UNIT I- 21ST LITERATURE IN VARIOUS

REGIONS

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Lesson 1- Philippine Literature during the Precolonial
Period
Objective:

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to identify the characteristics
of precolonial literature of the Philippines.

What texts are considered precolonial literature?

Learn about it!

The precolonial literature includes all literature produced before the

Spanish colonization like chants, proverbs, songs, and folk narratives. These
were all passed down from generation to generation by word of mouth.

Philippine folk narratives are varied and distinct. They depict the people’s
livelihood, customs, and traditions.

1. Folktale – This is a characteristically anonymous, timeless, and

placeless tale circulated orally among a people.
2. Fable – This features animal characters or inanimate objects that
behave like people.

3. Legend – This is presented as history but is unlikely to be true.

4. Myth – This is told to explain a belief, a practice, or a natural

phenomenon.

5. Epic – This narrative poem celebrates the adventures and

achievements of a hero.

Folktales
 Folktales about Juan are very popular. Some emphasize certain
virtues, and some serve as warning about behavior. Also, some are for
the reader’s amusement.

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Example 1:
Juan Gathers Guavas (A Tagalog Folktale)

One day several neighbors came to Juan’s home to visit. His father wanted
to give the guests something to eat, so he sent Juan to get some ripe
guavas for them.

Full of mischief, Juan decided to play a joke on his father’s guests. He went
to get the guavas and ate all of them while thinking of a good joke. Then he
saw a wasp’s nest hung nearby. With some difficulty he managed to take it
down and put it into a tight basket. He hastened home and gave the basket
to his father. Quickly he left the room where the guests were and closed the
door and fastened it.

As soon as Juan’s father opened the basket, the wasps flew over the room.
With the door locked, the people fought to get out of the windows. After a
while Juan opened the door. When he saw the swollen faces of the people,
he cried.

“What fine, rich guavas you must have had! They have made you all so fat!”
Example 2:
Juan Pusong and His Father’s Cows (A Visayan Folktale)

One day Juan Pusong's father put his cows out to pasture. Juan slipped
away from home and took the cows into the forest and tied them there.
When his father found out that the cows were missing, he looked around for
them. While looking, he ran into his son.

“Where did you come from?” he asked.

“I just came from school, Father. How about you, where are you going?”

“I am looking for our cows.”

“You don’t say!" said Juan.

By that time, everybody knew about Juan’s power as a seer. So, he took a
little book from his pocket and looked into it. He said, “Our cows are tied
together in the forest.” So, his father went to the forest and found the cows.

Later on, people would discover that Juan could not read even his own
name. Consequently, his father beat him for the trick he had played on him.

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Fable
 The monkey is a common animal character in Philippine fables. It is
often depicted as a cunning animal.

Example:
The Monkey and the Crocodile (A Tagalog Fable)

One day, a monkey saw a tall macopa tree laden with ripe fruits, which
stood by a wide river. It was hungry, so it climbed the tree and ate all of the
fruits. When it climbed down, it could find no means by which to cross the
river. Then it saw a young crocodile who had just woken up from its siesta.
It said to the crocodile in a friendly way, “My dear crocodile, will you do me
a favor?”

The crocodile was greatly surprised by the monkey’s amicable salutation.

So, it answered humbly, “Oh, yes! If there is anything I can do for you, I shall
be glad to do it.” The monkey then told the crocodile that it wanted to get to
the other side of the river. Then the crocodile said, “I’ll take you there with
all my heart. Just sit on my back, and we’ll go at once.”

The monkey sat firmly on the crocodile’s back, and they began to move. In a
short while they reached the middle of the stream. Then the crocodile began
to laugh aloud. “You foolish monkey!” it said, “I’ll eat your liver and kidneys,
for I’m very hungry.” The monkey became nervous. Trying to conceal its
anxiety, it said, “I’m very glad that you mentioned the matter. I thought
myself that you might be hungry, so I have prepared my liver and kidneys for
your dinner. Unfortunately, in our haste to depart, I left them hanging on the
macopa tree. Let us return, and I’ll get them for you.”

Convinced that the monkey was telling the truth, the crocodile turned
around and swam back to the direction of the macopa tree. When they got
near the riverbank, the monkey nimbly jumped up onto the land and
scampered up the tree. The crocodile came to realize what happened and
said, “I am a fool.”

Legend
 There are different Filipino legends of the great flood. The story of
Bukidnon, for instance, tells that a huge crab caused the water to rise
by going into the sea. On the other hand, the Igorot story tells that the
sons of Lumawig the Great Spirit caused the flood.

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Example 1:
The Flood Story (A Legend of Bukidnon)

A long time ago there was a very big crab which crawled into the sea. When
it went in, it crowded the water out so that it ran all over the earth and
covered all the land.

Now about one moon before the flood happened, a wise man had told the
people that they must build a large raft. They did as he commanded and cut
many large trees until they had enough to make three layers. These they
bound tightly together; when it was done, they fastened the raft with a long
rattan cord to a big pole in the earth.

Soon after the raft was done, the flood came. White water poured out of the
hills, and the sea rose and covered even the highest mountains. The people
and animals on the raft were safe, but all the others drowned.

Soon the waters went down, and the raft was again on the ground. It was
near their old home, for the rattan cord had held.

The people on the raft together with the animals were the only ones left on
the whole earth.

Example 2:
The Flood Story (A Legend of the Igorot)

Once upon a time, the world was flat, and there were no mountains. There
lived two sons of Lumawig, the Great Spirit. The brothers were fond of
hunting; since no mountains had formed, there was no good place to catch
wild pig and deer. The older brother said, “Let us cause water to flow over
all the world and cover it, and then mountains will rise up.”

So, the brothers caused water to flow over all the earth. When it was
covered, they took the head-basket of the town and set it for a trap. They
were very much pleased when they went to look at their trap, for they had
caught not only many wild pigs and deer but also many people.

Lumawig looked down from his place in the sky and saw that his sons had
flooded the earth. However, there was just one spot which was not covered.
All the people in the world had been drowned except a brother and a sister
who lived in Pokis.

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Then Lumawig descended, and he called to the boy and girl, saying, “Oh, you
are still alive.”

“Yes,” answered the boy, “we are still alive, but we are very cold.”

So, Lumawig commanded his dog and deer to get fire for the boy and girl.
The dog and the deer swam quickly away. Lumawig waited a long time, but
the dog and the deer did not return. All the time the boy and girl were
growing colder.

Finally, Lumawig himself went after the dog and the deer. When he reached
them, he said, “Why are you so long in bringing the fire to Pokis? Get ready
and come quickly while I watch you, for the boy and girl are very cold.”

Then the dog and the deer took the fire and started to swim through the
flood. When they had gone only a little way, the fire was put out.

Lumawig commanded the dog and the deer to get more fire, and they did so.
However, they swam only a little way again when that of the deer went out.
That of the dog would have been extinguished also had not Lumawig gone
quickly to him and taken it.

As soon as Lumawig reached Pokis, he built a big fire which warmed the
brother and sister. The water evaporated so that the world was as it was
before, except that now there were mountains. The brother and sister
married and had children, and thus there came to be many people on the
earth.

Myth
 There are Philippine versions of the creation myth. The Igorot’s story
tells that Lumawig the Great Spirit created people. On the other hand,
the Tagalog story tells that the first man and woman came from a
bamboo.

Example 1:
The Creation (An Igorot Myth)

In the beginning, there were no people on the earth. Lumawig, the Great
Spirit, came down from the sky and cut many reeds. He divided the reeds
into pairs which he placed in different parts of the world, and then he said
to them, “You must speak.” Immediately the reeds became people, and in

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each place was a man and a woman who could talk. However, the language
of each couple differed from that of the others.

Then Lumawig commanded each man and woman to marry, which they did.
By and by there were many children, all speaking the same language as
their parents. The children married and had many children of their own. In
this way, there came to be many people on the earth.

Now Lumawig saw that there were several things which the people on the
earth needed to use, so he set to work to supply them. He created salt and
told the inhabitants of one place to boil it down and sell it to their neighbors.
However, the people could not understand the directions. The next time he
visited them, they had not touched the salt. So, he took the salt away from
them and gave it to the people of a place called Mayinit.

The people of Mayinit did as Lumawig directed. Because of their obedience,

he told them that they should always be owners of the salt and that the
other peoples must buy of them.

Then Lumawig went to the people of Bontoc and told them to get clay and
make pots. They got the clay, but they did not understand the molding; the
jars were not well shaped. Because of their failure, Lumawig told them that
they would always have to buy their jars, and he removed the pottery to
Samoki.

Lumawig told the people of Samoki what to do, and they did just as he said.
Their jars were well shaped and beautiful. Then Lumawig saw that they
were fit owners of the pottery, and he told them that they should always
make many jars to sell.

In this way, Lumawig taught the people and brought to them all the things
which they now have.

Example 2:
The Creation (A Tagalog Myth)

When the world first began there was no land. There were only the sea and
the sky, and between them was a kite. One day the bird which had nowhere
to light grew tired of flying about, so she stirred up the sea until it threw its
waters against the sky. The sky, in order to restrain the sea, showered upon
it many islands until it could no longer rise, but ran back and forth. Then the
sky ordered the kite to alight on one of the islands to build its nest, and to
leave the sea and the sky in peace.
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Now at this time the land breeze and the sea breeze were married, and they
had a bamboo as their child. One day when the bamboo was floating about
on the water, it struck the feet of the kite which was on the beach. The bird,
angry that anything should strike it, pecked at the bamboo. Out of one
section came a man and from the other a woman.

The earthquake called on all the birds and fish to see what should be done
with the man and the woman, and it was decided that they should marry.
Many children were born to the couple, and from them came all the different
races of people.

After a while the parents grew very tired of having so many idle and useless
children around. They wished to be rid of them, but they knew of no place to
send them to. Time went on, and the children became so numerous that the
parents enjoyed no peace. One day, in desperation, the father seized a stick
and began beating them on all sides.

The beating frightened the children so much that they fled in different
directions. Some seek hidden rooms in the house. Some concealed
themselves in the walls. Some ran outside, while others hid in the fireplace.
Several fled to the sea.

Now it happened that those who went into the hidden rooms of the house later became the chiefs of
the islands; and those who concealed themselves in the walls became slaves. Those who ran outside
were free men; and those who hid in the fireplace became negroes; while those who fled to the sea
were gone many years, and when their children came back they were the white people.

Epic
 The Philippine epics are sung or chanted in episodes. They feature
supernatural characters and reflect the society where they originated.
Also, there are different versions of a story.

Examples:
Biag ni Lam-ang

This Ilocano epic tells the adventures of Lam-ang, a man with supernatural
powers. He goes to war at nine-months-old and seeks the killers of his
father. He embarks on a quest with his animal friends and meets his future
wife, Innes Kanoyan. He is swallowed by a fish and resurrected from death
by his animal friends.
Hinilawod

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This epic is of the Sulod, a group of people living in the mountains of central
Panay. It tells the story of three very strong men, namely, Labaw Donggon,
Humadapnon, and Dumalapdap. They are the sons of Datu Paubari, the ruler
of Halawod, and the goddess Alunsina. The exploits of each son concerns
beautiful women that he wants to have as a wife.
Darangan

This Maranao epic depicts the adventures of a brave warrior named

Bantugan. He owns a magical sword protected by a spirit. After a battle, he
rests and accidentally falls into the water. A crocodile finds him and brings
him to the enemies. He fights, regains his strength, and wins the war.

Summary

The precolonial literature of the Philippines includes all literature produced

before the Spanish colonization. It includes chants, proverbs, songs, spells,
and different folk narratives like folk tales, fables, legends, myths, and epics
that were all passed down from generation to generation through the word
of mouth.

Lesson 2- Philippine Literature during the Spanish

Colonial Period
Objectives
____________________________________________________________________________________

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

 name some literary works published during the Spanish Colonial

Period, and
 analyze some literary works.

What literary works were published during the Spanish occupation of the
Philippines?
What do those works reflect about the life of Filipinos during this period in
history?
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Learn about it!

Notes on the Spanish Colonial Period (1521–1898)

 Expeditions to the Philippines were sent by Spain in the 16th century.
In their conquest, the Spaniards brought Christianity with them. The
clergy made a great impact on faith, education, and government.
 Through the Manila-Acapulco trade (1565–1815), liberal ideas entered
the country. Also, the trade gave rise to a wealthier middle class.
Children in middle class families could then be sent to Europe to get
an education. Upon their return, they brought European ideals of
liberty and freedom with them. Such ideals would then give rise to
Filipino nationalism.

Philippine Literature during the Spanish Occupation

The Spanish missionaries taught the gospel through the native language, so
they hired natives to translate Spanish religious instructional materials.
Eventually, the natives became fluent in Spanish and became known as
ladinos.

Ladinos mainly wrote devotional poetry. Two of them were Fernando

Bagongbanta and Gaspar Aquino de Belen. Bagongbanta wrote “Salamat
nang walang hanga/gracias de sin sempiternas,” which appeared
in Memorial de la vida cristiana en lengua tagala(1605), a book containing
basic Catholic doctrines. On the other hand, de Belen wrote “Ang Mahal na
Passion ni Jesu Christong Panginoon natin na tola” (1704), the earliest
version of pasyon.

Also, the native drama called the komedya or moro-moro was popular. It
depicted the war between Christians and Muslims, wherein the former
always wins. The poet Jose de la Cruz (1746–1829) was a master of such art
form.

Native literature continued. Though the Spaniards destroyed the written

literature in their effort to replace it with their own, the oral tradition
survived and flourished in areas beyond the reach of the Spaniards.

Francisco Baltazar (1788-1862), the master of traditional Tagalog poetry,

became well-known for his work Florante at Laura (1838–1861), the most
famous metrical romance of the country.

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Pedro Paterno (1857–1911) wrote Sampaguitas y poesias varias (1880), the
first poetry collection in Spanish by a Filipino; and the novel in
Spanish Ninay (1885), considered to be the first Filipino novel.

Jose Rizal (1861–1896), a prominent ilustrado and the country’s national

hero, is famous for the novels Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo. These
novels portray the corruption and abuse of the Spanish officials and the
clergy.

Andres Bonifacio (1863–1897), the founder of the Katipunan, wrote the poem
“Pag-ibig sa Tinubuang Bayan.” This poem appeared in the Kalayaan, the
official newspaper of the Katipunan, in March 1896.

Leona Florentino (1849–1884), known as the “mother of Philippine women’s

literature,” was a poet in both Ilocano and Spanish. Twenty of her poems
were preserved and exhibited in Europe. The poems were included in the
Encyclopedia International des Oeuvres des Femme in 1889.

Summary
Philippine Literature during the Spanish occupation was mostly influenced
by Christianity as well as the European ideals of liberty and freedom through
trade. Filipino writers either wrote in Spanish or in their own tongue or both.

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Lesson 3- Philippine Literature during the American
and the Japanese Periods
Objectives

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

 identify some Filipino writers who produced significant works of

literature during the American and Japanese Periods (1898–1945), and
 analyze a poem by the Filipino poet Fernando Maramag.

Who wrote during the American and Japanese Periods?

What kind of literary forms did they produce?
What were the usual themes in their works?

Learn about it!

Notes on the American Occupation

(1898–1940)
 The US established a civil government in 1901. Free public education
was introduced. Also, English was the medium of instruction.
 In 1934, President Roosevelt signed a bill making the Philippines a
commonwealth. On May 14, 1935 Manuel L. Quezon was elected
president.

Literary Works Produced

The production of literary works in English is the direct result of the
American colonization of the Philippines. The first collection of poetry in
English is Filipino Poetry(1924), edited by Rodolfo Dato. The short story
“Dead Stars” (1925) by Paz Marquez Benitez is considered as the first
Filipino modern short story in English. A Child of Sorrow (1921) by Zoilo M.
Galang is the first Filipino novel in English. The novel His Native Soil (1940)
by Juan C. Laya won first prize in the First Commonwealth Literary Awards in
1940.

Filipino writers in English during the apprenticeship period (1900–1930)

imitated American writing. The poet Fernando Maramag writes in the
Romantic tradition in his sonnet “Moonlight on Manila Bay” (1912). Filipino
fictionists copied Sherwood Anderson, William Saroyan, and Ernest
Hemingway. Jose Garcia Villa used the Anderson pattern. Manuel Arguilla

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and N. V. M. Gonzalez were influenced by Anderson and Hemingway.
Francisco Arcellana was influenced by Saroyan.

Notes on the Japanese Occupation

(1941–1945)
 On December 8, 1941, the Japanese attacked Manila.
 On January 2, 1942, Japanese occupied Manila. They set up a Council
of State in the country and started propaganda to remold the Filipinos.

 In October 1943 the Japanese declared the Philippines “independent.”

On September 20, Jose P. Laurel was elected president.

 MacArthur and his Allied forces returned to the country in 1944. They
landed on Leyte on October 20, and the biggest naval battle in history
ensued.

 The Japanese surrendered formally on September 2, 1945.

Literary Works Produced

During the occupation, publications were censored by the military. Also,
Tagalog was declared an official language (together with Nihonggo). In
effect, Philippine literature in English came to a halt. Some Filipino writers
then turned to writing in Filipino.

The Tagalog short story reached its maturity during the period. The best
works were compiled by the Liwayway magazine editors in Ang
Pinakamabuting Maikling Kathang Pilipino ng 1943, which came out in 1944.
It is a collection of stories that won a contest sponsored by the Japanese.
The top four stories were “Lupang Tinubuan” by Narciso G. Reyes, “Uhaw
ang Tigang na Lupa” by Liwayway Arceo, “Nayon at Dagat-dagatan” by N. V.
M. Gonzalez, and “Suyuan sa Tubigan” by Macario Pineda.

