LITERATURE Master List
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1001 Arabian Nights – a collection of Middle Eastern
folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden
Age. Its frame story tells of a King Shahryar who killed
his unfaithful wife, loathing all women and killing one
every day until there were no more left. His vizier had
two daughters, and the elder, Shahrazad, insists that his
father marry him to the King. To save herself and
others, each evening, she tells him a story, leaving it
incomplete and promising to finish it the following
night. The stories are so entertaining that the king was
eager to hear the end, making him abandon his cruel
plan.
1800s in American Literature – During the 1800s as
reflected in American Literature, the US government
expanded its territory by the use of technology
(railroad), force (US army), and diplomacy (treaties). It
DID NOT use invasion (conquest)
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Achebe, Chinua - He wrote the modern African novel
“Things Fall Apart”. It deals heavily with the effect of
colonialism on the native people of Africa. It also
examines the traditional culture of Nigerian villagers. He
helped reshape the understanding of African history,
culture, and place in world affairs. Although he won
many prizes and awards, he never won the Nobel Prize
in Literature.
Achilles - a hero of the Trojan War, the greatest of all
the Greek warriors, and is the central character of
Homer's Iliad. He was the son of the Nereid (sea
nymph)Thetis and Peleus, king of Phthia. As an infant,
Achilles was dipped by his mother Thetis in the River
Styx, making him invulnerable apart from the small area
of his heel where Thetis holds him. Achilles' most
notable feat during the Trojan War was the slaying of
the Trojan prince Hector outside the gates of Troy.
Although the death of Achilles is not presented in the
Iliad, other sources concur that he was killed near the
end of the Trojan War by Paris, who shot him with an
arrow to his heel.
Actor-audience relationship – the heart of the theater
experience
Addison, Joseph - an English essayist, poet, playwright,
and politician. He was the eldest son of The Reverend
Lancelot Addison. His name is usually remembered
alongside that of his long-standing friend Richard
Steele, with whom he founded The Spectator magazine.
Aeschylus – often described as the Father of Greek
Tragedy, his famous work is Prometheus Bound which
tells the myth of the Titan Prometheus punished by
Zeus for giving man the gift of fire; one of the 3 greatest
Greek playwrights of tragedy along with Euripides and
Aeschylus (SEA)
African Oral Literature – characterized by repetition and
parallel structure, call-and-response, and repeat-andvary. Is NOT characterized by tonal alliteration.
Agamemnon - king of Mycenae and leader of the Greek
army, brother of Menelaus. He is famous for upsetting
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his invincible champion, Achilles, in doing so prolonging
the war and the suffering of his men.
Akutagawa, Ryonosuke - the father of Japanese short
story. His well-known short story is entitled “In a
Grove”. It is a collection of testimonies and confessions
concerning the death of 26-year old samurai named
Kanazawa no Takehiro.
Alcaeus of Mytilene - a lyric poet from the Greek island
of Lesbos who is credited with inventing the Alcaic
stanza. He was included in the canonical list of nine lyric
poets by the scholars of Hellenistic Alexandria. He was a
contemporary of Sappho, with whom he may have
exchanged poems.
Alexander the Great of Macedonia - a king of the ancient
Greek kingdom of Macedon. Although king of ancient
Macedonia for less than 13 years, Alexander the Great
changed the course of history. One of the world's
greatest military generals, he created a vast empire that
stretched from Macedonia to Egypt and from Greece to
part of India. This allowed for Hellenistic culture to
become widespread
Alfon, Estrella – considered to be the most respected
Filipino woman fictionist during prewar days; Alfon was
the only female member of the Veronicans, an avantgarde group of writers in the 1930s led by Francisco
Arcellana and HR Ocampo, often regarded as their
muse. The Veronicans are recognized as the first group
of Filipino writers to write almost exclusively in English
and were formed before World War II, she being the
most prolific woman writer. Her works include
Magnificence and Servant Girl. She was charged and
convicted of pornography for her short story.
Ali Baba and The Forty Thieves - a folk tale from One
Thousand and One Nights. It was added to the
collection in the 18th century by its French translator
Antoine Galland, who heard it from Syrian storyteller
Hanna Diyab. In the original version, Ali Baba is a poor
woodcutter and an honest person who discovers the
secret of a thieves' den, and enters with the magic
phrase "open sesame". The thieves try to kill Ali Baba,
but Ali Baba's faithful slave-girl foils their plots. Ali
Baba's son marries her and Ali Baba keeps the secret of
the treasure.
Alibata - first Filipino alphabet
Alliteration - the repetition of the same letter sound
across the start of several words in a line of text.
Ex. Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
Allusion - a reference to a person, an event, or place in
which a reader is deemed familiar.
Almario, Virgilio S. - better known by his pen name Rio
Alma, is a Filipino artist, author, poet, critic, translator,
editor, teacher, and cultural manager. He spearheaded
the second successful modernist movement in Filipino
poetry together with Mangahas and Antonio. His
earliest pieces of literary criticism were collected in Ang
Makata sa Panahon ng Makina (1972), now considered
the first book of literary criticism in Filipino.
Amansec, Lilia Pablo - wrote the story entitled Loverboy
which won a Palanca First Prize. It surrounds the sexual
Compiled by: Ellaine Palmamento
LITERATURE Master List
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exploits of Rabutnik, who was promised by someone
named True Jade but on their wedding day was found
dead together with the latter’s Filipino lover. Rabutnik is
a necrophile who exploits the bodies of dead women in
a morgue. (Amansex – loverboy)
Ambiguity – a technique used by Shakespeare to show
equivocation which is seen in his play, Macbeth
America is in the Heart - written by Carlos Bulosan; even
when Carlos experiences brutal racism, economic
exploitation, he does not lose hope in American ideals
Anagnorisis - (Greek: recognition) the startling discovery
that produces a change from ignorance to knowledge;
usually involves a revelation of the true identity of
persons previously known, as when a father recognizes
a stranger as his son or vice versa
Analects of Confucius - a collection of Confucius's
conversations and teachings, strongly emphasizes the
importance of morality for the betterment of oneself
and society in general. The book lays out several
teachings for both commoners and rulers to follow in
the pursuit of morality.
Anansi the Spider – famous African trickster tale; Anansi
the spider is an African folktale character who is
associated with skill and wisdom and often triumphs
over foes larger than he. In this story, Anansi goes on a
journey only to find himself in great danger. One of his
six sons can sense trouble and alerts his brothers to
come to their father's rescue.
Antagonist – villain, the principal opponent of the main
character. He opposes the protagonist’s goals. He or
she is the character whom the protagonist must
confront and defeat to achieve victory. He does not
need to be evil, but he or she needs to be enough of an
obstacle for the protagonist to overcome to generate
conflict and interest within the story. They can be the
villain of the cause of the conflict. he or she is the
character that the audience loves to hate. However, this
does not have to be a person or character. It could be a
situation that is creating an obstacle in the path of the
protagonist towards his or her final goal.
Anthropocentrism - refers to a human-centered, or
“anthropocentric,” point of view. In philosophy,
anthropocentrism can refer to the point of view that
humans are the only, or primary, holders of moral
standing
Anthropomorphic - when characters act like human
beings
Antigone - In Greek mythology, Antigone is the daughter
of Oedipus and sister of Polyneices, Eteocles, and
Ismene. When her brothers Poly and Eteo killed each
other over the throne, Antigone was moved by love for
her brother and buried Polyneices secretly. She was
sentenced to death by Creon for performing the burial
rituals for her brother; written by Sophocles
Antihero – a central character who lacks the
characteristics an audience associates with a
conventional hero. Antiheroes are ambiguous
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protagonists—complex characters who have a dark
side.
Apollonian impulse – Apollo represents harmony,
progress, clarity, logic, and the principle of individuation
Apostrophe – a figure of speech; speaker directly
addresses someone or something that is not present or
cannot respond in reality. Ex: “O wild, wind!”
Apron – extension part of traditional stage
Arena – characterized by a central stage totally
surrounded by the audience; also known as theatre-inround after the stage’s often round shape
Aristophanes – a comic playwright, he is the greatest
representative of ancient Greek comedy. His greatest
works include The Clouds, The Wasps, The Birds and
Lysistrata; Twin Menaechmi
Aside - a dramatic device in which a character speaks to
the audience.
Assonance - or “vowel rhyme,” is the repetition of vowel
sounds across a line of text or poetry. Usually, but not
always, the recurring vowel sounds will be in the middle
of words that start and end with different consonants.
As You Like It – a pastoral comedy by William
Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599.
Rosalind and her cousin escape into the forest and find
Orlando, Rosalind's love. Disguised as a boy shepherd,
Rosalind has Orlando woo her under the guise of
"curing" him of his love for Rosalind. Rosalind reveals
she is a girl and marries Orlando during a group
wedding at the end of the play.
Atlas - the son of Iapetus. Unlike his brothers
Prometheus and Epimetheus, Atlas fought with the
other Titans supporting Cronus against Zeus. Due to
Cronus's advanced age, Atlas lead the Titans in battle.
As a result, he was singled out by Zeus for a special
punishment and made to hold up the world on his back.
Atsumori - a Japanese Noh play written by Zeami
Motokiyo. (Noh is a form of theater involving music,
dance, and drama in the 14th century) The play focuses
on Taira no Atsumori, a young samurai who was killed in
the Genpei War, and his killer, Kumagai Naozane.
Atsumori’s death is portrayed tragically in the Heike
Monogatari (The Tale of Heike), from which this and
many other works stem. It is written during the 14th to
15th centuries.
Auguries of Innocence – a poem by William Blake, from a
notebook of his now known as the Pickering
Manuscript. It is a collection of conflicting situations
Compiled by: Ellaine Palmamento
LITERATURE Master List
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written as a kind of prophetic judgment. It pits the
innocent against the mature, the rich against the poor,
the elite against the underprivileged, and invites the
audience to recognize the fragile beauty and balance
found within nature.
Austen, Jane - an English novelist known primarily for
her six major novels, which interpret, critique, and
comment upon the British landed gentry at the end of
the 18th century. Austen's plots often explore the
dependence of women on marriage in the pursuit of
favorable social standing and economic security.
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Bacon, Francis - an Irish-born British figurative painter
known for his raw, unsettling imagery. Focusing on the
human form, his subjects included crucifixions, portraits
of popes, self-portraits, and portraits of close friends,
with abstracted figures sometimes isolated in
geometrical structures.
Francis Bacon had a passion for metaphors, analogies,
and vivid imagery. He was a rhetorical writer and his
essays highlight his wisdom and incisive mind. His first
book was released in 1597 followed by later editions
with added essays that were released in 1612 and 1625.
“Reading maketh a full man; conference a ready man
and writing an exact man”
Balance – element in theater; thinking of the stage as a
seesaw pivoted at the centerline
Bantugan - a hero in the Maranao epic poem Darangen
from Lake Lanao of Mindanao. It recounts the notable
exploits of the hero Bantugan who lived in the valley of
Rio Grande whose father was the brother of the
earthquake and thunder.
Bards of Passion and of Mirth – a poem by John Keats
Barlaan at Josaphat by Fray Antonio de Borja – the first
novel published in the Philippines
Basho, Matsuo - the supreme Japanese haiku poet who
greatly enriched the 17-syllable haiku form and made it
an accepted medium of artistic expression; popularized
Haiku poetry in Japan by creating a visual auditory
multimedia sensation with few strokes of his writing
brush
Bautista, Lualhati - a Filipina writer, novelist, liberal
activist and political critic. Her most popular novels
include Dekada '70; Bata, Bata, Pa'no Ka Ginawa?; and
‘GAPÔ
Beijing Opera - There are four principal role categories
in Beijing Opera:
o Sheng – male role; prerogative of the leading actor,
usually a male character, a statesman, a warrior, a
patriot, and the like
o Dan/Tau – female role; at least six principal
characters are played by the female impersonator
who has taken over the role after women were
banned from the Chinese stage as they were
looked down upon as courtesan
o Jing/Ching – painted face male; assigned the roles
of brave warriors, bandits, crafty and evil ministers,
upright judges, loyal statesmen, at times, god-like
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and supernatural beings. Conventionally, the Ching
must have broad faces and foreheads suitable for
the makeup patterns suggestive of this behavior.
o Chou/Chau – the comedy role; clown or jester who
is not necessarily a fool and may also do serious or
evil character. He is easily recognized for the white
patch around his eyes and nose, his use of
colloquial language, and his adeptness in
combining mimicry and acrobatics.
Beowulf - an Old English epic poem in the tradition of
Germanic heroic legend consisting of 3,182 alliterative
lines. It is one of the most important and most often
translated works of Old English literature. The story is
set in pagan Scandinavia in the 6th century. Beowulf, a
hero of the Geats, comes to the aid of Hrothgar, the
king of the Danes, whose mead hall in Heorot has been
under attack by the monster Grendel. After Beowulf
slays him, Grendel's mother attacks the hall and is then
defeated.
Bhagavad Gita – part of the Mahabharata. It literally
means “The song of the Bhagavan”, often referred to as
simply the Gita. It is a 700-verse scripture that is part of
the Hindu epic Mahabharata. It is a sacred text of the
Hindus containing the dialogue between Pandava and
Lord Krishna.
Bilbo Baggins - the title character and protagonist of J.
R. R. Tolkien's 1937 novel The Hobbit, a supporting
character in The Lord of the Rings, and the fictional
narrator of many of Tolkien's Middle-earth writings.
