21st Century Literature
I. THE RISE OF EMERGING GENRES IN THE
21st Century
1. Chick- Lit - genre that addresses the
issues of modern womanhood, often
humorous and light-hearted.
2. Flash fiction - a style of fictional literature
that features extreme brevity.
A. Six-word story
B. Twitterature
C. Dribble
D. Drabble
E. Sudden Fiction
F. Flash Fiction
3. Erotic Literature - comprises fictional and
factual stories and accounts of human
sexual relationships which have the
power to, or are intended to arouse the
reader sexually.
4. Science fiction - genre of fiction dealing
with imaginative content such as
futuristic settings, futuristic science and
technology, space travel, time travel,
parallel universe and extra-terrestrial life
5. Graphic novel – made up of comics
content.
6. Text-To-Talk – stories made like blogs and
conversation threads that circulate the
social media.
II. PHILIPPINE POETRY / BIKOL
LITERATURE
Poetry - are pieces of writing that
usually have figurative language and
that are written in separate lines that
often have repeated rhythm and
sometimes rhyme.
Figurative Language - language that
uses words or expressions with a
meaning that is different from the literal
interpretation.
PRE-HISPANIC TIMES
• One of the oldest form of Philippine
Literature even before the Spanish Era
• It encompasses the culture of the past and
forgotten
• Most of these songs were written using 12
syllables as meter
Folk songs enabled us to maintain our moral as
Filipinos.
Different Kinds of Folk Songs
1. Oyayi o Ayayi – lullabies
2. Diyona – nuptial/courtship songs
3. Kundiman – love songs
4. Kumintang – war/battle songs
5. Soliranin – rowing songs
6. Talindaw – boat songs
7. Kutang-kutang –street songs
8. Maluway – work songs
9. Pananapatan – serenades
10. Sambotani –victory songs
11. Balitaw – Serenades (Bisaya)
12. Dalit – hymns
13. Paninitsit – (Kapampangan) "O kaka, o
kaka”
14. Pangangaluwa – dirges
15. Dung-aw – dirges (Ilokano)
Bugtong (Riddles) used “Talinghaga” or
Metaphors. These metaphors convey the
answer to the riddle.
Proverbs (Salawikain) – used to express pieces
of wisdom or belief that were important to
Filipino Society.
Epics (Epiko) - Long episodic, chanted poems
which told a story about a hero and his
adventures.
SPANISH ERA
BIKOLANO WITERS
Pasyon – popularized by Gaspar Aquino de
 Ricardo ‘Ricky’ Lee (Daet, Camarines
Belen; Perpetrated by Mariano Pilapil
Norte) - Palanca Awardee (1970 and
Francisco ‘Balagtas’ Baltazar – Florante at
1971)
Laura
 Mariano ‘Marne’ Kilates (Daraga, Albay) -
Ilustrados’ goal – National Identity
poet
a sense of a nation as a cohesive whole, as
 Mariano Perfecto (Ambos Camarines) –
represented by distinctive traditions, culture,
Father of Bikol Literature/ Father of
and language
Bisayan Literature
ARRIVAL OF THE AMERICANS
English – medium of instruction/poetry
III. HISTORY OF OPPRESSION / MARCOS
Poetic Styles
DICTATORSHIP
Free Verse - poetry that does not rhyme or
have a regular meter
OPPRESSION - Prolonged cruel or unjust
New Criticism - It emphasized close reading,
treatment or control; exercise of authority or
particularly of poetry, to discover how a work
power in a burdensome, cruel, or unjust
of literature functioned as a self-contained,
manner.
self-referential aesthetic object.

THREE FACES OF POWER

BIKOL LITERATURE
 Design and Manipulate rules
 Historically known as Ibalon
 Win through Force or Competition
 Ibalon – Ibalio – People from the other
side  Write History
Region V (6 provinces)
 Albay LEVELS OF OPPRESSION
 Camarines Norte  Cultural
 Camarines Sur  Institutional
 Sorsogon  Interpersonal
 Catanduanes  Personal
 Masbate
Internalized Oppressed - subordinate groups
Characteristics of Bikol Literature essentially give up the fight to access equality and
accept their fate as non-dominant group.
