LITERATURE SEMANTIC MAP ■Literature is derived from the latin word litera which means letter. It has been defined differently by various writers. Some of these are the following:
■Literature is a piece of printed work related to
the ideas and feelings of the people that may be true or just a product of the writer’s imagination (Sayno, A. et.al, 2004). ■ Literature covers all the writings of a particular country, time, kind, etc. especially those valued for excellence of form and ■ Literature refers to a composition that deals with life experiences. It tells stories, dramatizes situations, expresses emotions, analyzes, and advocates ideas (Patron, 2002). ■Literature is an eternally burning flame, exuding light that renders significance to civilization (Castillo, et.al. 2002). ■Because Literature deals with ideas, thought, and emotions of man, literature can be said to be the story of man (Kahayon, et.al., 2000). ■According to Saymo, et.al (2004), literature is divided into two large groups: Prose and Poetry. Prose is defined as a spoken written language without metrical regularity. Poetry, on the other hand, is the imaginative expression of emotion, thought, or narrative, frequently in metrical form and often using the figurative language. Poetry has traditionally been distinguished from prose by rhyme on ■TYPES OF PROSE ■Novel. It is an extended fictional prose narrative, often including the psychological development of the central characteristics and of their relationship with a broader world. The modern novel took its name and inspiration from the Italina novella, the short tale of varied character, which became popular in the late 13th century. Novel is classified according to genres and subgenres such as the historical novel, detective fiction, fantasy and science fiction. ■Short Story. It is an artistic form of prose fiction which in centered on a single main incident whose ■ TYPES OF PROSE … ■Play. It is a piece of creative work presented on stage. It is usually divided into acts. ■Legend. It is traditional or undocumented story about famous people, commonly religious in character and frequently posing problems of authenticity. ■Fable. It is a story in either verse or prose, in which animals or inanimate objects are given the mentality and speech of human beings to point out a moral lesson. ■Anecdote. It is a product of the writer’s imagination or experience whose aim is to bring out lesson to the readers. It can be stories about animals or children. ■TYPES OF PROSE …
■Essay. It is a short piece of nonfiction
dealing with a particular subject from a personal point of view. ■Biography. It is an account of a person’s life. It may consist of factual details of a person’s life told in a chronological order, but has generally become a matter of interpretation as well as historical accuracy. ■News. It is a report of daily events in Elements of a Short Story ■Elements of a Short Story
■Setting. It is an element that reveals where the
story happened. ■Characters. They are the performers of a story. It may refer to the hero or to the heroin of the story. It includes people playing important roles in a given story aside from the principal characters. ■Plot. It refers to the storyline in a novel, play, film, or other work of fiction. It is traditionally a scheme of connected events. ■Elements of a Short Story…
■Theme. It refers to the central idea of
any piece of literary work. ■Point of View. It is a device used by the writer in presenting his idea. ■Conflict. It refers to the collision between one character and another, between a character and some elements in the world about him. TYPES OF POETRY ■Narrative Poetry. It describes important details in life following the order of events either real or imaginary. They are classified as epic, metrical tales, metrical romance, and ballad.
a. Epic. It is a narrative poem or cycle of poem
dealing with some great deeds like the founding of a nation or the forging of national unity. They often use religious or cosmological themes. b. Metrical Tales. It is a type of narrative written in verse. It is classified as either ballad or metrical romance. c. Metrical Romance. It is also a type of metrical tale composed of a long rambling love story in verse. It is centered on the adventure of knights and lords and their royal ladies during the age of chivalry. It is heavily flavored with romance, fantastic events, supernatural occurrences, and magic. d. Ballad. “A narrative composition in rhythmic verse suitable for singing. It tells a story about a famous person from history.” ■Lyric Poetry – means any short poem that is songlike. This is the most common type of poetry. Examples are:
a. haiku – a short, Japanese poem consisting
of 17 syllables arranged in three lines, mostly about nature. 5-7-5 b. ode – a serious lyric poetry which commemorates important public events and expresses a strong feeling of love or respect. It consists of stanzas with the same pattern of rhythm and rhyme. ■c. elegy – a common lyric that deals with life and death. It mourns the death of a loved one.
■d. sonnet – a love poem which mostly consists
of 14 lines and has a certain pattern of rhyme and rhythm. ■Dramatic Poetry – tells stories like narrative poetry, but in dialogues of play rhymes, repeating rhythms, and other poetic elements. One of the most famous dramatic poets is the English playwright William Shakespeare. ■Importance of Literature
■Material progress and political power may vanish;
the spirit of nationalism may wane; but the true glories of literature withstand the forces of decay and decline. ■Literature is an eternally burning flame, exuding light that renders significance to civilization. ■In literature, likewise, there is conserved a heritage which gives meaning to a people’s ideals. It molds the mind of people by preserving the experiences of the past in a cohesive and beautiful manner. ■Literature mirrors the depth of a culture and manifests the truly creative genius of the race. ■Literature, though seeming to hide timidly between the covers of a book, has frequently generated ideas that have had a tremendous effect. It has exhibited the potency of an explosive in its capacity for upsetting the social order. ■Literature helps us grow both personally and intellectually. ■It helps us to connect ourselves to the cultural context of which we are a part. ■It helps us to develop mature sensibility and compassion for the condition of all living things, human, animal and vegetable. ■Literature is one of the things that shape our lives; it makes us human. ■It encourages us to assist creative talented people who are in need.