21st Literature suggested morals or lessons of the

different literary genres.

LITERATURE
6. Permanence – It endures across time
• “littera” – Latin word referring to an
and draws out the time factor:
acquaintance to a written word
TIMELINESS, occurring at a particular
• Written works based on the ideas, time, and TIMELESSNESS, remaining
emotions, and experiences of people invariably throughout time.

• A piece of written work which is 7. Style – It presents peculiar ways on

undying how man sees life as evidenced by the
formation of his ideas, forms, structures,
• As an art, literature might be described and expressions which are marked by
as the organization of words to give their memorable substance.
pleasure.
Significance of Literature
• The story of man
1. Understanding of social milieu,
culture, and human nature and behavior
7 Literary Standards 2. Reflection of our history

1. Universality – It appeals to everyone 3. Literature helps readers develop

regardless of culture, race, sex, and many skills
time which are considered significant. 4. Provide vicarious experiences that
2. Artistry – It has an aesthetic appeal to directly influence readers’ lives
everyone and thus possesses a sense 5. Gain a greater understanding
of beauty.
6. Real exercise of the brain for empathy
3. Intellectual Value – It stimulates
critical thinking that enriches the mental
processes of abstract and reasoning,
General Types of Literature
making man realizes the fundamental
truths of life and its nature. Prose – is a form of language that
exhibits a natural flow of speech and
4. Suggestiveness – It unravels and
grammatical structure, rather than a
conjures man’s emotional power to
rhythmic structure as in traditional
define symbolism, nuances, implied
poetry. Prose comes from the Latin
meanings, images and message, giving
“prosa” which means “straightforward.”
and evoking visions above and beyond
the plane of ordinary life and a. Novel – This is a long narrative
experiences. divided into chapters. The events
may be taken from true-to-life
5. Spiritual Value – It elevates the spirit
stories and spans for a long
and the soul and thus have the power to
period of time. There are many
motivate and inspire, drawn from the
characters involved. Examples:
 Harry Potter (J.K. Rowling) Para Examples: Aesop’s Fables The
kay B (Ricky Lee) Lion and the Mouse

g. Anecdotes – It is a short story

b. Short Story – This is a narrative about a real person or event,
involving one or more characters, usually serving to make the
one plot and one single listeners laugh or ponder over a
impression. topic. Generally, the anecdote will
relate to the subject matter that
Examples: The Necklace (Guy de the group of people is discussing.
Maupassant) How My Brother
Leon Brought Home a Wife If a group of coworkers are
(Manuel Arguilla) discussing pets, and one
coworker tells a story about how
c. Play – This is presented on a her cat comes downstairs at a
stage, is divided into acts and certain time every night, then that
each act has many scenes. coworker has just shared an
anecdote. Examples: The Moth
Examples: Romeo and Juliet and the Lamp (Dr. Jose Rizal)
(William Shakespeare) Ang The Best Advice I ever Had
Huling El Bimbo (Dingdong (Mahatma Gandhi)
Novenario)
In the midst of each story, the
d. Legends – These are fictitious characters might share little
narratives, usually about origins. anecdotes with one another. It's a
It provides historical information nice opportunity for the character
regarding the culture and views of to blossom and for the reader to
particular group of people or learn more about them.
country.
Oh, I would never dream of
Examples: Legend of Pineapple assuming I know all Hogwarts'
Legend of “Makahiya” secrets, Igor. Only this morning,
for instance, I took a wrong turn
e. Parable – This illustrates one or on the way to the bathroom and
more lessons or principles found myself in a beautifully
Example: Parable of the Good proportioned room I had never
Samaritan - Luke 10:25-37 seen before, containing a really
Parable of the Mustard Seed - rather magnificent collection of
Matthew 13:31-32 chamber pots. When I went back
f. Fables – These deal with animals to investigate more closely, I
and inanimate things who speak discovered that the room had
and act like people with the vanished. - Dumbledore to a
purpose of enlightening children. visiting headmaster in Harry
 Potter and the Goblet of Fire by with heroes and gods. The
J.K. Rowling hero/heroine usually has the
h. Essay – This expresses the following characteristics:
viewpoint or opinion of the writer idealism, courage, wisdom,
about a particular problem or beauty, endurance, chivalry and
event. Example: Of Studies justice.
(Francis Bacon) On Doors
(Christopher Morley) Popular or Ancient Epic – often
i. Biography – It is simply an without a definite author and is of
account or detailed description slow growth.
about the life of a person. It
entails basic facts, such as Modern Epic – with a definite
childhood, education, career, author.
relationships, family, and death.
Example: Cayetano Arellano Examples: Biag ni Lam-ang
(Socorro O. Albert) (Pedro Bucaneg) Hinilawod (F.
j. Oration – This is a formal Landa Jocano)
treatment of a subject and is
intended to be spoken in public. It Metrical Tale – It is a type of
appeals to the intellect, to the will poem which follows a narrative
or to the emotions of the format; featuring characters, a
audience. A skilled public plot, setting and a theme. This
speaker is known as an orator. kind of compositions conveys
The art of delivering speeches is practical, apparent and
called oratory. Examples: straightforward storylines of either
Gettysburg Address (Abraham real or fictional event. The topics
Lincoln) I have A Dream (Martin vary from romance, the quest for
Luther King) adventure, love, and various
phases of life. Example: The
Poetry – It is a form of literature that
Lady of Shallot (Lord Alfred
uses aesthetic and rhythmic qualities of
Tennyson)
language – expressions in verse, with
measure, stanza, and tone. It is an
Ballad – It is a type of poem that
imaginative awareness of experience
is sometimes set to music.
expressed through meaning, sound, and
Ballads have a long history and
rhythmic language choices as to evoke
are found in many cultures. The
emotional response.
ballad actually began as a folk
a. Narrative Poetry – This form song and continues today in
describes important events in life popular music. Many love songs
either real or imaginary. today can be considered ballads.
Epic – It is an extended narrative A typical ballad consists of
about heroic exploits under stanzas that contain a quatrain,
supernatural control. It may deal or four poetic lines. Example:
 The Rime of the Ancient Mariner Example: Psalm 23: A psalm of
(Samuel Taylor Coleridge) David.

