INTRODUCTION TO LITERATURE
Meaning of Literature
➢ Litera – Latin for “acquaintance with letters”
➢ Text composed of letters or other symbolic written languages
➢ An art that comes in various forms, aiming to generate entertainment and quench thirst for knowledge among its
readers
➢ Bodies or work, whether written, oral, or visual, using language imaginatively and portraying thoughts, emotions, and
human experiences realistically
➢ Reflection of man’s feelings, triumphs, and daily struggles
In addition:
• Etymological roots (Etymology)
o Exploration on how things or words came to be, how they were created based on literal meanings before,
leading to how there were understood in present
• Literature
o Have meanings, symbolic
o Later on, people realize that there are materials that also involves text that do not necessarily considered to
be literature showing to us how the term literature has evolved from something text-based to something
artistic in terms of expression
o Evolution of understanding – has become an art that’s not always in text form but comes in various ways
o Has now been understood as a body of work – written, oral, or visual
o Written
▪ Written down from slabs of stones, barks of trees, parchments or scrolls, now to papers, blogs,
internet’s sphere
o Oral
▪ Writings that can be spoken
▪ Combine written and oral to make a performance not only seen but also heard, interpreted – Visual
o Visual
▪ Imaginatively and thoughts emotions realistically
▪ Imaginatively – not only fiction (the plot, whatever happens based on imagination) – uses language
imaginatively that tries to connect to the very wide and sometimes, wild but always creative side
aspect of the mind so that the readers could imagine and through imagination, the understanding for
the readers even become clearer to the relation between the text and the reader, solidifies.
▪ How does the author do it
▪ Writers ensure that language vividly triggers your memories and minds so that you could process
things
▪ Proper use of sensory images – imagine things a mental image that’s being form as you read it
o Allows give the impression that it was something that you’ve sensed, heard, felt – sensory image
o Fiction - what makes fiction work is that an aspect that was believed because of the experience of the
character still are based on reality or actually happened
Types & Forms of Literature (Classification)
Manner of Expression
➢ Oral
➢ Written
➢ Visual
o Before, there were only oral and written
o Written – Preservation
o Inscribed earlier in stones, trees, scrolls, papyrus, parchment, publication
o Allowed us to have evidence or documentation of stories from the past
o If not preserved (written), civilizations would have died – we wouldn’t have known their struggles
o So, the written matter allowed these information to be preserved
o Written technologies bloomed quite lately in human civilization
▪ More durable way of preserving
o Before, not as reliable as it is now
▪ Trees – the heat of the sun may fade it
▪ Stone – a quick earthquake may destroy it
o Oral – Satisfaction
o Creating legends, epics where they have created the hero
o Oftentimes, satisfies the mind of the people
o They really are not as much means of hobbies/interest as we have now so kapag bored na sila, wala
silang cellphone
o After hunting, he tells story that could past along up to his child, to his child’s child, and other
neighboring huts or tribes napasa nang napasa hanggang umabot sa puntong na-preserve sa kung
paano na-preserve ang mga istorya sa ngayon
Types & Forms
ψ Types
o Based on how the writer executes the language and chooses the artistic creation
ψ Forms
o How a piece of work physically appears on the page
Types of literature
o Prose
o Poetry
o Forms of literature (different types of prose and types of poetry) – have different ways in which it was physically
appeared
o Legend
o Sonnet
o Haiku
o Poem
o Short story
o Novel
TYPES
❖ Poetry
o
This type of literary art which has evocative and aesthetic qualities used carefully to bring out layers of
meaning. The language used here sounds quite differently from everyday speech, on account of elements
like measure, meter, foot, rhyme, and rhythm. It heavily uses figurative language and sound devices
o
o
Evocative – tries to evoke emotions, imagery
Aesthetic qualities – beauty
▪ Poetry significantly attributed to beauty because of the intricacy of putting words, creating meaning, a
story in such a structured manner
▪ The level of depth that you put into the careful selection of words and interpretation of meaning
▪ Bring out layers of meaning
▪ WYSIWYG – what you see is what you get – POETRY IS NOT LIKE THAT
Kasi it says na in poetry, you get to appreciate the aesthetic qualities in which you craft intricate words and
language that beautifies something that was usually given significance as literal. This is why when you read
poetry, it’s something new to us that triggers and stimulate our senses. Nandito na lang din naman tayo
pinag-aaralan na natin yung literature, it captures our attention to read something that should be explored
because words in poetry are mysterious. Although, naappreciate din naman natin iyong prose but when we
get to read literature, kasama na rito iyong discovery of serendipity like finding something good na hindi natin
nakikita sa prose na hindi natin usually nahahanap sa prose. Dito, mas nahahanap natin iyong joy, anger,
entertainment that was not as intense as prose
In addition:
o
❖ Prose
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
This refers to works using the same language that we use in our daily conversations. In short, they are told
using every day, natural language. It shows a storythat shows characters interacting with or undergoing
some sort of changes
Told using the language that we naturally accustom to
How we converse, act, talk to each other in a scenario, how it is being described
How humans know it and use it
Nuances, accents
Always narrative but what we have prose poetry where we could follow a narration of a story in a poetic form
Tells us a story, almost in narrative form is in the usual paragraph form that we normally write academic
essays, answers, journals
Heavily uses different devices make them sound catchy, unique, engaging, and #ForDaAesthetic
*****
POEM
► Unity and friendship
► They wanted a poem – shortest poem every “Me, We” or “Me, Wee”
► What makes a poem a poem
o Is it a machine, firework, echo, dream
o Recognizes characteristics
▪ Musical qualities- rhyme, meter
▪ Condense language
▪ Feature intense feelings
o Like art itself
o A way to remember stories, doesn’t need to be lyrical
o Prose poem uses vivid images more like a form
o Poetry, song, and visual art
o In verb form – to create
o What it is to be human that only humans can
▪ Only humans can appreciate and compose imagery in a poetic form thus give meanings
HOW SHOULD WE WRITE DESCRIPTIVELY?