Biographical - an approach in studying literature
establishing the relationship of the writer’s life with the
work
Blank verse – unrhyming verse in iambic pentameter
lines; similar to a sonnet except that it does not rhyme.
Blank verse is poetry with a consistent meter but no
formal rhyme scheme. Unlike free verse, blank verse
has a measured beat. In English, the beat is usually
iambic pentameter, but other metrical patterns can be
used.
The Bleak House – a novel by Charles Dickens, is the
story of the Jarndyce family, who wait in vain to inherit
money from a disputed fortune in the settlement of the
extremely long-running lawsuit of Jarndyce.
Body Positioning
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Full-front – greatest emotional contact with the
audience
¼ - still strong but weaker than a full front
Compiled by: Ellaine Palmamento
LITERATURE Master List
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Profile R/L – also called one-half turned; position is
less strong
o ¾ - position is weak
o Full-back – as strong as a profile but not as strong
as a quarter turn
The Book of Songs - is the oldest of the Chinese classics,
a collection of 305 songs that date back over two
thousand years to the Zhou kingdom. These
songs/poems held huge importance in Confucianism
and Chinese literature.
Book of the Dead – an ancient Egyptian collection of
mortuary texts made up of spells or magic formulas
placed in tombs o protect the deceased in the afterlife.
Bradstreet, Anne Dudley - She is considered as one of
the greatest Puritan/New World Poets, and the first
female poet in America (Romanticism). She is notable
for her large corpus of poetry, as well as personal
writings published posthumously. Her work included
“To My Dear and Loving Husband”, in which the speaker
(wife) talks about her husband and celebrates their
unity. She said in the poem that no love but only his
husband’s love can satisfy her.
Brobdingnags – from Jonathan’s Gulliver’s Travels;
people from the land of Brobdingnag, a land occupied
by giants; they are described to be sixty feet tall from
the ground
Bronte, Charlotte - an English novelist and poet, the
eldest of the three Brontë sisters who survived into
adulthood and whose novels became classics of English
literature. was an English novelist best known for Jane
Eyre (1847), the story of an independent young
governess who overcomes hardships while remaining
true to her principles. It blended moral realism with
Gothic elements. Her other novels included Shirley
(1849) and Villette (1853)
Bronte, Emily - an English novelist in the Victorian Age.
She produced one novel entitled “Wuthering Heights”
(1847) –Gothic and Supernatural literature. She is the
greatest among the three Bronte sisters. Because of her
novel, her spiritual existence darkens.
Browning, Elizabeth Barrett - the wife of Robert
Browning. She is an English Poet during the Victorian
Age. Her poems include “Sonnets from the Portuguese
43: How do I love thee? Let me count the ways” and
“Aurora Leigh”
Browning, Robert - known for his dramatic monologue
since he explores and probes the minds of a particular
character in his work. His most notable work was The
Ring and the Book (1868) and My Last Duchess.
Brutus, Dennis – South African activist, educator,
journalist, and poet. He was most notable for the use of
sports as a weapon against apartheid.
Bukaneg, Pedro - Father of Ilocano Literature; wrote
Biag ni Lam-ang
Bumppo, Natty -- fictional character and protagonist of
James Fenimore’s pentalogy of novels known as The
Leatherstocking Tales. Living on the literal edge of
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society in Deleware Indian country, Natty is both
frontiersman and Native American; part of both the
white world and the land of savages.
Bunyan, John - an English writer and Puritan preacher
best remembered as the author of the Christian
allegory The Pilgrim's Progress, which also became an
influential literary model. In addition to The Pilgrim's
Progress, Bunyan wrote nearly sixty titles, many of them
expanded sermons.
By-line – the signature of a reporter preceding a newsfeature
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Caluya, Claro - Prince of Ilocano Poets; foremost
vernacular poet and dramatist in Ilocos Norte; lived
during the time of Spanish colonization
The Canterbury Tales – written by Geoffrey Chaucer,
The Canterbury Tales is a collection of 24 stories that
runs to over 17,000 lines written in Middle English by
Geoffrey Chaucer between 1387 and 1400. It is widely
regarded as Chaucer's magnum opus. The framing
device for the collection of stories is a pilgrimage to the
shrine of Thomas Becket in Canterbury, Kent. The 30
pilgrims who undertake the journey gather at the
Tabard Inn in Southwark, across the Thames from
London. They agree to engage in a storytelling contest
as they travel, and Harry Bailly, host of the Tabard,
serves as master of ceremonies for the contest.
Carpe Diem - (Latin: pluck the day or seize the day)
phrase used by the Roman poet, Horace, to express the
idea that one should enjoy life while one can.
Caxton, William – brought the technology of printing to
England as he set up his printing press in Westminster,
London. Books used to be copied out by hand by
scribes.
Characters – the figure in literary works that execute
characterization. There are 2 ways to discuss the types
of characters: 1) Personality Traits and 2) Role in the
Story
Chaucer, Geoffrey - an English poet, author, and civil
servant best known for The Canterbury Tales. He has
been called the "father of English literature", or the
"father of English poetry". In addition to his extensive
body of literature, his poetry made three important
contributions to English literature: he wrote in the
English Vernacular and he is credited with introducing
iambic pentameter and the Rhyme Royal to English
poetry. He is best known for The Canterbury Tales. He
was the first writer to be buried in what has since come
to be called Poets' Corner, in Westminster.
Chekhov, Anton – father of the modern short story
Chekhov’s Gun – a dramatic principle that states: every
element in a story must be necessary, irrelevant
elements should be removed. Elements should not
appear to make “false promises” by never coming into
play.
“If it’s not going to b fired, it shouldn’t be hanging
there.”
Compiled by: Ellaine Palmamento
LITERATURE Master List
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A Child of Sorrow – Written by Zolio Galang, A Child of
Sorrow is the first Filipino novel written in English. It is a
classic coming of age or bildungsroman engaged with
the themes of friendship, desire, and the loss of
innocence. It is considered to be the first Filipino novel
written in English.
Childe Roland to the Dark Tower – a narrative poem by
English author Robert Browning. The poem is often
noted for its dark and atmospheric imagery, inversion of
classical tropes, and use of unreliable narration. Childe
Roland, the only speaker in the poem, describes his
journey towards "the Dark Tower," and his horror at
what he sees on his quest. The poem ends when Roland
finally reaches the tower, leaving his ultimate fate
ambiguous.
Chou Shu-Jen - Chinese author and social critic. He is
best known for his pioneering short stories in the
modern style and his prolific output as a polemic and
personal essayist. His works include A Madman’s Diary,
Kong Yiji, and The True Story of Ah Q. He used the
penname Lu Hsun or Lu Xun.
The Chronicles of Narnia - a series of seven fantasy
novels by British author C. S. Lewis. Most of the novel is
set in Narnia, a land of talking animals and mythical
creatures that is ruled by the evil White Witch.
Cliché - overused phrase, opinion or colloquial phrase
that betrays lack of original thought
Live, laugh, love
Action speaks louder than words.
Coeus – the titan of intelligence, father of Leto through
Phoebe
Colossus of Rhodes - one of the Seven Wonders of the
Ancient World, the Colossus of Rhodes was an
enormous bronze statue of the Greek sun-god Helios,
erected in the city of Rhodes, on the Greek island of the
same name, by Chares of Lindos in 280 BC.
Commentaries and accounts – used in creative nonfiction to support fact-based narratives
Confessions of a Mask - written by Yukio Mishima. It is
partly an autobiographical work that describes with
exceptional stylistic brilliance a homosexual who masks
his sexual preferences from the society around him. The
novel gained Mishima immediate acclaim, and he began
to devote his full energies to writing. Kamen no
Kokuhaku
Confidantes – a character whom the main character
confides in, which reveals the main character’s
personality, intentions, and thoughts. They do not need
to be a person.
Confucianism - believes in ancestor worship and humancentered virtues for living a peaceful life. The Four
Cardinal Principles are propriety (禮), righteousness
(義), integrity (廉), and shame (恥). The Eight Virtues
are loyalty (忠), filial piety (孝), benevolence (仁) love
(愛), honesty (信) justice (義), harmony (和), and peace
(平). Filial piety is a basic tenet of Confucianism and is
defined as the attitude of obedience, devotion, and
care towards one’s parents and elder family.
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Confucius - a Chinese philosopher, poet, and politician
of the Spring and Autumn period who was traditionally
considered the paragon of Chinese sages. Confucius's
teachings and philosophy formed the basis of East Asian
culture and society and continue to remain influential
across China and East Asia as of today.
Connotation – word can have associated mental images
and feelings that cannot be found by consulting a
dictionary
Consonance - generally occurs when consonant sounds
are repeated in the middle or end of a word, for
example, 'easy peasy lemon squeezy'.
Copy - in journalism, copy refers to any piece of
material that makes it to print
Cordero-Fernandez, Gilda - writer, publisher, and art
patron; she is known for her musings on Philippine arts
and culture. Her short fiction titles include The Butcher,
The Baker, and the Candlestick Maker, and A Wilderness
of Sweets. She was not a prewar writer as she was born
in 1930 and died in 2020.
Cronus - the son of Ouranos (Heaven) and Gaea (Earth),
being the youngest of the 12 Titans. On the advice of
his mother, he castrated his father thus separating
Heaven from Earth. His wife was Titaness Rhea. To
ensure his safety, Cronus ate each of the children as
they were born. This worked until Rhea, unhappy at the
loss of her children, tricked Cronus into swallowing a
rock, instead of Zeus. When he grew up Zeus would
revolt against Cronus and the other Titans in the 10year war called the Titanomachy, defeat them, and
banish them to Tartarus in the underworld.
Crossing the Bar - an 1889 poem by Alfred, Lord
Tennyson. It is considered that Tennyson wrote it in
elegy; the narrator uses an extended metaphor to
compare death with crossing the "sandbar" between
the river of life, with its outgoing "flood", and the ocean
that lies beyond death, the "boundless deep", to which
we return.
Cupid and Psyche - is a story originally from
Metamorphoses, written in the 2nd century AD by
Lucius Apuleius Madaurensis. The tale concerns the
overcoming of obstacles to the love between Psyche
and Cupid or Amor, and their ultimate union in a sacred
marriage. Cupid was a wonderful lover and husband to
Psyche, but there was one odd thing about their
relationship: He made sure Psyche never saw what he
looked like. Psyche didn't mind. She had a fulfilling life
with her husband in the dark, and, during the day, she
had all the luxuries she could ever want.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button – F. Scott
Fitzgerald’s story is about a boy who was born old and
gets younger every day.
Cymbeline – also known as The Tragedie of Cymbeline,
or Cymbeline, King of Britain, is a play by William
Shakespeare set in Ancient Britain and based on
legends that forms part of the Matter of Britain
concerning the early Celtic British King Cunobeline. King
Cymbeline of Britain banishes his daughter Innogen's
Compiled by: Ellaine Palmamento
LITERATURE Master List
husband, who then makes a bet on Innogen's fidelity.
Innogen is accused of being unfaithful, runs away, and
becomes a page for the Roman army as it invades
Britain.
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Darangen - an ancient epic song of the Maranaos in
Lake Lanao, Mindanao. Its literal translation means “to
narrate in song”.
Dateline – dateline in a news story refers to the time
when the event happened
Dazai, Osamu – Japanese author whose works include
The Setting Sun and No Longer Human which are
considered as modern-day classics. He emerged as the
literary voice of his time, at the end of World War II. His
dark, wry tone perfectly captured the confusion of
postwar Japan, when traditional values were
discredited and the younger generation nihilistically
rejected all of the past.
Dead Stars – by Paz Marquez Benitez; first Filipino short
story written in English
Deck - a small headline running below the main
headline; subordinate headline. It is also called a drop
head
Dekada 70 - written by Lualhati Bautista; tells the story
of Amanda Bartolome and her 5 children and their
experience with Martial Law
Desiderata - written by Max Ehrmann; translates to all
things desired
Deus Ex Machina – a plot device used when a seemingly
unsolvable conflict or impossible problem is solved by
the sudden appearance of an unexpected person,
object, or event. Literally: god from the machine
Dhammapada – a collection of sayings by Siddhartha
Gautama; it is a Buddhist scripture
Dialogue - conversation between two or more people
Dickens, Charles - is considered as the greatest of the
Victorian Age (Counterpart of William Shakespeare in
Renaissance Period). His work includes “A Tale of Two
Cities” and “A Christmas Carol”
Dillard, Annie – In her piece It’s not Talent, It’s Just
Work, said that “doing something does not require
discipline; it creates its own discipline” which means to
face trials for the characters to pass
Dionysian impulse – the desire to express irrationality,
barbaric frenzy, excess in pleasure, grief, and
knowledge.
Diop, David - wrote the piece “Africa”. It talks about the
history of colonialism in Africa, and Diop expresses hope
for postcolonialism in Africa in his poem.
Direct speech – when a character’s own words are
quoted
Kate looked at her bank statement. “Why did I spend my
money so recklessly?”
Dimalanta, Ophelia Alcantara – widely regarded as one
of the three poetic matriarchs in post-war Philippine
Literature in English, the other two being Edith Tiempo
and Virginia Moreno; Goddess of Philippine Poetry
Doctrina Cristiana by Fray Juan de Plasencia – first book
printed in the Philippines
Dostoevsky, Fyodor – known for his novella; wrote
Brothers Karamazov
Dynamic characters – are major characters. Their
personality changes through the story due to a change
in the situation/plot. The change is an internal decision
made by the character based on what happens during
the story. They are also called ‘developing characters’.
