Philippine Literature

The Philippines has a rich literary heritage. The years since the country’s colonization by Spain
have seen the flowering of poetry in a variety of languages, as varied and distinct as the
archipelago’s hundreds of dialects and ethnicities. To fully understand the literature of a country,
it is important to know its literary periods. It is also important to take a step back and analyze
how the culture and society interacted with its literary works.
The diversity and richness of Philippine literature evolved side by side with the country’s history.
This can best be appreciated in the context of the country’s pre-colonial cultural traditions and
the socio-political histories of its colonial and contemporary traditions.
The average Filipino’s unfamiliarity with his indigenous literature was largely due to what has
been impressed upon him: that his country was “discovered” and, hence, Philippine “history”
started only in 1521. So successful were the efforts of colonialists to blot out the memory of the
country’s largely oral past that present-day Filipino writers, artists and journalists are trying to
correct this inequity by recognizing the country’s wealth of ethnic traditions and disseminating
them in schools and in the mass media. The arousing of nationalistic pride in the 1960s and
1970s also helped bring about this change of attitude among a new breed of Filipinos
concerned about the “Filipino identity.”

PRECOLONIAL PERIOD
Philippine literature during the pre-colonial period presented the creativity of the early
inhabitants of the Philippine Island through speeches, folk songs, folk narratives, and
indigenous rituals highly attached to and influenced by neighboring Southeast Asian countries.
Owing to the works of our own archaeologists, ethnologists, and anthropologists, we are able to
know more and better judge information about our pre-colonial times set against a bulk of
material about early Filipinos as recorded by Spanish, Chinese, Arabic and other chroniclers of
the past. The early inhabitants of the Philippine archipelago had a native alphabet or syllabary
which among the Tagalogs was called baybayin, an inscription akin to Sanskrit. It was through
the baybayin that literary forms such as songs, riddles and proverbs, lyric and short poems as
well as parts of epic poems were written. The bulk of these early literature however was just
passed on through oral recitation and incantation and were transcribed into the Roman alphabet
only centuries later by Spanish chroniclers and other scholars. It is believed that replacement of
the baybayin by the Roman alphabet must have obliterated a significant aspect of indigenous
Philippine literature.

Characteristics of Literature from Pre-Colonial Literature

● Orally passed.
● Focuses on storytelling.
● Based on tradition
● Reflect on daily life such as farming, fishing, hunting, etc.
● May explain a natural phenomenon; or
● Serve as an entertainment.

Examples of Literature from Pre-Colonial Period

● Riddle - otherwise known as bugtong or metaphor and reveals resemblance between
two unlike objects. This may seem like a puzzle to be solved and some are ingenious yet
others are obscene or sex related.
o Malambot na parang ulap, kasama mo sa pangarap (unan)
o Kung kailan mo pinatay, saka pa humaba ang buhay (kandila)
● Proverbs - expresses norms or codes of behavior, community beliefs, or values instilled
through short and rhyming verses.
o Nasa Diyos ang awa, nasa tao ang gawa
o Pag binato ka ng bato, batuhin mo ng tinapay
● Tanaga - mono rhyming heptasyllabic quatrain expressing insights and lessons on life.

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 ● Folk Song - folk lyric that expresses hopes and aspiration of people’s lifestyle and their
loves. Often repetitive and didactic and naive.
o IIi-Ili (Ilongo) - lullabye
o Harana (Cebuano) - serenade
o Panawagon and Balitao (Ilongo) - love songs
o Tagay (Cebuano and waray) - drinking songs during carousal
o Parang sabil (Tausug of Mindanao) - narrative song. It tells of a Muslim hero who
seeks death at the hands of non-Muslims.
● Folk Narratives - explains how the world was created, how certain animals possess
characteristics and explanation of origin of things. Often exotic and magical. (ex. Why
the Fish Has Scales)
Myths - origin of things (ex. Alamat ng Pinya)
Fables - story about animals (ex. Ang Tipaklong at ang Langgam)
Epic - Story of heroic deeds and supernatural events (ex. Biag ni Lam-ang)

Authors during Pre-Colonial Period

According to Filipino historian Teodoro Agoncillo, the ethnicity with the richest history in
storytelling was the Ilocano people, whose nomadic lifestyle in the highlands bred stories of
adventures far more so than other Filipinos living in the lowlands. Ilocanos used an improvised,
versified, and sometimes impromptu, long epic poem called a dallot, delivered and narrated in a
song-like manner. The most famous of these epics was the Biag ni Lamang.