► We read fictions for many reasons – entertain, travel strange new planets, cry, think, feel, to be so absorbed for
awhile
► In writing fictions?
o Metaphor – more vivid
o To cast a spell, a momentary visions as if living in a new world
o Sense of motion – make complex associations, depicts a different quality of a sense
▪ To engage
In summary:
There’s creativity, imagination, evoking vivid mental picture in one’s mind
You saw how it appears to the senses very much in sense of sight, sense, hearing, feeling, tasting
*****
Elements of Prose
“Simply put, in all stories great and small, there are people (characters) in a place (setting) being narrated (point of
view) as they are involved in events (plot) and presented with problems (conflict) that lead to a new understanding of life
(theme)”
❖ Story of the people we follow
❖ People- the one’s to whom we relates with
❖ Place❖ Point of view- how things are being narrated
❖ Plot- chain of events which has intricacy on its own
Elements of Prose: Plot
❖ There is a pattern, each part introducing something
o Exposition. Characters and dramatic situation
o Rising action. Conflict
o Climax. Central moment of crisis that defines the conflict
o Falling action. Aftermath of the conflict
o Resolution/Denouement. Moment of insight, discovery, or revelation
PROSE FORMS
Prose Drama
✓ Literary compositions in verse forms intended to be mounted on stage and performed with a live audience
o Tragedy
o Comedy
o Dramedy
Prose Fiction
✓ Fiction is usually either:
o Short story- centers on a single main incident and intends to produce a single dominant impression
o Novel- extensive prose narrative that contains chapters and interludes
Creative Nonfiction
✓ This category encompasses writings written creatively using literary styles and techniques to create narratives that
show factually accurate information
o Autobiography
o Biography
o Essay
o Memoir
o Testimonio
o Literary journalism
o Blogs/Vlogs
o Leisurely writing (e.g., travel, food, nature)
Elements of Poetry
• Narrative/Literary Devices
o Persona- the speaker is not necessarily the poet but a persona (Latin “mask”) who speaks in first person.
This gives the impression that the poem is a perception of his/her experience
▪ The element of a poem that talks about the POV from which it is being told
▪ A poem could be told from someone else not necessary the writer
▪ Assumes the identity of someone or something else from the someone of something’s perspective
o Theme- this is the lesson for insight to life that the poem is trying to impart. It could be stated directly or
subtly
o Figurative Langue- it involves figures of speeches, devices, that help beautify or make the language more
poetic
▪ Doesn’t mean that figurative language cannot be used in prose
o Sound- poetry is as much as oral as it is visual; it is meant to be read aloud, since it dates to ancient times
when poems chants are ritualized
▪ Rhyme scheme
▪ Meter
Types of Poetry
✓ Narrative- tells a story but does it with poetic flair, contains most elements of a short story
✓ Lyric- considered the most intense, a private, often visionary act of intelligence and emotion made public through the
music of language, directed towards personal emotion
✓ Dramatic- presents one or more characters speaking, usually to other characters, sometimes to themselves of
directly to the reader
NARRATIVE POETRY
Epic
➢ Long, unified narrative poem, recounting in dignified language the adventures of a warrior, king, or god embodying
beliefs, customs, manners, attitudes, folklore, and/or culture
➢ Main character is heroically larger than life, often source and subject of legend or a national hero/figure
❖ Beowolf, Biag ni Lam-ang
Metrical Romance
➢ Recounts the quest undertaken by a single knight to gain favor or a maiden/lady
➢ Centers on courtly love with tournaments fought and monsters slain by the knight in shining armor for the damsel in
distress’ sake
LYRIC POETRY
Ballad
➢ Narrative poem meant to be sung, composed in a ballad stanza
Ode
➢ Dignified and elaborately structured, it either (a) praises and glorifies an individual, (b) commemorates an event, or
(c) describes nature intellectually rather than emotionally
Elegy
➢ From Greek “elegus”, a song of mourning accompanied by the lyre
➢ Writtenin elegiac couplets, expresses sorrow and lamentation usually for someone who died
o Elegiac couplets- a pair of sequential lines where the first line is in dactylic, hexameter and the second line is
in dactylic pentameter
Sonnet
➢ Short poem with fourteen lines, usually in iambic pentameter
o Iambic pentameter- ten syllables per line, five pairs of alternating unstressed and stressed syllables, with
rhythm in each sound
➢ Italian or Petrarchan- octave ABBAABBA; sextet CDECDE or CDCDCD
➢ Spenserian- three quatrains and a couplet ABABBCBCCDCDEE
➢ English or Shakespearean- three quatrains and couple ABABCDCDEFEFGG
Song
➢ Set to music
➢ Have a strong beat created largely through the 3Rs: rhythm, rhyme, repetition
DRAMATIC POETRY
Dramatic Monologue
➢ A character reveals his or her innermost thoughts and feelings, those that are hidden throughout the course of the
story line, through poem or speech
➢ Often comes during a climactic moment on stage with other characters, but only the speaker/character speaks
Soliloquy
➢ Act of speaking alone, especially as a theatrical device that allows a character’s thoughts and ideas be conveyed to
the audience
EXPERIMENTAL POEMS
Tanaga
➢ Filipino poem consisting of four lines with seven syllables each, with the same rhyme at the end of each line
➢ Slam poetry
❖ Flip top battles
Palay
Idelfonso Santos
Palay siyang Matino,
Nang Humangi’y Yumuko;
Nguni’t Muling Tumayo
Nagkabunga ng Ginto
Tag-init
Idelfonso Santos
‘Pag ang Sanggol ay ngumiti,
Nawawala ang pighati,
‘pag kalong mo’y Sumisidhi
Ang pangarap napunyagi.
Diona
➢ Traditional poem made by seven syllable per line, three lines per stanza, and one rhyme scheme pattern
Walang Pamagat
Raymond Pambit
Ang payong ko’y si Inay
Kapote ko si Itay
Sa maulan kong Buhay
Walang Pamagat
Fernando Gonzales
Aanhin, yamang Saudi
O Yen ng Japayuki
Kung Wala ka sa Tabi
Tanka
➢ 31 syllables (5-7-5-7-7) with themes on love, nature, season, and friendship
Wind
Anonymous
Wind blowing my face
Making my cheeks rosy Red
It’s biting my nose
And chilling through all my bones
It is pushing me Along
Haiku
➢ Japanese poetry with very limited meter
➢ Themes revolve on nature, personal experiences, family, and other worthy themes
➢ Three short lines with 5-7-5 pattern
Untitled
Anonymous
Dragonflies Erupt
Families Blushing Cinder
Mellowing cowgirls
As I lay and Gaze
Blue skies and white clouds above
Billowing up high
Acrostic Poetry
➢ First letters of each line are aligned vertically to form a word
Poetry
Anonymous
Putting words
On paper to
Express in part
Thoughts from me
Right to
Your heart!
Laurel
Anonymous
Loves to write articles
Always humorous
Unique in every way
Running, craving for new and information
Exceptionally bright
Learners
Couplet
➢ Pair of lines that rhyme and has the same meter
➢ They make a complete unit of thought
Cinquain
➢ Five lines long, with a certain number of syllables or words in each
➢ They do not rhyme
➢ Sample patter:
o L1- title (1 or 2 syllables)
o L2- description of the title (2 words or 4 syllables)
o L3- action about the title (3 words or 6 syllables)
o L4- four-word phrase describing a feeling about the title (4 words or 8 syllables)
o L5- synonym for the title (one word or 2 syllables)
Diamante
➢ Need to think of a subject and its opposite, then follow the format
o L1- one word (subject)
o L2- two adjectives describing the subject
o L3- three words ending in -ing about the subject
o L4- four words, the first two describe the subject and the last two describe the opposite
o L5- three words ending in -ing about the opposite
o L6- two adjectives describing the opposite
o L7- one word (opposite)
Limerick
➢ Funny little poem of 5 lines
➢ The last word of the 1st, 2nd, and 5th lines rhyme, while the 3rd and 4th lines rhyme – AABBA
➢ Rhythm pattern of “da DUM da da DUM da da DUM” for 1st, 2nd, and 5th lines
➢ Rhythm pattern of “da da DUM, da da DUM” for 3rd and 4th lines
For example:
Hickory dickory dock,
The mouse ran up the clock.