Summary

The American occupation of the Philippines spurred the writing of Filipinos

in English. On the other hand, the Japanese occupation censored literary
works yet contributed to the maturity of the Tagalog short story.

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Lesson 4- Philippine Literature in the Postwar and
Contemporary Period

Objective:

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to identify postwar and
contemporary literary authors and their works and name their contributions
to the development of literature in the Philippines.

What are the literary works published during the postwar and contemporary
period in literature?

Learn about it!

Postwar and Contemporary Literature

Postwar and contemporary literature include all literary works written

and published in the Philippines from 1946.

After World War II, the Philippines had to deal with the economy and the
need for rehabilitation and reconstruction of infrastructures. There was
political, economic, and social confusion, as well as great poverty, and
these issues found their way into the short stories and novels during that
time.

During the postwar period, Filipino writers got their inspiration from
American teachers and were able to learn their techniques, which also
helped in mastering the English language.

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Writers wrote fiction that focused on courageous deeds as well as the
sacrifices and suffering in the lives of Filipinos. It was also common for
writers to write about the experiences of the Filipino people under the
Spanish and American rule and the Japanese Occupation. Other subjects
and themes include:

 religious faith
 superstitions

 fantasy

 social problems

 poverty

 politics

 nationalism

 morality

Literary Works
Philippine literature flourished even more during the postwar and
contemporary period. Writers were able to produce short stories, novels,
essays, and poems that continue to be read by Filipinos today.

Examples:
Some works written in the postwar and contemporary period are:

May Day Eve by Nick Joaquin, 1947

Waywaya by F. Sionil Jose, 1983
We Filipinos Are Mild Drinkers by Alejandro Roces, 1948
The Return by Edith L. Tiempo
History and Philippine Culture by Horacio de la Costa, 1965
Without Seeing the Dawn by Stevan Javellana, 1947

Explanation:
Nick Joaquin, a National Artist for Literature awardee, wrote articles under
the name of Quijano de Manila. His short story "May Day Eve," published in
1947, is about love in a patriarchal society. It also made use of magic
realism.

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F. Sionil Jose, one of the most widely read Filipino writers in English, wrote
the short story "Waywaya," which is about pre-Hispanic society and the
people’s struggle for moral order.

Alejandro Roces, a Filipino author, essayist, and dramatist, wrote the short
story "We Filipinos Are Mild Drinkers." This story focuses on the drinking
habits and culture of Filipinos and Americans.

Edith L. Tiempo's poem "The Return" is a sentimental piece that talks about
life in old age.

Horacio de la Costa wrote the essay "History and Philippine Culture," which
emphasizes the importance of understanding and presenting a nation’s
culture.

Stevan Javellana wrote the first postwar Filipino novel in English, Without
Seeing the Dawn. This novel narrates what people experienced during World
War II under the Japanese rule in the Philippines.

Tip

To be able to fully appreciate literature in the Philippines, as a reader and a

critic, you must also be aware of the country’s history, culture, society, and
psyche (human spirit).

Lesson 5- Life and Works of Jose Garcia Villa

Objective

At the end of the lesson, you should be able to recognize Jose Garcia Villa’s
contributions to the development of Philippine literature.

Who is Jose Garcia Villa?

What are his contributions to Philippine literature?

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Learn about it!

Jose Garcia Villa

 Jose Garcia Villa was a Filipino literary critic, poet, painter, and short
story writer. He was born on August 5, 1908 in Manila.
 He gained both local and international recognition for his works. He
was named as the National Artist for Literature in 1973, and he was
also a recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship.

 During his college years, he wrote Man Songs, a collection of

controversial poems that was considered too bold by the University of
the Philippines and became the ground for his suspension from the
said institution.

 Some of his well-known literary works are "Mir-i-nisa" (won in the

Philippines Free Press in 1929), and "Footnote to Youth" (published in
1933).

Jose Garcia Villa as a Poet

 As a poet, Jose Garcia Villa is known for introducing the reversed
consonance rhyme scheme. According to Villa, in this method, the last
sounded consonants of the last syllable, or the last principal
consonant of a word, are reversed for the corresponding rhyme. Thus,
a rhyme for light would be words such as tile, tall, tale, etc.
 He is also known for his comma poems, where he employed a comma
after every word.

 He used the pseudonym Doveglion, which is derived from dove, eagle,

lion.

 He died on July 7, 1997.

Analyzing a writer's works will help you understand and identify his or her
contributions to Philippine literature.

Example:
One of Jose Garcia Villa's well-known works is "Footnote to Youth."

a. Setting
The short story is set in a small town.

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b. Plot

 Exposition
Dodong, a seventeen-year-old boy, tells his parents that he wants to
marry his girlfriend Teang.
 Rising Action
Teang secretly regrets marrying Dodong at a young age. She wonders
what can happen if she has married Lucio, who is nine years older than
Dodong.

 Climax
Dodong wonders why life does not get to fulfill all of a youth’s dreams.

 Falling Action
Blas tells Dodong about his plan to marry Tona.

 Conclusion
Dodong wants to keep Blas from marrying Tona, but he cannot do
anything about it. He feels sorry for Blas.

c. Theme
The story focuses on the consequences of marrying at an early age and
starting a family.

Explanation:
In the story "Footnote to Youth," Dodong is the symbol for the Filipino youth.
His decision to marry his love interest, Teang, at the age of seventeen
demonstrates the passion of teenagers when it comes to relationships.

Those of the younger generation usually strive for new pursuits to learn
things on their own, often rejecting their elders’ guidance. From the story, it
is depicted that lessons are learned through experience. Dodong, as well as
Teang, had many realizations when he became a parent.

Tips

 In analyzing a literary work, make sure that you read it

thoroughly and analyze it well.
 Study the background of the author, as this will give you insights
regarding the setting of the story and the historical and/or social
influences of the time and place in which the author lived.

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  Analyze the concepts presented in the literary work by relating them
to practices and traditions in the Philippines or in the place used as
the setting of the story.

Lesson 6- Life and Works of Carlos P. Romulo

Objective

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to identify Carlos P. Romulo's
contributions to the development of Philippine literature.

Who is Carlos P. Romulo?

What are his contributions to the development of Philippine literature?

Learn about it!

Carlos P. Romulo
 Carlos P. Romulo was a Filipino diplomat, statesman, journalist, and
soldier. He was born on January 14, 1898 in Intramuros, Manila and
grew up in Camiling, Tarlac.
 He was the first Filipino journalist who was awarded with the Pulitzer
Prize in Journalism. He was also the first Asian who served as the
president of the United Nations General Assembly.

 "I am a Filipino" is one of the many essays written by Carlos P. Romulo.

It was published in The Philippines Herald in August 1941.

 He also wrote the book entitled I Saw the Fall of the Philippines, in
which he narrated his personal experiences as an aide-de-camp to
General Douglas MacArthur in Corregidor. This book was followed by a
sequel, I See the Philippines Rise, a journalistic account of the
Philippine War in 1944.

 Among his other famous literary works are Mother America: A Living
Story of Democracy, a discussion of his political ideals about American

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 democracy in the Philippines, and I Walked with Heroes, his
autobiography.

 He was conferred as National Artist for Literature in 1982.

 He died on December 15, 1985.

About the Essay I am a Filipino

 I am a Filipino is one of the valuable contributions of Carlos P. Romulo
to Philippine literature. Analyzing it would help one understand what
he thinks of the Filipino and what it means to be one.
 In the essay, the author speaks of the pride and dignity of the Filipino
race, which is something he wants the future generation to uphold and
cultivate.

 The essay also explains the Filipino identity as a product of the fusion
of Western culture (Spanish and American) and Eastern culture
(Japanese occupation and Malayan roots).

 Carlos P. Romulo stresses that the fight for freedom sprung up from
one’s pride of being a Filipino. He takes pride in the bravery and
sacrifices of the heroes who fought for freedom like Lapu-Lapu , Diego
Silang, Jose Rizal , Gregorio del Pilar, Antonio Luna, and Manuel L.
Quezon.

 He also emphasizes the beauty of the Philippines as blessed with

bountiful natural resources and colorful history and culture.

Summary

Carlos P. Romulo is a profound writer who wrote the essay I am a Filipino,

which is one of the great contributions to Philippine literature not only
because it shows one’s love for his country and freedom but also of being
proud as a Filipino.

20
Lesson 7- Life and Works of Francisco Arcellana

Objective

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to identify the contributions of
Francisco Arcellana to Philippine literature by analyzing his literary works.

Who is Francisco Arcellana? What are his contributions to Philippine

literature?

Learn about it!

Francisco Arcellana
 Francisco Arcellana is a Filipino teacher and a contemporary writer. He
is one of the prominent Filipino fictionists in English.
 He is known for innovating and exploring new literary forms and
experimenting with different techniques in short story writing.

21
  He was a member of the group The Veronicans, which was composed
of influential Filipino writers who aimed to use sensible literature in
order to create a greater impact on the Philippines.

 He was also the first director of the University of the Philippines

Creative Writing Center.

 Some of his well-known literary works are the short stories "The Man
Who Would Be Poe," "Death in a Factory," "A Clown Remembers," "The
Mats," and "Lina."

 In 1990, he was awarded as the National Artist for Literature.

 His short stories "Flowers of May," "Christmas Gift," and "The Mats,"
were adapted as screenplays.

Analyzing a writer's literary works will help in identifying his contributions

to Philippine literature.

Example:
Below are details regarding Francisco Arcellana's "The Mats."

a. Setting
The short story is set in the afternoon until evening at the house of the
Angeles family.

b. Plot

 Exposition
Mr. Angeles comes from a periodic inspection trip in Mariveles. During
the trip, he writes to his family and gets them excited about the
exceptionally beautiful and colorful mats he bought from an artist.
 Rising Action
Upon arriving, he gives the mats one by one to his children. Each mat
is woven with his child’s name and symbols. They are all happy to
receive the mats.

 Climax
There are three mats that are to be unfolded. In a loud voice, he offers
the three mats to his dead children named Josefina, Victoria, and
Concepcion.

22
  Falling Action
Nana Emilia, anguished, said he should not have bought mats for them,
but Mr. Angeles insists that they must be remembered.

 Conclusion
The children feel the tension and see the grief in the face of Mr.
Angeles and the sadness of Nana Emilia. The father unfolds the three
mats in silence.

 c. Theme
Coping with the death of a loved one is a struggle. Commemorating his
or her life is painful, but it must be faced with courage and faith.
 Explanation:

 Francisco Arcellana presented the story using a distinct style. He

focused on the characters' actions and dialogues to reveal the
innermost feelings and motives of the characters, which set the
dramatic tone of the short story.

Summary

Francisco Arcellana is a Filipino fictionist who demonstrated his

craftsmanship in writing great literary pieces such as "The Mats," a story
that highlights Filipino family values and pictures an interesting character
coping with the death of loved ones. In this short story, he uses writing
techniques such as emphasizing the characters’ actions and dialogues to
reveal their inner motives and emotions.

23
Lesson 8- Life and Works of Nestor Vicente Madali
(N.V.M.) Gonzalez

Objective

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to analyze literary works by
N.V.M. Gonzalez and name his contributions to the development of Philippine
literature.

What are N.V.M. Gonzalez's contributions to the development of Philippine

literature?

Learn about it!

N.V.M. Gonzalez
 Nestor Vicente Madali Gonzalez is an award-winning Filipino poet,
essayist, fictionist, journalist, editor, and teacher of creative writing.
 He is the first president of the Philippine Writers’ Association.

 He is also honored as one of the great Filipino writers who advanced

literary traditions and culture.

 He was a recipient of the following awards: The Republic Cultural

Heritage Award, the Jose Rizal Pro-Patria Award, the Carlos Palanca
Memorial Award for Literature, and the National Artist Award for
Literature in 1997.

 Some of his published works are Seven Hills Away (1947), Children of
the Ash-Covered Loam and Other Stories (1954), and The Bamboo
Dancers (1949), which appeared in Russian translation in 1965 and
1974.

 Seven Hills Away is a collection of short stories that sketch the daily
lives of the Filipino kaingeros in his hometown province, Mindoro.

 The Bamboo Dancers is a diasporic novel that features the challenges

faced by Filipinos in America.

24
Carefully analyzing the works of a writer will help in determining what his
works have contributed to literature.

Example:
"Children of the Ash-Covered Loam" is a short story that depicts Filipino
family practices and beliefs in a rural setting.

a. Setting
The story is set in a provincial place where kaingin is a common practice.

b. Plot

 Exposition
The story begins one sunny afternoon when Tarang’s father arrives
with a pig to be taken care of by Tarang, a seven-year-old boy.
 Rising Action
Tia Orang, an old midwife, sees Tarang and tells him to inform his
mother of her passing by.

 Climax
Tatay and Nanay, Tarang’s parents, together with their neighbors are all
set for performing religious rites after kaingin (burning of trees). They
believe that these practices will take away all evil spirits and will give
them a bountiful harvest. Tatay lays the pullet’s neck and lets the
streaks of blood drop on the ash-covered loam.

 Falling Action
After the clearing of the land, Tia Orang visits the family and
performs hilot on Nanay and tells her that she is ready to bear a child.
She also shares stories of evil ones and spirits.

 Conclusion
Tarang, half-awake, hears the noise outside, gets up, and accidentally
strikes a tree stump with his big toe. The hurt does not concern him,
for he is more interested in seeing how life emerge from the land as
the rice grains peek through the dirt.

 c. Theme
Death forms new life. Death and new formations of life are recurring
motifs in the story. When a living thing dies, a new life emerges. The
story paints a cycle of life and death for the family.
The kaingin practice and the killing of the pullet as a ritual are some
25
 forms of deaths that the family believes will bring new life like a
bountiful harvest and another child.

Explanation:

 The use of words such as kaingin, hilot, Nanay, and Tatay is part of
N.V.M. Gonzalez's writing style, as even his other works showcase
terms that are unique to the setting of the story. Analyzing a story will
help readers see details such as this that will give them ideas
regarding the writer's contributions to Philippine literature.
 N.V.M. Gonzalez is known as a local colorist writer. Local color is a
literary technique that features the unique regional traditions of
people and emphasizes the ordinary events in their lives. This is used
by N.V.M Gonzalez to present the sociocultural dimensions of Filipino
families and farmers in the provinces. In "Children of the Ash-Covered
Loam," words that show local color include kaingin, hilot,
Nanay, and Tatay.

Tip
Since the terms used by local colorists may be unfamiliar to you, you should
analyze and infer their meaning by taking note of context clues in the story.

Lesson 9- Life and Works of Edith L. Tiempo

Objective

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to identify Edith L. Tiempo's
contributions to Philippine literature by analyzing her literary works.

Who is Edith L. Tiempo? What are her contributions to the development of

Philippine literature?

Learn about it!

26
Edith L. Tiempo
 Edith L. Tiempo was a Filipino writer in English. She was a poet, fiction
writer, and literary critic.
 She was known for using intricate and witty representations to portray
significant human experiences.

 Some of her well known poems are "The Return," a poem that
describes the characteristics of old age, "Lament for the Littlest
Fellow," a poem that presents a metaphor to describe the plight of a
submissive wife under her domineering husband, and "Bonsai," a poem
that gives a look at how tangible objects could be keepers of
memories and emotions.

 As a fictionist, she was known for her moral profoundness. One of her
remarkable short stories, "The Black Monkey," won third prize in the
Carlos Palanca Memorial Award. "The Black Monkey," which is set
during the time when guerrillas were fighting against the Japanese
during World War II, narrates the tormenting encounter of a woman
with a monkey.

 She also wrote the novel A Blade of Fern, which depicts the problems
of Filipino miners of Nibucal in southern Philippines.

 She was awarded as the National Artist for Literature in 1999.

 She founded with her husband the Silliman University National Writers
Workshop, which produced great young writers of her time.

 Analyzing the literary work of a writer would help in determining what

her contributions are to literature.

Example:

 Below is an excerpt of Edith L. Tiempo's poem "The Return."

The Return

If the dead years could shake their skinny legs and run
As once he had circled this house in thirty counts,
he would go thru this door among those old friends and they would not
shun
Him and the tales he would tell, tales that would
bear more than the spare
Testimony of willed wit and his grey hairs.

27
 And he would live in the whispers and locked heads.
Wheeling around and around turning back was where he started:
The turn to the pasture, a swift streak under a boy’s running;
The swing, up a few times and he had all the earth he wanted;
The tower trees, and not so tall as he had
imagined;
The rocking chair on the porch, you pushed it and it started rocking,
Rocking, and abruptly stopped. He, too, stopped in the doorway,
chagrined.
He would go among them but he would not tell, he could be smart,
He, an old man cracking the bones of his embarrassment apart.

The excerpts cited in this material are copyrighted by their respective

authors. Quipper ensures that the use of these works has permission from
their authors and this effort is ongoing. Should you have concerns regarding
the proper use of these works, or if you have not received communication
from us regarding this matter, please let us know immediately.

Explanation:
Old age is the subject of the given poem. This poem describes the life of an
old man who loved to travel in his youth. The phrases dead years, skinny
legs, and thirty countsdenote the physical weakness and isolation that the
old man feels. The old man wants to visit his friends to bond with them and
share to them his travel stories and experiences. Hopelessly, he sees only
the things associated with old age: irritability and illness, rocking chair,
pasture, and the tower tree.

The themes or messages of the poem are:

 Time is irreversible, and memories can only be remembered and

cherished.
 Old people face physical weakness and emotional challenges such as
feelings of isolation, sadness, and frustration.

 Old age is an inevitable period in human growth and development.