The change may be from weak to strong, strong to
weak, cheery person to person in distress and the like.
Dynamic characters tend to be more fully developed
and described than flat characters.
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Ears – space next to the masthead on either corner at
the top of the front page of a newspaper. Often these
spaces contain the paper's slogan, the weather
forecast, or some announcement about the paper's
content.
Egyptian literature – identified as Mediterranean
El Eco de Vigan – first provincial newspaper
El Cid - The work that consecrated El Cid as a literary
myth is the Poema de Mio Cid, placed at the top of the
historical canon of Spanish literature. The charisma of
its hero has made the legend of El Cid one of the most
important epic cycles of the Middle Ages, and one of
the great myths of universal literature.
Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard - is a poem by
Thomas Gray, completed in 1750 and first published in
1751. It was partly inspired by Gray's thoughts following
the death of the poet Richard West in 1742.
Elements of Fiction – characters, theme, conflict, plot,
setting, point of view
Eliot, T.S. – Thomas Stearns Eliot was a poet, essayist,
publisher, playwright, literary critic, and editor.
Considered one of the 20th century's major poets, he is
a central figure in English-language Modernist poetry.
He is regarded as such an important writer because he
captured the feelings and attitudes of the early
twentieth century in such a unique and, yet, authentic
way.
Elizabethan Sonnet - a form of poetry that was popular
during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I in England, from
1558 to 1603. They are written in iambic pentameter
and consist of 14 lines, often divided into three
quatrains and a couplet. The lines rhyme using a
scheme of abab cdcd efef gg
Also called as Shakespearian or English sonnet
Enigma – an important kind of African moral tale
intended for listeners to discuss and debate usually with
an open ending.
Epic -– a poem that tells a tragic story; a story told in
verse by unknown writers and usually meant to be sung
Epigram Lead – a type of novelty lead; a rhetorical
device that is a memorable, brief, interesting, and
surprising satirical statement. Example: “Mankind must
put an end to war, or war will put an end to mankind.”
Compiled by: Ellaine Palmamento
LITERATURE Master List
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Epigraph – a pithy saying or remark expressing an idea
cleverly and amusingly.
Epimetheus - a stupid Titan, whose name means
"afterthought". He was the son of Iapetus. In some
accounts, he is delegated, along with his brother
Prometheus by Zeus to create mankind. He also
accepted the gift of Pandora from Zeus, which lead to
the introduction of evil into the world.
Epiphany – a visionary moment when a character has a
sudden insight or realization that changes their
understanding of themselves or their comprehension of
the world.
Epiphora – stylistic device in which a word or phrase is
repeated at the end of the successive clauses, also
known as epistrophe
Epitaph – a phrase or form of words written in memory
of a person who has died, especially as an inscription on
a tombstone; description on a gravestone or a short
poem in memory of the deceased person
Epithet – an adjective or phrase expressing a quality or
attribute regarded as characteristic of the person or
thing mentioned.
Eris – goddess of chaos, strife, and discord; she is the
personification of strife. She is most known for her role
in starting the Trojan war. Zeus had thrown a wedding
on Mount Olympus for Thetis, the sea nymph and
mortal Peleus. After Eris found out that she was not
invited, she crashed the wedding and threw the apple
of discord inscribed with the word "kallisti" or "for the
fairest". Three goddesses claimed the golden apple:
Hera (goddess of marriage), Athena (goddess of
wisdom), and Aphrodite (goddess of love). Paris was
picked by Zeus to select the winner. Aphrodite won
since she promised to bestow upon Paris Helene, the
most beautiful woman, as his wife. Helene’s abduction
led directly to the Trojan War and the fall of Troy.
La Esperanza – first daily newspaper
Essays on Idleness – Tsurezuregusa, is a book by Yoshida
Kenko. Through his appreciation of the world around
him and his keen understanding of historical events,
Kenkō conveys the essence of Buddhist philosophy and
its subtle teachings for all readers.
Ethos – appeal to credibility:
My two decades of experience as a journalism teacher,
my tireless commitment to the children in this
community, and my willingness to share my pedagogical
knowledge make me an ideal candidate for the
principalship.
Euripides – his plays include Medea, The Bacchae,
Hippolytus, Alcestis, and The Trojan Women; one of the
3 greatest Greek playwrights of tragedy along with
Euripides and Aeschylus (SEA)
Eurydice - a character in Greek mythology and the wood
nymph wife of Orpheus, who tried to bring her back
from the dead with his enchanting music.
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The Faerie Queene – an English epic poem by Edmund
Spenser. In The Faerie Queene, Spenser creates an
allegory: The characters of his far-off, fanciful "Faerie
Land" are meant to have a symbolic meaning in the real
world. The Faerie Queene is notable for its form: at over
36,000 lines and over 4,000 stanzas it is one of the
longest poems in the English language; it is also the
work in which Spenser invented the verse form known
as the Spenserian stanza. On a literal level, the poem
follows several knights as a means to examine different
virtues, and though the text is primarily an allegorical
work, it can be read on several levels of allegory,
including as praise (or, later, criticism) of Queen
Elizabeth I.
The Fates - have the subtle but, the awesome power of
deciding a man’s destiny. They assign a man to good or
evil. Their most obvious choice is choosing how long a
man lives. There are three Fates. Clotho, the spinner,
who spins the thread of life. Lachesis, the measurer,
who chooses the lot in life one will have and measures
off how long it is to be. Atropos, she who cannot be
turned, who at death with her shears cuts the tread of
life.
Faulkner, William – was awarded the Nobel Prize in
Literature in 1949 for his powerful and artistically
unique contribution to the modern American novel.
Fence – the fence in the story written by Jose Garcia
Villa refers to walls representing hindrances that
separate the families
Flashback – a scene that interrupts the story to show an
event that happened earlier or in the past
Flat Characters – are minor characters, not described
fully, often given only one or two traits or
characteristics. They play a supporting role to the main
character; background characters who are not really
part of the story but just help to provide a good setting.
They do not undergo substantial change or growth in
the course of a story.
Focus - element in theater; the central point of interest
Foil characters – enhance the qualities of another
character through contrast. Foil characters generate
additional dramatic or comic tension in the story. They
contrast to the protagonist’s personality. Often, they
bring out another side of the protagonist or cause the
protagonist to think about the story’s problems in a
new way.
Folio - A line at the top or bottom of a newspaper page
that gives the newspaper name, section and page
number, and publication date.
Frankenstein - or, The Modern Prometheus is an 1818
novel written by English author Mary Shelley.
Frankenstein tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a
young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an
unorthodox scientific experiment.
Franklin, Benjamin - an American polymath who was
active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman,
diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher.
One of the foremost of the Founding Fathers, he helped
draft the Declaration of Independence and was one of
Compiled by: Ellaine Palmamento
LITERATURE Master List
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its signers, he represented the United States in France
during the American Revolution, and he was a delegate
to the Constitutional Convention.
Free indirect speech – when reported speech becomes
a contained unit, taking away “she said” and “she
thought”
Kate looked at her bank statement. Why had she spent
her money so recklessly?
Free verse - an open form of poetry, which in its
modern form arose through the French vers libre form.
It does not use consistent meter patterns, rhyme, or
any musical pattern. It thus tends to follow the rhythm
of natural speech.
Frost, Robert - an American poet. His work was initially
published in England before it was published in the
United States. His most famous poems included “The
Gift Outright,” “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy
Evening,” “Birches,” “Mending Wall,” “The Road Not
Taken,” and “Nothing Gold Can Stay.”
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Gaea - the Earth goddess. She mated with her son
Uranus to produce the remaining Titans. Gaea seems to
have started as a neolithic earth-mother worshipped
before the Indo-European invasion that eventually led
to the Hellenistic civilization. Her children are Uranus,
Cronus, Rhea, Oceanus, Tethys, Hyperion, Mnemosyne,
Themis, Iapetus, Coeus, Crius, Phoebe, Thea, Cyclopes,
Hecatoncheires, and Typhoeus.
Galatea - the statue carved of ivory by Pygmalion of
Cyprus, which then came to life after Aphrodite granted
Pygmalion’s prayers.
Gettysburg Address - a speech that U.S. President
Abraham Lincoln delivered during the American Civil
War at the dedication of the Soldiers' National
Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on November
19, 1863. It is one of the best-known speeches in
American history. Lincoln described the US as a nation
"conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition
that all men are created equal," and represented the
Civil War as a test that would determine whether such a
nation, the Union sundered by the secession crisis,
could endure. He extolled the sacrifices of those who
died at Gettysburg in defense of those principles and
exhorted his listeners to resolve
that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this
nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—
and that government of the people, by the people, for
the people, shall not perish from the earth.
Gibran, Khalil - wrote The Prophet, a book of 26 prose
poems
Gitanjali - is a collection of poems by the Bengali poet,
Rabindranath Tagore. This won him the Nobel Prize for
Literature. Its central theme is devotion and its motto is
“I am here to sing thee songs”
Gloria, Angela Manalang – author of Revolt form Hymen,
a poem protesting against marital rape which caused
her denial by an all-male jury from winning the
Philippine’s Commonwealth Literary Awards in 1940.
Her Poems is the first and only pre-war anthology of
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poetry in English by a Filipino woman. It contains a
collection of lyrical pieces exploring a woman’s private
passions.
God Moves in a Mysterious Way - a Christian hymn,
written in 1773 by William Cowper from England
1 God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform.
He plants his footsteps in the sea
And rides upon the storm.
Golden Apple of Discord – a golden apple inscribed
"kallisti" or “for the fairest,” thrown by Eris, goddess of
discord, among the gods. Its award by Paris to
Aphrodite caused events that led to the Trojan War.
Greek myths – reflects a view of the universe that
acknowledges the mystery and beauty of humanity
Grajo-Uranza, Azucena - her works include Bamboo in
the Wind, A Passing Season, Feast of the Innocents, and
Women of Tammuz.
Grapes of Wrath – a novel written by John Steinbeck
which shows the Great Depression in America where it
traces the migration of an Oklahoma Dust Bow family to
California and their subsequent hardships as migrant
farmworkers
Graphology – the study of graphemes and other
features associated with the written medium such as
punctuation (comma, full stop, colon, semi-colon,
quotation marks, etc.), paragraphing, spacing.
foreground of structures, etc.
Gray, Thomas - an English poet, letter-writer, classical
scholar, and professor at Pembroke College, Cambridge.
He is widely known for his Elegy Written in a Country
Churchyard, published in 1751. Gray was a self-critical
writer who published only 13 poems in his lifetime,
despite being very popular. He is another forerunner of
the Romantic movement in British literature.
Greek myths – reflects a view of the universe that
acknowledges the mystery and beauty of humanity
Guerrea, Adelina – first woman poet in the Philippines
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Haikai – an often playful type of Japanese verse or prose
cultivated in the later feudal ages
Haiku – a traditional Japanese poetic form that consists
of three lines totaling only seventeen syllables, with five
syllables in the first line, seven in the second, and five in
the third, and treats the world in its natural setting. The
haiku developed from the hokku, the opening three
lines of a longer poem known as a tanka. The haiku
became a separate form of poetry in the 17th century.
Half rhyme – a type of rhyme with words that have
similar but not identical sounds; major poetic device
also called as imperfect rhyme or slant rhyme
Hamartia - a fatal flaw leading to the downfall of a tragic
hero or heroine. See tragic flaw
Hamlet – or The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark,
is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. The ghost
of the King of Denmark tells his son Hamlet to avenge
his murder by killing the new king, Hamlet's uncle.
Hamlet feigns madness, contemplates life and death,
Compiled by: Ellaine Palmamento
LITERATURE Master List
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and seeks revenge. His uncle, fearing for his life, also
devises plots to kill Hamlet.
The Hand of the Enemy – is a novel by Kerima Polotan
telling the tale of two cities: the Big City - Manila - and
the remote provincial town of Tayug in Pangasinan. It is
also the tale of two couples: the Rividads and the
Gorrezes. The Rividads are destroyed by themselves.
The Gorrezes are destroyed, partly by themselves and
partly by other things - in short, by "the hand of the
enemy."
Han Dynasty – known for its long reign and
achievements such as the development of civil service
and government structure, the invention of paper and
use of water clocks and sundials to measure time,
seismograph, Yuefu (descriptions of music), Shiji (history
written by Sima Qian, and fu (poetic form); lacquer
work and woven silk
Harry Potter - a series of seven fantasy novels written by
British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the
lives of a young wizard, Harry Potter, and his friends
Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, all of whom are
students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and
Wizardry.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone – also titled
Philosopher’s Stone, is a fantasy novel written by British
author J. K. Rowling. It is the first book in the Harry
Potter franchise.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel - the master of symbolism and
allegory. His notable work is the “Scarlet Letter”. He is
in Romanticism or Romantic Era.
Heart of Darkness - a novella by Polish-English novelist
Joseph Conrad. It tells the story of Charles Marlow, a
sailor who takes on an assignment from a Belgian
trading company as a ferry-boat captain in the African
interior
Hebrew Literature - considered as one of the most
profound because of its religious aspect. Its astounding
quality is the love of God.
Hector – first-born son of King Priam and Queen
Hecuba, a Trojan prince and the greatest warrior for
Troy in the Trojan War. He led the Trojans and their
allies in the defense of Troy, killing countless Greek
warriors. He was ultimately killed in single combat by
Achilles.