The clock struck one,
The mouse ran down.
Hickory dickory dock.
Hickory dickory dock,
The mouse ran up the clock.
The clock struck two,
And down he flew.
Hickory dickory dock.
Villanelle
➢ Nineteen-line poem of five tercets and a quatrain
o Tercets- 3-line stanzas
➢ First and third lines of the first stanza (refrain lines) is repeated alternately in the following stanzas
➢ Refrain lines form the final couplet in the quatrain
Concrete Poem
➢ Acts out the meaning of a word
Slam Poetry
➢ Performance poetry which combines elements of performance, writing, competition, and audience participation
➢ AKA poetry slams, slams, or spoken word poetry
Purpose and Importance
Literature has purpose and importance.
➢ Purpose
o Relating to Others
▪ This is easier for text written in first-person perspective, as we can fully immerse to different
mindsets and help know how others think and feel
▪ Literature also tries to put together people in a society where its people are becoming detached
and less engaged with actual human interaction
▪ When things are just mentioned straightforwardly, we are able to understand what is being said
but not fully immersed into the scenario and that is what literature allow us to experience
▪
▪
▪
▪
o
o
o
We are not just sympathizing but empathizing
The journey that has taken in the story as you were reading it are as if happening
Makes you understand even more
Includes people from the past
• For example, Maria Clara at Ibarra reminds us of Noli Me Tangere from the past
Sparks Understand
▪ Being able to empathize with people through the stories, dialogues, and characterization in
literature is vital for you to better appreciate other regions, races, societies, and time periods.
▪ This includes a more accepting take on its history, culture, and traditions.
▪ Thus, it helps advance cultural knowledge and appreciation
▪ And relating to others but more on intellectual level that’s much more importantly, the
appreciation towards individual differences of people if we have immersed ourselves to the
races, history, culture, and tradition for us to be able to relate others more easily
Exploration
▪ Literature allows us to meet true (living or dead) and fictional people
▪ It also allows us to see and visit different realms where these characters roam and thrive
Maturity
▪ As a reflection of human experiences, some people take to literature to gain inspiration on what
to do when faced with new situations such as adolescence, romantic relationships, and
independence
▪ It becomes a pre-requisite for one to be able to accommodate new learnings and expand
horizons
MODULE 1
INTRODUCTION TO LITERATURE
Literature, in its simplest sense, refer to all published written works that emanate meaning. These meanings could go across boundaries of time.
Appreciating the bodies of literature across cultures and time give us a greater appreciation of history, bigger understanding of words,
and deeper sense of life.
Literature Defined
Literature. It refers to anything that is printed that is related to the ideas and feelings of people, whether it is true or a product of one’s creative
imagination
Literature will let you see the world in a different lens, with its mixture of characters, stories, themes, and message all allowing us to be
nurtured and grow
The global pandemic forced us to stay indoors to avoid exposure to the Coronavirus and cancel all
tours, trips, and visits we have scheduled. But it does not mean that we cannot take the luxury of visiting
great sceneries and experiencing various cultures around the world. While in the comforts of our home,
we can do just that using the power of printed words in the stories we read. We could do that with
literature.
Literally, the word literature comes from the Latin litera, which is the literal translation for
“acquaintance with letters.” Were you able to get it?
This direct translation of the word’s etymological root reflects how literature touches the readers: through
the words and the power that emanates from them.
Now, its meaning depends on the person using it and the context it is being used. For some, it is
simply text composed of letters or other symbolic written languages. Some others refer to this as an art
that comes in various forms, aiming to generate entertainment and quench thirst for knowledge among its
readers. However, in a broader light, literature is life of many shapes and sizes but all within the scope of
man’s feelings, triumphs, and daily struggles. No matter the form, they all share the commonality of being
bodies or work, whether written, oral, or visual, using language imaginatively and portraying thoughts,
emotions, and human experiences realistically. It mirrors society and its norms, cultures, traditions, and
events. Therefore, reading pieces of literature not only allows you to travel to places but also through time.
In this course, we will see literature “as life itself,” gathering the interest of both literarily-inclined and
those who are not. Prepare to be part of the faithful oral or printed transmission of reproduced text that
covers life and its realities
Types & Forms of Literature
One good thing about literature is that it can be preserved for the next generation, either as oral tradition or written
accounts
Literature appears in two ways according to the manner of expression by which they were transferred. In the ancient
times when there is not much knowledge and concern about preserving stories, expressions, and anecdotes, the people have
been accustomed to simply passing them off as stories. This is oral literature. They are usually told by the men, who had the
pleasure of recounting those stories for expression and satisfaction of their aesthetic interest. With this fragile means of
sustaining the story, there is higher tendency for stories to change or be forgotten over time.
Meanwhile, the written literature wields the power of the pen. It is more permanent since it remains with a tangible
proof after it has been shared to the world. There is also a reference for the story, thanks to the inscriptions of ink. Thus, it
can remain as it is
These different traditions of passing along literature have produced works from different typesand forms. In the
context of understanding literature and its categories, types of literature are based on how the writer executes the language
and chooses artistic creation. Meanwhile, forms of literature refer to how a piece of work physically appears on the page.
There are two types of literature: prose and poetry.
Prose. This refers to works using the same language that we use in our daily conversations. In short, they are told
using every day, natural language. It shows a story that shows characters interacting with or undergoing some sort of
changes.
Poetry. This type of literary art has evocative and aesthetic qualities used carefully to bring out layers of meaning.
The language used here sounds quite differently from everyday speech, on account of elements like measure, meter, foot,
rhyme, and rhythm. It heavily uses figurative language and sound devices
If one will outline all forms of literature categorized according to its type, we would be able to find something similar to
this listing below
Poems, like the one above, uses a carefully selected vocabulary to bring beauty in its process of delivering a message.