SPANISH PERIOD
Spanish colonization of the Philippines began in 1565 but it was not until the late 19th century
that significant writing in Spanish by Filipino emerged. A key reason for the late development is
that while printing was introduced in 1593 (with the first book printed in the Philippines, Doctrina
Cristiana), the conditions for a “culture of literacy” – particularly, the rise of journalism and an
educational system based on letters – developed only in the 19th century. Between 1593 and
1800, only 541 books were published in the Philippines. Before 1800, the only noteworthy
Filipino writers in Spanish were those who wrote religious literature, usually in collaboration with
the Spanish missionaries.
During Spanish colonization, Philippine literature was shaped through the introduction of religion
and institutions that gave birth to theater. Spaniards have also strongly influenced Philippine
literature in the manifestation of the first Filipino alphabet, baybayin, the prominent use of the
Spanish language, and lastly, in the forms of songs such as corridos and moro-moros.
Filipinos during this time, known as illustrados, started writing about the downside of
colonization. This era led to the formation of the Propaganda Movement, where prose works
such as the political essays that helped usher in the Philippine revolution resulted in the
downfall of the Spanish regime and, at the same time, planted the seeds of national
consciousness among Filipinos. However, in the latter days of Spanish colonization, the
dominance of the Spanish language slowly deteriorated in literature and was replaced slowly by
the English language.
The slow development of the Spanish language also drew from the ambivalence of Spanish
authorities concerning its promotion. Racist and colonialist notions dictated the dominant view
that the learning of the language by Filipinos would foster among the colonial subjects a spirit of
assertiveness and rebellion.
While it is true that Spain subjugated the Philippines for more mundane reasons, this former
European power contributed much to the shaping and recording of our literature. Religion and
institutions that represented European civilization enriched the languages in the lowlands,
introduced theater which we would come to know as komedya, the sinakulo, the sarswela, the
playlets and the drama. Spain also brought to the country, though at a much later time, liberal
ideas and internationalism that influenced our own Filipino intellectuals and writers for them to
understand the meanings of “liberty and freedom.”

Characteristics of Literature from Spanish Colonization

● Usually religious and secular.

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 ● Later speaks for liberal ideas and internationalism.
● Aims to influence Filipino with Spanish teachings.
● Calls for reform against colonization.
● Nationalistic in nature

Examples of Literature from Spanish Colonization

RELIGIOUS PROSE AND POETRY

● Religious lyrics - written by Ladino poets of those versed both in Spanish and Tagalog
where early catechism is used to teach Filipino the Spanish language.
o Fernando Bagonbanta’s “Salamat Nang Walang Hangan/Gracias de sin
Sempiternas” (Unending thanks) - example that is found in the Memorial de la
Vida Cristiana en Lengua Tagala (Guidelines for the Christian Life in the Tagalog
language) published in 1605.
● Dalit - religious lyrics that are appended to novenas or catechisms. It has no fixed meter
nor rhyme scheme but is written with octosyllabic quatrains that has solemn tone and
spiritual subject matter. (ex. Dalit kay Maria)
● Pasyon - octosyllabic quintillas that establishes Filipino's commemoration of Christ's
agony and resurrection.
o Gaspar Aquino de Belen’s “Ang Mahal na Pasion ni Jesu Cristong Panginoon
natin na tola” (Holy Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ in Verse) put out in 1704 is
the country’s earliest known pasyon.
● Religious Narratives - used for proselytization and written to prescribe decorum.
o Modesto de Castro’s “Pagsusulatan ng Dalawang Binibini na si Urbana at si
Feliza” (Correspondence between the Two Maidens Urbana and Feliza) in 1864
o Joaquin Tuason’s “Ang Bagong Robinson” (The New Robinson) in 1879, an
adaptation of Daniel Defoe’s novel.
SECULAR PROSE AND POETRY

● Awit and Korido - popular secular poetry in metrical romance. Awit is set in
dodecasyllabic quatrains, while Korido is in octosyllabic quatrains. Usually, it is consisted
of colorful tales of chivalry from European sources made for singing and chanting.
o Gonzalo de Cordoba (Gonzalo of Cordoba)
o Ibong Adarna (Adarna Bird)
o Florante at Laura

