CONFIGURE LITERATURE

Study these inputs below. You will be needing these things for the question and
answer activity in our synchronous class tomorrow:
POETRY- defined as ‘literature in a metrical form’ or ‘a composition forming
rhythmic lines’.

1. RHYTHM- the music made by the statements of the poem, which includes
the syllables in the lines. In literature, rhythm is the pattern of stressed and
unstressed beats.
2. METER- the basic structural make-up of the poem. A poem is made up of
blocks of lines, which convey a single strand of thought. Within these
blocks, a structure of syllables which follow the rhythm has to be included.
3. STANZA- the smaller unit or group of lines or a paragraph in a poem.
Based on the number of lines, stanzas are named as:
 Couplet (2 lines)                              
 Tercet (3 lines)
 Quatrain (4 lines)                 
 Cinquain (5 lines)
 Sestet (6 lines)                               
  Septet (7 lines)
 Octave (8 lines)
4. RHYME- a poem may or may not have a rhyme. It is basically similar
sounding words like ‘cat’ and ‘hat’ and ‘house’ and ‘mouse’.
5. RHYME SCHEME – pattern of rhyme. Either the last words of the first
and second lines rhyme with each other or the first and the third, second and
the fourth and so on. It is denoted by alphabets like  aabb, abab, abba, etc.
6. THEME- this is what the poem is about. The theme of the poem is the
central idea that the poem wants to convey. It can be a story, or a thought, or
a description of something or someone.
7. SYMBOLISM- a symbol can stand for many things at one time and leads
the reader out of a systematic and structured method of looking at things.
Often a symbol used in the poem will be used to create such an effect.
8. IMAGERY- this device is used by the poet for reader to create an image in
their imagination. It appeals to all the five sense.
e.g., when the poet describes, ‘the flower is bright red’, an image of a red flower is
immediately created in the readers mind
The above mentioned elements are distinct and basic to poetry. While meter is said
to be the defining characteristic of poetry because it is only found in poetry, there
are several other elements in poetry that need to be present in a work before it can
be properly called a poem.  A poem requires that there be an image presented to
the reader. Images need not to be visual because a poem does not limit itself to
visual images but will also use other senses  for a more in depth analysis of the
text.   
The presence of figurative language such as simile, metaphor, personification,
hyperbole and metonymy should be present. 
Most importantly, a poem should have the theme. A general idea often about
human experience which, in the end, it wants to share with the audience. 
Going back to the poem Mayon, Cordero's poem is a very rich one, carrying a
very distinct view of Mayon Volcano. He is a native of Bicol and writes a certain
level of familiarity with the volcano. He presents the volcano first via allusion,
referring to its Myth particularly to Pagtuga's arrow which killed Magayon. The
death of Magayon and her lover Panginoron become more than just and end, but
also a beginning. 
Images play a very significant role in the poem, as the volcano is described in
many different ways. Images in Mayon present also a very sensory impression
using any of the five senses (touch, taste, hear, smell and sight). Images also go
beyond what is physical or literal descriptions in the poem but rather expanding
from DESCRIPTIVE to FIGURATIVE (Figurative Language). In the poem Mayon,
the images vary widely from the '' lips of a young child in the third stanza to
having the lava of a volcano looks like excrement, or having the same image look
like betel nut juice  (nganga) in the same stanza. ‘In the last stanza of Mayon, all
the images tie together creating an impression of beauty and danger as the final
image that of a beautiful security guard waiting to frisk the viewer of the volcano,
becoming both warning and invitation at the same time. (How about you go back
to the poem and see for yourself)
Sa isang lumang postcard na nakita ko sa Antigo Merkado—
Kapag sa malayo, isa siyang magandang sikyung nakatanod,
Handa sa pagkapkap, naghihintay sa iyong pagpasok.
Markers from the poem:
1. Image is the use of Figurative Language to represent objects , events ,
actions, and ideas in a way that is physically appealing because of the use of
senses
 2. Meter – the basic rhythmic structure  of a line in poetry
3. Allusion- is a figure of speech that refers to another textual work that makes
you figure out the connection between the current work and the work being
referred to
 Example:
Ayon sa alamat, lason ng pana ni Pagtuga,
Ang lumikha sa bulkan – libingan ito
Ng dalagang namatay sa isang digmaan.
 The poem presents the volcano first via ALLUSION referring to its Myth
(DARAGANG MAGAYON) particularly to Pagtuga's arrow which killed Magayon.
The death of Magayon and her lover Panginoron become more than just and end,
but also a beginning. 
 
4. Expansion refers to the possibility of images to go beyond what they
normally mean, to extend or to grow in meaning so that they are not merely
literal but become figurative
Example:
In the poem Mayon, the images vary widely from the '' lips of a young child in the
third stanza to having the lava of a volcano looks like excrement, or having the
same image look like betel nut juice  (nganga) in the same stanza.''
 
5. Figurative Language  is when the words or phrases used go to beyond
their literal meaning and convey a different set of meanings to the reader 
 
Allusion is the Figurative Language used at the beginning of the poem.
 
Close reading is a method of literary analysis which focuses on the specific details
of a passage or text in order to discern some deeper meaning present in it. The
meaning derived from the close reading is the reader's interpretation of the passage
or text.
All those above mentioned LITERARY elements   help us understand the
Geographic, Linguistic, and Ethnic Dimensions of a closely analyzing literary text.
 
Example for Geographic Dimension: 
1. Folk Narratives- epic and folk tales are varied exotic and magical.
They explain how the world is created, why some places have waterfalls,
volcanoes, mountains, flora and fauna, in the case of legend, an explanation
of the origins of things.
In the Epics titled Hudhod & Alim (Ifugao)- the Hudhod narrates the creation of
the world and the journey of Aliguyan, a man from the village of Gonhandan, who
is endowed with supernatural and limitless powers. One episode recounts his duel
with Pumbakhayon, a warrior, who is of equal strength and agility, from a village
called Daligdigan.
 
Example for Linguistic and Ethnic Dimension:
Pre-Colonial Times
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 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.