POETRY
Narrative Poetry. They tell a story with poetic flair. In doing so, the elements of a short story are
present to complete the narrative.
o Epics are long, unified poems that dignify adventures of a warrior, king, or god. These
heroes embody beliefs, customs, manners, attitude, and folklore of the place it comes
from, and these are often tested along the way.
o Metrical Romance follows the usual formula of a single knight enduring a quest to gain
the favor of a maiden or lady. The phrase “knight in shining armor rescuing the damsel
in distress” embodies what this type of poem is about.
o Ballads are narrations that could be sung. They are mostly
written in four-six stanzas and have regular rhythms and rhyme schemes
Lyric Poetry. These are considered intense poems, which pours out the writer’s personal emotions. They are originally
meant to be sung, thus the name derived from the musical instrument lyre
o Odes are dignified poems to either glorify an
individual, commemorate an event, or describe
something intellectually.
o Elegy, which comes from the Greek word elegus, is a
song of mourning for the dead.
o Sonnets are short fourteen-line poems written in
iambic pentameter. It could either be Italian
(Petrarchan), Spenserian, or the more famous English
(Shakespearean) form
o Songs are poems that tell a story and set to music. Its
beat and recall depend largely on 3Rs: rhythm, rhyme,
and repetition
Iambic Pentameter. It is composed of ten syllables per line, five pairs of alternating stressed and
unstressed syllables, and rhythm
Dramatic Poetry. This type of poem presents one or more characters speaking during dramatic reenactments or
performances
Stage plays are avenues to showcase dramatic poetry.
o Masques are performances for the court, which involves pantomimes, dancing,
dialogues, and singing.
o Dramatic Monologue has a character, usually during a climactic or pivotal moment in the
plot, speaks out their innermost thoughts and feelings. This happens while other
characters are on-stage. Thus, that speaking character dominates speaking at that time.
o Soliloquy is an act of speaking alone for a character. As a theatric device, it gives the
audience a peek into the character’s thought process since the thoughts and ideas are
directly conveyed to the audience.
o Character Sketches are poems where the speaker in the poem presents their
observations and comments about a particular individual or personality.
Experimental Poetry. Such poems used variations in word choice, meter, and other elements of poetry.
o Tanaga is a Filipino poem consisting of four lines with seven syllables each, with the
same rhyme at the end of each line.
o Tanka is a poem used to express about love, friendship, nature, season, and other
inspirational themes. It has 31 syllables spread across its five lines, following a 5-7-5-7-7
meter scheme.
o Diona is a traditional poem of seven syllables per line, three lines per stanza, and one
rhyme scheme pattern.
o Haiku, which originates from Japan, is a poem of very limited meter. Its poems revolving
around themes of nature and personal experiences follow the 5-7-5 syllabication pattern.
o Acrostic Poetry has lines aligned vertically in such a way that the first letter of each line
forms a word.
o Couplet is a pair of lines that rhyme and has the same meter. When you put the two lines
together, they form a complete unit of thought
o Cinquains are five-line poems that do not necessarily rhyme and prescribes a word per
line. The first line is the poem’s title (1 or 2 syllables). This is followed by succeeding lines
showing a description about the title (2 words or 4 syllables), actions about the title (3
words or 6 syllables), and a phrase describing the title (4 words or 8 syllables). Finally, the
last line that is 1 word or 2 syllables is a synonym to the title.
o Diamante is almost similar in concept with a cinquain. But it uses a subject and its
opposite placed in the first and seventh lines, respectively. The adjectives, gerunds, and
descriptive words about the subject (in the second, third, and fourth lines, respectively)
directly mirror those for the opposite (in the sixth, fifth, and fourth lines, respectively). The
fourth line serves as transition line. The poem makes sense on whichever endpoint you
begin, and it is written to take the shape of a diamond.
o Limericks are funny little poems of five lines following the AABBA rhyming pattern
and a specific rhythm pattern, allowing it to have a tune. This usually occurs in
nursery rhymes.
o Villanelles are 19-line poems of 5 tercets and quatrain. Here, the first and third lines of
the first stanza, called refrain lines, are repeated alternately in the following stanzas and
form together as a final couplet in the quatrain
o Concrete Poems are poems of any kind written in a style and way that it displays the
shape of form of the word
Tercets. These are three- line stanzas,
Quatrain. These are four- line stanzas
PROSE
Prose Drama. These are literary compositions in verse forms intended to be mounted on stage and
performed there with a live audience. They are either comedy or tragedy, with a hybrid called
dramedy.
Prose Fiction. These are imaginary stories written down and told in everyday, natural language.
o Short Stories are typically read in one sitting. It involves a self- contained incident or series
of linked incidents. The overall plot moves forward with usually a single effect.
o Novels are fictional narratives that are longer in length. It involves more interrelated
storylines between characters that embody intimate human experiences.
o Creative Nonfiction. This category encompasses writings written creatively using
literary styles and techniques to create narratives that show factually accurate
information. It includes autobiography, biography, essay, memoir, testimonio, literary
journalism, blogs, and leisurely writings (e.g. travel, food, nature)
Testimonio. They are first-person narratives about socially significant experiences, usually of oppression, inequality, or marginalization.
Memoir. From the French word that means memory or reminiscence, this literary work is a narrative based on an author’s specific personal
memories.
Literary Journalism. It is a form of nonfiction combining factual reporting and elements of stylistic storytelling techniques and creative writing.
Examples of this are personality profile, feature articles, and reportage
Elements of Poetry
No matter the form of poetry you are dealing with or making, they would all have staple elements present. There are four
Persona. The speaker is not necessarily the poet but a persona (Latin for mask) speaking in the first
person. He is the character whose voice a reader “hears.” At times, the persona’s identity becomes clear
only after reading parts of or an entire poem.
Theme. This is the lesson or insight to life that the poem is trying to impart. It could be stated directly or
subtly.
Figurative Language. It involves the use of figures of speeches that allows representation of clear
imagery on the minds of readers and make language more poetic.
Sound Devices. When read aloud, poems have the tendency to have music since it was meant to be
read aloud.
Rhymes are repetition of sounds at the end of words. When they come at the end of
lines of poetry, we call it end rhyme. The pattern of such end rhymes is called rhyme
scheme.
Meter refers to the syllable count per line, which helps add rhythm in reading the
poem
Figure of Speech. These are words, phrases, or literary play on words and phrases that possess a separate meaning from its literal definition
Elements of Prose Fiction
There are also elements needed in prose fiction for it to work well in delivering its
story and message.
Characters. These are the people involved in a conflict in the story. The main characters are
usually considered dynamic or round characters, since we see an evolution in their
personality, standpoint, or beliefs along the story.
Protagonists are the principal characters from whom the story evolves.
Antagonists are characters that foils or blunts the protagonist’s progress.
Minor characters fulfill support roles that sharpen both
protagonist and antagonist. They are usually static or flat
characters since not much development occurs in them
throughout the story.
Setting. This refers to the time, place, and atmosphere that tells where the story took place.
It helps set the mood for the readers or motivation for the characters
Point of View. Technically, it is the relationship between a narrator and the events that
are being narrated. This relies heavily on who is narrating.
Plot. It is the chain of events that take place in a story set in motion by conflict. It has five
parts
The conflict allows the rise of tension and therefore the moving forward of the storyline. The rising action precedes the
climax, while the falling action follows immediately after it. The climax is the highest point in the story.