Heirs to the Past – a novel by Driss Chraibi; the story is
about Haj Ferdi who was diagnosed to be suffering from
the terminal disease, cirrhosis of the liver. He leaves his
family and stays away on an island in his tomato
plantation for five years. He returns home and is found
dead two days later. All the sons come around for Haj’s
funeral ceremony. Driss, the narrator of the story,
returns after sixteen years from France, leaving his
French wife, mother-in-law, and son behind. The
mourning lasts for ten days in Haj Ferdi’s family during
which all the sons stay and sparsely feed together with
their lonely mother. Then it comes to sharing Haj Ferdi’s
inheritance.
Helen of Troy - said to have been the most beautiful
woman in the world. She was believed to have been the
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daughter of Zeus and Leda (wife of Spartan King
Tyndareus). When it was time for Helen to marry, many
kings and princes from around the world came to seek
her hand, bringing rich gifts with them. Tyndareus was
afraid to select a husband for his daughter or send any
of the suitors away, for fear of offending them and
giving grounds for a quarrel. Odysseus proposed that,
before the decision was made, all the suitors should
swear a most solemn oath to defend the chosen
husband against whoever should quarrel with him. After
the suitors had sworn not to retaliate, Menelaus was
chosen to be Helen's husband. After the goddess
Aphrodite promised her to Paris in the Judgement of
Paris, she was seduced/abducted by him and carried off
to Troy. This resulted in the Trojan War when the
Achaeans set out to reclaim her.
Hernandez, Amado V. – a Filipino writer and labor leader
who was known for his criticism of social injustices in
the Philippines and was later imprisoned for his
involvement in the communist movement. His works
include Mga Ibong Mandaragit, Luha ng Buwaya, Kung
Tuyo Na ang Luha Mo, Aking Bayan
Herrick, Robert - Robert Herrick was a 17th-century
English lyric poet and cleric. He is best known for
Hesperides, a book of poems. This includes the carpe
diem poem "To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time",
with the first line "Gather ye rosebuds while ye may".
Hieroglyphics – sacred writing system of Egypt
The Hobbit - or There and Back Again is a children's
fantasy novel by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. It was
published in 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being
nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize
from the New York Herald Tribune for best juvenile
fiction. The novel introduced Tolkien’s richly imagined
world of Middle Earth in its Third Age and served as a
prologue to his The Lord of the Rings. Hobbits, a race of
small humanlike creatures, characteristically value
peace, simplicity, and cozy homes yet are capable of
incredible feats of courage and resourcefulness. The
unwilling hero of The Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, is
persuaded to join Thorin and his 12 dwarfs to recover
their stolen treasure, which is being guarded by the
dragon Smaug. During the expedition, Bilbo finds a
magical ring that renders the wearer invisible, which
figures prominently in The Lord of the Rings. The Hobbit
is the story of Bilbo’s maturing from a seeker of warmth
and comforts to a fighter, however humble, for the
greater good.
Howards End - a novel about social conventions, codes
of conduct, and relationships in turn-of-the-century
England. Howards End is considered by many to be
Forster's masterpiece. The story revolves around three
families in England at the beginning of the 20th century:
the Wilcoxes, rich capitalists with a fortune made in the
colonies; the half-German Schlegel siblings (Margaret,
Helen, and Tibby), whose cultural pursuits have much in
common with the Bloomsbury Group; and the Basts, an
impoverished young couple from a lower-class
background. The idealistic, intelligent Schlegel sisters
Compiled by: Ellaine Palmamento
LITERATURE Master List
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seek to help the struggling Basts and to rid the Wilcoxes
of some of their deep-seated social and economic
prejudices
Hubris - excessive pride or self-confidence; (in Greek
tragedy) excessive pride towards or defiance of the
gods, leading to nemesis.
Hymn to the Night – written by Henry Wadsworth
Longfellow, the poem is Longfellow’s tribute to the
consolation that night and peace can bring. He
personifies Night, portraying her as a goddess, clad in
black skirts “fringed with light,” bending over us lovingly
and laying her “finger on the lips of care.” The calm of
night can help us to bear the sorrows that come to all of
us, bringing us rest and a welcome release from stress.
The poet invokes this goddess of peace, praying to her
to descend upon him with solace.
Hyperbole - exaggerated statements or claims not
meant to be taken literally
Ex. I’m so hungry I could eat a horse.
… where the corn grows so tall they have to go up on a
ladder to pick the ears off.
Hyperion – the titan of light; the father of the sun, the
moon, and the dawn
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Iapetus – father of Prometheus, Epimetheus, and Atlas.
I Ching - The I Ching or Yi Jing, usually translated as Book
of Changes or Classic of Changes, is an ancient Chinese
divination text and among the oldest of the Chinese
classics. It is a source of Confucian and Taoist
philosophy. Essentially, the I Ching is a system that has
always been used to predict the future. More
importantly, though, is its use as a book of wisdom.
Because the readings it gives are simple, yet elegant,
profound, and intuitive, it is often consulted for its
advice and insight into human nature.
Ideal Distance - the audience’s ability to remove
themselves from the play so that they can contemplate
and evaluate the performance
In A Grove – written by Ryunsuke Akutagawa; distinct
for its unique narrative technique. The short story is
about the murder of a samurai, Kanazawa no Takehiro,
whose corpse was found in a bamboo forest in Japan
and the distorted accounts to try and find out who
killed the samurai, which simultaneously clarifies and
confuses the reader due to the different stories each
character recounts. It was written in 1922.
Inaugural Speech (John F. Kennedy)
And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country
can do for you--ask what you can do for your country.
My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America
will do for you, but what together we can do for the
freedom of man.
Indarapatra at Sulayman – Moro Mindanaoan epic
about two brothers who saved Mindanao from four
horrible monsters: Kurita of the sea and mountains
where the rattan grew, Tarabusaw an ugly creature in
the form of a man living in Mt. Matutun, Pah a large
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bird whose wings covered the sun hunting Mt Bita, and
a fourth bird monster who lived in Mt. Gurayn.
Indian American - Jefferson’s phrase “merciless Indian
savages” refer to these people
Indirect Speech – the narrator reports the character’s
thoughts or words using verbs like “said” or “thought”
Kate looked at her bank statement. She asked herself
why she’d spent her money so recklessly.
Invictus – by William Ernest Henley; written when
Henley was in the hospital being treated for
Tuberculosis of the bone, also known as Pott's disease.
The poem is about showing undivided courage in the
face of death and keeping the dignity against all the
hardships in life. It answers the question: Do humans
control their own lives?
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul.
Irony – a discrepancy or disparity between what seems
and what is. There are three types:
a. Irony of situation – results differ from what is
expected
a fire station burns down
a marriage counselor files for divorce
b. Verbal irony – veiled sarcasm
Oh, fantastic!
We simply don’t get along.
c. Dramatic irony – the author’s intended meaning
differs from the expectation
It was very kind of you to remind me of my
humiliation.
Irving, Washington – Father of American Literature; the
first American writer to make his living primarily
through his creative work. He is primarily remembered
for short stories such as “Rip van Winkle” and “The
Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” Literary movement:
Romanticism
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Japanese Poetry
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Syllables per line
Haiku
575
Tanka
57577
Choka
575757 (must end with 7)
Renga
575 77
Jason – sailed the longship Argo to search for the
Golden Fleece
Jefferson, Thomas – an American statesman, diplomat,
lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father
who served as the third president of the United States
from 1801 to 1809. He is the principal author of the
Declaration of Independence.
Jonson, Benjamin - an English playwright and poet.
Jonson's artistry exerted a lasting influence upon
English poetry and stage comedy. He is generally
Compiled by: Ellaine Palmamento
LITERATURE Master List
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regarded as the second most important English
dramatist, after William Shakespeare, during the reign
of James I. Among his major plays are the comedies
Every Man in His Humour (1598), Volpone (1605),
Epicoene; or, The Silent Woman (1609), The Alchemist
(1610), and Bartholomew Fair (1614).
Journey to the West – written by Wu Cheng’en; is a
Chinese novel published in the 16th century during the
Ming dynasty. It is one of the Four Great Classical
Novels of Chinese literature. It has been described as
arguably the most popular literary work in East Asia.
The novel is an extended account of the legendary
pilgrimage of the Tang dynasty Buddhist monk
Xuanzang, who traveled to the "Western Regions"
(Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent) to obtain
Buddhist sacred texts (sūtras) and returned after many
trials and much suffering. The monk is referred to as
Tang Sanzang in the novel.
Judgment of Paris – Zeus threw a banquet to celebrate
the wedding of Thetis (nymph and mother of Achilles)
to Peleus, mortal. Eris, the goddess of discord, learned
that she was uninvited. For revenge, Eris threw the
golden Apple of Discord inscribed with "tēi kallistēi" –
"For the most beautiful". Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite
each claimed the apple. Knowing that choosing any of
them would bring him the hatred of the other two, Zeus
did not want to take part in the decision. He thus
appointed Paris to select the most beautiful for his
apparent honesty. Hera offered Paris ownership of all of
Europe and Asia. Athena offered skill in battle, wisdom,
and the abilities of the greatest warriors. Aphrodite
offered the love of the most beautiful woman on Earth:
Helen of Sparta. Paris chose Aphrodite and therefore
Helen. Helen was already married to King Menelaus of
Sparta so Paris had to abduct Helen, although some
accounts said that Helen fell in love with Paris
immediately, hence leaving willingly.
Juxtaposition - the opening line in the novel The Tale of
Two Cities by Charles Dickens used juxtaposition
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,
it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness
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Kalidasa - Greatest Indian Writer of all time. He is
considered as the Indian Shakespeare. Kalidasa wrote
Shakuntala (Indian Literature)
Kawabata, Yasunari - a Japanese novelist and short-story
writer whose spare, lyrical, subtly-shaded prose works
won him the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1968, the first
Japanese author to receive the award. His works have
enjoyed broad international appeal and are still widely
read including Snow Country, The House of Sleeping
Beauties, and Thousand Cranes.
Kenkoy – first Philippine comic strip
Kennedy, John Fitzgerald - often referred to by his
initials JFK, was an American politician who served as
the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until
his assassination near the end of his third year in office.
It was in his inaugural address that John F. Kennedy
spoke his famous words, "Ask not what your country
can do for you, ask what you can do for your country."
This use of antimetabole can be seen even as a thesis
statement of his speech—a call to action for the public
to do what is right for the greater good.
Kigo – seasonal words like snow and cherry blossoms
found in almost all haiku poems. These indicate the
time of the year being described
King Arthur– a legendary British leader who, according
to medieval histories and romances, led the defense of
Britain against Saxon invaders in the late 5th and early
6th centuries.
King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table – King
Arthur supposedly had a round table made so that none
of his barons, when seated at it, could claim precedence
over the others. The Knights were Arthur, Uther
Pendragon, Merlin, Joseph of Arimathea, Guinevere,
Lancelot, Perceval, Galahad, Mordred.
King Lear - a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It
is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. Lear, the
aging king of Britain, decides to step down from the
throne and divide his kingdom evenly among his three
daughters. First, however, he puts his daughters
through a test, asking each to tell him how much she
loves him. ... Unable to believe that his beloved
daughters are betraying him, Lear slowly goes insane.
King, Martin Luther Jr. - an American Baptist minister
and activist who became the most visible spokesman
and leader in the civil rights movement from 1955 until
his assassination in 1968. In his famous Lincoln
Memorial Speech, where his dream was the freedom for
all the black men from Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana,
and slums and ghettos of Northern cities.
Kwento ni Mabuti – by Genoveva Edroza Matute; first
prize in the first Palanca Awards
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Lao Tzu – also rendered as Laozi and Lao-Tze, was an
ancient Chinese philosopher and writer. He is the
reputed author of the Tao Te Ching, the founder of
philosophical Taoism, and a deity in religious Taoism
and traditional Chinese religions.
Latorena, Paz – wrote The Small Key, entitled so after
the rusty small key that opens the trunk that symbolizes
the husband’s romantic past. The wife, Soledad, hates
the trunk because her husband attributes an
affectionate value to it, and the key allowed her to get
rid of the first wife’s clothes and belongings that
bothered her so much.
Lead – an opening paragraph that gives the audience
the most important information of the news story
concisely and clearly, while still maintaining the readers'
interest.
Lequ-Unnini – scribe who is attributed as the author of
Gilgamesh
Librito – little book or booklet
Lilliputs – from Jonathan’s Gulliver’s Travels; society of
people around six inches in average height but with
Compiled by: Ellaine Palmamento
LITERATURE Master List
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arrogance and self-importance of full-sized men. They
live on the island of Lilliput, located on the Indian Ocean
Lincoln Memorial Address In 1963, Martin Luther King
gave him "I Have a Dream" speech. In the speech, he
evoked the memory of Abraham Lincoln, the
emancipation of the slaves, and the "shameful
condition" of segregation in America 100 years after the
American Civil War.
Li Qingzhao - greatest Chinese poetess known for
employment of figure-ground theory, utilization of
foregrounding such as repetition and metaphor, use of
imagery to enrich the content. She is NOT known for
the dominance of hyperbole
Literary Conceit - a cross between metaphor and simile.
Conceits usually demand your attention because the
comparison seems so farfetched and unconventional.
A broken heart is like a damaged clock.
No man is an island.
