Philippine Literature

Part I – The Historical Background of Philippine Literature

Chapter 1 Introduction to the Study of Literature 

Definition of Literature:  

 The word literature is derived from the Latin term litera which means letter. It has been defined differently
 Brother Azurin, said that “literature expresses the feelings of people to society, to the government, to his
surroundings, to his fellowmen and to his Divine Creator.” The expression of one’s feelings, according to him, may
be through love, sorrow, happiness, hatred, anger, pity, contempt, or revenge.  
 For Webster, literature is anything that is printed, as long as it is related to the ideas and feelings of people,
whether it is true, or just a product of one’s imagination.  
 In PANITIKING PILIPINO written by Atienza, Ramos, Salazar and Nazal, it says that “true literature is a piece of
written work which is undying. It expresses the feelings and emotions of people in response to his everyday
efforts to live, to be happy n his environment and, after struggles, to reach his Creator.”

Why We Need to Study Philippine Literature

 We can enumerate many reasons for studying literature.   Here are but a few:   We study literature so that we
can better appreciate our literary heritage. We cannot appreciate something that we do not understand.
Through a study of our literature, we can trace the rich heritage of ideas handed down to us from our
forefathers. Then we can understand ourselves better and take pride in being a Filipino. 
 Above all, as Filipinos, who truly love and take pride in our own culture, we have to manifest our deep
concern for our own literature and this we can do by studying the literature of our country.  

Time Frames of Philippine Literature in English  

Different opinions prevail regarding the stages that mark the development of Philippine literature in English. Let us
take the following time frames for purpose of discussion:

1. The Period of Re-orientation: 1898-1910 6. Period of Activism: 1970-1972

2. Period of Imitation: 1910-1925 7. Period of the New Society: 1972-1981

3. Period of Self-Discovery: 1925-1941 8. Period of the Third Republic: 1981-1985

4. Japanese Period: 1941-1945 9. Contemporary Period: 1986

5. The Rebirth of Freedom: 1946-1970

Literature and History  

Literature and history are closely interrelated. In discovering the history of a race, the feelings, aspirations, customs
and traditions of a people are sure to be included . . . and these feelings, aspirations, customs and traditions that are
written is literature. History can also be written and this too, is literature. Events that can be written down are part of
true literature. Literature, therefore, is part of history.

Literature and history, however, also have differences. Literature may be figments of the imagination or events devoid
of truth that have been written down, while history is made up of events that really happened.  

Literary Compositions that Have Influenced the World.

Among them are:

1. The Bible or the Sacred Writings 7. The Divine Comedy

2. Koran 8. El Cid Compeador

3. The Iliad and the Odyssey 9. The Song of Roland

4. The Mahab-harata 10. The Book of the Dead

5. Canterbury Tales 11. The Book of the Days

General Types of Literature

Literature can generally be divided into two types; prose and poetry.

-Prose consists of those written within the common flow of conversation in sentences and paragraphs, while poetry
refers to those expressions in verse, with measure and rhyme, line and stanza and has a more melodious tone.

I. PROSE

There are many types of prose. These include the following:

a. Novels. A long narrative divided into chapters and events are taken from true-to-life stories.

Example: WITHOUT SEEING THE DAWN by Stevan Javellana

b. Short story. This is a narrative involving one or more characters, one plot and one single impression. Example:
THE LAUGHTER OF MY FATHER by Carlos Bulosan

c. Plays. This is presented on a stage, is divided into acts and each act has many scenes.

Example: THIRTEEN PLAYS by Wilfredo M. Guerrero

d. Legends. These are fictitious narratives, usually about origins.

Example: THE BIKOL LEGEND by Pio Duran  

e. Fables. These are also fictitious and they deal with animals and inanimate things who speak and act like people and
their purpose is to enlighten the minds of children to events that can mold their ways and attitudes.

Example: THE MONKEY AND THE TURTLE  

f. Anecdotes. These are merely products of the writer’s imagination and the main aim is to bring out lessons to the
reader.

Example: THE MOTH AND THE LAMP

g. Essay. This expresses the viewpoint or opinion of the writer about a particular problem or event. The best example
of this is the Editorial page of a newspaper.

h. Biography. This deals with the life of a person which may be about himself, his autobiography or that of others.

Example: CAYETANO ARELLANO by Socorro O. Albert  

i. News. This is a report of everyday events in society, government, science and industry, and accidents, happening
nationally or not.  

j. Oration. This is a formal treatment of a subject and is intended to be spoken in public. It appeals to the intellect, to
the will or to the emotions of the audience.  

II. POETRY

There are three types of poetry and these are the following:  

A. Narrative Poetry. This form describes important events in life either real or imaginary.

The different varieties are:

1. Epic. This is an extended narrative about heroic exploits often under supernatural control.

Example: THE HARVEST SONG OF ALIGUYON translated in English by Amador T. Daguio

2. Metrical Tale. This is a narrative which is written in verse and can be classified either as a ballad or a metrical
romance.

-Examples: BAYANI NG BUKID by Al Perez HERO OF THE FIELDS by Al Perez

3. Ballads. Of the narrative poems, this is considered the shortest and simplest. It has a simple structure and tells of a
single incident. There are also variations of these: love ballads, war ballads, and sea ballads, humorous, moral, and
historical or mythical ballads. In the early time, this referred to a song accompanying a dance.  