➢ Exposition provides all the needed background information.
➢ Rising Action is where the conflict develops and intensifies.
➢ Climax is the critical point in action where a turning point has been reached or emotional intensity is at its height.
➢ Falling Action talks about events directly following the climax. Here, tension subsides and the plot moves forward
towards its conclusion.
➢ Resolution, also known as denouement, is where the conflict is resolved. It serves as a moment of insight, discovery,
or revelation
--Conflict. This refers to the struggles that occur between characters or opposing forces in the
story. This is the reason why the story develops in tension and moves forward towards a
climactic point. Others refer to it as the disruption in the “normal system of things” in the
setting, which forces characters to react.
Theme. It is the central idea or message in the literature. Usually, it shares perceptions about life or human nature
Purpose & Importance
Literature is important in our lives. We just may not be entirely aware of it. It gives us
benefits and advantages that transcend the expected broadening of minds in terms of new
concepts and ideas learned, not to mention knowing more about history when reading
historical text. Studying literature makes people appreciate words and their power. It also
improves one’s emotional intelligence, improving one’s ability to empathize.
Since literature reflects human nature, we see stories that we may be able to easily relate. Today, being able to do so is
important.
Relating to Others. This is easier for texts written in first-person
perspective, as we can fully immerse to different mindsets and help know
how others think and feel. Literature also tries to put together people in a
society where its people are becoming detached and less engaged with
actual human interaction.
Sparks Understanding. Being able to empathize with people through the
stories, dialogues, and characterization in literature is vital for you to better
appreciate other regions, races, societies, and time periods. This includes
a more accepting take on its history, culture, and traditions. Thus, it helps
advance cultural knowledge and appreciation.
Maturity. As a reflection of human experiences, some people take to
literature to gain inspiration on what to do when faced with new situations
such as adolescence, romantic relationships, and independence. It
becomes a pre- requisite for one to be able to accommodate new
learnings and expand horizons.
Exploration. Literature allows us to meet true (living or dead) and
fictional people. It also allows us to see and visit different realms where
these characters roam and thrive. Without literature, we wouldn’t have
seen Neverland, Middle Earth, Hogwarts, the Emerald City, and many
more. We don’t need to always go out of our homes just to travel!
LESSON SUMMARY
•
•
•
•
Literature pertains to any written work of art that serves as reflection of
human experiences, emotions, and suffering to be able to tell a narrative
of social, historical, and personal relevance.
Literary texts are preserved either in oral or written forms. The written
counterpart offers longevity of being passed along and integrity of its
contents not deviating the original.
Types of literature include prose and poetry. The former uses
language as we normally use them in daily conversations while the
latter carefully chooses words to exude a certain level of artistry. Both
have its own forms that show utmost creativity and diversity in sharing
messages through literature.
Literature has many benefits that go beyond the staple answer about
its contribution to bodies of knowledge
LITERARY CRITICISM & ANALYSIS
How do I evaluate a text?
•
Literary Criticism
o (1) Practical Criticism
▪ When there is something that we see, we look at it, try to see some good and bad points
▪ You see me for the first time “ganyan pala itsura ni Sir”
▪ You’re criticizing based on its characteristic elements
▪ Primary criticizes literature
o (2) Anything that you want to say they, encompass the result of your criticism
▪ How things were laid out, what improvements, what you would like to say – part of literary criticism of
the text
▪ Whatever your point may not be the same as others
▪ Accept that the other’s POV could be true
• You don’t just say opinions, what you say are called assertions – statements that are backed
up by proofs
o (3) Cover all phases of literary understanding…
▪ Trying to see recommendation lists/reviews
▪ Snippets of evaluation of the literature
▪ The author Edgar Allan Poe is known to right about dark stories, some a bit gory, why his works
when first published didn’t entertained the masses
• The popularity of his works piqued after he died
• Why changed? Because of criticism, someone took a view that it is a good piece to read
• His works are now considered classist
MODULE 2
LITERARY CRITICISMS AND ANALYSIS
Widening of thoughts and ideas is what literary criticism basically provides readers. Through it, we get a better sense of
literary texts, form judgments about it, appreciate different points of view, and determine whether it is worth our time
Literary Criticism
When reading, what we basically aim to do is to get entertained. We read to enjoy – forgetting our
real-world problems, sulking into our comfort areas for a good read. It is primarily for entertainment.
However, also part of the fun in reading good literature is “looking for all its meanings and messages”,
which may then include reading to analyze and to understand. This has later on forced people to have a
structure when critiquing and interpreting texts. Thus, literary criticism.
Literary criticism is “the body of ideas and methods used in the practical reading of literature” (IEP,
retrieved 2020). It involves the study, discussion, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. This, it
answers not only the “Wh” questions about the text but attempts to dig deeper by following it up with a
Why or So what? One must be a critic who expresses a reasoned opinion. The methods mentioned
involve using a particular “lens” through which people will read and view the literary work. These lenses
include several theories, nine of which will be dealt with in this module.
Given the said nature of literary criticism, we must realize that it would require certain things from the
readers, most importantly comprehension, evaluation, analysis, and judgment. One must be able to
formulate the following as a manifestation of a successful in-depth appreciation of the text. However,
accomplishing this is not enough. Unlike other forms of criticism, this one is formal and scholarly, thus:
• assertions, not just opinions, are made;
• evidences are required; and
• presenting the criticism is structured.
Assertions are technically defined as the “confident and forceful statement[s] of fact or belief” (Oxford
Dictionary, retrieved 2020). Thus, it is but right to support them with evidences to substantiate these claims to
make it more forceful. These evidences further prove the strength of the claim. All information are presented
using a persuasive essay. The reason: it gives the writer the chance to have the best of both informative and
entertainment essays
Literary Criticism. This refers to the analysis of a literary text through various lenses that highlight authorial stance, purpose, and perspective
Assertion. From the Middle English word assertion, this pertains to statements of fact or belief deemed forceful and confident. It is a stylistic
approach or technique of declaring something empathically to prove a point as part of an argument
Framework & Critical Variables
Literary criticism makes us ask what the literature is, what it does,
and what is its worth. Thus, when using this method in getting to know
a text, one must consider four variables as they are pivotal towards
understanding a text. Below is a framework to help you understand the
concept of literary criticism:
World. It serves as the source from which writers get content and context for the texts. It directly affects
the other four variables, considering the changes happening in the world affect the texts written and the
way it would be understood. Normally, however, this pertains to the author’s world, as it has a direct
hand to the author’s life.
Author. The author is the one responsible for writing the text. The author is the direct link between the
world he lived in, including the era and the circumstances therein, and the work itself
Text. This is the reflection of the author’s experiences, inspiration, and
writing styles. It is placed in the center of the framework since all
approaches must, in one way or another, deal with the text. It could
reveal actual facts and events (real text), spiritual and symbolic
images and undertones that reflect real world culture and beliefs
(beyond the text), or intertextuality (other texts).