Author’s Style
Edith L. Tiempo used a very contemplative style in writing the poem "The
Return." The theme and the subject of the poem are very serious. Her
narrative tone and vivid visual imagery allow readers to think deeply about
old age and evoke emotions of nostalgia and sadness from the old man’s
perspective.

28
Edith L. Tiempo is one of the foremost Filipino contemporary writers in
English who is known for her style and substance. Her language is
considered descriptive but without scrupulous detailing. Her literary works
are hailed for their artistic representation of significant human experiences.

Tips

 In analyzing and interpreting a poem, a reader must not confuse the

subject and the theme of the poem. The subject is what the poem is
about whereas the theme is the poem's underlying idea or message.
 A poem could have two or more themes.

29
Lesson 10- Life and Works of F. Sionil Jose

Objective

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to identify F. Sionil Jose’s
contributions to the development of Philippine literature.

Who is F. Sionil Jose? What are his contributions to the development of

Philippine literature?

Learn about it!

F. Sionil Jose
 Francisco Sionil Jose, widely known as F. Sionil Jose, was born on
December 3, 1924 in Rosales, Pangasinan.
 His life and most of his works are influenced by Dr. Jose P. Rizal.

 He edited various literary and journalistic publications, and he founded

the Philippine PEN, an organization of poets, playwrights, and
novelists.

 He opened Solidaridad Publishing House in 1965. A year after, he

founded Solidarity, a magazine that produces content mainly focused
on "current affairs, ideas, and the arts."

 He was a recipient of numerous awards. Some of which are the Ramon

Magsaysay Award for Journalism, Literature, and Creative
Communications in 1980, the Pablo Neruda Centennial Award in 2004,
and the Officer in the French Order of Arts and Letters in 2014.

 He was conferred as National Artist for Literature in 2001.

30
F. Sionil Jose's Literary Works
 F. Sionil Jose’s are generally written in English and are translated to
more than twenty languages and produced worldwide.
 Among his most celebrated works is the Rosales Saga. It is a series of
novels that are set from the Spanish colonial period to the
proclamation of Martial Law in the 1970s. This saga includes the
following novels: Po-on, Tree, The Pretenders, Mass,and My Brother, My
Executioner.

 He has also written several short stories, including the notable "The
God Stealer". It is a story about the friendship of Philip Latak, an
Ifugao, and Sam Christie, an American who wanted to buy a bulol, a
sculpture of an Ifugao god. The story depicts the relationship and
truths about the colonizer and the colony.

 Waywaya: Eleven Filipino Short Stories is a compilation of short stories

about pre-Hispanic Philippine society.

 In 2004, he published the children’s book The Molave and Other

Children’s Stories.

 To identify a writer's contributions to Philippine literature, it is

important to analyze and take a close look at his literary works.

Example:

 In a nutshell, F. Sionil Jose’s "The God Stealer" tells the story of Philip
Latak and Sam Christie. Philip was residing in the city for years
against his family’s wishes. Sam, his colleague, was an American who
wanted a bulol, an Ifugao god sculpture, as a souvenir before he gets
back to Boston. Philip stole his grandfather’s bulol for Sam, as he felt
indebted to repay Sam’s kindness. Then Philip’s grandfather died, and
he no longer wanted to come with Sam back in the city.

Explanation:

 The story tackles one of the many effects of colonization, that is,
losing one’s identity. Philip represents the Philippines, while Sam
represents America. Philip’s way of offering the bulol to Sam out of
gratitude shows how he tried to denounce his roots by embracing a
new one, thus losing himself in the process.

31
Summary

F. Sionil Jose is among the most widely read Filipino writers in English
whose novels and short stories depict a wide scope of social underpinnings
and struggles of the Filipino masses. He is the country’s most influential
living writer who employs realism through his narrative techniques and
styles.

Lesson 11- Life and Works of Virgilio S. Almario

Objectives

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

32
  identify the valuable contributions of Virgilio S. Almario to Philippine
Literature; and
 analyze one of his poems.

Who is Virgilio S. Almario?

What are his contributions to Philippine Literature?

Virgilio S. Almario
Virgilio S. Almario, popularly known by his pen name Rio Alma, is a Filipino
artist known for his poetry and literary criticism. He was proclaimed
National Artist for Literature in 2003.

Almario, together with poets Rogelio Mangahas and Lamberto E. Antonio,

pioneered the second modernist movement in Filipino poetry. In his own
words, he defines modernist poetry as sparing, suggestive, and restrained in
emotion; its vocabulary and subject are immersed in the now. Among his
poetry collections are Makinasyon at Ilang Tula (1968), his very first
collection; Peregrinasyon at Iba Pang Tula (1970), which won first prize in
poetry in the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards; Doktrinang
Anakpawis(1979); Mga Retrato at Rekwerdo (1984); and Muli Sa Kandungan
ng Lupa (1994).

Almario’s earliest works of literary criticism were published in the Dawn, the
weekly organ of the University of the East. Some of those works were later
included in Ang Makata sa Panahon ng Makina (1982), now considered as
the first book of literary criticism in Filipino. His other critical works
include Taludtod at Talinghaga (1965), which tackles the traditional Tagalog
prosody; and Balagtasismo Versus Modernismo (1984), in which he presents
the two main directions of the Tagalog Poetry.

Almario performed significant deeds in the field of Philippine literature. He

founded the Galian sa Arte at Tula (GAT) with the other poets Teo Antonio
and Mike Bigornia in 1970; and the Linangan sa Imahen, Retorika, at Anyo
(LIRA), an organization of poets who write in Filipino, in 1985. From 1986 to
1992, he served as chairman of the Unyon ng mga Manunulat sa Pilipinas
(UMPIL), considered to be the biggest umbrella organization of writers. From
1998 to 2001, he served as executive director of the National Commission
for Culture and the Arts (NCCA). In 2013 he became the chairman of the
Komisyon ng Wikang Filipino (KWF).

33
Example:
High Zoociety
Ni Rio Alma

Masdan ang tagak sa likod ng kalabaw,

Parang birheng-birheng manang
Na di-madapuan ng langaw
Sa ibabaw ng karosa patungong simbahan;

At ang mga dekadenteng gansa sa gilid ng lawa,

Maluluma ang mga donyang nakahilata
Habang ibinibilad ang kuto at muta.

Hayun ang mga maryakaprang paawit-awit,

Parang mga binibining umiikot ang puwit,
Sa bulwagang hitik sa masalapi’t makikisig;

At ang mga burukratang unggoy

Sa tuktok ng mala-palasyong kahoy,
Pulu-pulutong kung magpulong
Kung paanong mas lalapad ang papel at tumbong.

Naghahari’t matitikas na oso’t agila,

Nagkikikil lang ng kuko’t pangil tuwing umaga
Para isakmal sa karne’t isuob na barya
Kaya tumatambok ang tiyan at bulsa.

Samantala, matatalinong kuwago’y naghihilik,

Malalaki nga ang mata’y lagi namang pikit,
Marahil, bagong paraiso ang laman ng panaginip.

Di tulad ng buwayang laging abala

Sa paghanap ng kahit butiking mabiktima,
Bundat na’y lagi pa ring nakanganga.

Pero higit na mag-ingat sa hunyango’t ahas

Na sa damuhan ay nagkalat;
Tuwing maghuhunos ng kulay at balat,
Pakay ay kay-hirap madalumat.
(Reproduced by permission of National Artist, Virgilio S. Almario)

The excerpts cited in this material are copyrighted by their respective

authors. Quipper ensures that the use of these works has permission from

34
their authors and this effort is ongoing. Should you have concerns regarding
the proper use of these works, or if you have not received communication
from us regarding this matter, please let us know immediately.

Explanation:
The poem "High Zoociety" is part of the collection Doktrinang
Anakpawis (1979). Published during the martial law years (1972–1981), the
poem and the rest of the collection are considered committed poetry, that
is, of social awareness and concern. The title is a play on the term "High
Society," which refers to the rich and powerful.

"High Zoociety" has eight stanzas following this pattern of number of lines:
4-3-3-4-4-3-3-4. It uses what is called in Tagalog poetry as "tugmang
karaniwan," wherein the last word of each line has the same sound. The
second, fifth, and seventh stanzas use "tugmang patinig," wherein the last
words of the lines have the same vowel wound. On the other hand, the rest
of the stanzas use "tugmang katinig," wherein the last words of the lines
end in a consonant preceded by the same vowel sound. However, the poem
has no regular meter.

Key Points

Virgilio S. Almario, or Rio Alma, is a Filipino artist known for his works of
modernist poetry and literary criticism on Filipino poetry, which are valuable
contributions to Philippine literature.

35
Lesson 12- Life and Works of Alejandro Roces

Objective

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to identify Alejandro R. Roces’s
contributions to the development of Philippine literature.

Who is Alejandro R. Roces?

What are his contributions to the development of Philippine Literature?

Learn about it!

Alejandro R. Roces as a Filipino Writer

 Alejandro R. Roces was a Filipino literary writer. He was born on July
13, 1924.
 He was a playwright, an essayist, and a short story writer. He was also
a columnist at the Philippine Star, the Manila Times, and the Manila
Chronicle.

 He attended the Ateneo de Manila University for his primary and

secondary education and the University of Arizona where he earned
his degree in fine arts. He pursued further studies at the following
institutions: Far Eastern University (master’s degree); Ateneo de

36
 Manila University, Polytechnic University of the Philippines, St. Louis
University, and Tokyo University in Japan (doctorate).

 Alejandro R. Roces was known for his short story "We Filipinos Are
Mild Drinkers," a story about an American soldier in the Philippines
who brags about his drinking habits, but becomes overly drunk after
drinking lambanog offered by a Filipino farmer.

 From 1961 to 1965, he served as the Secretary of Education under the

regime of former president Diosdado Macapagal. He has also served as
chairman of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board
(MTRCB) in 2001.

 His other literary works are "My Brother’s Peculiar Chicken," a story
which talks about two brothers who were arguing whether the chicken
they caught was a hen or a rooster; Something to Crow About, the first
Filipino zarzuela in English about a man named Kiko who earns a living
by means of cockfighting; and Fiesta, a collection of essays about
various Philippine festivals.

 Alejandro R. Roces was conferred as National Artist for Literature in

2003.

 He died on May 23, 2011.

Read the synopsis of “My Brother’s Peculiar Chicken” below, one of

Alejandro R. Roces’ notable works.

Synopsis:
Kiko and his brother found a peculiar chicken. They argued whether it was a
hen or a rooster. Kiko believed that it was a rooster, while his brother
thought otherwise. Kiko’s brother emphasized that it could not be a rooster
as the chicken has neither wattles nor comb. Their parents took turns in
looking at the chicken and had different thoughts about it; thus, they ended
up arguing like their children. Kiko and his brother asked the chieftain about
it, and he thought that it was a bird of a different kind. They also asked Mr.
Eduardo Cruz, someone who studied poultry raising, and he suggested
examining the insides of the chicken, to which Kiko refused. They both
agreed to bring the chicken to a cockpit and have it fight with a rooster from
Texas. However, the rooster performed a love dance around the peculiar
chicken. It turned out that the peculiar chicken was waiting for a chance to
attack. It stubbed its spur into the rooster, and won. Kiko’s brother was

37
convinced that the chicken was a rooster. However, when he was holding the
chicken, it suddenly quivered and laid an egg.

Humor is a literary device which aims to make the audience or readers

laugh or be amused. Alejandro R. Roces employed humor in most of his
works. There are various types of humor. Some of which are
exaggeration/hyperbole, surprise, and sarcasm.

 Sarcasm – is a literary device used to mock. In the story, the chicken

crowed and Kiko triumphantly asked his brother if he heard it. Kiko
then mocked his brother by saying “I suppose you are going to tell me
now that hens crow and that carabaos fly.”
 Exaggeration/Hyperbole – is a literary device used to make an event
appear better or worse than what it really is. In the story, Kiko’s
brother shared how they were almost whipped for arguing too much.
 Surprise – is a literary device commonly found in unlikely situation or
an unexpected turn of events. As the brothers ran from the mob, Kiko’s
brother was convinced that the chicken was a rooster based on how it
defeated its opponent, until it laid an egg.

Summary

Alejandro R. Roces was best known for his short stories, "My Brother’s
Peculiar Chicken" and "We Filipinos Are Mild Drinkers." He employed humor
in most of his works, usually tackling the Filipinos’ fascination of
cockfighting.

Lesson 13- Life and Works of Bienvenido S. Lumbera

Objectives

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to identify the valuable
contributions of Bienvenido S. Lumbera in the development of Philippine
literature, and analyze two of his poems.

Who is Bienvenido S. Lumbera?

What are his important contributions to the Philippine Literature?
What theme do his works have in common?
38
Personal Life

 Lumbera, who was called Beny when he was a young boy, was born in
Lipa, Batangas on April 11, 1932. His parents had passed away before
he turned five.
 Beny and his older sister were raised by Eusebia Teru, their paternal
grandmother.

 When Eusebia died, Beny came to live with his godparents, Enrique
and Amanda Lumbera.

 Beny showed natural aptitude for English. In sixth grade, his writing
impressed his teacher so much that she once asked him, in an
accusatory tone, if he did write his composition himself. In his third
year in high school, his teacher gave him difficult works of literature to
read.

 Lumbera took a degree in journalism at the University of Santo Tomas

in 1950 and graduated cum laude in 1954. A year before his graduation,
his first published work, the poem “Frigid Moon,” appeared in the
Sunday magazine of the Manila Chronicle.

 On a full scholarship granted by the Fulbright Committee, Lumbera

obtained his masters and doctorate degrees at Indiana University.

Literary Background

Lumbera writes in English and Filipino. Below are some of his works.

Poetry Collections
Likhang Dila, Likhang Diwa (1993)
Balaybay: Mga Tulang Lunot at Manibalang (2002)

Critical Works
Abot Tanaw: Sulyap at Suri sa Nagbabagong Kultura at Lipunan (1987)
Writing the Nation/Pag-Akda ng Bansa (2000)
Tagalog Poetry, 1570–1898: Tradition and Influences in Its
Development (2001)

39
Librettos
Tales of the Manuvu (1977)
Rama Hari (1980)
Sa Sariling Bayan: Apat na Dulang May Musika (2003)

 Lumbera is a strong advocate of the Filipino language. According to

him, the gap between the well-educated Filipinos and the majority
cannot be bridged until Filipino becomes their true lingua franca.
 Lumbera has received numerous awards for his work. The most
notable ones were the Special Prize from the Palanca Awards for his
poetry collection Sunog sa Lipa at Iba Pang Tula in 1975, the Ramon
Magsaysay Award for Journalism, Literature, and Creative
Communication Arts in 1993, and the Philippine Centennial Literary
Prize for Drama in 1998.

 Lumbera received the title of National Artist for Literature in 2006.

A Eulogy of Roaches
by Bienvenido Lumbera

Blessed are the cockroaches.

In this country they are

the citizens who last.
They need no police
to promulgate their peace
because they tolerate
each other’s smell or greed.

Friends to dark and filth,

they do not choose their meat.
Although they neither sow
nor reap, a daily feast
is laid for them in rooms
and kitchens of their pick.

The roaches do not spin,

and neither do they weave.
But note the russet coat
the sluggards wear: clothed

40
at birth, roaches require
no roachy charity.

They settle where they wish

and have no rent to pay.
Eviction is a word
quite meaningless to them
who do not have to own
their dingy crack of wall.

Not knowing dearth or taxes,

they increase and multiply.
Survival is assured
even the jobless roach;
his opportunities
pile up where garbage grows.

Dying is brief and cheap

and thus cannot affright.
A whiff of toxic mist,
an agile heel, a stick
—the swift descent of pain
is also final death.

Their annals may be short,

but when the simple poor
have starved to simple death,
roaches still circulate
in cupboards of the rich,

the strong, the wise, the dead.

(Reproduced by permission of National Artist, Dr. Bienvenido S. Lumbera.)

Analysis of the Poem

Published in 1965, “A Eulogy of Roaches” is a piece of Bagay poetry. Its

subject, the roaches, represents a deeper meaning. However, the poet
merely focuses on giving precise visual images of the subject and not on
explicitly stating its representations.

41
The poet uses imagery, a literary technique in which figurative language is
used to appeal to the reader’s physical senses. An example is the poet’s
description of roaches as “friends to dark and filth.”

Also, the poet uses juxtaposition, a literary technique in which two (or more)
ideas are placed side by side for comparison and contrast. In the last two
stanzas, the poet draws both a comparison and a distinction between the
roaches’ life and the life of the poor: that the poor die simply of starvation,
but the roaches still go on living their short lives in the “cupboards of the
rich, the strong, the wise, the dead.”

Summary

Bienvenido S. Lumbera is a poet, critic, and librettist. He has made valuable

contributions in the development of Philippine literature especially in the
vernacular language. He has published works in English and Filipino and
received numerous awards including the National Artist for Literature title in
2006.

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 UNIT II- LITERARY TEXTS OF DIFFERENT REGIONS AND GENRES

Lesson 14- Poetry

Objective

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to compare and contrast two
poems published in different periods.

What do the poems published in different periods have in common?

How are they different from one another?

Let’s Review!

43
Philippine Literature during the American Occupation of the Philippines
(1898–1940)
With English as the medium of instruction in public schools, Filipino literary
works in English were produced. In the first decade, poetry and prose in
English appeared in student publications like the UP College Folio and The
Coconut of Manila High School. By the 1930s and 1940s, Filipino writers in
English came into their own.

Philippine Literature in the 21st Century (2001 up to the present)

This body of literature includes digital writings, graphic novels, textula,
hypertext, and other emerging literary genres at present.

Learn about it!

In this lesson, you will compare and contrast Amador T. Daguio’s poem “Man
of Earth” and a piece of textula by Frank Rivera.