FIRST BOOKS

● Doctrina Cristiana (The Christian Doctrine) - This was the first book printed in the
Philippines in 1593 in xylography.
● Nuestra Señora del Rosario - The second book printed in the Philippines was written
by Fr. Blancas de San Jose in 1602.
● Ang Barlaan at Josephat - This is a Biblical story printed in the Philippines and
translated to Tagalog from Greek by Fr. Antonio de Borja.
● The Pasion - This is the book about the life and sufferings of Jesus Christ. It is read only
during Lent.
● Ang Mga Dalit kay Maria (Psalms for Mary) - A collection of songs praising the Virgin
Mary. Fr. Mariano Sevilla, a Filipino priest, wrote this in 1865 and it was popular
especially during “Flores de Mayo”.
RECREATIONAL PLAYS

● The Cenaculo - This is a dramatic performance to commemorate the passion and death
of Jesus Christ.
● Panunuluyan - This is presented before 12:00 on Christmas Eve. This is a presentation
of the search of the Virgin Mary and St. Joseph for an inn to deliver the baby Jesus.
● The Salubong (or Panubong) - The Salubong is an Easter play that dramatizes the
meeting of the Risen Christ and his mother.

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 ● Carillo (Shadow Play) - This is a form of dramatic entertainment performed on a
moonless night during a town fiesta or on dark nights after a harvest.
● The Zarzuela - Considered the father of the drama; it is a musical comedy or melodrama
three acts which dealt with man’s passions and emotions like love, hate, revenge,
cruelty, avarice or some social or political problem.

Authors during Spanish Period

Jose de la Cruz
On December 21, 1746, Jose de la Cruz, a Tagalog poet and mentor of Francisco Balagtas,
author of Florante at Laura, was born in Tondo, Manila. Popularly called by his nickname
"Huseng Sisiw" because of his fondness for chicks -- either as pets or for table consumption --
De la Cruz was a skilled poet and writer who could deliver on-the-spot lyric verses, and even
write dramas.

Francisco Balagtas
Francisco Balagtas was a writer and poet worthy of national pride. Huseng Sisiw became his
professor in poetry. His famous masterpiece, Florante at Laura was known to be his tribute for
his love to Maria Asuncion Rivera, whose another lover (a rival of Balagtas) caused his
imprisonment.

Jose Rizal
The Philippine Revolution brought a wave of nationalistic literary works. Many writers were
propagandists and revolutionaries; Filipino nationalists who wanted changes for the betterment
of the Filipino people, or total independence from Spanish authority. José Rizal, in full José
Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda, born June 19, 1861, in Calamba, Philippines, is a
patriot, physician, and man of letters who was an inspiration to the Philippine nationalist
movement. Most of his writing was done in Europe, where he resided between 1882 and 1892.
In 1887 Rizal published his first novel, Noli Me Tangere, a passionate exposure of the evils of
Spanish rule in the Philippines. A sequel, El Filibusterismo, established his reputation as the
leading spokesman of the Philippine reform movement.

AMERICAN PERIOD
Philippine literary production during the American Period in the Philippines was spurred by two
significant developments in education and culture. One is the introduction of free public
instruction for all children of school age and two, the use of English as medium of instruction in
all levels of education in public schools.
Free public education made knowledge and information accessible to a greater number of
Filipinos. Those who availed themselves of this education through college were able to improve
their social status and joined a good number of educated masses who became part of the
country’s middle class.
The use of English as medium of instruction introduced Filipinos to Anglo-American modes of
thought, culture and life ways that would be embedded not only in the literature produced but
also in the psyche of the country’s educated class. It was this educated class that would be the
wellspring of a vibrant Philippine Literature in English. Philippine Literature in English has its
roots in the efforts of the American forces at the turn of the century to pacify the Filipino people
and instill in them the American ideals of “universality, practicality, and democracy.” By 1901,
public education was institutionalized, with English serving as the medium of instruction. Around
600 educators arrived in that year aboard the S.S. Thomas replaced the soldiers who also
functioned as teachers. The people learned the language quickly, helped no doubt by the many
support systems, e.g., books, magazines, newspapers, etc., outside of the academe. Today,
around 80% of the population could understand and speak English.
Philippine literature in English, as a direct result of American colonization of the country, could
not escape being imitative of American models of writing especially during its period of
apprenticeship.