B. Lyric Poetry. Originally, this refers to that kind of poetry meant to be sung to the accompaniment of a lyre, but
now, this applies to any type of poetry that expresses emotions and feelings of the poet. They are usually short, simple
and easy to understand. 

1. Folksongs (Awiting Bayan). These are short poems intended to be sung. The common theme is love, despair, grief,
doubt, joy, hope and sorrow. 

Example: CHIT-CHIRIT-CHIT

2.  Sonnets. This is a lyric poem of 14 lines dealing with an emotion, a feeling, or an idea. These are two types: the
Italian and the Shakespearean.

Example: SANTANG BUDS by Alfonso P. Santos  

3. Elegy. This is a lyric poem which expresses feelings of grief and melancholy, and whose theme is death.

Example: THE LOVER’S DEATH by Ricaredo Demetillo  

4. Ode. This is a poem of a noble feeling, expressed with dignity, with no definite number of syllables or definite
number of lines in a stanza.  

5. Psalms (Dalit). This is a song praising God or the Virgin Mary and containing a philosophy of life.

6. Awit (Song). These have measures of twelve syllables (dodecasyllabic) and slowly sung to the accompaniment of a
guitar or banduria.

Example: FLORANTE AT LAURA by Franciso Balagtas

7. Corridos (Kuridos). These have measures of eight syllables (octosyllabic) and recited to a martial beat.

Example: IBONG ADARNA  

C. Dramatic Poetry  

1. Comedy. The word comedy comes from the Greek term “komos” meaning festivity or revelry. This form usually is
light and written with the purpose of amusing, and usually has a happy ending.  

2. Melodrama. This is usually used in musical plays with the opera. Today, this is related to tragedy just as the farce is
to comedy. It arouses immediate and intense emotion and is usually sad but there is a happy ending for the principal
character.  

3. Tragedy. This involves the hero struggling mightily against dynamic forces; he meets death or ruin without success
and satisfaction obtained by the protagonist in a comedy.

4. Farce. This is an exaggerated comedy. It seeks to arouse mirth by laughable lines; situations are too ridiculous to be
true; the characters seem to be caricatures and the motives undignified and absurd.  

5. Social Poems. This form is either purely comic or tragic and it pictures the life of today. It may aim to bring about
changes in the social conditions.  
Chapter 2 - The Pre-Spanish Period  
Historical Background  
 Our ancestors also had their own alphabet which was different from that brought by the Spaniards. The first
alphabet used by our ancestors was similar to that of the Malayo- Polynesian alphabet.  
 Whatever record our ancestors left were either burned by the Spanish friars in the belief that they were
works of the devil or were written on materials that easily perished, like the barks of trees, dried leaves and
bamboo cylinders which could not have remained undestroyed even if efforts were made to preserve them.  
Pre-Spanish Literature is characterized by   :
A. LEGENDS. Legends are a form of prose the common theme of which is about the origin of a thing, place, location
or name. The events are imaginary, devoid of truth and unbelievable. Old Filipino customs are reflected in these
legends. Its aim is to entertain. Here is an example of a legend is THE LEGEND OF THE TAGALOGS.
B. FOLK TALES. Folk tales are made up of stories about life, adventure, love, horror and humor where one can derive
lessons about life. These are useful to us because they help us appreciate our environment, evaluate our personalities
and improve our perspectives in life. An example of this is THE MOON AND THE SUN.  
C. THE EPIC AGE. Epics are long narrative poems in which a series of heroic achievements or events, usually of a hero,
are dealt with at length. Nobody can determine which epics are the oldest because in their translations from other
languages, even in English and Spanish. We can only determine their origins from the time mentioned in the said
epics.
Aside from the aforementioned epics, there are still other epics that can be read and studied like the following epics.

a. Bidasari-Moro epic
b. Biag ni Lam-ang-Ilokano epic h. Parang Sabir-Moro epic
c. Maragtas-Visayan epic i. “Dagoy” at “Sudsod”-Tagbanua epic
d. Haraya-Visayan epic j. Tatuaang-Bagobo epic
e. Lagda-Visayan epic k. Indarapatra at Sulayman
f. Hari sa Bukid-Visayan epic l. Bantugan
g. Kumintang-Tagalog epic m. Daramoke-A-Babay – Moro epic in “Darangan”

D. FOLK SONGS. Folk songs are one of the oldest forms of Philippine literature that emerged in the pre-Spanish
period. These songs mirrored the early forms of culture. Many of these have 12 syllables. Here are the examples:
a. Kundiman
b. Kumintang o Tagumpay
- c. Ang Dalit o Imno
d. Ang Oyayi o Hele
e. Diana
f. Soliraning
g. Talindaw

OTHER FORMS OF PRE-SPANISH POETRY

E. Epigrams, Riddles, Chants, Maxims, Proverbs or Sayings
1. Epigrams (Salawikain). These have been customarily used and served as laws or rules on good behavior by our
ancestors. To others, these are like allegories or parables that impart lessons for the young.  
2. Riddles (Bugtong) or Palaisipan. These are made up of one or more measured lines with rhyme and may consist
of four to 12 syllables.
3. Chant (Bulong). Used in witchcraft or enchantment.
4. Maxims. Some are rhyming couplets with verses of 5, 6 or 8 syllables, each line having the same number of
syllables.
5. Sayings (Kasabihan). Often used in teasing or to comment on a person’s actuations.
6. Sawikain (Sayings with no hidden meanings)