At 20, the poet Amador T. Daguio wrote “Man of Earth” in 1932. According to
Dr. Gemino Abad, a well-known Filipino poet and critic, “Man of Earth” marks
a turning point in Filipino poetry. Daguio’s poem words in English are
reinvented to establish a native idiom.

Textula is poetry written and read on a mobile phone. It is popularized by the

playwright Frank Rivera, who came to be known as the “makata sa cell
phone.” His works of textula and other poems are performed in different
occasions, such as rallies, school programs, and contests; published in
newspapers; heard on radio; and shared on social media or through text
messaging.

Poetic Terms
Allusion – Using this literary device, the writer refers to a significant person,
place, thing, or idea in culture, history, literature, or politics briefly and
indirectly.

Apostrophe – With this literary device, the writer addresses someone or

something that is not present in his work.

End rhyme – This rhyme occurs in the last syllables of verses.

Lyric poetry – This traditional poetry is characterized by its brevity,

emotional intensity, and musical quality.

44
Example 1:
Man of Earth
By Amador T. Daguio

Pliant is the bamboo;

I am man of earth.
They say that from the bamboo
We had our first birth.

Am I of the body,
Or of the green leaf?
Do I have to whisper
My every sin and grief?

If the wind passes by,

Must I stoop, and try
To measure fully
My flexibility?

I might have been the bamboo,

But I will be a man.
Bend me then, O Lord,
Bend me if you can.
Explanation:
 The lyric poem has a varied rhythm. It is composed of four stanzas,
each one with five to seven syllables.
 The poem contains end rhymes.

 The poem contains an allusion to a Philippine creation myth that tells

that the first man and woman came from a bamboo. The speaker is
aware of his own pagan heritage.

 The poem uses apostrophe. The speaker addresses a spiritual being he

calls “Lord” in the last two lines of the fourth stanza.

Example 2:
A Textula
By Frank Rivera

45
Merong himala, hindi totoong wala
Ituro ma’y mali, alam nati’y tama
Kahit walang sagot itong panalangin
Hindi tumitigil ang ating paghiling.

Walang nagturo na tayo’y makibaka

Ngunit sulirani’y ating binabata
Kahit may pangakong laging napapako
Sa anumang init, handa ring mapaso.

Sa ating puso’y may awit ng pag-asa

Kahit titik nito’y hindi makabisa
Ang katotohana’y lalaging totoo
Basta maniwalang mayroong milagro.
(Reproduced by permission of Frank Rivera)

Explanation:
 The poem is a piece of lyric poetry. It is composed of three stanzas,
and each stanza has four lines. It has a regular meter; each line
consists of twelve syllables.
 The poem uses what is called in Tagalog poetry as “tugmang
karaniwan,” wherein the last word of each line has the same sound.
Except the last two lines of the first stanza, the rest of the poem uses
“tugmang patinig,” wherein the last words of the lines have the same
vowel sound.

Summary

Both Amador T. Daguio’s and Frank Rivera’s poems are lyric poetry, and they
show traditional elements. Both poems use end rhymes. However, Daguio’s
poem has no regular meter, while Rivera’s poem has.

46
Lesson 15- Fiction

Objectives

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

 define literary meaning, and

 determine how the literary devices of a work of fiction work together
to convey its literary meaning.

What is "literary meaning"?

How does one determine the "literary meaning" of a work of fiction?

Let’s Review

Literary elements – These devices are inherent in a literary text. Some

examples are the characters, setting, conflict, plot, and theme of a short
story.

Literary techniques – These devices are used deliberately by a writer in his

or her work to convey a particular meaning. Dialogue is an example.

Learn about it!

The literary meaning of a work is conveyed through its elements and the
literary techniques that the writer used. In a short story, for instance, the
writer weaves a story, putting elements and techniques together in a
specific arrangement to convey its meaning.

Consider Francisco Arcellana’s short story "The Mats." Arcellana focused on

the character’s actions and dialogues to reveal their innermost feelings,
which can be clues to the literary meaning of the work.

"The Mats" (A Summary)

By Francisco Arcellana

The short story "The Mats" is about the Angeles family. As the title
suggests, their story unfolds like the unfolding of a sleeping mat. It begins
47
with Emilia and her children waiting excitedly for Mr. Jaime Angeles’s return
from a business trip. In a letter, Mr. Angeles told his wife that he had asked a
mat weaver to make decorative sleeping mats for each one in the family. To
some degree, the children knew what those mats would look like because
their mother kept one herself. This mat was a gift from Emilia’s mother. It
had been a witness to the couple’s wedding night as well as to the illnesses
and even deaths in the family. Then the day came when Mr. Angeles arrived
home at last. The family had a long dinner. The table was cleared right after,
and Mr. Angeles had a cigar. When it was time to untie the mats, Mr. Angeles
cut the cord that held the bundle with scissors. He began unfolding the
mats one by one. He handed the first one to Emilia; the second one to
himself; the third one to his eldest, Marcelina; the fourth one to his son,
Jose; and three more to his children Antonia, Juan, and Jesus. Each mat had
the name of the family member on it as well as something special like the
cadena de amor on Emilia’s mat, a lyre on Marcelina’s, and the symbol of
Aesculapius on Jose’s. Then Emilia noticed the other three mats that were
not yet unfolded. In a different voice, Mr. Angeles told her that they were for
those who were not there. Emilia was speechless, and the children fell
silent. Mr. Angeles unfolded the first of three remaining mats; it revealed a
name that the children knew, but it seemed strange to them. Nana Emilia
told her husband, "You know, Jaime, you didn’t have to. You didn’t have to."
To this Mr. Angeles only said, "Do you think I’d forgotten? Do you think I had
forgotten them? Do you think I could forget them?" Then he called out the
names of his dead children, namely, Josefina, Victoria, and Concepcion, as if
they were there to get the mats themselves. Emilia pleaded with him to
stop. To this he only said, "Is it fair to forget them? Would it be just to
disregard them?" The children wanted to turn away from their father, but
they did not. Emilia held back her frustration. Mr. Angeles unfolded the
remaining mats in silence.

Literary Meaning of "The Mats"

It is shown through the characters Emilia and her husband that coping
with the death of loved ones is a struggle. Emilia seemed to lead a normal
life from the beginning of the story until the moment her husband told her
that he had the mat weaver made three mats for their three dead children.
Forced to remember their dead children, she could only hold back from
feeling frustration perhaps with her husband. On the other hand, Mr. Angeles
dealt with the death of his children in a way that he knew how, that is,

48
remembering them on special occasions even if that made his wife and
children uncomfortable.

Summary

The literary devices, elements and techniques, that are present in a work
like a short story, bring about the literary meaning of the work. This meaning
can be about people or life in general.

Lesson 16- Drama

Objectives

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

 identify the Filipino dramatists or playwrights in English during the

Postwar Period in the Philippines (1946–1960); and
 analyze a Filipino drama or play in English published during that
period.

What is a drama?
What are the elements of a drama?
Who are the Filipino dramatists in English that emerged during the Postwar
Years?

Drama

Drama is a literary work that tells a story through actions and dialogues. It
is usually performed on stage.
49
Elements
Characters – These actors set the scene and flow of the story.

Dialogues – These are conversations between the characters.

Plot – This is the series of events that take place.

Stage directions – These statements tell the actors how they should look,
move, and speak. They also give the director a picture of how the setting
looks like, and what music and other sounds would set the mood of the play.

Philippine Drama in English During the Postwar Period (1946–1960)

By the 1940s and 1950s, dramas in English had been performed on stage in
the Philippines. During that time, three notable Filipino dramatists emerged.
They were Severino Montano, Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero, and Alberto S.
Florentino.

Severino Montano (1915–1980) established the Arena Theatre at the

Philippine Normal College in 1952. Almost two hundred performances were
staged there from 1953 to 1964. Among those performances were the
staging of Montano’s four major dramas, namely, Parting at
Calamba (1953), Sabina (1953), The Ladies and the Senator(1953), and The
Love of Leonor Rivera (1954).

Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero (1910–1995) was a prolific playwright. He wrote over a

hundred plays; most of them were staged. His plays portray the educated
middle class. Among his popular works are Wanted: A Chaperone (1940), The
Three Rats (1948), and Condemned (1943).

Alberto S. Florentino (1931– ) became known for his drama The World Is An
Apple. It won first prize in the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for
Literature in 1954 and was published in the Sunday Times Magazine that
same year. The play as well as the others like Cavort with Angels (1959) and
Oli Impan (1959) is set in Tondo slums.

During the period, the theater was moribund in the cities, however. One
reason is that the language used, which was English, made the plays only
accessible to the educated Filipinos.

50
"The World Is an Apple" by Alberto S. Florentino is a one-act play. As the
term suggests, a one-act play is composed of only one act or part. Its story
has a few characters; it is condensed and has a single effect.

Florentino’s play only has three characters, namely, Gloria, Mario, and Pablo.
The story takes place one evening in an improvised home in Intramuros.
Gloria and Mario are a poor couple. Their poverty forces Mario’s hand both
literally and figuratively. So, he returns to his old life of stealing and joins his
old friend Pablo for a heist.

The World Is An Apple: A Synopsis

It is payday, and Mario comes home without any money to give his wife
Gloria for their sick daughter named Tita. At first, he tells his wife that he
spent all of his money on a few drinks with his friends. However, Gloria does
not believe him because he does not look intoxicated. Then Mario attempts
to lie the second time by telling her that he spent it all on a woman. Once
again, Gloria does not believe him because she knows Mario loves their
daughter very much that he could not have done it. Finally, Mario tells her
that he lost his job a week ago and that he has been looking for a new one
ever since. Gloria is shocked to hear the news and worried that Mario would
not be able to find a job soon. Mario, however, assures her that it will not
take long for him to get a new job.

Gloria then asks Mario why he lost his job. Mario relates that he was
accused of pilfering (stealing a small amount of something) at work. He took
an apple that rolled out of a broken crate and thought of giving it to their
child. The people at his work kept the apple, though, for evidence. Gloria
wants Mario to ask those people for a second chance, but Mario is
convinced that they want to throw him out so that they could bring their
own men into the job. When Gloria suggests that Mario complain, he does
not want to do so for fear of those people finding out about his police
record. Then he tells Gloria that he has found a good job. He is to be a night
watchman for a company. Gloria is thankful to God, though she feels
uncertain because she will be alone at night without Mario by her side.

Then comes Pablo, Mario’s friend. Mario becomes nervous, and Gloria is not
very happy to see him. Pablo asks about their child’s condition and offers
money to Gloria so that she can take her to a doctor, but Gloria refuses it.
She is convinced that Pablo has come to lead Mario back to his old ways.
Soon enough, she discovers that Mario has indeed decided to go back to
stealing for their sake. She tries to stop him from going, but Mario leaves
with Pablo anyway. Before he leaves, he tells Gloria to take care of their
51
daughter and herself, and he will take care of himself. The story ends with
Gloria shouting Mario’s name as she watches him walk away with Pablo.

Summary

The three notable Filipino dramatists in English of the Postwar Years are
Severino Montano, Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero, and Alberto Florentino. They
produced relevant dramas during the period. However, because their works
were written in English, they could only reach out to the educated class.

Lesson 17- Creative Nonfiction

52
Objectives

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

 identify some Filipino writers of creative nonfiction and their works;

and
 analyze a few selected Filipino works of creative nonfiction.

What makes a work of creative nonfiction?

What are the different kinds of creative nonfiction?

Learn about it!

In this lesson, you will learn more about creative nonfiction in general and
the Philippine creative nonfiction. Also, you will read a few selected works
by Filipino writers.

Creative Nonfiction

It is a major genre of literature. It refers to narratives of real events told in a

literary style.

Kinds of Creative Nonfiction

 Memoir - This account is narrowly focused on a single event in a
person’s life.
 Biography - This is a detailed account of a person’s life written by
another person.

 Autobiography - This is a written account of the life of a person written

by the subject himself or herself.

 Diary - This is a collection of discrete accounts of a person’s

experiences and thoughts each day.

 Essay - This writing features any subject that the writer personally
comments about or describes.

53
Philippine Creative Nonfiction

The American Occupation (1898–1940)

The essay in English proved to be an influential medium. The first volume of
essays was Life and Success (1921) by Zoilo Galang. The earliest travel
writing was Notas de Viaje(1930) by Maria Paz Mendoza-Guazon. The essay
“Literature and Society” by Salvador Lopez sparked a debate on socially
relevant literature versus aesthetic value. It won in the first Commonwealth
Literary Awards in 1940.

The Japanese Occupation (1941–1945)

Because of censorship, only a few essays in English were
published. Horizons from My Nipa Hut, published in 1941, is a collection of
humorous essays by Francisco B. Icasiano. I Am a Filipino, the most famous
essay of Carlos P. Romulo, was published the same year.

1960s and 1970s

Literary journalism came into its own. It appeared in some publications like
the Philippines Free Press and the Philippine Graphic. It attracted some of
the best Filipino writers. Nick Joaquin, who sometimes used the pen name
Quijano de Manila, was the most prolific among those writers.

1990s
A few autobiographies and memoirs were published like Memory’s Fictions:
A Personal History (1993) and Postscript to a Saintly Life (1994) by
Bienvenido Santos. Also, there were works on wars like Living With the
Enemy: A Diary of the Japanese Occupation(1999) by Pacita Pestaño-
Jacinto, and Breaking the Silence (1996) by Lourdes Reyes Montinola.

Also, published in this period were travel writings by Filipino women like
Sylvia Mayuga’s Earth, Fire & Air (1992) and Kerima Polotan’s Adventures in
a Forgotten Country (1999).

Early 21st Century

This period saw the publication of collections of short essays and narratives
of young writers. Their works were Wala Lang (2004) by Bud Tomas; Love,
Desire, Children, Etc.: Reflections of a Young Wife (2005) by Rica Bolipata-
Santos; The King of Nothing To Do(2006) by Luis Katigbak; and Stressed in
the City (2007) by April T. Yap.

54
Summary

Creative nonfiction refers to narratives of real events told using a literary

style of writing. Some of its forms are the memoir, the biography, the
autobiography, the diary, and the essay. In Philippine Literature, the essay is
the most common form of creative nonfiction.

Lesson 18- Popular Fiction

Objective

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to name some genres of the
popular fiction.

What makes a piece of fiction popular?

What are the different genres of the popular fiction?

Learn about it!

In this lesson, you will learn about popular fiction and three of its genres,
namely, the science fiction, chick literature, and ghost stories.

Popular fiction, also called genre fiction, refers to works of literature that
are intended for the masses or large audience. Its main purpose is to appeal
to the general public. Below are a few features of popular fiction:

 Its story is plot-driven.

 Its characters are mostly stock figures.

 Its setting is either familiar or exotic.

 Its language is closer to everyday spoken language.

 It contains a lot of dialogues.

55
Science fiction, also called sci-fi, at its core, deals with science and
technology. It is often lumped with the fantasy and horror genres under the
broader term “speculative fiction.” As this term suggests, sci-fi writers are
often preoccupied by the question “what if.”

Pocholo Goitia’s short story “An Introduction to the Luminescent” is an

example of science fiction. It was published in Philippine Speculative
Fiction volume 1 in 2005. The story is set in the year 2105 in a mall
described as an “ultrasaur,” a massive structure that towers at two
kilometers and stretches at half kilometer. Magenta, one of the characters,
is a member of La Luminosa, a group of biogenetically engineered people
that live in the mall. This mall is protected by “clone warriors” that hover in
the air using devices called gravity disruptors.

Chick literature, or chick lit, is written by women who write for women. The
usual target readers are young and single women, especially in their 20s or
30s. The stories deal with real life, usually love and relationships, and they
are written in a light-hearted tone.

Tara Sering’s Getting Better is an example of chick literature. The novella

was published in the October 2002 issue of Cosmopolitan Philippines, a
magazine that targets contemporary women and that mostly features topics
regarding relationships, beauty, fashion, and health. Told in the second
person point of view, the story tackles the life of a single woman named
Karen—how she was as a girlfriend, how she dealt with cheating, and how
she moved on.

Ghost stories are part of Filipino pop culture. They are a specific kind of
stories in the horror fiction genre. As the name suggests, a ghost story
features a ghost as one of its characters. Like any story in the horror fiction
genre, a ghost story is meant to scare its reader.

Joel P. Salud’s “The Haunting at Concha Cruz Drive” is an example of a ghost

story. It was published in True Philippine Ghost Stories Book 1 in 2002. It
tells the story of three friends driving along a road named Concha Cruz Drive
which is known to be haunted by ghosts of a young couple who were victims
of drag racing accident.

56
Summary

Popular fiction refers to works of literature whose main purpose is to appeal

to the general public. It includes the science fiction genre, chick literature,
and ghost stories.

Lesson 19- New and Emerging Literary Forms in the

21st Century

Objectives

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

 identify new and emerging literary forms at the present time, and
 analyze some selected works written by present-day Filipino writers.

57
What new literary forms are emerging at present?
What are the distinct qualities of such literary forms?

Let's Review!

Literary Genre
This refers to a type or category of literature. It has a specific form,
content, and style. The four main genres of literature are poetry, fiction,
nonfiction, and drama. Under each of those genres are different genres. For
example, fiction includes speculative fiction, fantasy, and science fiction.

Literary Technique
This is a literary device deliberately used by a writer to convey a specific
idea or meaning. An example is motif, an object or idea that is repeated in a
literary work. Another literary technique is the use of figurative language, an
example is personification, a figure of speech in which an inanimate object
is given human qualities.