Liwayway – Filipino magazine that began to operate in
the 1920s and continued to flourish during the
Japanese regime
The Longest Journey - a bildungsroman (a literary genre
that focuses on the psychological and moral growth of
the protagonist from childhood to adulthood aka
coming of age) by E. M. Forster, first published in 1907.
It’s a novel about a Cambridge University philosophy
student and aspiring fiction writer, Rickie Elliot, who is
handicapped. His parents' separation and deaths leave
him traumatized and orphaned at the age of 15. He
marries childhood friend Agnes Pembroke and meets
half-brother Stephen.
Love interest characters – the romantic focus of another
character. They can either be major or minor
characters.
Love Labour’s Lost – one of William Shakespeare’s early
comedies, believed to have been written in the mid590s for a performance at the Inns of Court before
Queen Elizabeth I. It follows the King of Navarre and his
three companions as they attempt to swear off the
company of women for three years to focus on study
and fasting. Their subsequent infatuation with the
Princess of France and her ladies makes them forsworn,
(break their oath).
To Lucasta – written by Richard Lovelace, "To Lucasta,
Going to the Wars" is all about sacrifice. After all, the
speaker leaves behind the woman he loves to go to war
and be honorable. Her name is Lucasta, which means
"chaste light." But no matter how good she may be, the
speaker suggests, going to war is even more important.
Lu Xun - penname of Chou Shu-Jen, a Chinese author
and social critic. He is best known for his pioneering
short stories in the modern style and his prolific output
as a polemic and personal essayist. His works include A
Madman’s Diary, Kong Yiji, and The True Story of Ah Q
Lyrical Ballads - The publishing of Wordsworth’s Lyrical
Ballads, along with Samuel T. Coleridge, marked the
beginning of the English Romantic Period. It was one of
the first collections of poems that strayed from the
more formal poetic diction of the Neoclassical Period.
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Macbeth – a tragedy by William Shakespeare. A brave
Scottish general named Macbeth receives a prophecy
from a trio of witches that one day he will become King
of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and spurred to
action by his wife, Macbeth murders King Duncan and
takes the Scottish throne for himself. He is then
wracked with guilt and paranoia.
Machiavelli, Niccolo – The Prince
Madison, James Jr. - an American statesman, diplomat,
expansionist, philosopher, and Founding Father who
served as the 4th president of the United States from
1809 to 1817.
Malakas at Maganda - a famous Filipino folktale/
creation myth*
Malory, Sir Thomas – wrote Le Morte D’ Arthur or King
Arthur and the Nights of the roundtable
Mansfield Park - the third published novel by Jane
Austen, first published in 1814 by Thomas Egerton. The
novel tells the story of Fanny Price, starting when her
overburdened family sends her at the age of ten to live
in the household of her wealthy aunt and uncle and
following her development into early adulthood.
Man'yōshū - literally "Collection of Ten Thousand
Leaves", the oldest extant collection of Japanese waka
compiled sometime after AD 759 during the Nara
period. The anthology is one of the most revered of
Japan's poetic compilations. The compiler, or the last in
a series of compilers, is today widely believed to be
Ōtomo no Yakamochi
Mao Tze-Tung - the Chinese leader whose essays and
poems depicted the totalitarian rule in China and
advocated a revolutionary government
Masthead - listing the publication's name, the names of
the owner and staff, etc.
Maramag, Fernando - a well-known poet and journalist.
- His editorial writings exerted great influence on the
various phases of the Filipino way of life. One of his
works is "The Rural Maid" which is a lyric poem that
follows the structure of a sonnet. The poem also has a
masculine rhyme.
Mariang Makiling - a famous legend (The Legend of
Maria Makiling)
Markham, Beryl - an English-born Kenyan aviator,
adventurer, racehorse trainer, and author. She was the
first person to fly solo, non-stop across the Atlantic
from Britain to North America. She wrote about her
adventures in her memoir, West with the Night.
Marlowe, Christopher - also known as Kit Marlowe, was
an English playwright, poet, and translator of the
Elizabethan era. Marlowe is among the most famous of
the Elizabethan playwrights. He is William
Shakespeare's most important predecessor in English
drama. He is noted especially for his establishment of
dramatic blank verse. In a playwriting career that
spanned little more than six years, Marlowe's
achievements were diverse and splendid.
Compiled by: Ellaine Palmamento
LITERATURE Master List
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Marquez, Gabriel Garcia – awarded the Nobel Prize in
Literature in 1982 for his novels and short stories,
especially One Hundred Years of Solitude or Cien años
de Soledad
Marquez, Natividad - a Filipino writer, poet, educator,
and lay missionary. She is known for her poems, the
most popular of which include The Little Sampaguita
and The Sea.
de Maupassant, Guy – wrote The Necklace
Maya - a Sanskrit word meaning “magic” or “illusion”. It
is a fundamental concept in Hindu philosophy. It
originally denotes the magic power with which a god
can make human beings believe in what turns out to be
an illusion. Maya is now defined as the empirical reality
that entangles consciousness. It has the power to
create a bondage to the empirical world, preventing the
unveiling of the true, unitary Self—the Cosmic Spirit
also known as Brahman.
May Day Eve - by Nick Joaquin. The main symbol used in
the story is the mirror which refers to the physical
attractions of Badoy and Agueda for each other and the
illusion brought about by those attractions. The theme:
Love cannot be based on passion alone nor
superstitious beliefs and fate. The story spanned almost
50 years.
Menelaus of Sparta - According to the Iliad, Menelaus
was a central figure in the Trojan War, leading the
Spartan contingent of the Greek army, under his elder
brother Agamemnon, king of Mycenae. He was the
husband of Helen, whom Paris abducted. Together with
Agamemnon, he raised a fleet of a thousand ships and
went to Troy to secure Helen’s return. This led to the
beginning of the Trojan war. Paris seeks Menelaus for
hand-to-hand combat for the hand of Helen. After Paris
is injured, Hector kills Menelaus rather than let
Menelaus kill his brother.
Merchant of Venice - is a 16th-century play written by
William Shakespeare in which a merchant in Venice
named Antonio defaults on a large loan provided by a
Jewish moneylender, Shylock. The story revolves
around Antonio, an antisemitic merchant, who takes a
loan from the Jew Shylock to help his friend to court
Portia. Antonio can't repay the loan, and without mercy,
Shylock demands a pound of his flesh. The heiress
Portia, now the wife of Antonio's friend, dresses like a
lawyer and saves Antonio.
All that glitters is not gold;
Often you have heard that told;
Many a man his life hath sold
But my outside to behold;
Gilded tombs do norms enfold.
Metaphor - a comparison that is not literally true. It
suggests what something is like by comparing it with
something else with similar characteristics.
Ex. Laughter is the best medicine.
Meter - a poem’s rhythmical pattern of stressed and
unstressed beats
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Iamb
u/
insist
Trochee
/u
double
Anapest
uu/
understand
Dactyl
/uu
excellent
Spondee
//
fourteen
Pyrrhic
uu
under
Metis - the Titaness of the fourth day and the planet
Mercury. She presided over all wisdom and knowledge.
She was seduced by Zeus and became pregnant with
Athena. Zeus became concerned over prophecies that
her second child would replace Zeus. To avoid this Zeus
ate her. It is said that she is the source for Zeus’ wisdom
and that she still advises Zeus from his belly.
It may seem odd for Metis to have been pregnant with
Athena but, never mentioned as her mother. This is
because the classic Greeks believed that children were
generated solely from the father’s sperm. The women
were thought to be nothing more than a vessel for the
fetus to grow in. Since Metis was killed well before
Athena's birth her role doesn't count.
Midsummer Night’s Dream - a comedy written by
William Shakespeare c. 1595 or 1596. The play is set in
Athens and consists of several subplots that revolve
around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One
subplot involves a conflict among four Athenian lovers.
They run away to the forest only to have Puck the fairy
make both of the boys fall in love with the same girl. ...
In the end, Puck reverses the magic, and the two
couples reconcile and marry.
Milton, John - an English poet and intellectual who
served as a civil servant for the Commonwealth of
England under its Council of State and later under Oliver
Cromwell. He wrote at a time of religious flux and
political upheaval and is best known for his epic poem
Paradise Lost. By 1652, Milton had become blind; the
cause of his blindness is debated but bilateral retinal
detachment or glaucoma are most likely. His blindness
forced him to dictate his verse and prose to
amanuenses who copied them out for him; one of these
was Andrew Marvell.
Mishima, Yukio – born Kimitake Hiraoka was a Japanese
author, poet, playwright, actor, model, and nationalist.
He is considered as one of the most important Japanese
Compiled by: Ellaine Palmamento
LITERATURE Master List
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authors of the 20th century. He wrote Confessions of A
Mask, Spring Snow, The Sound of Waves, and The
Temple of the Golden Pavillion.
Mnemosyne – the titan of memory and the mother of
the Muses
Modern Story – the ten commandments of a modern
story are: it must have compression and
immediateness,
momentum,
characterization,
verisimilitude, style, culmination, soul, and it must be
short.
A Modest Proposal – written by Jonathan Swift as a
bitter pamphlet that ironically suggests that Irish babies
be fattened for profitable sale as meat since the English
were eating the Irish people anyhow. It attacked the
problem of heavy taxation.
Monologue – a long speech by one character, or one
character is speaking to another person. My Last
Duchess is an example of a monologue of a duke who is
telling about the demise/death of his last duchess.
de Montaigne, Michael - also known as Lord of
Montaigne, was one of the most significant
philosophers of the French Renaissance. He is known
for popularizing the essay as a literary genre. His work is
noted for its merging of casual anecdotes and
autobiography with intellectual insight.
As a philosopher, he is best known for his skepticism,
which profoundly influenced major figures in the history
of philosophy such as Descartes and Pascal. All of his
literary and philosophical work is contained in his
Essays, which he began to write in 1572 and first
published in 1580 in the form of two books.
Motokiyo, Zeami – also called Kanze Motokiyo was a
Japanese aesthetician, actor, and playwright. His father,
Kan’ami Kiyotsugu, introduced him to Noh theater
performance at a young age and found that he was a
skilled actor. He is recognized as the greatest playwright
and theorist of Japanese Noh theater. He and his father
created the Noh drama in its present form.
Much Ado About Nothing - a comedy by William
Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and
1599. The play was included in the First Folio, published
in 1623. The play is set in Messina and revolves around
two romantic pairings that emerge when a group of
soldiers arrives in the town. Benedick, Claudio, and Don
Pedro arrive at Leonato's house in Messina. Beatrice
and Benedick bicker with each other and Claudio, a
soldier, falls in love with Leonato's daughter, Hero.
The Muses - daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne. They
are known for the music of their song, which brings joy
to any who hears it. There are nine Muses, each with
her own specialty: Clio (History), Urania (Astronomy),
Melpomene (Tragedy), Thalia (Comedy), Terpsichore
(Dance), Calliope (Epic Poetry), Erato (Love Poetry),
Polyhymnia (Songs to the Gods), Euterpe (Lyric Poetry).
My Last Duchess – a poem by Robert Browning
frequently anthologized as an example of the dramatic
monologue.
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Nabokov, Vladimir – his works are The Defense, Lolita,
and The Gift
The Naked and the Dead – written by Norman Mailer,
considered as one of the finest novels written in
America since World War II because it was a true
picture of World War II. After leaving the Army in 1946,
he studied at the Sorbonne, where he wrote the Naked
and The Dead, based on his own military experiences.
The book, which closely chronicles the lives of 13
soldiers stationed in the Pacific, presents a fictional
story with precise, journalistic detail.
Naguib Mahfouz –he is an Egyptian writer who won the
1988 Nobel Prize for Literature; regarded as one of the
first contemporary writers of Arabic literature to
explore the themes of existentialism.
Nameplate – its designed title as it appears on the front
page or cover. Another very common term for it in the
newspaper industry is "the flag". It is part of the
publication's branding, with a specific font and, usually,
color.
Note: Some confusion between the two terms
masthead and nameplate emerges. The nameplate is
used for the newspaper name in American English while
it’s called masthead in British English.
Narrative techniques - any of several specific methods
the creator of a narrative uses to convey what they
want—in other words, a strategy used in the making of
a narrative to relay information to the audience and
particularly to develop the narrative, usually to make it
more complete, complex, or interesting. Literary
techniques are distinguished from literary elements,
which exist inherently in works of writing.
Nemesis - literary device; refers to a situation of poetic
justice where the good characters are rewarded and
the evil characters are punished for their vices.
New Criticism – the new criticism school in poetry can
be characterized by its emphasis on craft over content
News feature – the aim is to entertain more than to
inform; content focuses on the entertainment side of
current events
Newspaper – periodical publication containing accounts
of current events, information, articles, and diverse
features
Ninay – by Pedro Paterno; first novel authored by a
native Filipino
Noh - a major form of classical Japanese dance-drama
that has been performed since the 14th century.
Developed by Kan’ami and his son Zeami, it is the oldest
major theatre art that is still regularly performed today.
Its name is derived from “nou” meaning talent or skill.
Noli Me Tangere – a literary masterpiece by Jose Rizal
inspired by Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin;
Rizal wanted to express Spanish colonial abuse in print,
similar to Beecher Stowe’s novel that described racism
and black slavery abuse done by white men
Northanger Abbey - Northanger Abbey is the coming-ofage story of a young woman named Catherine Morland.
It’s a satire of Gothic novels written by Jane Austen. It’s
a courtship novel that goes against certain important
Compiled by: Ellaine Palmamento
LITERATURE Master List
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conventions of “courtship novels,” especially to make
the point that loyalty is the surest sign of true love.
