INTRODUCTION TO

LITERATURE
Prepared by: Princess De C. Puntual
 LITERATURE

• The collected ORAL and WRITTEN works of a society that reflects the
people’s beliefs, values, mores, and aspirations as well as their struggles
in life.

• Today, the word LITERATURE often refers to the written works –

stories, poems, and essays – which, in earlier times was developed from
ORAL traditions such as MYTHS and LEGENDS. Oral literature is now
called ORATURE by critics.
WHAT IS WORLD LITERATURE?

• A literary work that has READERSHIP and IMPACT

beyond its original language and cultural area. Examples
include the Bible and the plays of William Shakespeare,
both of which have been translated into more than a
hundred languages and are being read or performed in
almost every continent.
THE FIVE LITERARY GENRES:

• Short Story
• Novel These five genres are
classified under two
• Drama or Play general types of
• Essay literature – PROSE and
• Poetry POETRY.
PROSE – literary works in the form of sentences and
paragraphs.
It has two kinds: FICTION and NON-FICTION.

FICTION – are prose narratives containing setting, characters, plot,

conflict, climax, and resolution based on the author’s CREATIVE
IMAGINATION. Under fiction are the short story, novel, and drama.
NON-FICTION – refers to prose literature based on FACTS,
REASON, and LOGIC. The essay is the most common form of non-
fiction.
 SHORT STORY
• A brief narrative that concentrates on one situation and
involves two or three main characters.

ELEMENTS OF A SHORT STORY:

Setting – the time and place of the story.
Atmosphere – the prevailing mood of the story; it can be
humorous, gothic, romantic, etc.
Characters – persons involved in the story. FABLES have
animals as the characters in the story. Characters may be:

ROUND/THREE-DIMENSIONAL – undergoes change

FLAT/ONE-DIMENSIONAL – remains the same throughout
the story
CENTRAL/PIVOTAL – around whom the story revolves, or
SUPPORTIVE/SATELLITE – circulating in the central
character’s orbit, providing a supportive role
 Plot – the significant order of events. It has the following
basic elements:

EXPOSITION – the setting and characters are introduced as well

as other essential information necessary for the development of
the plot.
RISING ACTION – the unraveling of the conflict/s
CLIMAX – the story’s most decisive crisis, the highest point or the
surprising turn of events.
FALLING ACTION – events leading to the resolution, a relief from
the climax.
DENOUEMENT – the final resolution, untying of the plot,
indicating the end of the story.
Theme – the underlying message. It is the author’s
statement of purpose, philosophy, or an attitude toward life.

Point of View – the perspective or the position from which

the story is presented, the one who tells the story. It is also
known as the narrative technique. It may be in the first
person or the third person.
Style – refers to the way the writer chooses words; the
verbal identity of the author.
Symbolism – pertains to the use of an object to stand for or
represent a person, thing, or an idea.
 NOVEL
• An extended narrative that includes more characters and
a more complicated plot.
TYPES OF NOVELS:
MYSTERY – events are not explained until the plot or
conflict is resolved. E.g. Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur
Conan Doyle
EPISTOLARY – told in a series of letters. E.g. Daddy Long
Legs by Jean Webster, Perks of Being a Wallflower by
Stephen Chbosky
ADVENTURE – emphasis on the set of adventures by the
main character. E.g. Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark
Twain

PSYCHOLOGICAL – emphasizes the mental and emotional

responses of its characters designed to affect the readers
psychologically. E.g. Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
GOTHIC – has elements of horror and the supernatural. E.g.
Dracula by Bram Stoker, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
HISTORICAL – the setting and some of the events are
drawn from history. E.g. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur
Golden
SCIENCE-FICTION – deals with the imaginary results of
scientific or technological developments. E.g. Jurassic Park
by Michael Crichton, Star Wars by various authors
FANTASY – employ motifs, themes and approaches of
fantasy; usually involves magic, beasts, and different worlds
only existing in the author’s mind. E.g. Harry Potter by J.K.
Rowling, Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
 DRAMA

• A literary work intended to be presented on stage in the

form of dialogues, to portray life or character or to tell a
story. The word drama comes from the Greek verb which
means “to do” or “act”
ELEMENTS OF DRAMA:
PLOT – sequence of events in the story
CHARACTERS – people involved in the story
DIALOGUE – the words spoken by the characters. It is
essential in advancing the plot, establishing the setting and
revealing character.

STAGING – also known as spectacle or the over-all look of

the theatre on stage, this refers to the visual details of a
drama or play such as make-up, costumes, lighting, sound
effects, gestures, blocking, scenic backgrounds and props.
THEME – the central message, meaning and significance of
the play which is derived from the other four elements.
 ESSAY
• a short non-fiction, non-imaginary work about a subject. It
has three main parts: the introduction, body and
conclusion.