Introduction
Many works of literature produced at present are characterized by the
writers’ use of unconventional techniques. For instance, the illustrated
novel, the graphic novel, and doodle-fiction present narratives using pictures
or images. The illustrated novel presents images that tell some parts of the
story, while the other parts are told in words. The graphic novel tells a story
in comic book format. A work of doodle fiction contains doodles and hand-
written graphics.

Besides the illustrated novel, the graphic novel, and doodle-fiction, there are
other literary forms or genres emerging at present, such as the flash fiction,
slipstream, metafiction, and magic realism.

Flash Fiction
Flash fiction is known for its extreme brevity. A typical work of flash fiction
is only a few hundred words long. Examples are the stories in Fast Food
Fiction: Short Short Stories To Go (2003), edited by Noelle Q. de Jesus. The
collection features stories written by well-known Filipino writers like

58
Gemino H. Abad, Gregorio Brillantes, Jose Dalisay, Jr., Jessica Zafra, and
Lakambini Sitoy.

Slipstream
Slipstream, or the “fiction of strangeness,” features elements of fantasy,
science fiction, and serious fiction. For many, works of slipstream are
difficult to categorize because of their similarities with speculative fiction.
The collection Philippine Speculative Fiction, edited by Dean Francis Alfar
and Nikki Alfar, contains stories that are slipstream fiction.

Metafiction
Metafiction is about fiction itself. A work of metafiction can be a story about
a writer who writes a story or a story about another work of fiction. Some
works of metafiction by Filipinos are the novel Ilustrado (2010) by Miguel
Syjuco and Hari Manawari (2011) by German Gervacio.

Magic Realism
Magic realism is a fiction genre in which magical elements are blended with
reality. It is characteristic of the stories by Latin American writers like
Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Jorge Luis Borges, and Isabel Allende. The short
story “The Death of Fray Salvador Montano, Conquistador of Negros” by the
Filipino writer Rosario Cruz Lucero has elements of magic realism.

Summary

Many works of literature at present are characterized by the writers’ use of

unconventional techniques. They can be categorized under different genres
like flash fiction, slipstream, metafiction, and magic realism.

59
Lesson 20- Literary Works by Writers from Luzon

Objectives

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

 analyze selected literary works by writers from Luzon,

 identify the context of a given literary text,

 relate the context of a literary text to its meaning, and

 situate or place the literary text in the context of the region where the
writer is from and of the nation.

As a reader, why do you have to make sense of the context of a literary

work?
How is each literary work representative of the region where the writer is
from and of the nation?

Learn about it!

The literary works in this lesson are by writers from Luzon. The writers used
the Filipino cultural elements below:

 Kundiman - This is a genre of Tagalog folk love songs that express an

intense longing for a beloved, a cause, or the motherland. They are
usually played in minor chord, giving them a sad, melancholic sound.
 Kambubulag - This is the Kapapampangan term for a type of native
moth. It comes from the root word “bulag” meaning “blind,” and there
are Filipino superstitions about becoming blind after encountering
moths.

Mikael de Lara Co is a writer and musician. He was born in Makati City and
graduated with a degree in Environmental Science from Ateneo de Manila
University. His English and Filipino poetry collections have received awards
including Palanca Awards and the Meritage Press Holiday Poetry Prize. He
was also a member of the Los Chupacabras band. At present, he works for
the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning
Office at the Malacañang.
60
Example:
Kundiman (An Excerpt)
By Mikael de Lara Co

I ate alone. I grew old. I grew older.

I said hold in my own language
again and again, hawak, kapit,
tahan na, uwi na. Then strained
to hear all the engines in this city
droning in A minor. A knife
scraped against marble. A stick
rattled towards stillness. A minor.
All the lullabies ever hummed
coming together to vibrate
in the saddest of frequencies.
Your keys dangled by the sink.
Somewhere a chord is diminished
to static. Kundiman means
the opposite of if ever.
(Reproduced by permission of Mikael de Lara Co)

Explanation:
Co used diction to create a specific tone for “Kundiman” (2014). He used
Tagalog words and phrases: kundiman; hawak (hold); kapit (hold on); tahan
na (stop crying); and uwi na (go home now). These words, which have an
emotional ring to them like the words in a kundiman, create a mood
reminiscent of Filipino sentimentality. Also, the mention of the A minor
chord evokes sad, longing feelings that contribute to the sentimental tone of
the poem.

Catherine Batac Walder hails from Pampanga. She graduated from the
University of the Philippines and moved to Europe in 2005 to pursue a
Master of Philosophy degree. Her works have been featured in local
publications including Inquirer’s Youngblood, Philippines Free Press, and
Philippine Speculative Fiction 8. Also an avid reader, her letters have been
published in international magazines like Reader’s Digest and Time. She is
now a blogger and a full-time mother based in South East England.

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Example:
The Kambubulag (An Excerpt)
By Catherine Batac Walder

“I can’t believe that woman,” Delia said.

“What woman?” Odessa asked.

“Oh, one I met while smoking just now. Kept asking if we passed
Kambubulag Road on the way here. ‘Never heard of the road,’ I told her. She
said it’s four kilometers from the hotel and mentioned how we should be
careful because we might encounter thekambubulag. ‘Most residents here
have resigned themselves to the fact that they have more chances of dying
on that road than any other non-resident. But as anyone would say, if it’s
your time, then it is,’ she said [. . .]”

(Reproduced by permission of Catherine Batac Walder )

Explanation:
In “The Kambubulag” (2013) the writer used a Filipino cultural symbol of bad
luck, the kambubulag, to create the fictional urban legend of the
Kambubulag Road. Old folk legends of the moth being a harbinger of death is
prevalent in Luzon. It signals the reader to regard the woman and her
superstition as out of the ordinary.

Tips

To know the context of any literary work lets you gain a deeper insight into
its theme and meaning. Here are two ways to get the context of a literary
work:

 by doing a close reading of the text

 by identifying sociocultural elements present in the text

Summary

Context is the background of the text which may have been influenced by
the author’s life, language, society, and culture.

Diction is the choice of words that suit the writer’s intended purpose.
62
Kundiman and kambubulag folk tales are part of Filipino folk literature. They
can be a source of inspiration, or they can be used as literary devices. Also,
writing a poem or a story around those cultural symbols reawakens interest
in those literary forms.

Lesson 21- Literary Works by Writers from Visayas and

Mindanao

Objectives

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

 analyze selected literary works by writers from Visayas and Mindanao,

 identify the context of a given literary text,

 relate the context of a literary text to its meaning, and

 situate or place the literary text in the context of the region where the
writer is from and of the nation.

As a reader, why do you have to make sense of the context of a literary

work?
How is each literary work representative of the region where the writer is
from and of the nation?

63
Learn about it!

Merlie M. Alunan was born in Dingle, Iloilo and graduated with a Creative
Writing degree from Siliman University. She is Professor Emeritus at the
University of the Philippines and promotes writing in the mother tongue. Her
poems are in English, Cebuano, and Waray. At present, she resides in
Tacloban City.

Example:
Old Women in Our Village (An Excerpt)
By Merlie M. Alunan

Old women in my village say

the sea is always hungry, they say,
that’s why it comes without fail
to lick the edges of the barrier sand,
rolling through rafts of mangrove,
smashing its salt-steeped flood
on guardian cliffs, breaking itself
against rock faces, landlocks, hills,
reaching through to fields, forests,
grazelands, villages by the water,
country lanes, towns, cities where
people walk about in a dream,
deaf to the wind shushing
the sea’s sibilant sighing

Someday we come
someday we come
someday . . . .

Only the old women hear

the ceaseless warning, watching
the grain drying in the sun,
or tending the boiling pot
or gutting a fish for the fire, fingers
bloody, clothes stained, scent of the ocean
rising from the mangled flesh into their lungs.

Nights, as they sit on their mats

rubbing their knees, waiting for ease
to come, and sleep, they hear the sea
64
endlessly muttering as in a dream
someday someday someday . . . .
Nudging the old men beside them,
their mates—empty-eyed seafarer,
each a survivor of storms, high waves,
and the sea’s vast loneliness,
now half-lost in their old age
amid the household clutter—
old women in my village
nod to themselves and say,
one uncharted day, the sea
will open its mouth and drink in
a child playing on the sand,
a fisherman with his nets,
great ships laden with cargo,
and still unsated, they say,
suck up cities towns villages—
one huge swallow to slake its hunger.
As to when or how it would happen,
who knows, the women say, but this much
is true—no plea for kindness can stop it—
nodding their heads this way and that,
tuning their ears to the endless mumbling . . . .
someday we come we come we come
someday we come we come we come
someday someday someday

(Reproduced by permission of Prof. Merlie M. Alunan )

Explanation:
The imagery in “Old Women in Our Village” (2012) is heightened through the
use of sound devices. For instance, the cacophony in the first stanza implies
strong feelings, like in the line “against rock faces, landlocks, hills.”
Then euphony in the next stanza evokes pleasant feelings as in the line “the
sea’s sibilant sighing.” This suggests an impending disaster, which is echoed
in the rest of the poem.

Gutierrez Mangansakan II, an advocate of the Moro culture, is a filmmaker

and writer from Pagalungan, Maguindanao. In 2001, his film House under the
Crescent Moon won the grand prize for video documentary from the Cultural
Center of the Philippines Prize for Independent Film and Video. Since then,
65
he has made films that focus on the plight of women and children. Also, he
was the editor of Children of the Ever-Changing Moon(2007), a collection of
essays by young Moro writers. He became a fellow at the University of
Iowa’s International Program in 2008.

Mangansakan wrote a short story entitled “A Harvest of Sorrows” for the

collection Peace Mindanao edited by Jaime An Lim, a multi-awarded writer,
it is also published by UST Publishing House in 2013. The story features a
narrator whose experience mirrors Mangansakan’s experience in relief
work. For him, the issue and images of refugees and displacement have
always been a consistent element in both his films and writing.

Example:
A Harvest of Sorrows
by Gutierrez Mangansakan II

“A Harvest of Sorrows” begins with the narrator’s arrival at an evacuation

center at 9 AM in a remote village in Mindanao. He has come to give away
several sacks of rice to the refugees in the center. The refugees have fled
their homes because fighting broke out in their villages. At the center he
meets his friend Ayesha, the social worker who is in charge of supervising
relief operations. Ayesha tells him that a woman in the center gave birth to
a stillborn child, and the father does not know it yet. The father, together
with the other men, has gone back to the village to guard the rice fields,
where crops are ready for harvest in ten days. Later, while the narrator and
Ayesha are having coffee, the latter announces that the father will be sent
for and that the child will be buried after the noon prayer.

Key Points

 Each writer in the lesson tackles a theme that situates his or her work
in a context specific to the region.
 Merlie Alunan’s poem “Old Women in Our Village” depicts sea, an
important part of life of the Visayans, as an agent of destruction and

66
 death. On the other hand, Gutierrez Mangansakan II’s short story “A
Harvest of Sorrows” highlights the plight of refugees from war.
 Context – This is the background of the text which may have been
influenced by the author’s life, language, society, and culture.
 Imagery – This language awakens the reader’s sensory perceptions
through words and phrases.
 Cacophony – This sound device refers to words or phrases with harsh
sounds that create a disturbing tone.
 Euphony – This sound device refers to words or phrases with melodic
sounds that create a calming tone.

Tips

To know the context of any literary work lets you gain a deeper insight into
its theme and meaning. Here are two ways to get the context of a literary
work:

 by doing a close reading of the text

 by looking at the history and culture of its place of origin

67
Lesson 22- Electronic Literature

Objective

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to analyze two sample works of
electronic literature by Filipinos.

What is electronic literature?

What are the different kinds of electronic literature?

Electronic literature refers to works commonly published and shared on the

Web. Unlike traditional printed literature, it has features that could only be
presented through multimedia.

Kinds of Electronic Literature

 Hyperpoetry – This is a kind of graphic poetry, which combines words
with images. It has no standard lines or verses, but its words are
arranged in a way that it creates meaning and visual effect.
 Hyperfiction – This contains hyperlinks. When readers click on a
hyperlink, they go to another Web page that contains the next part of a
story.

 Photo poem – This uses real-life images or electronically generated

images as representation of the textual poem.

 Silent comics – These have no verbal dialogues. The dialogues are

presented through symbols.

 Textula – This poem is intended to be shared through the SMS.

 Blog – This Web site is where a person writes about his or her personal
opinions, activities, and experiences.

Vladimeir Gonzales
Filipino fictionist and playwright Vladimeir Gonzales is known for his short
stories in Filipino, as well as his works of nonfiction compiled in his
books Isang Napakalaking Kaastigan and A-side/B-side: ang mga Piso sa
Jukebox ng Buhay Mo.

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He has also published several hyperfiction works in his site, vladgonzales.net−−
−−−−−−−−−−−vladgonzales.net_. One of them is entitled “Mga Tala ng
Buhay ni Edward Elric, Dating State Alchemist, bilang State University
Instructor 1.” A work of fan fiction, the story features Edward Elric from the
Japanese manga Fullmetal Alchemist. Elric is the youngest alchemist
working for the state of Amestris. In Gonzales’s story he has come to the
Philippines through a magical portal.
Access to parts of the story is through the embedded hyperlinks on the
human transmutation circle, which is used by Elric in the original story to
resurrect his mother. The hyperlinks are signs of metals in alchemy. To begin
reading the story, one clicks on the hyperlink of Tin and goes clockwise.

The hyperlinks lead to these portions:

69
Example:
Ang Transmutation Circle (An Excerpt)
By Vladimeir Gonzales

Hindi kaagad naalala ni Ed ang mga huling naganap bago siya mapunta sa
Pilipinas. Lumipas pa ang ilang araw bago magkaroon ng saysay ang mga
naganap sa kanya. Oo, napunta na siya sa kabilang panig ng lagusan upang
muling mabuhay ang kapatid niyang si Al sa orihinal nitong katawan, at hindi
ang katawang bakal na matagal nitong pinaglagian bilang kapalit sa
pagtatangkang resureksyon ng kanilang ina. Wala nang alchemy sa
mundong nakita niya
pagkagising. Si Edward Elric na dati’y isang alchemist ay si Edward Aquino
na, isang estudyante ng Fine Arts sa Unibersidad ng Pilipinas. Sa pamilyang
Aquino, siya lang daw ang nalinya sa kursong may kaugnayan sa Sining. Ito
ang nakuha niya mula sa mga pira-pirasong sermon ng kanyang ina sa
mundong napuntahan niya. Ang kanyang ama, tulad ng sa mundong
pinanggalingan niya ay nawawala. Kapag tinatanong niya sa kanyang ina
kung nasaan ang kanyang ama, lagi lang siyang minumura nito. Malayo sa
inang nakagisnan niya’t tinangkang buhayin.

Naging katulad siya ng maraming mag-aaral. Mas nakaaangat nga lang ang
hilig sa pag-aaral lalo na sa kanyang mga major. Sa mga lumipas na taon ng
kanyang buhay undergrad, nakilala siya sa kanilang kolehiyo sa kanyang
mga eskultura’t installation pieces. Pinakapopular ang ginawa niyang serye
ng mga installation art na gumagamit ng mga sipilyo, kubyertos at picture
frames na nakapaloob sa iba’t ibang baryasyon ng transmutation circles.
Para sa mga kritiko, ang kanyang mga piyesa’y isang dekonstruksyon ng
kalikasan ng tao, isang paghihimay ng mga batayang pagpapahalaga, ng
mabuti’t masama, ng liwanag at dilim, sa isang dinamikong mundong
hinahati ng noon, ng ngayon, ng bukas; para kay Ed, simpleng pagpapaalala
lang ito ng mundong kanyang iniwanan, ng mundo kung saan naroon si Al,
ang kaibigang si Winry, ang mga kaibigang state alchemist. Magkaiba man
ang mga dahilan, ito ang nagbigay-daan kay Ed upang makalabas siya ng
Pilipinas at makabisita sa iba pang mga bansa sa kanyang bagong mundo.
Naging laman siya ng mga diyaryo’t magasin, ng telebisyon at radyo.
Nabansagan siyang isa sa mga pinakamahusay na artista ng kanyang
panahon.

Nagtapos siya ng kanyang undergraduate degree nang walang karangalan.

Dahil sa paglibot ng kanyang installation pieces sa iba’t ibang bansa’y
nakatanggap siya ng forced drop sa ibang mga asignatura’t na-underload din
nang ilang beses. Bukod doon ay hindi pa niya maipasa-pasa ang kanyang
Math 1 (naiwan din yata sa kabilang dimensyon ang kanyang husay at
70
interes dito). Pero kahit na walang anumang ‘laude’ na natanggap,
nakapasok naman siya sa kanilang kolehiyo bilang isang university
instructor. Isang taon pa lang siyang nagtuturo’y nagkaasawa na siya’t
nagkaroon ng anak. Co-teacher niya sa departamento’t isang fresh grad din
ang kanyang naging kabiyak. Sa puntong ito’y nakaramdam nang kaunting
kapanatagan si Ed, halos katumbas ng ligayang naramdaman niya noong
nagawaran siya ng titulong state alchemist.
(Reproduced by permission of Vladimeir Gonzales)

Learn about it!

Frank Rivera
Frank Rivera, a playwright, received recognition for a number of his plays
like Ambon, Ulan, Baha: Sarsuwelang Pinoy (2003) and Oyayi, Ang
Zarzuela (2004). Also, he received awards for the Makata sa
Cellphone (2005), a collection of poetry which includes his popular textula.
For his works of textula, he was dubbed as the “makata sa cell phone.”

Example:
A Textula (2013)
by Frank G. Rivera

Bayang mahilig sa ganda

Inuuna ang postura
Walang laman ang bituka
Kundi gasgas na pag-asa.