O
Oceanus – the unending stream of water encircling the
world. Together with his wife Tethys, produced the
rivers and the three thousand ocean nymphs.
Ode to Aphrodite – written by Sappho, it is a lyric poem
about a frustrated cry of a woman struggling with the
unreciprocated of another woman. Sappho asks the
goddess to ease the pains of her unrequited love for
this woman; after being thus invoked, Aphrodite
appears to Sappho, telling her that the woman who has
rejected her advances will in time pursue her in turn.
Ode to Evening – is one of the most enduring odes of
William Collins. It is a beautiful poem of fifty-two lines,
addressed to a goddess figure representing evening.
The poem appeared in Odes on Several Descriptive and
Allegorical Subjects in 1747. In an Ode to Evening, the
poet is seen at his best.
Ode to the West Wind - an ode, written by English
Romantic poet, Percy Bysshe Shelley in 1819. In the
poem, the speaker directly addresses the west wind.
The speaker treats the west wind as a force of death
and decay and welcomes this death and decay because
it means that rejuvenation and rebirth will come soon.
Odysseus – devised the plan which caused the fall of
Troy and brought victory to his people. It was Odysseus
who conceived a plan for the Achaians (Greeks) to get
inside the walled city of Troy, ruled by King Priam. He
planned to build a great wooden horse, the horse being
the emblem of Troy, hiding an elite force inside and
fooling the Trojans into wheeling the horse into the city
as a trophy.
Old Testament Literature – an anthology of Jewish
literature
Omar Khayyam – wrote the Rubaiyat
Omniscient – point of view assumed by the narrator
from which he can tell everything that happens in the
story; method of storytelling in which the narrator
knows the thoughts and feelings of all the characters in
the story
One Thousand and One Nights (Arabian Nights)- a
collection of stories and folk tales from West and South
Asia that was compiled during the Islamic Golden Age. It
includes genies and flying carpets. Alibaba and the Forty
Thieves is one of the stories written in Arabian Nights
(Arabian Literature)
One-word Lead - Boom! Wow!
On His Blindness - a poem in which Milton reflects on his
faith as he is turning blind. "On His Blindness" centers
on Milton's faith in God as he is losing his sight. The
poem is a sonnet that uses figurative language to
express Milton's fear, frustration, and acceptance.
On the Duty of Civil Disobedience – the work of Henry
David Thoreau containing civil disobedience and passive
resistance which were practiced by Mahatma Gandhi of
India and Martin Luther King Jr. When Mahatma Gandhi
was working out his concept of non-violent resistance,
he was impressed by Henry David Thoreau’s advice to
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resist wrong things. Thoreau suggested that individuals
could resist immoral government action by simply
refusing to cooperate. Gandhi adopted many of
Thoreau’s thoughts in developing his concept of
Satyagraha (non-cooperation), or Truth Force. One of
the most significant and tangible effects India has had
on life in the United States was Mahatma Gandhi’s
influence on the Civil Rights leader, Martin Luther King,
who adapted Gandhi’s idea of civil disobedience to the
civil rights movement in the United States. Martin
Luther King always paid tribute to Gandhi as one of the
most important sources of his values. In 1959, Dr. King
made a pilgrimage to India.
On the Pulse of the Morning – by Maya Angelou
suggests that each new day gives people new chances
Open Sesame – In the Arabian Nights, Ali Baba opened
the cave of riches by saying the phrase.
Orpheus - ancient Greek legendary hero endowed with
superhuman musical skills. Orpheus was the son of
Apollo and the muse Calliope. He and Eurydice, a wood
nymph, fell in love and got married. However, the
whirlwind romance with Eurydice ends as a tragic love
story as Eurydice was bitten by a snake and promptly
dies. Willing to bring his wife back to life, Orpheus went
into the underworld to demand Hades that she be
returned to him. Hades, moved by Orpheus’ pain,
agreed, warning him that under no circumstances must
he turn back to his wife before she has reached the
light. Too excited, Orpheus turned to his wife after
stepping into the light, forgetting that his wife was still
in the darkness. Eurydice was drowned back into the
darkness.
Othello – a tragedy written by William Shakespeare, set
in the contemporary Ottoman-Venetian War fought for
the control of the Island of Cyprus. The play is set in
motion when Othello, a heroic black general in the
service of Venice, appoints Cassio and not Iago as his
chief lieutenant. Jealous of Othello's success and
envious of Cassio, Iago plots Othello's downfall by
falsely implicating Othello's wife, Desdemona, and
Cassio in a love affair. Conflicts in Othello are as follows:
inner conflict, cultural and racial differences.
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Paine, Thomas – the one who said “These are the times
that try men’s souls.” It is the opening line to The
American Crisis by Thomas Paine. It is a pamphlet series
by eighteenth-century Enlightenment philosopher and
author Thomas Paine. It was written in Dec. 1776 during
the American Revolution. Paine signed the pamphlets
with the pseudonym, "Common Sense". He is acclaimed
as America’s greatest pamphleteer.
Panchatantra – an ancient Indian collection of
interrelated animal fables in Sanskrit verse and prose,
arranged within a frame story.
Palindrome - word, phrase, sentence, or even number
that reads the same backward or forward.
Ex. Able was I ere I saw Elba; 2002
Compiled by: Ellaine Palmamento
LITERATURE Master List
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Panday Pira – a play of Jose Ma. Hernandez telling the
story of an artisan who forged cannons for the use of
the Spaniards. Panday Pira was a Filipino KapampánganMuslim blacksmith. His name literally translates as
"Blacksmith Pira", Panday being the Tagalog word for
"blacksmith". He fled to Pampanga at the defeat of
Tarik Sulayman against the Spaniards. He was
summoned by Legazpi back to Manila and put to work
forging cannons for them.
Paradise Lost - an epic poem (12 books, totaling more
than 10,500 lines) written in blank verse by the 17th
century English poet John Milton, telling the biblical tale
of the Fall of Mankind – the moment when Adam and
Eve were tempted by Satan to eat the forbidden fruit
from the Tree of Knowledge, and God banished them
from the Garden of Eden forever. Its opening line is: “Of
man’s first disobedience and the fruit of the forbidden
tree”
Parang Sabil – The Tausug concept of defending their
freedom/liberty in defense of Islam against the
colonizers. Sabil is an Arabic term constructed from the
Quranic phrase of “fry sabiy lillah” (in the way of Allah).
Parang is from a Malay term, perang meaning to kill
and be killed.
Paras-Sulit, Loreto – the first woman to be SecretaryGeneral of Philippine National Red Cross. She wrote the
story Harvest, about an envious brother Fabian who
manipulates his brother Vidal’s life for his own interest.
Paris - the son of King Priam and Queen Hecuba of Troy.
He is most notable for his elopement with Helen, queen
of Sparta, this being one of the immediate causes of the
Trojan War. Later in the war, he fatally wounds Achilles
in the heel with an arrow as foretold by Achilles'
mother, Thetis.
Before his birth, Hecuba dreamed of giving birth to a
flaming torch. Interpreting it as a prophecy leading to
the downfall of Troy, the child was left in the wilderness
to die. However, Agelaus, Priam’schief herdsman, was
astonished to see him alive and reared him as his own
instead. His chief distraction during these times was to
pit bulls. Paris offered a golden crown to any bull that
could defeat his’. Ares responded to this challenge by
transforming himself into a bull and easily winning the
contest. Paris gave the crown to Ares without
hesitation. It was this apparent honesty in judgment
that prompted the gods of Olympus to have Paris
arbitrate the divine contest between Hera, Aphrodite,
and Athena.
Pasternak, Boris – Doctor Zhivago
Patrick Henry’s Speech - On March 23, 1775, Patrick
Henry signaled the coming revolution when he spoke at
a Virginia convention and allegedly implored: “Give me
liberty or give me death!”
Peripeteia - (Greek: reversal) a sudden reversal of
fortune or change in circumstances; the turning point in
a drama after which the plot moves steadily to its
denouement. Aristotle discussed it in Poetics as the
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shift of the tragic protagonist’s fortune from good to
bad; essential to the plot of a tragedy.
Personality Traits – one of the 2 ways to discuss the
types of character in fiction. Examples of personality
traits are round, flat, dynamic, static, stock, love
interest, confidante, and foil
Personification - giving human features and attributes to
non-human things.
Ex. My alarm clock yells at me every morning.
Petrarch – Father of the Sonnet
Petrarchan Sonnet - perfected by the Italian poet
Petrarch, divides the 14 lines into two sections: an
eight-line stanza (octave) rhyming ABBAABBA, and a sixline stanza (sestet) rhyming CDCDCD or CDECDE.
Phoebe – Titan of the moon, mother of Leto through
Coeus
Pichay, Leon - Father of Modern Ilocano Literature; King
of Ilocano Poets, Prince of Bukanegan; although
educated in English, he wrote in his native Ilokano.
Picturization - element in theater; pertains to all
elements the director visualizes and puts in every scene
The Pilgrim’s Progress - The Pilgrim's Progress from This
World, to That Which Is to Come is a 1678 Christian
allegory written by John Bunyan. It is regarded as one of
the most significant works of religious, theological
fiction in English literature. It has been translated into
more than 200 languages and has never been out of
print. The major theme in John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's
Progress is the cost of salvation. As Christian's journey
proves, the road to Heaven is not easy, the cost is great,
and the true Christian must be willing to pay the cost no
matter what. Man is full of sin, but this does not keep
him from attaining glory.
The Pillow Book – Makura no Sōshi) is a book of
observations and musings recorded by Sei Shōnagon
during her time as court lady to Empress Consort Teishi
during the 990s and early 1000s in Heian Japan. The
book was completed in the year 1002.
Pindar - an Ancient Greek lyric poet from Thebes. Of the
canonical nine lyric poets of ancient Greece, his work is
the best preserved. He is the greatest lyric poet of
ancient Greece and the master of epinician, choral odes
celebrating victories achieved in the Pythian, Olympic,
Isthmian, and Nemean games
Plantagenets – a royal house which originated from the
lands of Anjou in France; they held the English throne
from 1154 to 1485. Under their rule, England was
transformed.
Po Chu-i - a Chinese poet best known for his ballads and
satirical poems. He held the view that good poetry
should be readily understood by the common people
and exemplified it in poems noted for simple diction,
natural style, and social content.
Poe, Edgar Allan - known for gothic literature. The
godfather of detective, mystery, and horror literature.
That is why he is considered the most controversial
author. His work includes “The Raven” (best-known
poem), “The Tell-Tale Heart”, and “Annabel Lee”
Compiled by: Ellaine Palmamento
LITERATURE Master List
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(dedicated to his wife/cousin who died early. He is in
Romanticism Era/Age.
The Poor Christ of Bomba - satirizes the destructive
influence of French Catholic missionary activities in
Cameroon. It was written by Cameroonian author
Mongo Beti.
Pound, Ezra – father of imagism; although Pound is
noted as the father, the movement was rooted in ideas
first developed by philosopher Thomas Ernest Hulme
Precision Journalism - the application of social and
behavioral science research methods to the practice of
journalism
Prayer of Offerings – standard literary work that
replaces the offering list in Egyptian literature
Pride and Prejudice - is an 1813 novel of manners
written by Jane Austen. The novel follows the character
development of Elizabeth Bennet, the dynamic
protagonist of the book who learns about the
repercussions of hasty judgments and comes to
appreciate the difference between superficial goodness
and actual goodness. It follows the turbulent
relationship between Elizabeth Bennet, the daughter of
a country gentleman, and Fitzwilliam Darcy, a rich
aristocratic landowner. They must overcome the titular
sins of pride and prejudice to fall in love and marry.
The Prince – written by Nicollo de Machiavelli, The
Prince is a work of a man of experienced the reality of
leadership. Its general theme is accepting that the aims
of the prince, such as glory and survival, can justify the
use of immoral means to achieve those ends.
Prometheus - the wisest Titan. His name means
"forethought" and he was able to foretell the future. He
was the son of Iapetus. When Zeus revolted against
Cronus Prometheus deserted the other Titans and
fought on Zeus’ side. He is the protector and benefactor
of man, as assigned by Zeus. He gave mankind several
gifts including fire which prompted Zeus to punish him.
The Prophet - Written by Khalil Gibran, The Prophet is a
well-known work of Gibran and it was translated into
different languages. It focuses on human relationships
with other people, nature, and God. Almustafa shares
his words of wisdom on love, marriage, children, giving,
eating, and drinking, joy, sorrow, clothes, crime, and
punishment, laws, freedom, passion, pain, selfknowledge, teaching, friendship, time, good, and evil to
the townspeople.
Proscenium Theatre – also called as traditional; a stage
that has an apron or forestage
Proscenium Theatre Parts
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UC – remote and cold but quite strong; for beginning
important scenes which will move downstage later
UL – soft, remote, weak; used for unimportant scenes;
great for horror
UR – stronger than UL but not suited for horror stories
CS – strong and emphatic area; where forces of the play
meet face to face
DR – intimate and strong -; excellent for love scenes,
humanity, and kindness
DL – intimate but weaker than DR; suited for scandals,
secrets, and jealousies
Protagonist main character; hero or heroine, the
reader/audience empathizes with them and wants
them to succeed. They have a goal which he or she tries
to achieve in the story. They develop throughout the
story and hence are not the same person at the end.
