
a. Epic- a long, narrative poem divided into distinct parts and
episodes bound together by a common relationship to some
great hero, action, and time.
i. Folk/Popular Epic- no known author but evolved
gradually from people’s ancient traditions.
ii. Literary epics- have distinct authorship

b. Metrical Romance- is a long, rambling love story in verse.

Ideals of chivalry, romantic love, and religious elements
predominate in this type of literature.
 c. Ballad- it is intended to be sung.
d. Metrical tale- is to poetry what the short story is to prose. It
deals with any emotion or phase of life and its story is told in
a simple, straightforward, and realistic manner.

2. Lyric Poetry- expresses personal thoughts and feelings.

a. Ode- it is said to be the most majestic of lyric types. It
expresses enthusiasm, lofty praise of some person or
thing.
b. Elegy- it is a poem that can be distinguished by its
subject- DEATH. It contains the author’s personal grief
for a loved one or a loss affecting the public as a whole
or it may simply be a meditation on death.
c. Song- short lyric poem intended to be sung. It has that
particular melodious quality required by the singing
voice.
i. Secular Songs
ii. Sacred Songs
d. Simple lyric- is a short poem where the verse is
especially musical or where there is a marked subjective
or emotional tone.
e. Sonnet- is a lyric poem distinguished by its exact form-
fourteen iambic pentameter lines.
i. Italian Sonnet- contains an octave where the
theme, problem, hope, or desire is presented and
sestet where a resolution or conclusion is reached.
It rhymes as abba-abba-cdecde.
ii. Shakespearian (English) Sonnet- the sonnet
presents and develops its themes in the first three
quatrains and states a conclusion in the couplet,
or the last two lines. (abab-cdcd-efef-gg)

3. Dramatic Poetry- portrays life and character through action in

powerful, emotional-packed lines such as those in Shakespeare’s
paly.
a. Poetic Plays
i. Comedy- is a type of drama which aims primarily to
amuse and which ends happily.
ii. Tragedy- a type of drama in which the chief character
undergoes a morally significant struggle which ends
disastrously.
 iii. Farce- is an exaggerated comedy based broadly on
humorous situations.
iv. Historical play- is a drama the materials of which are
taken from the lives of outstanding figures in history.
v. Melodrama- is a play with sensational actions,
sentimental love story, extravagant emotions, and,
generally, a happy ending.

b. Dramatic monologue- is a poem in which one character

speaks throughout, but the presence, actions, and even
the words of other characters are implied. Caught at a
dramatic moment or crisis in his life, the speaker
unconsciously, even ironically, reveals his innermost
character- his “soul in action”- and tells much of his story,
social position, and relationships to the persons present.

B. Prose

It is a literary piece which is written in the form of ordinary written

or spoken language and within the common flow of a conversation.
It is easily understood as compared to poetry.

1. Fiction- is the literary production of man’s imagination.

a. Short Story- a brief, artistic form of prose friction which
is centered on a single main incident and is intended to
produce a single dominant impression (sadness,
surprise, sympathy, terror and others.)
b. Novel- more extensive form of prose. The length of a
novel permits a greater number and a variety of
characters, a more complex plot, and a more elaborate
use of the setting.
 Fable- characters are usually animals
 Myths- are traditional tales common to the members of a
tribe, race or nation usually involving supernatural or suggest
a religious moral truth. (Deus Ex Machina)
 Legends- are stories of some wonderful events popularly
believed to have some historical basis and passed down
through ages.

2. Non Fiction- are literary works that are based mainly on fact
rather than the imagination, although they may contain
fictional elements.
a. Essay – a short literary composition in prose dealing
with a single matter.
b. Letters, Journals, Diaries
c. Book Review
d. Literary Criticism
e. Biography and Autobiography
f. Scientific and Current Publications