Si MEGAN YOUNG nang manalo

Nagbunyi ang Pilipino
May dala sanang asenso
Magkakapag-asa tayo.

Nagkagyera sa Mindanao
Kaban ng bayan ninakaw
Sa Bagyo’y daming pumanaw
MISS WORLD, salamat sa araw.
(Reproduced by permission of Frank Rivera)

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Explanation:
 This textula has three stanzas, each of which has four lines. Each line
has eight syllables, which set a regular rhythm.
 The poem uses what is called in Tagalog poetry as “tugmang
karaniwan,” wherein the last word of each line has the same sound.
Also, the poem uses “tugmang patinig,” wherein the last words of the
lines have the same vowel sound, and “tugmang katinig,” wherein the
last words of the lines have the same consonant sound.

Summary

Electronic literature refers to works commonly published and shared on the

Web. Such works have features that could only be presented through
multimedia. Examples of those works are hyperpoetry, hyperfiction, photo
poems, silent comics, textula, and blogs.

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UNIT III- LITERARY GENRES, TRADITIONS, AND FORMS FROM DIFFERENT CULTURES

Lesson 23- English Literature

Objectives

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

 name some well-known English writers and their works as well as the
body of English literature to which they belong; and
 analyze a few selected literary works representative of English
literature.

Who are some of the important writers in the English literature?

Why are they important?
What literary forms are prominent in English literature?

73
Let’s Review!

 Epic poem - This is a long narrative poem usually about a hero and his
deeds. A well-known example is Beowulf.
 Sonnet - This poem has fourteen lines that follow a rhyme scheme. A
well-known example is Sonnet 18 of William Shakespeare. It starts with
the famous line, “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?”

 Drama - This piece of writing tells a story through dialogue, and it is

performed on stage. A well-known example is The Importance of Being
Earnest by Oscar Wilde.

 Novel - This is a long prose narrative usually about fictional characters

and events, which are told in a particular sequence.

English Literature

English literature is one of the richest, most developed, and most important
bodies of literature in the world. It encompasses both written and spoken
works by writers from the United Kingdom.

Old English Literature (600 - 1100)

Old English, the earliest form of the English language, was spoken by the
Anglo-Saxons, a Germanic tribe living in Britain during the fifth century. One
significant work written in Old English is Beowulf, the longest epic poem in
Old English. It is known for its use of kennings, which are phrases or
compound words used to name persons, places, and things indirectly.

Middle English Literature (1100 - 1500)

Middle English is a blend Old English and Norman French, the French dialect
spoken by the Normans (people of Normandy). The Canterbury Tales by
Geoffrey Chaucer, the father of English literature, is a fine example of
literature written in Middle English.

Elizabethan Literature (1558 - 1603)

The Elizabethan period is the golden age of English literature. Also, it is the
golden age of drama. Known as the “Bard of Avon,” William Shakespeare
wrote his plays during the period. His best plays include Hamlet, King Lear,
Macbeth, Othello, and The Merchant of Venice. Also, he wrote 154 sonnets,

74
many of which are the best loved and the most widely-read poems in the
English literature.

The Romantic Period (1800 - 1837)

This period is the golden age of lyric poetry. Poetry became the expression
of the poet’s personal feelings and emotions. A few notable works of poetry
of the period are Songs of Innocence and of Experience by William
Blake, Lyrical Ballads by William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor
Coleridge, The Eve of St. Agnes, and Other Poems by John Keats, “Don Juan”
by Lord Byron, and “Ode to the West Wind” by Percy Bysshe Shelley.

The Victorian Period (1837 - 1900)

The period saw the rise of the novel. Charles Dickens, considered to be the
greatest English novelist of the 19th century, wrote Great Expectations. This
novel was published as a serial in a weekly periodical from December 1860
to August 1861.

Alfred Lord Tennyson and Robert Browning each wrote fine poetry during the
period. Tennyson’s In Memoriam A.H.H. is a requiem for his friend Arthur
Henry Hallam. It is widely considered to be one of the great poems of the
19th century. Browning, who is known for his dramatic monologues, wrote
the famous poem “My Last Duchess.” In a dramatic monologue, the poet
addresses an audience through an assumed voice.

Oscar Wilde is the best dramatist of the period. He wrote the

masterpiece The Importance of Being Earnest.

Twentieth Century (1900 - 2000)

William Butler Yeats and Thomas Stearns Eliot wrote Modernist poems
during the period. Yeats wrote The Tower, The Winding Stair, and New
Poems, all of which are known to have potent images. Eliot’s masterpieces
are “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” and “The Waste Land.”

Virginia Woolf in her story Mrs. Dalloway and James Joyce in his
work Ulysses use stream of consciousness, a literary technique in which the
flow of thoughts of a character is described in words.

Summary

English literature is a very large body of diverse literature that

encompasses works by writers from the United Kingdom.
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Lesson 24- American Literature

Objectives

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

 name some well-known American writers of the 19th and 20th

centuries and their works; and
 analyze a few selected literary works representative of American
Literature.

Who are some of the important American writers during the 19th and 20th
centuries?
Why are they important?
What literary forms are prominent in American literature?

Learn about it!

American Literature

American literature refers to all works of literature in English produced in

the United States.

The 19th Century

 William Cullen Bryant (1794 - 1878) became famous for “Thanatopsis”
(1817). This poem marked a new beginning for American poetry.
 Washington Irving (1783 - 1859) was known for “Rip Van Winkle” and
“The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” the first American short stories. They
were part of his work The Sketch Book, the first American work to
become successful internationally.
 Edgar Allan Poe (1809 - 1849) became famous for his macabre stories
like “The Fall of the House of Usher” (1839) and “The Cask of
Amontillado” (1846). Also, he wrote “The Murders in the Rue Morgue”
(1841), the first detective story, and the poem “Raven” (1845), with
which he achieved instant fame.
 Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804 - 1864) became known for his symbolical
tales like “The Hollow of the Three Hills” (1830) and “Young Goodman

76
 Brown” (1835). Also, he wrote the gothic romance The Scarlet
Letter (1850).
 Walt Whitman (1819 - 1892) became well-known for Leaves of Grass,
first published in 1855. In this poetry collection, Whitman showed the
experiences of the common man.
 Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886) wrote odd poems. She mostly used the
imperfect rhyme and avoided regular rhythms. A collection of her
poems, Poems by Emily Dickinson, came out in 1890.
The 20th Century
 Robert Frost (1874 - 1963) wrote poems with traditional stanzas and a
blank verse, a verse in iambic pentameter with no rhyme. His poems
portray ordinary people in everyday situations like “Mending Wall,”
"The Road Not Taken," and “After Apple-Picking,” both of which were
published in 1914.
 E. E. cummings (1894 - 1962) was known for his unconventional
punctuation and phrasing. His poems were compiled in Complete
Poems (1968).
 Ezra Pound (1885 - 1972) was a leader of the Imagists, who emphasized
the use of direct and sparse language and precise images in writing
poetry. Two of his works are Ripostes (1912) and Lustra (1916).
 Sherwood Anderson (1876 - 1941) wrote prose using everyday speech.
His best works appeared in Winesburg, Ohio (1919) and Death in the
Woods (1933).
 Ernest Hemingway (1899 - 1961) was known for his succinct writing,
which was widely imitated. His writing was very straightforward and
objective - not verbose and sentimental. Two of his finest stories are
“The Killers” (1927) and “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber”
(1936).
 Allen Ginsberg (1926 - 1997) was known for his work “Howl” (1956), a
poem with incantatory rhythms and raw emotion. He was one of the
Beat poets, who aimed to bring poetry back to the streets.
 Anne Sexton (1928 - 1974) became known for her confessional poetry, a
kind of poetry that deals with the private experiences of the speaker.
Her work Live or Die(1966) won a Pulitzer Prize.

Summary

American literature is a rich body of literature. It refers to all works of

literature in English published in the United States, which has produced
many great writers through the centuries.
77
Lesson 25- European Literature

Objectives

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

 name some writers and their literary works under European Literature,
and
 analyze a few selected literary works representative of the literature it
belongs.

What are some literary pieces included in European Literature?

Who are some of the major writers in each literature?
What important works did they produce?

Learn about it!

European Literature, also called Western Literature, refers to literature in

the Indo-European languages including Latin, Greek, the Romance

78
languages, and Russian. It is considered as the largest body of literature in
the world.

Latin Literature

 Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 BCE–43 BCE) was the greatest Roman
orator. The first part of the Golden Age of Latin Literature (70 BC–AD
18) is named after him, the Ciceronian period (70–43 BC). Using Latin
as a literary medium, he was able to express abstract and complicated
thoughts clearly in his speeches. One of his well-known speeches
is Pro Cluentio.
 Virgil (70 BCE–19 BCE), the greatest Roman poet, was known
for Aeneid, an epic poem. He wrote it during the Augustan Age (43 BC–
AD 18), the second part of the Golden Age.

Greek Literature

 Homer is known for the The Iliad and the The Odyssey. These epics are
about the heroic achievements of Achilles and Odysseus, respectively.
 Sophocles (496 BC–406 BC) was a tragic playwright. He was known
for Oedipus the King, which marks the highest level of achievement of
Greek drama.

Italian Literature

 Francesco Petrarca, or Petrarch (1304–1374) perfected the Italian

sonnet, a major influence on European poetry. Written in the
vernacular, his sonnets were published in the Canzoniere.
 Giovanni Boccaccio (1313–1375) is known for Decameron, a classic
Italian masterpiece. The stories were written in the vernacular.

Spanish Literature

 Two well-known Spanish writers of Siglo De Oro (1500–1681) are Miguel

de Cervantes (1547–1616) and Lope de Vega (1562–1635).
 Miguel de Cervantes was known for his novel Don Quixote, one of the
most widely read works of Western Literature. Its titular character’s
name is the origin of the word “quixotic,” meaning hopeful or romantic
in a way that is not practical.

79
  Lope de Vega, an outstanding dramatist, wrote as many as 1800 plays
during his lifetime, including cloak and sword drama, which are plays
of upper middle class manners and intrigue.

French Literature

 Gustave Flaubert (1821–1880), a novelist, was a major influence on the

realist school. His masterpiece, Madame Bovary (1857), marked the
beginning of a new age of realism.
 Guy de Maupassant (1850–1893) is considered as the greatest French
short story writer. A Naturalist, he wrote objective stories which
present a real “slice of life.”

Russian Literature

 Leo Tolstoy (1828–1910) is known for his novels War and Peace (1865–
1869) and Anna Karenina (1875–1877). A master of realistic fiction, he
is considered as one of the world’s greatest novelists.
 Anton Chekhov (1860–1904) is a master of the modern short story and
a Russian playwright. His works such as, "The Bet" and "The
Misfortune" reveal his clinical approach to ordinary life.

Summary

European Literature refers to literatures in the Indo-European languages. It

is considered as the largest body of literature in the world.

Lesson 26- Latin American Literature

Objectives

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

 name some well-known Latin American writers of the 20th century and
their works, and
 analyze two selected literary works representative of the period.

What is Latin American literature?

Who are some well-known Latin American writers of the 20th Century and
what did they write?

80
Latin American Literature

Latin American Literature refers to all works of literature in Latin American

countries like Chile, Argentina, Mexico, Cuba, Guatemala, Colombia, and
Peru.

The Vanguardia

 The Vanguardia (avant-garde in English) took place in Latin America

between approximately 1916 and 1935. It collectively referred to
different literary movements. Four of those were the following:
o Creacionismo, founded by Vicente Huidobro (1893–1948), a
Chilean poet, in 1916

o Ultraismo, introduced to South America by Jorge Luis

Borges (1899–1986), an Argentine writer, in 1921

o Estridentismo, founded in Mexico City by Manuel Maples

Arce (1898–1981), a Mexican writer, in 1921

o Surrealism, which is said to have started in Argentina when the

Argentinian poet Aldo Pellegrini (1903–1973) launched the first
Surrealist magazine in 1928

 Surrealism, an art form that combines unrelated images or events in a

very strange and dreamlike way, became a major influence in Latin
American Literature throughout the 20th century.
 Pablo Neruda (1904–1973), a Chilean poet, wrote Residence on
Earth (1933), a collection of poetry inspired by surrealism.
 Octavio Paz (1914–1998), a Mexican poet, wrote poems with surrealist
imagery. His major works were published in Freedom Under
Parole (1960).
 Jorge Luis Borges (1899–1986) was known for his fantastic stories,
published later as a collection entitled Ficciones (1944).
 Alejo Carpentier (1904–1980), a Cuban writer, wrote The Kingdom of
This World(1949), a novel of the magic realism genre, in which
elements of fantasy or myth are included matter-of-factly in seemingly
realistic fiction.
 Miguel Angel Asturias (1899–1974), a Guatemalan writer, wrote the
novel The President (1946). This novel along with Carpentier’s novel
introduced magic realism.

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The Boom Novels
These were essentially modernist novels, which appeared in the second half
of the 20th century. They had features that were different or absent from the
works of the regionalist writers of the past. (Regionalist writers were those
that used local color, which refers to interesting information about a
particular place or its people.)

The boom novels were the following:

 The Death of Artemio Cruz (1962) by Carlos Fuentes (1928–2012), a

Mexican writer
 Hopscotch (1963) by Julio Cortazar (1914–1984), an Argentine fictionist

 The Time of the Hero (1963) by Mario Vargas Llosa, a Peruvian writer

 One Hundred Years of Solitude (1967) by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (1927–

2014), a Colombian fictionist

“Post-Boom” Writers
These writers included a host of women who published works in the last
twenty years of the 20th century. Three of them were Isabel Allende, a
Chilean writer who wrote The House of Spirits (1982); Diamela Eltit, a
Chilean writer who wrote E. Luminata(1983); and Luisa Valenzuela, an
Argentine writer who wrote Black Novel with Argentines (1990).

Summary

Latin American Literature refers to all works of literature in Latin American

countries. The 20th century saw some of its best writers.

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Lesson 27- Asian Literature

Objectives

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

 name some major works and their writers in three major national
literatures of Asian literature, namely, Chinese, Japanese, and Indian,
and
 analyze a few selected literary works representative of the literature it
belongs.

What is Asian literature?

What are some of the major works in Chinese, Japanese, and Indian
literatures and who wrote them?

Learn about it!

Asian Literature

 Asian literature refers to the body of literature produced in the

countries in Asia.

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Chinese Literature
 This body of works is in Chinese. It has more than 50 000 published
works in a wide range of topics.
 Du Fu (712–770) is considered as China’s greatest poet. He was known
for his works of lüshi. A lüshi has eight lines, each of which has five or
seven syllables following a strict tonal pattern. It became widely
popular during the Tang Dynasty (618–907 CE), the golden age of art
and literature in Chinese history.

 Li Bai (701–762), also called Li Po, rivaled Du Fu for the title of China’s
greatest poet. Unlike Du Fu, he wrote less formal verse forms. A
famous drinker, he frequently celebrated drinking in his poetry.

Japanese Literature
 This body of works is mostly in Japanese, except the early writings
which were written in Chinese.
 Kakinomoto Hitomaro, Japan’s first literary figure, was known for his
works of tanka and chōka. The tanka, the basic form of Japanese
poetry, has five lines in five-seven-five-seven-seven syllable pattern. On
the other hand, the chōka has alternating lines of five and seven
syllables and ends with an extra line of seven syllables. Having no
definite length, it can have from seven lines to 150. Hitomaro’s works
were included in Man’yōshū, the oldest anthology of Japanese poetry
which was produced during the Nara Period (710–784).

 Matsuo Bashō (1644–1694) was regarded as the supreme haiku poet.

Emerged from the early Tokugawa period (1603–1770), the haiku is
composed of three lines with five-seven-five syllable pattern. It
originated from the hokku, the first three lines of a renga, a poem
usually with a hundred linked verses. Bashō’s verses appear with his
travel accounts like The Narrow Road to the Deep North (1694).

Indian Literature
 This body of works is produced in India in a variety of vernacular
languages like Sanskrit, Hindi, Punjabi, Tamil, and Urdu.
 The Mahabharata is an Indian epic written in Sanskrit. It is the longest
poem in history with about 100 000 couplets. It is traditionally
ascribed to an Indian sage named Vyasa. The Hindus regard the epic
as both a text about dharma (the Hindu moral law) and a history.
Bhagavadgītā, the most celebrated of its episodes, gives spiritual
guidance.
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  The Ramayana is another Indian epic in Sanskrit. The sage Valmiki was
traditionally regarded as its author. It is shorter than Mahabharata,
with some 24 000 couplets.

 The Panchatantra is a collection of Indian animal fables. Originally

written in Sanskrit, it is a mixture of prose and verse. The stories are
attributed to Vishnusharman, a learned Brahmin.

Summary

Asian literature refers to the body of literature produced in the countries in

Asia, which includes the Chinese, Japanese, and Indian literatures.

Lesson 28- African Literature

Objective

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to name some well-known
African writers in English and their works.

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What is African literature?
Who are some of the African writers in English?
What did they write about?

Learn about it!

In this lesson, you will learn about some well-known African writers in
English and their works.

African Literature

The literary works of African writers in English are part of the African
literature. This body of works refers to the ones not only produced in Afro-
Asiatic and African languages, but also to those works by Africans in
English, French, and other European languages.

A few of the common themes in the works of African writers are the
oppression of African people by the colonizers, the European influences on
the native African culture, racial discrimination, and pride in African past
and resilience.

Chinua Achebe (1930–2013) – This Nigerian writer was known for his
novel Things Fall Apart (1958), considered as the best known African novel
of the 20th century. It deals with emergent Africa, where native
communities, like Achebe’s Igbo community, came in contact with white
missionaries and its colonizers. The novel is the first in sometimes
called The African Trilogy. It was followed by No Longer at Ease, published
in 1960, and then Arrow of God in 1964.