Reader. The reader is primarily at the endpoint of the chain, serving as end user and recipient of the text’s
message. He aims to understand and appreciate the text from the same perspective that the author
envisioned it to be
Literary Theories
Various literary theories may be used in literary criticism to induce and enhance understanding and appreciation of the text.
As earlier mentioned, these theories are the lenses by which a critic sees the text and analyzes it. While these different
theories posit its own appeal towards the text and focuses on specific and different parts of the text, they are not necessarily
exclusive from each other. Multiple theories can be used together to further enhance the understanding of the text. In fact,
some of these theories are clearly linked to each other
➢ Reader Response Theory. This theory aims to make a connection between the
readers’ experiences and the text. Therefore, it operates under two assumptions:
(1) that the literature has no objective meaning unless read and that the reader is
the one bringing the meaning to the text through their own thoughts and
experiences
When using this theory, you are more likely to:
• connect the literature to your life
• connect the literature to current events
• discuss how the literature makes you feel compare the literature to the way you view the world
➢
This theory is something personal and considered as a crossroads in
literary criticism since there is no one interpretation to the text. Each
analysis is influenced by the uniqueness of the reader. This is also the
reason why this theory makes someone’s reading a function of
personal identity. Thus, these two beliefs, as explained by Tyson (cited
by OWL, retrieved 2020), prove pivotal in this theory: “(1) that the role
of the reader cannot be omitted from our understanding of literature
and (2) that readers do not passively consume the meaning presented
to them by an objective literary text; rather they actively make the
meaning they find in literature.”
Formalistic Theory. Every text has its unique structure, pattern, or even signature marks from the author. These are
seen by looking closely at the literary elements that are present in the text. These elements are the focus of the
formalistic theory. One is expected to do a close reading of the text since it is the text that must be evaluated, and it
is also from the text where you will get the evidences to support your claims in your criticism. All information essential
to the interpretation of the work is found within the work itself.
This theory treats the text as it is, devoid of any external influences such as environment, era, or even
the author. This was formed to counter with claims
that “viewed the text as either the product of social and historical forces or a document making an
ethical statement”.
In order to find these, you literally dissect the text to appreciate the components of the text so you
could make sense of the organic whole. As an approach, the formalistic theory attempts to identify:
• the literal level of meaning (subject matter)
• affective values of the text (emotion, mood, atmosphere, tone, attitude, empathy)
• technical values (elements of the text, plot, structure, language, point of view, imagery)
• total effect of the use of the elements (interrelation of the foregoing elements) comparison
and contrast of the text to other texts or genre (intertextuality)
Close Reading. In literary criticism, it is the careful, sustained interpretation of a brief passage of a text. It emphasizes the single and the particular over
the general, effected by close attention to individual words, the syntax, the order in which the sentences unfold ideas, and formal structures.
➢ Archetypal Theory. When reading texts, often we see symbols, images, characters, and motifs that signal to us a
particular meaning even before we completely read the text. That is because these things evoke the same response
in all people. They mean the same across cultures and nations; the meanings behind these are universal. These are
what we call archetypes, and these are what the archetypal theory looks out for. It identifies these patterns and
Archetypes. These are universal, inborn models of people, behaviors, or personalities that play a role in influencing human behavior. These
unite the human unconscious across cultures and continents, industries, and markets discusses how they function in the works. The
theory assumes that the following recur in texts:
• certain images
• certain characters and character types
• certain motifs and patterns
This concept for criticizing texts by looking for the archetypes is based on the theories of Swiss
psychologist Carl Jung. He suggested that the archetypes were archaic forms of innate human knowledge
passed down from our ancestors and becomes part of a “collective unconscious”.
Samples of archetypes are:
images (such as water, the sun, colors, numbers, shapes) characters (such as the hero, the
trickster, the damsel in distress)
➢ Historical/Biographical Theory. Wilfred Guerin, in his Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature. shared that
some readers “see[s] a literary work chiefly, if not exclusively, as a reflection of the author’s life and times or the life
and times of the characters in the work”. This is the major tenet of this next theory. It gives high value to what man
has experiences in a period in his lifetime and how this is reflected in a work.
This approach combines a two-fold process. The historical part looks at actual events that happened and the
biographical part looks into the life of the author. These two things are looked at, thus when using this theory, a bridge
between the reader and the world of the author is established. The life of the author as well as the historical events
happening during his lifetime help shape how the literary work is formed. It is even considered as a moment-milieu- race
since “it is both a product and reflection of time and circumstances
What one who is using this theory could note include:
the period of time the literary piece is written (not just year or specific dates, but also
including eras)
historical events leading to characters’ motives and conflicts
historical changes reflected in the story effects of the historical events to the plot of the story
Moment-Milieu-Race. According to French critic and historian Hippolyte Taine, who is he major proponent of sociological positivism, literature
was largely the product of the author’s environment, and that an analysis of that environment could yield a perfect understanding of the literary
work
➢ New Historical Criticism Theory. This theory assumes that “every work is a product of the historic moment that
created it”. The New Historical Criticism Theory is related to the Historical/Biographical Theory in that it looks at the
particular period in which a literary work is associated. This theory, however, is more invested into the ideas and
assumptions of the era. Specifically, this theory, also referred as New Historicism, is
o “a practice that has developed out of contemporary theory, particularly the structuralist realization that all
human systems are symbolic and subject to the rules of language, and the deconstructive realization that
there is no way of positioning oneself as an observer outside the closed circle of textuality (Richter, as cited
by OWL, retrieved 2020).”
o Thus, it concerns itself with the political function of literature and with the concept of power. It looks not on
the connection between the text and the historical events but between the text and the models of truth and
authority during that period. In short, it looks at the cultural constructs or ways of thinking such as ideas of
social organizations, prejudices, taboos, and other beliefs of that time. It is also the reason why this theory is
more sociohistorical
➢ Psychoanalytic Criticism Theory. Building on the Freudian theories of psychology by Sigmund Freud, using this
theory would let you encounter the unconscious, personal desires, psychological defense mechanisms, the three
areas of the minds that wrestle for dominance (i.e. id, ego, and superego), and Oedipus complex
o It deals with the work of literature as a fictional expression of personality, state of mind, feelings, and desires
of the author and/or the characters in the narrative. Finding these will allow finding the meaning of the text.
Using this theory would more likely require you to investigate on:
▪ the concept of repression
▪ Oedipal dynamics, electra complex, and other family dynamics
▪ psychological being and motives
It also recognizes symbols linked to sexual pleasure, such as:
concave images such as ponds, flowers, cups, and caves,
which are female symbols (represents the womb or the
concept of being receptive or submissive)
phallic symbols, such as swords, mountains, cigar, and
skyscraper, which are male symbols (represents the penis
or the concept of power or dominance)
dancing, gliding, flying, and other animated actions
that could suggest eroticism or fluidity objects
associated with birth and the female principle
➢ Marxist Criticism Theory. Thanks to Karl Marx and the influence of
philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, we have a literary school of
thought that concerns itself with class differences, economic changes, and
implications and complications of the capitalist system
This theory of literary criticism is largely based on the foundations in which communism is founded by Marx.
