Introduction

to Literature
A Powerpoint Presentation
for Lit 3 class
 KEY IDEAS ON LITERATURE:
Definitions

• The collective body of literary productions,

embracing the entire results of knowledge and
fancy preserved in writing

• It is literally “acquaintance with letters” (from

Latin littera which means letters) – Oxford
English Dictionary
• It consists of writings which interpret
the meanings of nature and life, in
words of charm and power, touched
with the personality of the author of
artistic forms or permanent interest.
– Henry Van Dyke
Other Definitions:

1. Literature deals with ideas,

thoughts and emotions of man –
thus, it can be said that it is the
story of man. (Kahayon, 1988)
2. Literature comes from the French
phrase “belles-lettres” which
means beautiful writing. (Baritugo,
2004)
3. Literature in its broadest
sense, is everything that has
ever written.
4. The best way to understand
human nature fully and to
know a nation completely is
to study literature. (Garcia,
1993)
5. Through literature, we learn the innermost
feelings and thoughts of people – the most
real part of themselves, thus we gain
understanding not only of others, but more
importantly, of ourselves and life itself.
(Garcia, 1993)
6. Literature offers us an experience in which
we should participate as we read and testing
what we read by our own experience.
7. Literature does not yield much unless we
bring something of ourselves to it.
8. Literature is a faithful
reproduction of life…in a sense
it is a product and a
commentary on life process.
9. Literature illuminates life.
10.Literature is our life’s story
including its struggles, ideals,
failures, sacrifice and
happiness. (Ang, 2006)
11.Literature is one of the seven arts (i.e.,
music, dance, painting, sculpture,
theatre and architecture and as such,
literature is a product of a creative
work, the result of which is form and
beauty (Nuggets, 1999)
12. People read literature for information,
for amusement, for higher and keener
pleasure, for cultural upliftment, and
for discovery of broader dimensions in
life. (Nuggets, 1999)
IMPORTANCE OF LITERATURE

1. For pleasure and entertainment

2. For emotional gratification
3. For information and education
 GENRES OF LITERATURE
PROSE POETRY

FORM Written in Written in stanza or

paragraph form verse form
LANGUAGE Expressed in Expressed in
ordinary form metrical,
rhythmical, and
figurative language

APPEAL To the intellect To the emotion

AIM To convince, Stir the imagination
instruct, imitate, and set an idea of
and reflect how life should be
 POETRY

1. Narrative
 Tells story in richly imaginative and
rhythmical language
2. Lyric
 Expresses personal thoughts and feelings
3. Dramatic
 Portrays life and character through action
in powerful, emotion-packed lines such as
those in Shakespearean plays
 TYPES OF
NARRATIVE POETRY
1.Epic
Long, narrative poem divided into distinct parts and
episodes bound together by a common relationship to
some great hero, action and time; may either be folk /
popular or literary
2.Metrical Romance
Long, rambling love story in verse
Ideals of rivalry, romantic love and religious elements
predominate
3.Ballad
Short poem intended to be sung
4.Metrical Tale
Deals with any emotion or phase of life and story is
told in a simple, straightforward and realistic manner
1. Ode
Extended poem usually complicated in meter and
stanza forms and always deals with a serious theme
such as immortality
Said to be most majestic of lyric types, it expresses
enthusiasm, lofty praise of some person or thing
Author is in exalted mood and deeply feels what
she/he says
2. Elegy
Poem of subjective and meditative nature
Poem of lamentation
Suggestions of hope and faith which tend to allay and
soothe the sorrow of the poet may be embodied
3. Song
Short lyric poem intended to be
sung; has particularly melodious
quality required by the singing
voice
May either be secular or sacred
4. Simple Lyric
Short poem where the verse is
especially musical or where there
is a marked subjective or
emotional tone
5. Sonnet
 Distinguished by its exact form- fourteen iambic
pentameter lines; produces single emotional effect
Italian - contains an octave where the
theme, problem and hope are presented
and a sestet where the resolution or
conclusion is reached
Shakespearian (Elizabethan) – presents
and develops its theme in the first three
quatrains and states conclusion in the
couplet
6. Vers de Societe – light verse or occasional and
complimentary verses which deal in a witty
and polished fashion with subjects that, on the
surface at least, are not very serious
1. Poetic Plays
a. Comedy
 Aims primarily to amuse and which ends happily
 Presents incongruous aspects of human speech, character
and conduct as they are displayed in social life
b. Tragedy
 Type of drama in which the chief character undergoes a
morally significant struggle which ends disastrously
c. Farce
 Exaggerated comedy based on broadly humorous situations
d. Historical Play
 Drama in which materials are taken from the lives of
outstanding figures in the history
e. Melodrama
 Play with sensational acquisitions, a sensational love story,
extravagant emotions and generally, happy ending.
2. Masque
 form of court pageantry that flourished in England
in the 16th century and not revived later
 With prologue serving to introduce a group of
actors who came in a sort of decorative float
 Settings, costumes, music and scenery were lavish