 Its root were from ancient folkways
 Poetry includes charmed verses Totalitarianism
exploiting the possibilities of words in
• Political system where the state recognizes
folk poems and narratives
no limits to its authority
 Themes specifically deals about mythical
• Strives to regulate every aspect of public
content
and private life wherever feasible
 Bound with early historical fragments
which form parts of the people’s lives
• State-controlled mass media
• Single party that is often marked by political
repression
• Personality cultism
 • Control over the economy
• Regulation and restriction of speech
• Mass Surveillance
• Widespread use of terror
Canon - belonging to a collection of works
considered to be valuable.
STORMS IN PHILIPPINE LITERATURE
Storms - A phenomenon that brings devastation, as
well as creative, transformative potential.
Formidable force that defines our geographic
condition
Literary turn or trope
 embodiment of current Filipino experiences
of natural calamities
 Creative use of language – literature.
 They can change, turn, or alter language –
making it new and refreshing (literary).
Tropes
1. Simile – comparison between two things
with the use of ‘as’ or ‘like’
2. Metaphor - an implied/direct comparison
3. Synecdoche - a part is made to represent
the whole or vice versa
4. Metonymy - used in developing literary
symbolism
5. Irony - Makes a work of literature more
intriguing and forces the readers to use
their imagination and comprehend the
underlying meanings of the texts.
6. Paradox - an integral part of poetic diction
IV. SHORT STORY
Short Story - a piece of prose fiction which can
be read in one sitting
- originated from earlier oral
storytelling in the 17th century
- makes use of plot, resonance and
other dynamic components
- far greater degree than anecdote but lesser
than a novel
Length
Edgar Allan Poe, 1846 - Notable basis in terms
of length
Maximum Word Count – 1,000 to 4,000 words
Contemporary Usage of Work – 1,000-20,000
words
Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of
America – fewer than 7,500 words
Novellas/Novelletes –longer stories but can’t
be called as novels (7,500-17,500 words
In media res – “into the middle of things”
- short stories that start in the middle of the
story rather than the beginning
- uses flashback
Elements of a Short Story
1. Character
2. Setting
3. Plot
CHARACTER
a. The person in a work of fiction
b. The characteristics of a person
9 Types of Characters
a. Dynamic – changes throughout the story
b. Static – does not change much or not at all
c. Foil – opposite of another character
d. Round – similar to dynamic / they change
throughout the story gaining new
characteristics
e. Stock/Flat – they are not a big deal; does
not change
f. Protagonist – root of the story
g. Antagonist – opposite of the protagonist;
bad
h. Confidante – someone that the main
character confides in; sidekick
i. Villain – same with antagonist but more evil
SETTING Kinds of Conflict
a. The time and place in which the story take 1. Man vs Man (physical) - The leading
place character struggles with his physical
strength against other men, forces of
Aspects of a Story Setting
nature, or animals.
a. Place – geographical location 2. Man vs Circumstances (classical) - The
b. Time – answers the question “when?” leading character struggles against fate, or
c. Weather – Is is rainy, sunny, cloudy? the circumstances of life facing him/her.
d. Social – What is the daily life of the 3. Man vs. Society (social) - The leading
character? character struggles against ideas, practices,
e. Mood – the feeling created in the beginning or customs of other people.
of the story 4. Man vs. Himself/Herself (psychological) -
The leading character struggles with
PLOT
himself/herself; with his/her own soul,
a. The plot is how the author arranges events ideas of right or wrong, physical limitations,
to develop his basic idea; choices, etc.
b. Sequence of events in the story
*Kindly Read “THE VOICE TAPE”
Five Essential Parts of a Plot
IMPORTANT AUTHORS:
a. Introduction – the beginning of the story
where the characters and the setting is Kristian Sendon Cordero
revealed
Cirilo F. Bautista
b. Rising Action – where the events in the
story become complicated and the conflict Merlie Alunan
of the story is revealed
Ariel S. Tabag
c. Climax – highest point of interest in the
story *please refer to your books for their biographies*
1. Destructive – villain dies / hero dies
2. Constructive – start of something new
3. Transformative – mystery is revealed
d. Falling Action – complications begin to
resolve themselves
e. Denouement – final outcome / untangling
of events
Conflict
a. Opposition of forces which ties one incident
to one another
b. Without conflict, there is no plot
Two Types of Conflict
a. External – struggle with a force outside
one’s self
b. Internal – struggle within one’s self