Wole Soyinka – This Nigerian writer received the Nobel Prize for Literature in
1986, becoming the first black African to receive such award. As a
playwright, he wrote the satire A Dance of the Forests (1963), his first
important play that depicts the traditions of his people, the Yoruba. It was
staged in 1960 during the Nigerian independence celebrations. Also, he
wrote fiction and poetry.

Example
“The Telephone Conversation” by Wole Soyinka

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Wole Soyinka’s poem “The Telephone Conversation” first appeared in his
collection Modern Poetry from Africa (1963). As the title suggests, the poem
is about a telephone conversation between an African man and a white
woman. Considering to rent the apartment owned by the white woman, the
African man confesses, saying “I hate a wasted journey—I am African.” Then
as the conversation goes, the woman shows her true colors. She asks, “HOW
DARK?” then follows it up with another question, “ARE YOU LIGHT/ OR VERY
DARK.” Then asks again, “ARE YOU DARK? OR VERY LIGHT?” Then the
African man clarifies the question, saying “You mean—like plain or milk
chocolate?” Then he settles on this response “West African sepia... Down in
my passport.” Perhaps, out of ignorance, the woman says that she does not
know the color. To simplify, the African man says, “Like brunette.”
Confirming what she already thinks about the African man, the woman says
“THAT’S DARK, ISN’T IT?” Towards the end of the poetry, the African man
tries to describe the colors of the different parts of his body to the woman.
The poem ends with an invitation from the African man for the white
woman, saying “Madam . . . wouldn’t you rather/ see for yourself?”

Nadine Gordimer (1923–2014) – This South African writer received the Nobel
Prize for Literature in 1991. She was known for her works that dealt with the
effects of apartheid on her country. Apartheid was a system in which people
of color had less political and economic rights than that of the white people,
so the former was forced to live separately from the latter. An ardent
opponent of such system, she wrote novels that focused on the oppression
of nonwhite characters like A World of Strangers (1958), The Late Bourgeois
World (1966), Burger’s Daughter (1979), and July’s People (1981), all of which
were banned in her country.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie – This Nigerian writer is known for her widely-
acclaimed novels Purple Hibiscus (2003), Half of a Yellow Sun (2006),
and Americanah (2013), all of which won awards. The story of Purple
Hibiscus is told through a fifteen-year-old girl named Kambili as she
together with her family endured domestic violence in the hands of her
father. The story of Half of a Yellow Sun took place during the Nigerian Civil
War or Biafran War (1967–1970). Lastly, Americanah tells the story of a
young Nigerian woman that came to the US to study and to stay for work.

Example:
“A Private Experience” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

“A Private Experience” is one of the short stories in the author’s collection

The Thing Around Your Neck published in 2009. It tells the story of two
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women, one named Chika and the other unnamed. Chika is an Igbo, one of
the largest ethnic groups of Africa, and an outward Christian (she wears a
rosary that her mother gave her, but she does not pray or believe in God). On
the other hand, the unnamed woman is a Hausa, another large African
ethnic group, and a devout Muslim. They cross paths during a riot at a
market in the city of Kano, northern Nigeria. Both confused and scared, they
ran away from the market and hid in a small, abandoned store. Stuck
together, the two women start to talk and eventually learn more things
about each other. Chika tells the woman that her sister Nnedi was with her
at the market and that they are both university students. She learns that the
woman sells onions for a living. The two women become closer when the
woman shows Chika her breasts with cracked nipples. Chika, who is
studying medicine, examines the breasts and learns that the woman has
just had her fifth child. She then advises the woman to rub some lotion on
her nipples after feeding her baby and to put the nipple and the areola into
the baby’s mouth while it feeds. The woman’s eldest daughter, Halima, was
at the bus stop selling groundnuts when the confusion began. At the
mention of her daughter’s name, the woman cries. As she wipes her tears
away, she says, “Allah keep your sister and Halima in safe place.” After more
than three hours, Chika ventures out into the street to go home, anxious to
see her sister and her auntie. She leaves the woman and promises to come
back for her and her daughter. However, when she sees and smells a
recently burned body in the street, she gets terrified and runs back to the
small store, accidentally cutting her leg. The woman at the store cleans the
wound and wraps it with her scarf. Chika stays there with the woman until
morning when it is safe to leave the store.

Explanation:
In different parts of the narrative, the narrator gives a brief glimpse of what
happens in the future. For instance, after Chika shuts the windows of the
small store where she and the unnamed woman are hiding, the narrator tells
the reader what Chika will find out eventually—that Chika will see the
burned cars and will learn that the riot started when some Muslims chopped
off an Igbo man’s head for driving over a Koran with his car. Another
instance is that after Chika mentions her sister’s name to the woman, the
narrator tells the reader what Chika will later do—that Chika will go to
hospital mortuaries to look for her sister, but she will never find her.

Summary
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Literary works by African writers in English like Chinua Achebe, Wole
Soyinka, Chimamanda Adichie, and Nadine Gordimer are part of African
literature, a body of works produced in Afro-Asiatic and African languages
as well as those made by Africans in English, French, and other European
languages.

UNIT IV- BASIC TEXTUAL AND CONTEXTUAL READING APPROACHES

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Lesson 29- Figures of Speech

Objective

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to identify the different figures
of speech.

What are figures of speech?

Why do literary writers use figures of speech?

Learn about it!

Figures of Speech

Figures of speech, also referred to as figurative language, are words or

phrases that express meanings in a nonliteral way. These expressions are
often used for comparison and for conveying emotion.

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Literary writers use figures of speech to enhance the artistic quality of their
works. Figures of speech bring vividness and liveliness to the work, and they
also emphasize the message that the writer wants to convey. The use of
these expressions also allows readers to feel a connection with the literary
work by sparking their imagination and arousing their emotions.

There are numerous figures of speech, and these can be classified into
different categories. Among these categories are the following:

 Figures of relationship
 Figures of emphasis

 Figures of sound

Figures of Relationship
Figures of relationship include simile, metaphor, metonymy,
and synecdoche.

 Simile

A simile compares two unlike things with a common quality. The

comparison is done using words such as like or as.

Example:
O my Luve's like a red, red rose,
That's newly sprung in June;
–from "A Red, Red Rose" by Robert Burns

Explanation:
The persona in the poem compares his love to a red rose that blooms
in springtime.

 Metaphor

A metaphor is a comparison that is done by stating that one thing is

another in order to suggest their similarity or shared qualities.

Example:
Trees are poems the earth writes upon the sky.
–Khalil Gibran

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 Explanation:
In the given quote, trees are likened to poems, and the comparison
does not use words such as like or as.

 Metonymy

Metonymy refers to using a thing or idea that is not referred to by its

own name but by a different one, a name of something with which it is
closely associated.

Example:
I’m mighty glad Georgia waited till after Christmas before it seceded
or it would have ruined the Christmas parties.
–from Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

Explanation:
In the given line, Georgia is not used to refer to the place or state but
rather the people making up the state: its citizens and government
officials.

 Synecdoche

A synecdoche uses a part of something to represent the whole or the

whole to represent a part.

Example:
His eye met hers as she sat there paler and whiter than anyone in the
vast ocean of anxious faces about her.
–from "The Lady, or the Tiger?" by Frank Stockton

Explanation:
The word faces is used to refer to people.

Figures of Emphasis
Among the common figures of emphasis are hyperbole, oxymoron,
and paradox.

 Hyperbole

Hyperbole uses intentional exaggeration to achieve emphasis or

produce a comic effect.

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 Example:
I had to wait in the station for ten days–an eternity.
–from Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

Explanation:
The use of the word eternity to describe a wait of ten days is an
exaggeration. It simply emphasizes that the persona feels that he
waited for so long.

 Oxymoron

An oxymoron is a word or a combination of words with contradictory

meanings, as in bittersweet and open secret.

Example:
Why, then, O brawling love! O loving hate!
O anything, of nothing first create!
–from Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

Explanation:
The phrase loving hate is an oxymoron, as it makes use of two
contradictory terms.

 Paradox

A paradox is a statement that appears to hold contradictory ideas but

may actually be true.

Example:
The Child is father of the Man.
–from "My Heart Leaps Up When I Behold" by William Wordsworth

Explanation:
The given statement may appear silly at first, but what it conveys is
that the experiences of the child shape who he/she becomes and how
he/she acts as an adult.

Figures of Sound
Among the figures of sound are alliteration and onomatopoeia.

 Alliteration

Alliteration refers to the use of closely spaced words that have the
same initial sounds.

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 Example:
Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortals ever dared to dream before
–from "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe

Explanation:
The neighboring words doubting, dreaming, dreams, dared,
and dream begin with the d sound, giving the line a musical quality.

 Onomatopoeia

Onomatopoeia is the use of words that imitate the sound of what they
are referring to.

Example:
ARIEL:
Hark, hark!
Bow-wow.
The watch-dogs bark!
Bow-wow.
Hark, hark! I hear
The strain of strutting chanticleers
Cry, ‘cock-a-diddle-dow!’
–from The Tempest by William Shakespeare

Explanation:
The words bow-wow and cock-a-diddle-dow are examples of
onomatopoeia, as they are animal sounds.

Key Points

 Figures of speech, also referred to as figurative language, are words or

phrases that express meanings in a nonliteral way.
 Figures of relationship include simile, metaphor, metonymy,
and synecdoche.

 Some figures of emphasis are hyperbole, oxymoron, and paradox.

 Among the figures of sound are alliteration and onomatopoeia.

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Lesson 31- Literary Techniques

Objective

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to identify different literary
techniques.

What are literary techniques?

Why do writers use literary techniques?

Learn about it!

Literary Techniques

 Literary techniques or devices refer to specific methods writers

employ in their works to convey messages. Readers, on the other hand,
look for several literary techniques when examining or analyzing a text
or simply evaluating a text’s artistic value.
 Keep in mind that literary techniques or devices are different from
literary elements. Literary elements are essential to a narrative as
writers make use of these components to serve as the structure of and
to develop a story. These elements refer to the plot, setting,
characters, point of view, and theme, among others.

Here are some literary techniques that writers make use of in their works.
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Anaphora

Anaphora, sometimes called epanaphora, refers to the repetition of a

word or phrase at the beginning of a sentence to create an artistic or
heightened effect. It adds rhythm to a particular line or paragraph, making it
easier to memorize or remember. Anaphora is also used for emphasis or to
stir emotions among the audience.

Example:
Hamlet (An Excerpt)
By William Shakespeare

'Tis a fault to heaven,

A fault against the dead, a fault to nature
To reason most absurd. . . .

(Hamlet by Shakespeare, Act 1 Scene 2)

Explanation:
The line above was delivered by Claudius while talking to Hamlet. Claudius
was trying to convince his nephew to end his mourning for his father,
emphasizing that it is “a fault” against heaven, the dead, and nature to do so
since death is inevitable.

Antihero

An antihero is a fictional character who does not possess the traits,

such as pride and valor, expected of a hero. Often, antiheroes are portrayed
as foolish and usually find themselves in mischief.

Example:
Don Quixote (An Excerpt)
By Miguel Cervantes

One of those, however, that stood near him, fancying he was mocking them,
lifted up a long staff he had in his hand and smote him such a blow with it
that Sancho dropped helpless to the ground. Don Quixote, seeing him so
roughly handled, attacked the man who had struck him lance in hand, but so
many thrust themselves between them that he could not avenge him. Far
from it, finding a shower of stones rained upon him, and crossbows and
muskets unnumbered levelled at him, he wheeled Rocinante round and, as

96
fast as his best gallop could take him, fled from the midst of them,
commending himself to God with all his heart to deliver him out of this peril,
in dread every step of some ball coming in at his back and coming out at his
breast, and every minute drawing his breath to see whether it had gone
from him.

Explanation:
The passage above shows that Don Quixote, despite considering himself as
a knight-errant, is a coward. Instead of helping his squire Sancho from the
mob, he fled to save himself.

Cliff-hanger
Cliff-hanger is a literary technique used by the author to arouse
curiosity among readers by ending a chapter or story abruptly. Most of the
time, the characters are confronted with a difficult or an unsettling
situation. Instead of providing a resolution, the author would end it.
Furthermore, this technique is often found in serialized works. Writers utilize
cliff-hangers in their works to keep the readers focused and interested as to
what will happen next.

Example:
Divergent (An Excerpt)
By Veronica Roth

I turn the gun in my hands and press it into Tobias’s palm.

He pushes the barrel into my forehead. My tears have stopped and the air
feels cold as it touches my cheeks. I reach out and rest my hand on his
chest so I can feel his heartbeat. At least his heartbeat is still him.

The bullet clicks into the chamber. Maybe it will be as easy to let him shoot
me as it was in the fear landscape, as it is in my dreams. Maybe it will be
just a bang, and the lights will lift, and I will find myself in another world. I
stand still and wait.
(Roth, Veronica. Divergent. New York: Katherine Tegen Books, 2011)

Explanation:
The main character Tris Prior was in an intense situation as Tobias, under a
simulation, was about to shoot her. However, the author did not divulge
whether Tobias did it or not until the next chapter.

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Juxtaposition

Juxtaposition is a technique authors use in their works to compare

two different things, or two contrasting ideas to be able to emphasize their
differences, such as good and evil, life and death, truth and lies, among
others. This technique is also used to develop a character, resolve a conflict,
or clarify various concepts.

Example:
The Cask of Amontillado (An Excerpt)
By Edgar Allan Poe

It was about dusk, one evening during the supreme madness of the carnival
season, that I [Montresor] encountered my friend [Fortunato]. He accosted
me with excessive warmth, for he had been drinking much. The man wore
motley. He had on a tightfitting parti-striped dress, and his head was
surmounted by the conical cap and bells. I was so pleased to see him, that I
thought I should never have done wringing his hand. . . .

At the most remote end of the crypt there appeared another less spacious.
Its walls had been lined with human remains, piled to the vault overhead, in
the fashion of the great catacombs of Paris. Three sides of this interior
crypt were still ornamented in this manner. From the fourth the bones had
been thrown down, and lay promiscuously upon the earth, forming at one
point a mound of some size. Within the wall thus exposed by the displacing
of the bones, we perceived a still interior recess, in depth about four feet, in
width three, in height six or seven. . . .

Explanation:
Edgar Allan Poe used juxtaposition in “The Cask of Amontillado.” In the first
paragraph, the carnival season, including Fortunato’s motley, symbolizes life
and merrymaking. Meanwhile, the catacombs and bones symbolize what
would become of Fortunato.

Foreshadowing

Foreshadowing refers to lines or dialogues in a story which give the

reader an idea of what is about to happen without spoiling or explicitly
stating the plot’s entirety. When writers use this technique, especially in
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mystery or thriller novels, they provide “red herrings” (misleading or false
clues) to divert the readers’ expectations.

Example:
The Iliad (An Excerpt)
By Homer

Then Thetis spake unto him, shedding tears the while: “Doomed then to a
speedy death, my child, shalt thou be, that thou spakest thus; for
straightway after Hector is thine own death ready at hand."
Explanation:

Achilles was devastated upon learning about Patroclus’ death in the hands
of Hector. He wished to avenge his fallen comrade, but his mother, Thetis,
warned him of his impending death should he kill Hector in battle.

Catharsis

Catharsis is derived from the Greek word katharsis, which means

“purification” or “purgation.” It refers to the emotional release or cleansing
of the characters, or audience or readers, from strong emotions usually
brought by learning of the truth or when confronted with difficult situations.
This technique is commonly found in tragedies, such as
Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and Sophocles’ Oedipus the King.

Example:
Oedipus the King (An Excerpt)
By Sophocles

Second Messenger:

(. . . .) Guided his footsteps; with a terrible shriek,

As though one beckoned him, he crashed against
The folding doors, and from their staples forced
The wrenched bolts and hurled himself within.
Then we beheld the woman hanging there,

A running noose entwined about her neck.

But when he saw her, with a maddened roar
He loosed the cord; and when her wretched corpse
Lay stretched on earth, what followed—O 'twas dread!
He tore the golden brooches that upheld
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Her queenly robes, upraised them high and smote
Full on his eye-balls, uttering words like these:
"No more shall ye behold such sights of woe,
Deeds I have suffered and myself have wrought;
Henceforward quenched in darkness shall ye see
Those ye should ne'er have seen; now blind to those
Whom, when I saw, I vainly yearned to know."
Explanation:
The excerpt above pertains to the scene where it was revealed that Oedipus
married his mother Jocasta and killed his father Laius. Upon learning of the
truth, Jocasta committed suicide while Oedipus thrust his mother’s golden
brooches into his eyes, thus causing him to become blind.

Stream of Consciousness

Stream of consciousness, sometimes referred to as interior

monologue, is a literary technique that is usually associated with Modern
writers. The plot is developed based on the characters’ reminiscence or
recollection of events and thought fragments. Instead of using dialogues to
show the characters’ reaction or emotion, writers make use of stream of
consciousness to show each character’s complex nature. More so, readers
are taken into the depths of the characters’ mind and witness how these
characters process their thoughts when faced with a particular situation or
emotion.

Example:
Mrs. Dalloway (An Excerpt)
By Virginia Woolf

Mrs. Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself. . . .

For Lucy had her work cut out for her. The doors would be taken off their
hinges; Rumpelmayer's men were coming. And then, thought Clarissa
Dalloway, what a morning--fresh as if issued to children on a beach.