b. Lyric Poetry – Originally, this Awit (Song) – These have the

refers to that kind of poetry meant measures of twelve syllables
to be sung to the accompaniment (dodecasyllabic) and slowly sung
of a lyre, but now, this applies to to the accompaniment of a guitar
any type of poetry that expresses or banduria. Example: Florante
emotions and feelings to the poet. at Laura (Francisco Balagtas)
They are usually short, simple
and easy to understand. Corridos – These have measures
of eight syllables
Folksongs (Awiting Bayan) – (octosyllabic)and recited to a
These are short poems intended martial beat. The songs are often
to be sung. The common theme about oppressions, daily life of
is love, despair, grief, doubt, joy, peasants, and other socially
hope, and sorrow. Example: important information. Example:
Sitsiritsit Leron, Leron Sinta Ibong Adarna

Sonnets – It is a lyric poem of 14

lines dealing with emotions, c. Dramatic Poetry – This is an
feelings, and ideas. Example: emotional piece of literature
Sonnet I (Jose Garcia Villa) which includes a story which is
recited or sung. Soliloquy and
Elegy – This is a lyric poem which dramatic monologues are the
expresses feelings of grief and main instruments of this form of
melancholy, and whose theme is poetry.
death. Example: Elegy Written in
a Country Churchyard (Thomas Comedy – This word comes from
Gray) the Greek term “Komos” meaning
festivity or revelry. This form
Ode – This is a poem of a noble usually is light and written with a
feeling, expressed with dignity, purpose of amusing, and usually
with no definite number of has a happy ending. Example:
syllables or definite number of Daddy Fell into the Pond (Alfred
lines in a stanza. Example: Ode Noyes)
to the West Wind (Percy Bysshe
Shelley) Melodrama – This is usually seen
in musical play with the opera.
Psalm – This is a song praising Today, this is related to tragedy
God or the Virgin Mary and just as the farce to comedy. It
containing a philosophy of life. arouses immediate and intense
emotion and is usually sad but
there is a happy ending for the
principal character. Example:
Annabel Lee (Edgar Allan Poe)

Tragedy – This involves the hero

struggling mightily against
dynamic forces; he meets death
or ruin without success and
satisfaction obtained by the
protagonist in a comedy.
Example: Romeo and Juliet
(William Shakespeare)