Because of their changes in the story, a well-written
protagonist should be the most interesting, complex
character in the story. The character may or may not
achieve this goal, but simply by pursuing it, he or she
moves the plot forward.
Psalms 7 The message in the psalm is that the righteous
may seem weak, but ultimately will prevail against the
wicked.
Psalms 8 David's Psalm 8 is itself a kind of midrash on
the creation story in the Book of Genesis. It comments
on Genesis in poem form, condensing the ordered
sequence of the creation described in the first chapter,
day one through day six, into lyrical praise for the
Creator and the whole design of the cosmos.
Psalms 23 - The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not be in
want. he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of
righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no
evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they
comfort me.
Psalms 24 He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not lift his soul to an idol or swear by what is
false. He will receive blessing from the LORD and
vindication from God his Savior. Lift up your heads, O
you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King
of glory may come in.
A Psalm of Life - a poem written by American writer
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, often subtitled "What
the Heart of the Young Man Said to the Psalmist". Its
inspirational message has made it one of Longfellow's
most famous poems.
Compiled by: Ellaine Palmamento
LITERATURE Master List
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Pygmalion - was a talented Greek sculptor from Cyprus.
After becoming disgusted by some local prostitutes, he
lost all interest in women and avoided their company
completely. Pygmalion saw women as flawed creatures
and vowed never to waste any moment of his life with
them. He dedicated himself to his work and soon
created Galatea, a beautiful statue of a woman out of
ivory. Such a passion could not go unnoticed by the
goddess of love, Aphrodite. She took pity on the young
man and gave life to the statue.
Pyramid Texts – accounts of a king’s reign and his
successful journey in the afterlife.
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Quatrain - a type of stanza, or a complete poem,
consisting of four lines.
Quotation Lead – group of words taken from a text of
speech: “Walang himala!”
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Ramayana - is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of
ancient India and important text of Hinduism, the other
being the Mahābhārata. The epic, traditionally ascribed
to the Maharishi Valmiki, narrates the life of Rama, a
legendary prince of Ayodhya city in the kingdom of
Kosala. It consists of 24,000 shlokas and is composed of
about 480,002 words.
Record Journey to the West – novel based on the
pilgrimage of the Buddhist monk Xuanzang to India in
search of sacred texts.
Reyes, Edgardo - a Filipino novelist. His works of fiction
first appeared in the Tagalog magazine, Liwayway. His
novels include Laro sa Baga, Sa Mga Kuko ng Liwanag
Rhea – wife of Cronus. Cronus made it a practice to
swallow their children. Unhappy with this practice, Rhea
tricked Cronus into swallowing a rock, saving her son
Zeus.
Rhyme - repetition of syllables, typically at the end of a
verse line. Rhymed words conventionally share all
sounds following the word's last stressed syllable.
Rhymes are classified by the degree of similarity
between sounds within words, and by their placement
within the lines or stanzas.
Rig Veda - oldest Indian documents of Vedic Sanskrit
hymns that consists of 1,028 hymns recited in solemn
rituals; one of the Vedas (Samaveda, Rigveda,
Yajurveda, and Atharvaveda); it is a collection of nonspeculative hymns representative of the Aryan religious
spirit often comparable to the psalms to the Old
Testament
The River Between – a 1965 novel by Kenyan author
Ngugi wa Thiong’o. It tells the story of the separation of
two neighboring villages of Kenya caused by differences
in faith set in decades of roughly the early 20th century.
Role in the Story - one of the 2 ways to discuss the types
of character in fiction. Examples include protagonist,
antagonist, underdog, sidekick.
Romeo and Juliet – a tragedy written by William
Shakespeare early in his career about two young Italian
star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately reconcile
their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare’s most
popular plays during his lifetime and, along with
Hamlet, is one of his most frequently performed plays.
A Room with a View - a 1908 novel by English writer E.
M. Forster, about a young woman, Ms. Lucy
Honeychurch, in the restrained culture of Edwardian
era England. Set in Italy and England, the story is both a
romance (Lucy & George Emerson) and a humorous
critique of English society at the beginning of the 20th
century.
Round Characters – are major characters; they
encounter conflict and is changed by it; they develop
throughout the story
Routine Story – a public event regularly covered
Rubaiyat - Written by Omar Khayyam and Fitzgerald.
Khayyam wrote quatrains using his native Iranian
language, Farsi and was translated by Fitzgerald. Rubai
means quatrain with a rhyme scheme “aaba”. The
central theme of Rubaiyat is “Carpe Diem” or “Seize the
day”.
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Sanskrit – considered as the language of the gods in
Indian literature
Sappho - Sappho was an Archaic Greek poet from
Eresos of Mytilene on the island of Lesbos. Sappho is
known for her lyric poetry, written to be sung while
accompanied by music. In ancient times, Sappho was
widely regarded as one of the greatest lyric poets and
was given names such as the "Tenth Muse" and "The
Poetess". Her famous works include Ode to Aphrodite, a
lyric poem
Scarlet Letter - written work of Nathaniel Hawthorne
during Romanticism or Romantic Period. Scarlet Letter
talks about the mortal sin of a woman named “Hester
Prynne”. She is punished for adultery and she must bear
the scarlet letter on her breast. She was shunned by
society and the people. She gave birth to a child named
Pearl and she struggled to support herself and her
daughter.
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy - a plot device in literature that is
usually employed where the visions are realized due to
the action of the character who tries to prevent it. Ex:
Oedipus Rex by Sophocles
Self-Reliance - a piece written by Ralph Waldo Emerson,
who is an Essayist during Transcendentalism.
Transcendentalism is the offshoot of Romanticism
because it tackles more on the natural or real-world and
humanity rather than imagination and supernatural
stories. Self-Reliance talks about the need of an
individual to avoid conformity and false consistency. It
encourages the individual to follow his intuition. With
this, the work of Emerson makes Transcendentalism
different from Romanticism.
Compiled by: Ellaine Palmamento
LITERATURE Master List
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Senghor, Leopold - was a Senegalese poet, politician,
and cultural theorist who, for two decades, served as
the first president of Senegal. He was a major
theoretician of Negritude. He defined Negritude as “the
sum of the cultural values of the black world as they are
expressed in the life, the institutions, and the works of
black men.”
Sense and Sensibility - a novel by Jane Austen, published
in 1811. It was published anonymously; By A Lady
appears on the title page where the author's name
might have been. It tells the story of the Dashwood
sisters, Elinor and Marianne as they come of age.
Shakespeare, William - an English playwright, poet, and
actor, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the
English language and the world's greatest dramatist. He
is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of
Avon". His pieces of plays were not published during his
lifetime but today are considered masterpieces.
Shakespearean Sonnet – abab cdcd efef gg; see
Elizabethan sonnet
Shang Dynasty – also known as the Yin dynasty, first
recorded Chinese dynasty. It is said to be the successor
of the mythical first dynasty Xia. Contributions: the
invention of writing, development of stratified
government, advancement of bronze technology, use of
chariot and bronze weapons in warfare.
She Was a Phantom of Delight – written by William
Wordsworth, the deeper meaning of this poem is that
William Wordsworth loves his wife and has loved her
since the moment he saw her. She is angelic and serene
but also very firm. She keeps him happy, and he can
never take her out of his mind.
Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft - an English novelist who
wrote the Gothic novel Frankenstein or, The Modern
Prometheus, which is considered an early example of
science fiction. The said work uses epistolary technique
or narrative through letters. She is a writer in the
Romantic Period. She also edited and promoted the
works of her husband, the Romantic poet, and
philosopher Percy Bysshe Shelley.
Shikibu, Murasaki – was a Japanese novelist, poet, and
lady-in-waiting at the Imperial court during the Heian
period. She is best known as the author of The Tale of
Genji or Genji Monogatari, widely considered to be the
world's first and oldest full novel, written in Japanese
between about 1000 and 1012. It is considered as the
greatest work of Japanese literature.
Shintoism Shonagon, Sei - a Japanese author, poet, and court lady
who served the Empress Teishi around the year 1000
during the middle Heian period. She is the author of The
Pillow Book. It is a diary consisting of short narratives,
personal musings, and a list of observations and
experiences that Shonagon finds interesting and
beautiful.
Simile - a figure of speech involving the comparison of
one thing with another thing of a different kind, used to
make a description more emphatic or vivid (e.g. as
brave as a lion)
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Ex. His bright eyes rolled…. and glittered like the
flowers…
Simonides of Ceos - a Greek lyric poet, born at Ioulis on
Ceos. The scholars of Hellenistic Alexandria included
him in the canonical list of the nine lyric poets
esteemed by them as worthy of critical study.
Snow Country - Written by Yasunari Kawabata and was
published from 1935-1947. It is about the mountainous
region of Japan that receives a large amount of snow.
There is a sense of loneliness that pervades the area
which influences the mood of the book.
Socrates - a Greek philosopher from Athens who is
among the most famous figures in world history for his
contributions to the development of ancient Greek
philosophy which provided the foundation for all of
Western Philosophy. He is, in fact, known as the "Father
of Western Philosophy" for this reason. The Socratic
method of question and answer is largely attributed to
him.
Soft News – not usually considered as immediately
important or timely to a wide audience
La Solidaridad - first magazine, by Graciano Lopez Jaena
Soliloquy - a literary device used in drama to reveal a
character’s thoughts, feelings, secrets, or plans to the
audience.
Song of Lawino – is an epic narrative poem by Ugandan
poet Okot p’Bitek about an African woman’s cry against
her husband’s abandonment of the past in favor of
western traditions. The poem is an extended appeal
from Lawino to Ocol to stay true to his customs and to
abandon his ‘desire’ to be white.
Song of Roland - is an 11th-century epic poem (chanson
de geste) based on Roland and the Battle of Roncevaux
Pass in 778, during the reign of Charlemagne. It is the
oldest surviving major work of French literature and
exists in various manuscript versions. In the story, Oliver
pleads with Roland to blow his olifant to call for help
from the Frankish army. The emperor hears the call on
their way to Francia and Charlemagne and his
noblemen gallop back. The Franks fight well but are
outnumbered until almost all of Roland’s men are dead.
He blows his olifant to summon revenge until his
temples burst and he dies a martyr’s death.
Song to Celia - Ben Jonson's "Song: To Celia" is a short
monologue in which a lover addresses his lady to
encourage her to express her love for him.
Drink to me only with thine eyes,
And I will pledge with mine;
Or leave a kiss but in the cup,
And I’ll not look for wine.
Sonnet - a one-stanza, 14-line poem, written in iambic
pentameter. The sonnet, which derived from the Italian
word sonetto, meaning “a little sound or song," is "a
popular classical form that has compelled poets for
centuries,"
Sonnet 14 If thou must love me
Sonnet 15 Accuse me not, beseech thee, that I wear
Sonnet 43 How do I love thee? Let me count the ways
Compiled by: Ellaine Palmamento
LITERATURE Master List
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Sonnet 44 Beloved, thou has brought me many flowers
Sophie’s World - a 1991 novel by Norwegian writer
Jostein Gaarder. It follows Sophie Amundsen, a
Norwegian teenager, who is introduced to the history of
philosophy as she is asked "Who are you?" in a letter
from an unknown philosopher.
Sophocles – Greek dramatist who wrote Oedipus and
Antigone; one of the 3 greatest Greek playwrights of
tragedy along with Euripides and Aeschylus (SEA)
Soyinka, Wole - a Nigerian playwright, novelist, poet,
and essayist in the English language. He was awarded
the 1986 Nobel Prize in Literature, the first sub-Saharan
African to be honored in that category. He wrote
Telephone Conversation a phone call between a
landlady and the speaker, who is black, about renting an
apartment. Soyinka is a writer who satires racism.
Spenser, Edmund - an English poet best known for The
Faerie Queene, an epic poem and fantastical allegory
celebrating the Tudor dynasty and Elizabeth I. He is
recognized as one of the premier craftsmen of nascent
Modern English verse and is often considered one of
the greatest poets in the English language. Edmund
Spenser was (and is) called "the poet's poet" because of
the very high quality of his poetry and because he
enjoyed "the pure artistry of his craft" so much. He is
also called that because so many other poets thought
that he was a great poet. His greatest contribution to
verse is the Spenserian stanza
Spenserian Sonnet - a sonnet in which the lines are
grouped into three interlocked quatrains and a couplet
and the rhyme scheme is abab, bcbc, cdcd, ee.
Static characters – are minor characters. They remain
primarily the same throughout a story. Events in the
story do not alter their outlook on life, personality,
motivation, perception, or even habits. They play a
supporting role in the main character.
Steele, Richard - an Irish writer, playwright, and
politician, remembered as co-founder, with his friend
Joseph Addison, of the magazines The Tatler and The
Spectator.
Stock characters – are flat characters; they represent
stereotypical personality traits that may stem from his
or her appearance, the situation he/she finds
him/herself in, or the culture of the society. They are
not the focus, nor are they developed in the story.
Straight News - given straight without embellishments;
includes only facts; the purpose is to inform
Stream of consciousness – stylistic device; method of
narration that describes events in the flow of thoughts
in the minds of the characters.
A face reproachful tearful, an odor of camphor and of
tears, a voice weeping steadily and softly beyond the
twilight door, the twilight-colored smell of honeysuckle”
(The Sound and the Fury)
Style (language) – distinctive linguistic expression;
includes choice of words, the elegance of construction,
punctuation, consideration, and length of entries
Style as a choice – speaker’s own choice to variate or
following options available to him or her
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Style as deviation – there are rules, conventions, and
regulations that guide the performance of language.