• Introduction / Beginning
The opening part of the write up that shows the topic
sentence of the essay or the thesis statement. 
• Body / Middle
Explain, illustrate, discuss, or provide evidence to
support the main idea (thesis or claim) of the essay.
• Ending / Conclusion
Recapitulation of the ideas in the whole essay which
brings it to a logical end.
POETRY – writing in a language chosen and arranged to
create specific emotional effect and is written in the form of
lines and stanzas. There are three basic types of poem:

NARRATIVE – a lengthy poem containing a story, the most

common example is an EPIC, a narrative poem that tells the
adventures of heroes and their heroic deeds such as The
Epic of Gilgamesh and the Mahabharata.
LYRIC – a shorter poem that deals with strong emotions
and the appreciation of beauty.
DRAMATIC – one in which the poet expresses not his own
individual emotion but that of some other person.
 ELEMENTS OF POETRY

• VOICE – the persona or speaker in the poem. A poet can either

use his own voice or use an imaginary voice and act as an
imaginary speaker.

• DICTION – refers to the author’s choice of words, the linguistic

style of poetry which can involve the vocabulary, metaphor,
simile, personification, etc. The way of expressing oneself.
IMAGERY – the vivid mental pictures that the readers create through
the words used in the poem. Imagery in poetry need not only visual
but could be any of the five senses (sight, hearing, touch, taste, smell)

He wears too much aftershave. (Smell)

His lips taste sweet like ripe fruit (Taste)
He has a high-pitched laugh (Sound)
His hair feels wiry (Touch)
A greasy stove (Touch)
• FIGURES OF SPEECH – a literary device used to
represent something in a nonliteral manner such as
simile, metaphor, personification, hyperbole, irony, etc.

Simile – a comparison of two objects with the use of “as”

“like” or “than”.
E.g. O my Luve is like a red, red rose
That’s newly sprung in June
O my Luve is like the melody
That’s sweetly played in tune.
“A Red, Red Rose” by Robert Burns
Metaphor – a comparison that is made directly without the
use of “as” “like” or “than”.

E.g. The snow is a white blanket.

The classroom was a zoo.
Life is a rollercoaster.
Irony – implies a distance between what is said and what is
meant. It is a difference between the appearance and
reality.

E.g. A man looked out of the window to see the storm

intensify. He turned to his friend and said, “Wonderful
weather we’re having!”
Hyperbole – uses extreme exaggeration to make a point or
show emphasis. It is perfect to use in creative writing to add
color to your work.

E.g. I’ll love you dear, I’ll love you

Till China and Africa meet,
And the river jumps over the mountain
And the salmon sing in the street,
I’ll love you till the ocean
Is folded and hung up to dry.
“As I Walked One Evening” by W.H. Auden
Personification – a thing, an idea or an animal is given human
attributes or qualities. These non-living objects are portrayed
in such a way that we feel they have the ability to act like
human beings.

E.g. The sky weeps while the fire swallowed the entire
forest.
The flowers danced in the gentle breeze.
The wind whispered through dry grass.
Look at my car, she is a beauty, isn’t she?
• SYMBOLISM – objects in the poem that are meant to
represent abstract concepts, like a rose symbolizes love

• THEME – the underlying message or philosophy of the

poem, there may be one theme in some poems, the overall
meaning and significance
• STRUCTURE – the form, how a poem appears. Poems can
be:
• Closed Form – also known as the fixed form, follows a pattern of
lines, meters, rhyme schemes, stanzas.
• Open Form – also known as free-form, does not follow a certain
pattern, does not have rhyme or a certain number of feet per line.
SOUND – the rhyme or the matching of the final vowel and
constant sounds in two or more words

TYPES OF RHYME
Perfect Rhyme – occurs when differing consonant sounds
are followed by identical stressed vowel sounds.
E.g. FOE – TOE
Half-Rhyme – only the final consonant sounds are identical
E.g. SOUL – OIL , MIRTH – FOURTH
Rime Riche – words that sound exactly the same but have
different spellings and meanings.
E.g. NIGHT – KNIGHT

Eye-Rhyme – appears to be a rhyme but does not actually

rhyme
E.g. COUGH – BOUGH
End Rhyme – corresponding sounds occur at the end of the
lines. The rhyming words are placed at the end of two
consecutive sentences.

E.g. A word is dead

When it is said,
Some say.
I say it just
Begins to live
That day.

There once was a man who wasn’t very smart,

For instance, he once tried to drive a shopping cart.
Internal Rhyme – corresponding lines occur within lines,
which means two or more rhyming words appear in the
same line.
E.g. I went to town, to buy a gown.
I took a car, it wasn’t far.
Internal Rhymes could also be in the middle of two
consecutive sentences.
E.g. I hear the seas calling my name,
the birds and bees beckoning me.
It could also be an ending word rhyming with a
word in the middle of the next line.
E.g. I once went to a soccer arena
The teams were Argentina and Spain
 ASSIGNMENT

• Make an essay about the importance of Literature in the

21st century
• Bring a copy of the poems from China entitled “To My
Husband” by Hsu Shu and Questions and Answer Among
the Mountain by Li Po for a discussion next meeting