Characteristics of Literature from American Colonization

● Nationalism

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 ● Freedom of Speech
● Experience
● Desire for Freedom

Examples of Literature from American Colonization

● Free Verse - poetry is written without regular meter and rhymes and bloomed in the
outlets of Liwayway and Bisaya.
● Modern Verses/Poetry - traditional meter is disregarded but rhythm is observed. Free
verse in nature but may still possess traditional characteristics.
● Modern Short Story - Written to impart lessons to its readers and also instill culture.
o Paz Marquez Benitez’s “Dead Stars,” published in 1925, was the first successful
short story in English written by a Filipino.
● Modern Essays - expression of criticism developed during the American period that
connects the importance of literature in the society. Commonly aims to persuade or to
express a point in a societal argument where oppression exists.
● New Criticism - literature known as new critical aesthetics which made writers engage
towards vernacular writings that lead to contemporary period.

Notable Works during the American Period

● A Child of Sorrow – The first English Novel written in the Philippines by Zoilo Galang in
1921.
● I Am a Filipino – Written by Carlos P. Romulo
● Banaag at Sikat – Written by Lope K. Santos
● Isang Dipang Langit – Written by Amado V. Hernandez

Authors during American Period

Zoilo Galang
Zoilo Galang was a Filipino novelist and folklorist. In 1921, he published three groundbreaking
works of Filipino literature written in English, each the first of their kind in history: A Child of
Sorrow, a novel; Tales of the Philippines, a collection of legends and folktales; and Life and
Success, a collection of essays. Throughout his career, Zoilo wrote history books for elementary
school students, supervised the publication of a twenty-volume encyclopedia on the Philippines,
and published the first Filipino short story collection written in English.

Manuel Arguilla
Manuel Arguilla (1911-1944) was an Ilocano who wrote in English. As a writer, his famous
works were compiled in a book entitled How My Brother Leon Brought Home a Wife (And Other
Stories) published by the Philippine Book Guild in 1940. These stories were written when he
was 22-29 years old. This collection of stories won first prize in the short story category during
the first Commonwealth Literary Contest in 1940. Most of his stories depict life in Barrio
Nagrebcan, Bauang, La Union, where he was born in 1911.

Jose Garcia Villa

Jose Garcia Villa was born in Manila, Philippines, in 1908, and emigrated to the United States in
1929. In 1933, Villa dedicated himself exclusively to poetry and the experimental opportunities
poetry promised. His first collection, Have Come, Am Here, was published in 1942 by Viking,
and won the American Academy of Arts and Letters Award. His next book, Volume Two, was
published in 1949 by New Directions, where he served as associate editor from 1949-1951. He
went on to publish two more volumes of poetry in the United States —Selected Poems and New
(1958: McDowell, Obolensky) and Appassionata (1979: King and Cowen) — and several books
in the Philippines. He made an impact in poetry history by introducing the style of comma poetry
and the "reversed consonance rhyme scheme".

POST-COLONIAL PERIOD
As the Philippines gained its sovereignty from America, patriotism once again became a central
theme in Filipino literature. Besides stories of Filipino mythology and history, there was also a
boom in tales depicting the simple life of the common Filipino.

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Philippine literature in English came to a halt – writers in English turned to write in Filipino.
Filipino literature was given a break during this period, and topics and themes were often about
life in the provinces.
The flowering of Philippine literature in the various languages continue especially with the
appearance of new publications after the Martial Law years and the resurgence of committed
literature in the 1960s and the 1970s.
Filipino writers continue to write poetry, short stories, novellas, novels and essays whether
these are socially committed, gender/ethnic related or are personal in intention or not.

Characteristics of Literature from Post-Colonial Period

● Philippine writing in vernacular became popular.
● The writers had a better knowledge of their craft and enjoyed political activism.
● Nationalism was emphasized by young and aspiring writers.
● Revolutionary forms of literature attacked the ills of society.

Notable Works during Post-Colonial Period

● My Brother’s Peculiar Chicken by Alejandro Roces
● America Is In The Heart (1946) by Carlos Bulosan
● Rosales Saga (1973-1984) by F. Sionil Jose
● Mga Ibong Mandaragit (1969) by Amado V. Hernandez
● Conjugal Dictatorship (1976) by Primitivo Mijares.

Authors during Post-Colonial Period

Francisco Sionil Jose
Sionil Jose’s creative productions reflect the various social struggles the Filipino people have
faced and continue to face—works that are proof of his tremendous impact on our country today
and for years to come. He is best known for his Rosales Saga. This five-novel epic narrates the
lives of different generations of the Samsons that deal with the social struggles of the country.
This epic consists of The Pretenders, Tree, My Brother, My Executioner, Mass, and Po-on.