He defined communism as a “stateless, classless society” which he prefers since it does not produce internal
destructions which could lead to a state’s destruction. Patterns of such has been reflected in history,
according to Marx—a struggle between the oppressed and the oppressing. Thus, questions you may ask
when using this theory could lead to the examination of:
the possession of power in a scenario
exploitation, slavery, and imprisonment
being constant or shifting throughout the narrative
characters being powerful or powerless and the social
class they represent or that interact or clash
the author’s social class
values that are reinforced or subverted
This theory follows a process of material dialectic. This belief system maintains that:
“what drives historical change are the material realities of the economic
base of society, rather than the ideological superstructure of politics, law,
philosophy, religion, and art that is built upon that economic base (Richter, as cited
by OWL, retrieved 2020).”
Considering this, Marx asserts that
“stable societies develop sites of resistance: contradictions build into the social system that ultimately lead to social revolution
and the development of a new society upon the old [1088]. This cycle of contradiction, tension, and revolution must continue:
there will always be conflict between the upper, middle, and lower (working classes) and this conflict will be reflected in
literature and other forms of expression–art, music, movies (OWL, retrieved 2020).”
Materialism clearly has a lot to do with these struggles presented. It delves into examining commodities and possessions that
give power or things that bring them. Typical commodities are land and money, but other things could also serve as
manifestation of power such as social position, knowledge, or even person
➢ Feminist Criticism Theory. Concerns on women and female representation were the main driving force towards
having this theory. In particular, it is concerned with “the ways in which literature (and other cultural productions)
reinforce or undermine the economic, political, social, and psychological oppression of women”. It banks on the
realization that the world is a dominantly patriarchal society, and this raised cultural and economic problems that on a
certain level hindered or prevented women to be perceived as capable of doing things or achieving something.
While the name of the theory suggests looking into female roles, it is not exclusive to this. In fact, this theory looks into all
sexes and genders. As a whole, it argues that gender may determine everything or nothing; all gender differences may only
be impositions of society.
One may look at the following when using this theory (OWL, retrieved 2020):
the patriarchal ideology and how this has resulted to women’s economic, political, social, and
psychological oppression
the image of women as the “other”, being marginalized and defined only by her difference
from male norms and values
portrayals of women across culture and literature (e.g. portrayal of Eve in the biblical story;
representation in Western or Anglo- European nations)
culture as a determinant of gender (creating scales of masculinity and femininity)
feminist activities and their ultimate goal of changing the world by prompting gender equality
gender issues
society’s awareness towards the gender roles and issues
values and traits of characters and whether they are aligned or opposite their biological sex
(e.g. masculine females, feminine males)
status of women’s values such as power positions and creativity
female partnerships or sisterhoods and its manifestations as a mode of resisting patriarchy
Theorists consider this school of thought as having evolved over three waves of feminism.
ǃ First Wave (late 1700s to early 1900s). The highlight here are the inequalities between the sexes. One of the major
ǃ moves is on women’s suffrage.
ǃ Second Wave (early 1960s to late 1970s). Equal working conditions and voices towards pivotal issues are advocated
here.
ǃ Third Wave (early 1990s to present). Aside from solely focusing on women’s conditions, it now expands to the
experiences of the marginalized population, including racial and workplace discrimination.
STAGES OF FEMALE IDENTITY
ǃ Feminine. They simply accept the definitions and roles that male authorities have created for her.
ǃ Feminist. They rebel against the male authority and intentionally challenges all make definitions and roles.
ǃ Female. These are no longer concerned with male definitions or restrictions. Instead, thy define their own values and voices
Affective Theory. The nature of man is central to literature, according to this theory. It questions the ethical goodness or
badness of a person as reflected in the characters represented in the text. It further posits that as a work of art, it should
arouse in the reader a definite, calculate emotion, which would then trigger the reader to make an action.
Therefore, one must be keen in finding these when analyzing texts using the affective theory:
•
underlying themes and values of the entire text, including subplots and for specific character’s development
•
fundamental human emotions and how they appear in the text as well as how the readers feel them
•
disposition of characters
•
disposition of readers when reading
•
societal issues which may be strongly discussed, advocated, or opposed to in the text which could be central
to the readers’ actions later on
There are many other theories that you may use in critically analyzing and evaluating a text. For one, the feministic theory is
just one of the different gender studies that could be considered as schools of thought in criticism, such as the queer theory.
Critical disability studies have also surfaced recently. There’s also critical race theory, structuralism, and ecocriticism, among
others. For now, let us focus on the nine presented in this module. And good job for getting acquainted on them. Hold your
thoughts about these theories because you will be using them once you are about to immerse on a text. For now, the stage is
set as we see an overview of Philippine literature
OTHER LITERARY THEORIES
(lifted from OWL, retrieved 2020)
❖ Gender Studies and Queer Theory. This theory explores issues of sexuality, power, and marginalized populations in
literature and culture. It is concerned with how gender and sexuality are discussed.
❖ Critical Disability. It considers disability in political, aesthetic, ethical, and cultural contexts. It examines works to
understand how representations of disability and “normal” bodies change throughout history, including ways both are
defined within the limits of historical or cultural situations.
❖ Critical Race Theory. It examines the appearance of race and racism across dominant cultural modes. It aims to find
out how victims of systemic racism are affected by cultural perceptions of race and how this allows them to counter
prejudice.
❖ Structuralism. This looks ta patterns common to human experiences. It is considered one of the most complex literary
theories to understand.
❖ Ecocriticism. It is the study of the relationship between literature and the physical environment, believing that “human
culture is connected to the physical world, affecting it and affected by it”.
LESSON SUMMARY
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Literary criticism is a formal method of providing critical inputs and
assertions towards a text to evaluate its merits and appreciate its
meaning.
Four variables are considered critical in literary criticism: the world, the
author, the text that has been written, and the reader.
Persuasive essays are one of the most popular and widely used
medium of sharing literary analysis. However, it may also come in
the form of book reviews and reports and journal studies.
The literary theories are lenses you use in literary criticism, which
may be used overlappingly when reading a text
LITERARY CRITICISM
You're criticizing practically things based on its characteristic elements.
You are criticizing something, but because this is called literary criticism and literary analysis,
Therefore, to understand the concept better, Cruz also offered that literary criticism is a reason consideration of or any
argumentation about literary words and issues.
Anything that you want to say about the text, they encompass the results of your literary criticism. Anything that you
would like to pinpoint about those different elements that you mentioned earlier, from the plot to the characters to the
theme, how those things were laid out in the story, how effective were they, or what could be the points for improvement
about them.