3. Dramatic Monologue
 One character speaks throughout but the presence,
actions and even the words of other characters are
implied
 Speaker unconsciously and even ironically reveals
his innermost character
1. Essay
 Short literary composition dealing with a single
matter usually from a single point of view
 Revelatory of the author’s taste, opinions,
prejudices, moods and in general, his personality
2. Fiction
 Literary production of men’s imagination finding
shape in stories of people or events
A. Prose Allegory – characters, ideas or actions stand
for something else or for a system of ideas with
meanings implied; concrete characters are
personifications of abstract ideas
 Includes fables, myths and legends
B. Prose Romances - stories in which some
supernatural or magical, fantastic and unrealistic
events occur; include fairy tales and folk tales
C. Prose Satires – stories in which human vices and follies
are held up to ridicule
D. Novels – prose narratives on a large scale and can be
divided into three types: fantasy, love and adventure
E. Short Story – prose narrative of limited length which
must have characterization, unity, cumulative interest,
climax and resolution; invented in the 19th century,
although loosely speaking, the oldest story is an
Egyptian tale entitled The Brothers, from about 3,200
B.C.
F. Novelettes – intermediate between short story and
novels; about 50 – 150 pages long; example is
Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea
3. Prose Drama – literary work written in dialogue
intended for presentation by actors
- essence is the make-believe by which an actor
impersonates a character of the play
- same division under poetic plays applies to it
- special types include closet drama, tragicomedy,
problem plays, comedy of manners and comedia del
l’arte

4. Non-Fiction Prose Types – includes biography,

autobiography, letters or epistles, diaries, journals,
book reviews, literary criticism and scientific and
current publications
1. Closet Drama – intended for private reading rather
than stage performance
2. Tragicomedy – combination of the elements of
tragedy and comedy
3. Problem Plays – neither comedies nor tragedies but
deal with middle-class life and problems
4. Comedy of Manners – satirizes the extremes of
fashion and manners – the acquired follies of a
highly sophisticated society
5. Comedia del l’arte – developed in the 16th century
Italy and its essential characteristic was that it was
based on a plot or scenario outlined in advance but
the dialogue was improvised during the
performance
- Needed to support the reader in
understanding the texts

1. Mimetic theory
2. Authorial theory
3. Reader response theory
4. Literary tradition theory
5. Textual analysis theory
1. Mimetic theory
• Based on the classical
Aristotelian idea that literature
imitates or reflects the real
world or the world of ideal or
concepts or things from which
the subjects of literature is
derived
2. Authorial theory
• Author is the source of meaning

3. Reader response theory

• Also called affective or pragmatic theory
• Work on its readers
• Permits varied and numerous
interpretations of literary texts
4. Literary tradition theory –
relates work to its literary
history by identifying the
tradition to which it belongs

5. Textual analysis theory – also

known as the work as an entity
in itself
1. Artistry – appeals to the sense of beauty
2. Intellectual Value – stimulates thoughts
- makes mental life rich by making us
realize the different fundamental truths
about life and human nature
3. Suggestiveness – associated with
emotional aspects
- moves us deeply and stirs imagination
to work above and beyond the level of
ordinary experience
4. Spiritual Value – puts our spirits
high by bringing out
understanding of moral values
which lead us to become better
people
5. Permanence – endures the test
of time
- can be read over and over again
as each reading gives fresh
enjoyment
6. Universality – observes no limits
- appeals to all, anytime, anywhere
because it deals with the basic
feelings of people, fundamental
truths and universal conditions

7. Style – unique way in which the

writer views life, forms his/her ideas
and expresses them