Deviation is concerned with the use of different styles
from the expected norm
Style as a man
singing the same song but with different interpretations
each
Style as period or time –
Stylistics – the study of style in language
Surrey – known as the Father of English sonnets, along
with Wyatt. Surrey created the rhyming meter and
quatrain divisions of the “Elizabethan” or
“Shakespearean” form of sonnet.
Tagore, Rabindranath - won the Nobel Prize for
Literature in 1913 for his collection Gitanjali. The prize
gained even more significance by being given to an
Indian for the first time.
The Tale of Genji – a classic work of Japanese literature
written in the early 11th century by the noblewoman
and lady-in-waiting Murasaki Shikibu. It is the first full
and true novel written about 10000 years ago. It
centers on the life and loves of a handsome son, Hikaru
Genji, born to an Emperor during the Heian Period. In
the story, the beloved concubine of the Emperor gives
birth to Genji and dies soon after.
The Tale of Sinuhe – a piece of writing in the middle
kingdom. It is the story of a man named Sinuhe, who
fled his duties in Egypt and become a Bedouin in the
Asiatic Tribe.
A Tale of Two Cities - work written by Charles Dickens
during the Victorian Period. This is an episodic novel
where Dickens published one chapter per day. The
novel is a presentation of two contradicting ideas or
juxtaposition.
Tang Dynasty – referred to as the Golden Age of Ancient
Chine for the time of peace and prosperity that made it
one of the most powerful nations of the world. During
which, China became the largest nation in the world,
the first comprehensive criminal code in China was
created, the imperial examination became the major
path to office, Chinese poetry reached its pinnacle,
literature flourished, etc.
Tanka – “short poem” or “short verse”; a free-verse, 31syllable poem originating in Japan. Japanese poets
historically wrote these in one unbroken line, but now
they commonly write tanka poems in three lines. When
poets write tanka in English, they utilize five lines,
similar to a quatrain.
Tao Te Ching - a Chinese classic text written around 400
BC and traditionally credited to the sage Laozi. It
translates very roughly as "the way of integrity". In its
81 verses, it delivers a treatise on how to live in the
world with goodness and integrity: an important kind of
wisdom in a world where many people believe such a
thing to be impossible.
Tautology - repetition; saying of the same thing twice
over in different words
Compiled by: Ellaine Palmamento
LITERATURE Master List
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Our nation must come together to unite.
It’s déjà vu all over again.
The Tell-Tale Heart - a short story by American writer
Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1843. It is related to
an unnamed narrator who endeavors to convince the
reader of the narrator's sanity while simultaneously
describing a murder the narrator committed.
Tethys – wife of Oceanus. Together, they produced the
rivers and the three thousand ocean nymphs
Themis – Titan of justice and order; she was the mother
of the Fates and the Seasons.
A Thousand and One Nights - a collection of Middle
Eastern folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic
Golden Age. The work was collected over many
centuries by various authors, translators, and scholars
across West, Central and South Asia, and North Africa.
Some tales trace their roots back to ancient and
medieval Arabic, Egyptian, Indian, Persian, and
Mesopotamian folklore and literature.
Thrust Stage - also called as open or platform stage, a
stage without a proscenium arch, projecting into the
audience surrounding the stage in three open sides;
apron of the stage extended so the acting area is moved
forward;
Titanomachy – a ten-year series of battles fought in
Thessaly, consisting of most of Cronus and the Titans
fighting against Zeus and the Olympians.
Tolstoy, Leo – wrote War and Peace, which highlighted
the Napoleonic invasions; The Death of Ivan Illych
Total Theater – the term for Chinese theaters; the
average length of plays takes about four acts with a
prologue and an epilogue. There are also singing,
recitation of verses, acrobats, dancing, and playing of
traditional musical instruments.
Traditional Stage - no apron
Tragic flaw – also called as hamartia, inherent defect or
shortcoming in the hero of a tragedy, who is in other
respects a superior being favored by fortune.
Turgenev, Ivan – Father and Sons
Twelfth Night - Twelfth Night, or What You Will is a
romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to
have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth
Night's entertainment for the close of the Christmas
season. The play centers on the twins Viola and
Sebastian, who are separated in a shipwreck. The tale of
a young woman who disguises herself as a man and
becomes entangled in the courtship of two local
aristocrats upends conventions of romance and gender
roles.
Tyndale, William - English scholar who became a leading
figure in Protestant Reformation; he was the first to
translate the Bible into English from the original Greek
and Hebrew text
Tzu – a Chinese poem sung to the tunes of popular
melodies
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Uncle Tom’s Cabin - work written by Harriet Beecher
Stowe during Romanticism. The novel is about slavery
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which is the result of the American Civil War. It is the
literary piece that inspired Jose Rizal to write Noli Me
Tangere. Uncle Tom is a Christian and he shares his
devotion to Christianity with the little girl named “Eva”,
which is the daughter of Uncle Tom’s new master
named Augustin St. Clare. When Tom died, the slaves
were all set free by George Shelby (friend of Tom.
George urges everyone to lead a Christian life just like
Tom did.
Underdog – often underplayed in a book or the
scapegoat. They tap hope in the audience. We want the
underdog to succeed and to better him- or herself. They
may be cheated, abused, or otherwise mistreated but
they believe in their ability to affect their destiny. They
actively take responsibility for their actions and believe
they have the power to change their tomorrow by what
they do today.
Unity - element in theater; balanced staged and
controlled audience interest
Upanishads – passed down through oral tradition, it is a
collection of Vedic texts that contain religious concepts.
It is considered by Hindus to contain revealed truths
(Sruti) concerning the nature of ultimate reality
(brahman) and describing the character and form of
human salvation (moksha)
Uranus – the sky god and first ruler. He is the son of
Gaea, who created him without help. He then became
the husband of Gaea and together they had many
offspring, including twelve of the Titans. His rule ended
when Cronus, encouraged by Gaea, castrated him. He
either died from the wound or withdrew from the
earth. His children are Cronus, Rhea, Oceanus, Tethys,
Hyperion, Mnemosyne, Themis, Iapetus, Coeus, Crius,
Phoebe, Thea, Cyclopes, Hecatoncheries, Erinyes,
Giants, and Ash Tree Nymphs. Some say that Uranus
fathered Aphrodite. goes back to when Cronus
castrated Uranus and tossed his severed genitals into
the sea. Aphrodite then arose from the sea foam on a
giant scallop and walked to shore in Cyprus.
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Valmiki – celebrated as the harbinger-poet in Sanskrit
literature. He is revered as Ādi Kavi, the first poet,
author of Ramayana, the first epic poem. It is
composed of Sanskrit (the language of gods). It reflects
Hindu values and forms of social organization.
Vatsyayana – ancient Indian philosopher who authored
the Kama Sutra,
Villa, Jose Garcia - a Filipino poet, literary critic, short
story writer, and painter. He was awarded the National
Artist of the Philippines title for literature in 1973. He is
considered as one of the finest contemporary poets
regardless of race or language. Villa, who lived in
Singalong, Manila, introduced the reversed consonance
rime scheme, including the comma poems that made
full use of the punctuation mark in an innovative, poetic
way. He used the pen name “Doveglion,” which was a
combination of the words “dove,” “eagle,” and “lion”
Compiled by: Ellaine Palmamento
LITERATURE Master List
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and was what he believed was his true persona. His
works include O is she lovely rosed, The Anchored Angel,
The Emperor's New Sonnet, and Footnote to Youth.
He is the advocate for Art for Art’s Sake in the
Philippines
The Vision of Delight – book by Ben Jonson, a Jacobean
era masque written by Ben Jonson. It was most likely
performed on the Twelfth Night, 6 January 1617 in the
Banqueting House at Whitehall Palace, and repeated on
19 January that year. The Vision of Delight was first
published in the second folio collection of Jonson's
works in 1641.
Vocabulario de Lengua Tagala by Fr. Pedro de San
Buenaventura - first Tagalog dictionary
Vyasa - Krishna Dvaipayana, better known as Vyasa or
Vedavyasa, was a legendary sage portrayed in the Hindu
epic Mahabharata which is is 1.8 million words long, 10
times the size of Illiad and Odyssey making it the
longest epic in Indian Literature. Vyasa is regarded as
the one who wrote/compiled the work.
W
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War and Peace – a historical novel by the Russian
writer, Leo Tolstoy, originally published as Voyna i mir in
1865–69. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy (1869) provides
a broad panorama of Russian society against the
backdrop of the 1812 Napoleonic army's invasion. Two
key themes in the novel are spirituality in the main
characters and family happiness as the ultimate reward
for spiritual suffering.
Wars of Roses – a series of English civil wars for the
control of the throne of England fought between the
supporters of the rival branches of the royal House of
Plantaganet: the House of Lancaster and the House of
York. Both houses used a symbol of rose: House of York:
White; House of Lancaster; Red.
The Wedding Dance - a short story about a husband and
wife Awiyao and Lumnay who had been married for
seven years. For the sake of his lineage, Awiyao feels
the need to marry again to bear a son, despite being in
love with his wife. During his second marriage
celebration, Awiyao goes to check Lumnay knowing that
she is upset. Its conflict is man vs. society.
West with the Night - a 1942 memoir by Beryl Markham,
chronicling her experiences growing up in Kenya in the
early 1900s, leading to celebrated careers as a
racehorse trainer and bush pilot there.
Wharton, Edith - an American novelist, short story
writer, and designer. Wharton drew upon her insider's
knowledge of the upper-class New York "aristocracy" to
realistically portray the lives and morals of the Gilded
Age.
Where Angels Fear to Tread - a novel by E. M. Forster.
The title comes from a line in Alexander Pope's An Essay
on Criticism: "For fools rush in where angels fear to
tread".
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When widowed Lilia Herriton visits Tuscany with her
friend Caroline Abbott), she falls in love with Gino, a
young and handsome Italian man. Her dead husband’s
family sends Philip, her brother-in-law to prevent a
misalliance but he fails to convince her. When Lilia dies
in childbirth, Caroline decides to go to Tuscany to save
the child from a difficult life. Both Philip and Caroline
develop a newfound infatuation with Italy.
Wings – written by Victor Hugo
Be as a bird perched on a frail branch that she feels
bending beneath her, still she sings away all the same,
knowing she has wings.
The World is Too Much With Us - a sonnet by the English
Romantic poet William Wordsworth. He criticizes the
world of the First Industrial Revolution for being
absorbed in materialism and distancing itself from
nature. Written in 1802, the poem was first published in
Poems, in Two Volumes (1807). Like most Italian
sonnets, its 14 lines are written in iambic pentameter.
Wu Cheng’en – was a Chinese novelist and poet of the
Ming Dynasty, and is considered by many to be the
author of Journey to the West, one of the Four Great
Classical Novels of Chinese literature.
Sir Wyatt, Thomas – Father of the English Sonnet along
with Surrey, a writer who lived about 500 years ago and
introduced the Italian sonnet and terza rima verse form
and the French rondeau into English literature.
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Xerxes the Great – Xerxes I was the fourth King of Kings
of the Achaemenid Empire ruling from 486 to 465 BC.
He was the son and successor of Darius the Great and
his mother was Atossa, a daughter of Cyrus the Great,
the founder of the Achaemenid empire. He is best
known for his massive invasion of Greece from across
the Hellespont (480 BCE), a campaign marked by the
battles of Thermopylae, Salamis, and Plataea. His
ultimate defeat spelled the beginning of the decline of
the Achaemenian Empire.
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Yuan Dynasty – established by the Mongols and ruled
China from 1271 to 1368 CE. Their first emperor was
Kublai Khan who finally defeated the Song Dynasty
which had reigned in China since 960 CE.
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Zeitgeist – the collective attitude or outlook of people
or culture at a specific point in time; literature and
other media are said to express the zeitgeist of the time
they were created in; the spirit of the times
Zen Buddhism - originates in China during the Tang
dynasty. From China, it spread to Vietnam, Korea, and
Japan. It is derived from the Sanskrit word for
meditation, dhyana. Zen emphasizes rigorous selfrestraint, meditation practice, insight into the nature of
mind, and nature of things, without arrogance or
egotism, and the personal expression of this insight in
daily life, especially for the benefit of others. It
Compiled by: Ellaine Palmamento
LITERATURE Master List
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deemphasizes knowledge of sutras and doctrine and
favors direct understanding through spiritual practice
and interaction with an accomplished teacher.
Zeus – the god of the sky in ancient Greek mythology.
As the chief Greek deity, Zeus is considered the ruler,
protector, and father of all gods and humans, ruling on
Mount Olympus. Zeus is the child of Cronus and Rhea,
the youngest of his siblings to be born. He is married to
Hera through whom he fathered Ares, Hebe, and
Hephaestus. Through Dione, he fathered Aphrodite and
was famous for his erotic escapades. These resulted in
many divine and heroic offspring, including Athena,
Apollo, Artemis, Hermes, Persephone, Dionysus,
Perseus, Heracles, Helen of Troy, Minos, and the Muses.
Zhou Dynasty – a feudal rule; significant contributions to
agriculture, education, military organization, Chinese
literature, music, philosophical schools of thought,
social stratification, as well as political and religious
innovations
Zip the Lip – a poem by William Edward Norris
If your lips would keep from slips,
Five things observed with care;
To whom you speak, of whom you speak
And how, and when, and where.
Compiled by: Ellaine Palmamento