Nick Joaquin
Nick Joaquin, by the name of Nicomedes Joaquin, was a Filipino novelist, poet, playwright,
essayist, and biographer whose works present the diverse heritage of the Filipino people.
Starting as a proofreader for the Philippines Free Press, Joaquin rose to contributing editor and
essayist under the nom de plume “Quijano de Manila” (“Manila Old-Timer”). He was well known
as a historian of the brief Golden Age of Spain in the Philippines, as a writer of short stories
suffused with folk Roman Catholicism, as a playwright, and as a novelist. Joaquin wrote his
works in English.

Bienvenido Santos
Santos developed an ear for three kinds of communication: Pampango in the songs his mother
sang at home; English in the poems and stories his teacher read at school; and Tagalog in the
street life of the Tondo slums. His first two novels, Villa Magdalena and The Volcano, were
published in the Philippines in 1965. Santos became an American citizen in 1976. One year
later, the Marcos regime banned his novel about government corruption, The Praying Man and
he and his wife remained in San Francisco. Scent of Apples (1980), his only book to be
published in the United States, won the American Book Award from the Before Columbus
Foundation. He wrote more than a dozen books about exiles in both of his adopted countries,
including the short story collections including You Lovely People (1955) and Brother, My Brother
(1960).

Lualhati Bautista
Bautista started writing while she was still 16 years old, and was mainly influenced by her
parents who were into composing and poem-writing. Her first stories were published in the
magazine, Liwayway. Lualhati Bautista is known for her outstanding and award-winning novels.
Among these, are Gapo (1980), Dekada '70 (1983), and Bata, Bata, Pa'no Ka Ginawa? (1984).
All of these won the grand prize in the Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature.

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Aside from this, she has written numerous poems and short stories, some of which were
compiled in an anthology. In addition to being a novelist, Lualhati Bautista is also a movie and
television scriptwriter and a short story writer. Her first screenplay is Sakada (Seasonal
Sugarcane Workers), a story written in 1972 that exposed the plight of Filipino peasants. Copies
of the script were even confiscated by the military.

Mars Ravelo
It was around this period as well that the golden age of Filipino comics and sequential art
emerged. Marcial "Mars" Ravelo was a Filipino comic book cartoonist and graphic novelist who
created Darna, Dyesebel, Captain Barbell, Lastikman, Bondying, Varga, Wanted: Perfect
Mother, Hiwaga, Maruja, Mariposa, Roberta, Rita, Buhay Pilipino, Jack and Jill, Flash Bomba,
Tiny Tony, and Dragonna among others. Ravelo started as a cartoonist, then as a writer, and
later on as editor-in-chief for two publications houses and for several film companies.

21ST CENTURY
Filipino writers in the contemporary period have become more conscious of their art with the
proliferation of writers’ workshops here and abroad and the bulk of literature available to them
via the mass media, including the internet. The rise of mass printing and digital technology led
to better accessibility for Filipino authors who wanted to publish their work. The internet has
become a revolutionary tool for Filipino authors to reach readers outside of the Philippines.
Publishing houses like PSICOM flourished, and there was a rise in the popularity of self-
publishers and websites like Wattpad.
21st-century literature per se is anything that was written and published in the 2000s. It is a bit
too early to give a definite and elaborate description of 21st-century literature in the Philippines
and around the world. It is possible, however, to approach contemporary literature as a reaction
to and dialogue with existing forms of expressive culture. As we engage in technology more and
more, we create and discover existing forms of expressive culture as well. We have a wide
range of resources through the internet, and this has given people, especially the youth,
opportunities to begin writing and expressing their thoughts, ideas, and feelings.

Characteristics of Literature during 21st Century

Around this time, several Filipinos began to dabble in current literary trends, tackling modern
issues of diversity and mental health while also introducing international readers to Filipino
culture.

Notable Works during 21st Century

● Danny R.’s webnovel Diary ng Pangit (2013)
● Disturbance (2013) by Ivy Alvarez
● Smaller and Smaller Circles by FH Batacan
● Sink by Isabel Yap
● The Secret Origin of Spin-Man by Andrew Drilon
● Spotlight New Adult by Mina V. Esguerra
● Tall Story by Candy Gourlay
● All’s Fair in Blog and War by Chrissie Peria

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