What a lark! What a plunge! For so it had always seemed to her, when, with a
little squeak of the hinges, which she could hear now, she had burst open
the French windows and plunged at Bourton into the open air. How fresh,
how calm, stiller than this of course, the air was in the early morning; like
the flap of a wave; the kiss of a wave; chill and sharp and yet (for a girl of
eighteen as she then was) solemn, feeling as she did, standing there at the
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open window, that something awful was about to happen; looking at the
flowers, at the trees with the smoke winding off them and the rooks rising,
falling; standing and looking until Peter Walsh said, "Musing among the
vegetables?"--was that it?--"I prefer men to cauliflowers"--was that it? . . .
Explanation:
From the passage above, we see how Mrs. Dalloway’s thoughts wandered
from present to past. All these came into her head while she was on her way
to buy flowers.

Hamartia

Hamartia, or tragic flaw, is a technique commonly found in Greek

tragedies. It refers to the tragic hero’s error in judgment, which leads to his
or her downfall. Most of the time, this error is committed unknowingly, such
in the case of Oedipus when he killed his father Laius and married his
mother Jocasta. Hamartia is used to have the audience identify themselves
with the protagonist (that he or she has weaknesses too) and to provoke
pity because of the miserable turn of events he or she went through.
Additionally, it is used to impart a moral objective among readers or
audience to improve or change for the better so as to avoid the tragedy that
has befallen the protagonist.

Example:
Medea (An Excerpt)
By Euripides

An easy answer had I to this swell

Of speech, but Zeus our father knoweth well,
All I for thee have wrought, and thou for me.
So let it rest. This thing was not to be,
That thou shouldst live a merry life, my bed
Forgotten and my heart uncomforted,
Thou nor thy princess: nor the king that planned
Thy marriage drive Medea from his land,
And suffer not. Call me what thing thou please,
Tigress or Skylla from the Tuscan seas:
My claws have gripped thine heart, and all things shine.

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Explanation:
Medea’s hamartia or tragic flaw was her excessive love for Jason, who left
her and their children to marry Creon’s daughter, Glauce. This led Medea to
cast her revenge to Glauce, poisoning her, and to kill their children as she
knew how greatly it would hurt Jason.

Summary

Writers make use of literary techniques or devices to convey messages or to

simply add an artistic value to a text. Readers look for these techniques to
help them analyze or interpret a specific body of work.

Some of the literary techniques are anaphora, antihero, cliff-

hanger, juxtaposition, foreshadowing, stream of consciousness, catharsis,
and hamartia.

Lesson 32- Literary Reading through a Biographical

Context

Objective

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to analyze a literary text
through a biographical context.

What is a biographical context?

How do we analyze a literary text through its biographical context?

Learn about it!

Biographical Context

 A biographical context refers to the author’s life and the factors that
influenced and shaped it, such as social, political, and economic
conditions during his or her time. This also includes his or her
educational background, religion, ethnicity, among others. When you
read based on a biographical context, you employ a biographical
criticism.
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  In analyzing a text based on its biographical context, you should
consider not only how the factors mentioned earlier have caused an
impact to the author, but also how these factors were reflected in, and
have helped shape, his or her work(s).
 It is important to take into consideration the literary background of the
author. You must research about who and which the author reads as
these may have also influenced him or her and his or her work(s).

However, one should not mistake a biographical analysis from a biography.

Remember that when you analyze a text based on the biographical context,
you gather information about the author’s life as it can help you understand
some difficult concepts or extract profound meanings in an author’s work.
Moreover, a biographical analysis helps you understand the relationship of
the author and his or her work(s), not produce a detailed account of his or
her life–thus, a biography. Literature, aside from being form of expression,
can be based on real or orchestrated events. These events included by the
author in his or her work(s) are sometimes different from what really
transpired in real life. Sometimes these events are a reimagination,
exaggeration, or wishful thinking.

Example:
Manuel E. Arguilla’s “How My Brother Leon Brought Home a Wife” is a story
told through Baldo’s, Leon’s brother, point of view. He narrated how Leon
brought his soon-to-be wife, Maria, in their hometown (Nagrebcan, La Union)
to meet his family. To analyze this story, let us first consider some facts
about Arguilla:

 Arguilla was born on June 17, 1911 in Bauang, La Union to Crisanto

Arguilla and Margarita Estabillo.
 He was the fourth child and his family owned a small piece of land in
their town.

 He was married to Lydia Villanueva, who was from Ermita, Manila.

Explanation:
Based on the facts presented above, we can infer that Arguilla’s “How My
Brother Leon Brought Home a Wife” was a creative retelling of how his then
girlfriend Lydia Villanueva met his folks in La Union. Moreover, Maria fondly
calls Leon “Noel,” which also reads as Leon in a reverse manner or simply
referring to the author since his first name was “Manuel.”
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The Ilocano culture of calling an older woman or
man manang or manong respectively was also evident. Additionally, this
story was published during the American occupation in the country. Since
the country as a whole was transgressing from its conservative roots, not to
mention that the English language was widely used then (which also lacks
words to describe an elder sibling such as ate or kuya), perhaps this was
Arguilla’s way of preserving his Ilocano upbringing.

Summary

Reading through a biographical context entails that readers understand the

text better upon learning about the author’s life. Keep in mind that even
when engaging in a biographical criticism, your interpretation must still
come from how the text made an impact on you. Analyzing a text based on
the biographical context adds substance to that “impact” and does not
distort it.

Lesson 33- Literary Reading through a Linguistic

Context

Objective
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At the end of this lesson, you should be able to survey the English language
situation in Philippine Literature in English during the American Colonial
Period of the Philippines.

How did the Filipino writers in English during the American Colonial Period
of the Philippines handle English in their writing?
How successful are the Filipino writers in infusing Filipino sensibilities in
their works?

Learn about it!

English is a legacy of the American colonization of the Philippines. In this

lesson, you will see how Filipino writers were able to use English to create a
new body of Philippine literature.

The English Language Situation during the American Colonial Period (1898–
1945)
In 1901, the Americans established public education in the Philippines with
English as the medium of instruction. This exposed Filipino writers to Anglo-
American literature, culture, and ways of looking at the world. Hence, a
period of apprenticeship in the development of a new body of literature took
place. The period of apprenticeship (1910–1935) was characterized by
writers imitating Western writers. The succeeding “period of emergence”
(1935–1945) saw writers gaining full command of English and finally giving
shape to what is now the Philippine Literature in English.

Example 1:
Dead Stars (An Excerpt)
By Paz Marquez-Benitez

Under straight recalcitrant hair, a thin face with a satisfying breadth of

forehead, slow, dreamer's eyes, and astonishing freshness of lips--indeed
Alfredo Salazar's appearance betokened little of exuberant masculinity;
rather a poet with wayward humor, a fastidious artist with keen, clear brain.
Explanation:
“Dead Stars” (1925) by Paz Marquez-Benitez is considered as the first
modern Philippine short story in English for its maturity in subject and

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language. The prose is rich, a characteristic found in Western literature,
which is often verbose and elaborate. It uses deep words and figures of
speech (e.g., “recalcitrant hair”). The sentence is quite long; the author
plays with the language, creating a more vivid characterization of Alfredo.

Example 2:
How My Brother Leon Brought Home a Wife (An Excerpt)
By Manuel E. Arguilla

She stepped down from the carretela of Ca Celin with a quick, delicate
grace. She was lovely. She was tall. She looked up to my brother with a
smile, and her forehead was on a level with his mouth.

"You are Baldo," she said and placed her hand lightly on my shoulder. Her
nails were long, but they were not painted. She was fragrant like a morning
when papayas are in bloom. And a small dimple appeared momently high on
her right cheek. "And this is Labang of whom I have heard so much." She
held the wrist of one hand with the other and looked at Labang, and Labang
never stopped chewing his cud. He swallowed and brought up to his mouth
more cud and the sound of his insides was like a drum.
Explanation:
In “How My Brother Leon Brought Home a Wife” (1941), Arguilla writes in a
simple and very fluid language, which is easy for the readers to follow. He
used simple figures of speech (e.g., “fragrant like a morning when papayas
are in bloom”). He also used borrowed Spanish words to express meanings
more accurately. For example, he used “carretela of Ca Celin” instead of “Mr.
Celine’s carriage.” It places the story in a rural setting and gives it a distinct
native quality.

Tip

Check the period that a literary work belongs to in order to understand the
language used in the text.

Key Points

The American Colonial Period (1898–1945) saw the birth of Philippine

Literature in English. The "period of apprenticeship" is characterized by

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Filipino writers following Western writers. Then the short story “Dead Stars”
by Paz Marquez-Benitez, with its maturity in subject and language, made its
mark as the first modern Filipino short story in English. The succeeding
“period of emergence” saw writers like Manuel Arguilla gain full command of
English to express the Filipino sensibility.

Context – This is the background of the text which may have been
influenced by the author’s life, language, society, and culture.

Figure of Speech – This word or phrase has a different meaning from its
literal meaning.

Setting – This refers to the time and place where the events in a story take
place.

Lesson 34- Literary Reading through a Sociocultural

Context

Objective

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to identify and examine the
sociocultural context in the works of two major Filipino writers, Bienvenido
Santos and N. V. M. Gonzalez.

What did Bienvenido Santos and N. V. M. Gonzalez write about mostly?

How did they present the Filipino in their works?

Learn about it!

Bienvenido Santos (1911–1996) became an exile twice. In 1941, he was

studying in the US on government scholarship when the Japanese attacked
Manila in December; he was cut off from his family. During that time, he
wrote stories that later on appeared in his short story collections You,
Lovely People (1955), The Day the Dancers Came (1967), and Scent of
Apples (1979). He was only able to return to the country in February 1946.
Then in 1972, he was with his wife Beatriz in San Francisco when President
Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law. His novel The Praying Man (1982),
which is about the political corruption of the government, was banned by
the government. From 1973 to 1982, he was a writer-in-residence at Wichita

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State University. In 1976, he became a US citizen. He returned to the
Philippines for a visit in 1981.

Nestor Vicente Madali Gonzalez (1915–1999), simply known as “N. V.

M.,” became a Rockefeller Foundation fellow in 1948 and attended Stanford
University in California and Columbia University in New York City. In 1950, he
returned to the country and began his teaching career. Then he went back to
California in the 1960s to teach and stayed there until 1983. Despite those
travels, though, he never gave up his citizenship. Throughout his teaching
career, he produced fourteen books, including the short story
collections Children of the Ash-Covered Loam (1954) and The Bread of Salt
and Other Stories (1993). He received many awards for his achievements
including the National Artist of Literature in 1997.

Example 1:
“Immigration Blues”
by Bienvenido Santos

“Immigration Blues” tells the story of Alipio Palma, a Filipino old-timer and a
naturalized American citizen. A widower, he lived alone in an apartment in
San Francisco. One day during the summertime, two women came to his
home. The women were Antonietta Zafra and her sister Monica. Antonietta
introduced herself to Alipio as the wife of Carlito. At the mention of the
name of his old buddy, Alipio became familiar. In their conversation, he
talked about his late wife Seniang. One of his fond memories of her is when
he came home to see her wearing his jacket and slippers. Also, she went to
see him in his apartment and asked him without hesitation to marry her. She
had to marry an American citizen like Alipio at that time so that she could
stay in the country. In return, she would take care of him. At first, Alipio was
not interested. Eventually, he agreed to marry her. By doing so, he thought
that he would become more sensible with his time and money and that he
would be happier, and he would live longer.

For the same reason as Alipio’s late wife, Antonietta and her sister Monica
came to see Alipio. At first, it was only Antonietta who was working on
Alipio for Monica. She was dropping hints during their conversation. The
most obvious one was when Alipio was telling the two women how he and
Carlito had impressed women before with their gallantry and that they were
“fools on fire.” Antonietta responded with less subtlety by saying, “I’m sure
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you still got some of that fire.” From that moment, Monica took her turn to
work on Alipio herself. The story ends with Antonietta leaving Alipio and
Monica alone to go to a nearby grocery store for their dinner.
 In 1977, the short story won the best fiction award given by New
Lettersmagazine. In 1980, it was included in Scent of Apples, published
by the University of Washington Press. The next year, Santos won the
American Book Award for that collection from Before Columbus
Foundation.

Example 2:
“The Tomato Game”
by N. V. M. Gonzalez

“The Tomato Game” is written in an epistolary style. The narrator, a lecturer

at a university called Transpacifica University in the US, is writing to a man
named Greg. In the letter, he tells about a colleague named Sophio
Arimuhanan, whom he refers to as Sopi, and his modus operandi. Sopi calls
himself “Importer-Exporter of Brides,” that is, he makes arrangements for
people who wanted to get married. He is called “Attorney,” but he is not
legally allowed to practice law. One Sunday in the summertime, the narrator
and Sopi went to a tomato farm. At first the narrator thought they were
going to watch a cockfight, but he soon found out that they were meeting an
old man whom Sopi referred to as “Lolo.” This old man was arranged by Sopi
to marry a young Filipina named Alice. In their arrangement, the old man
would take Alice as his wife and some young man named Tony as his
nephew. Then the old man would send Tony to school. Hearing about the
arrangement made the narrator angry. Later on, when the narrator realized
his role in Sopi’s scheme, he felt terrible. As hinted by Sopi, he would need
the narrator’s help as he was a lecturer at Transpacifica. The old man had
already paid eight hundred dollars for Tony’s tuition in advance. Towards the
end of the letter, the narrator tells Greg what Sopi said to him when they
left the farm. Sopi said, “To think that that old man hasn’t even met the boy.”
 In 1972, the short story “The Tomato Game” won the first prize in the
Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature. In 1993, the short story
was published along with other works in the collection The Bread of
Salt and Other Stories.

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Explanation:
Bienvenido Santos and N. V. M. Gonzalez presented different facets of the
Filipino immigrant experience. In “Immigrant Blues,” Santos portrayed a
lonely old-timer who wanted a companion and a woman who chose to marry
an old-timer out to avoid deportation. In “The Tomato Game,” Gonzalez
portrayed Filipinos trying to make it in the US. One is a lecturer who regrets
to be part of a scheme that deceives an unsuspecting old man, while
another, an unlicensed lawyer, deceives people for a living.

Tip

Society and culture strongly influence a writer’s work. To understand the

text better then, identify its sociocultural context.

Key Point

Context is the background of the text which may have been influenced by
the author’s life, language, society, and culture.

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Lesson 35- Critical Reading Strategies in Literature

Objective

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to explore and apply different
reading strategies in literature.

What is critical reading?

Why is it important?
What are the different critical reading strategies in literature?

Learn about it!

Critical Reading

Critical reading has an academic or professional purpose. Unlike reading for

pleasure, it requires critical thinking skills like doing analysis, developing an
argument, and doing an evaluation.

Critical reading strategies in literature vary in purpose and focus.

Previewing a Text
Previewing a text enables a reader to get the sense of what the text is all
about and how its parts are organized. A reader can take a look at the facts
about the author and the work and the title of the work.

Example:
Consider the book Tales from the Jazz Age by F. Scott Fitzgerald. You can
find out more about the Jazz Age and F. Scott Fitzgerald. By checking the
Table of Contents, you can see how the author classifies the stories and
what inspired him to write each one.

TALES FROM THE JAZZ AGE

BY :F. SCOTT FITZGERALD, 1922

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A TABLE OF CONTENTS

FANTASIES

THE DIAMOND AS BIG AS THE RITZ.

These next stories are written in what, were I of imposing stature, I should
call my "second manner." "The Diamond as Big as the Ritz," which appeared
last summer in the "Smart Set," was designed utterly for my own
amusement. I was in that familiar mood characterized by a perfect craving
for luxury, and the story began as an attempt to feed that craving on
imaginary foods.

One well-known critic has been pleased to like this extravaganza better
than anything I have written. Personally, I prefer "The Offshore Pirate." But,
to tamper slightly with Lincoln: If you like this sort of thing, this, possibly, is
the sort of thing you'll like.

Contextualizing

Contextualizing a text is considering the time and place in which the

text was produced. A reader can read about the writer’s life to see how his
or her experiences shape the writing. Also, a reader can examine how a text
reflects the society or culture. Lastly, a reader can consider the significant
events in history that influence the text.

Example:
Again, consider the book Tales from the Jazz Age by F. Scott Fitzgerald. As
the title suggests, the stories in the collection were written during the Jazz
Age. A reader may consider the society or culture in that period of time in
reading the stories.

Asking Questions
Asking questions about a text allows one to understand and remember the
content of a piece of literature. A reader asks questions about the main
ideas or literary elements; and such questions are answered in his or her
own words.

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
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 1. Who are the main characters in the short story?
2. What is the plot of the short story?

3. What is the conflict?

4. What are the theme, motifs, and symbols used by the writer?

Reflecting
Reflecting on a text involves examination of the reader’s personal
responses to the text. The reader relates the new learning to his or her
previous learning as well as to his or her own beliefs.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

1. Have you had experiences similar to that of the character of the story?
2. What feelings did you have as you read the story?

3. Which character do you feel a connection with and why?

4. Is there any part of the story that you find difficult to understand?

5. How did the story change your way of thinking?

Making an Outline and a Summary

Making an outline and a summary of a text involves identifying its important
ideas. An outline is a list of the main ideas and supporting ideas of the text,
while a summary is a brief statement of the most important information of
the text.

Evaluating the Argument

Evaluating the argument made in a text involves assessing the validity of its
claim and support. A reader examines the main idea, opinion, or point of
view of the writer if it is well supported by enough credible evidence or
proof.

Making a Comparison and Contrast of Related Texts

Making a comparison and contrast of related texts is the strategy of
identifying the similarities and differences between texts of similar issue or
approach.

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Summary

Critical reading requires different critical thinking skills. In reading a piece

of literature critically, you can preview it, contextualize it, ask questions
about it, reflect on it, make an outline of its ideas and a summary, evaluate
its argument, or compare and contrast it with another text.

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