All of those that you would like to say about the text, they are part of your literary criticism or your analysis of the text.
It is argumentation, it means that you must be ready that whatever your point is, may not be the same as the point of
others, which makes literary criticism and analysis even more complicated than usual. Because one, you would have
to understand and accept that your point of view will not be the same with others.
And second, you will also have to accept that the other point of view could actually be true. Why? Because later you
will realize in literary criticism and analysis, you don't just say opinions, what you say are called assertions.
These are statements that are backed up by proofs. Thus, literary criticism covers all faces of literary understanding,
emphasizing the evaluation of literary works and of their author's places in literary history.
In the same way that before you purchase an item, you try to look at different reviews. Five stars of product or before
you watch movie, you try to see recommendation list.
So, it's the same way with literary criticism. Some use results of literary criticism and analysis as basis for them to be
convinced that this piece or literary piece is worthy to be looked at.
And you will see here emphasizing the evaluation of literary works. You will see on some books like manga,
especially Hardbound, there is a cover for that Hard Bound book and on the flap you will see some snippets from
reviews of the San Francisco Post, of the New York Post.
Quick trivia
The author Edgar Allan Po, He is known to write about dark stories. Some of it gory, some hard to understand at first,
it is the reason why most of his works when he first published it were not entertained by the masses.
People did not really like it at first. In fact, the popularity of his works peaked after he died.
So, he never saw the impact of his works, the full potential of the impact of his works.
QUESTION?
What potentially led to that though that his works, even though they were initially not celebrated and not read widely by the
people?
ANSWER
Because of literal disease event analysis and evaluation. Someone took a different view about the text and saw that they are
good pieces to read, that they are actually innovative, especially during the time considering the theme, considering the way or
the style of storytelling. And because of that people got interested and now his place in history and his works are now considered
as classic.
So that's the importance of literary criticism which leads us to:
1. how or why, it functions or how it functions
2. to review the text especially to which are recommendable.
3. to see the systematic theoretical discussions
•
The expression of the shift insensibility that make your evaluations possible. This is how literary criticism and analysis
functions.
Read to understand
• From cover to cover, you are just going to enjoy the experience for the ride when you're reading. So, this will allow you
to somehow immerse yourself in the text, and enjoy or relate to the characters, to make you have or establish a
connection with the literary text.
• So you enjoy the experience. But while doing that, on your mind, you are already making mental notes about the
different elements.
Example:
Somehow, you're picking up, this could potentially be the main antagonist. But you're just putting it as mental maps.
You don't do writing yet. You're just going to enjoy the experience of reading it. Because on the next reading level, that
is where you will make those notes, highlights, and so on. That is where you are now becoming more critical because
you've read it already the first time. So, for the second time, you are now saying you are now making connections, or
you are now establishing some rationalizations. And you will find those things out on the second level of reading, where
you read to understand.
Reading between the lines
• This is where you now make those interconnections between the elements. This is now where you highlight, make
notes, marginal notes, or on another sheet of paper, you write what you can, or you write your different connections.
• You also gather evidence. Having assertions in a literary criticism, these are statements that you formulate after reading
the text, which you think are rationalizations about the text and for you to defend that your rationalization is correct and
believable, then you have evidence.
• The evidence could come from within the text or from outside the text. If it is within the text, you could directly get
excerpts of character dialogs, direct quotations from the text, or your own paraphrases about what happened in the
text, the turn of events, the plot structure, or actual words that were used to physically describe a character, the setting,
a particular event. So, you could get that directly from the literary text that you're reading and analyzing.
• The evidence could also come from outside. It could be from discussions about the text by those who have read it
already. It could come from summaries of scenes that were written about the text or some people have read about the
text or watched it if it's a movie or a theatrical performance, and they describe their summaries of the scenes in their
own way with their own interpretation.
• You could use that or claims of other critics. Here, you could also make connections with things that are beyond the
text, but you further solidify those connections.
Read to analyze or read beyond the lines
• This is where you establish now a connection between the text and its elements with things outside of the text.
• You relate it with yourself.
• You relate it with other texts and when I say other texts, it could be other texts written by other authors, other texts
within the same genre, other texts written by the same author.
• So you could establish if the author really follows a pattern in writing, or if you'd like to compare a text with other texts
within the same genre. You could establish what was referred to earlier as intertextuality, wherein we see patterns
emerging from different texts, regardless of if those texts are from the same era or from the same region. But we see
that there are similarities.
• For example, of intertextuality is how compare different Disney movies and you will see that it follows the pattern of a
damsel in distress being saved by a knight in shining armor.
EXAMPLES:
Different cultures of different places in the world will always have a mythology or a myth story, wherein there is one catastrophic
or cataclysmic event that kills a lot of people, a lot of the living things and species, and puts people into starvation. And then
after that, a man will emerge riding a boat, usually a long-bearded man. And this person will help that group, that cold shore,
to survive, teach about agriculture, teach about fishing, teach about astronomy.
You will see that that particular flow or pattern will emerge in different myth stories. There's Quetzalcoatl in Mexico. There's
also a version of that in Indonesia. In Egyptian mythology also has that, where it's himself who travels around the world.
You will see existing and emerging patterns across cultures and time eras or horizons, that's intertextuality. You could make
those connections when you read to analyze or read beyond the lines. And, aside from the self and other texts
You could relate the text to the world, how it figures with the society, how the society affected how the text was conceived, and
how the text could potentially affect the society at present.
Literature –
➢ it could be considered as a cycle.
➢ It becomes a way for history to be preserved.
➢ Literature becomes a repository of some of the truths that happened historically. It means that literature has been
affected by the world.
➢ In the same way, literature could affect the world because a particular literary piece could have a certain effect.
➢ I won't try to be political, but last year during the 2022 presidential elections here in the country, a song has
particularly echoed among the opposition. A song that was entitled after a color, rosas. So, it has become political,
and it has been used as an agent of change. It means that in that essence, literature has an effect to the world.
Criticism
• You use different lenses to look at a certain text, and when you use a different lens, you will be able to get different
interpretations for different current analysis.
• These lenses could be seen in two perspectives:
One is you as the reader and the one who will do the critiquing. You have a particular lens. You all have with you
your own unique perspective, your unique personality, your own set of experiences that define who you are. And
when you do the analysis, you cannot avoid it, but it will feed your or it will matter in your critique, who you are in your
peculiarities and your experiences.
The second lenses we're talking about here, the theories, the different theories provide you specific lens about
the theory. And thus, when you do literary criticism, take note that it's not just how you usually are asked to make
sense of the text when you were in junior high school or in the elementary, after you read, you will be asked, what are
the vocabulary words in the text? Who is the character? Where did it happen? What’s the moral lesson? It’s almost
always like that when you were younger, right?
But in literary criticism, you really have to dig and dig. You have comprehension, you do evaluation, analysis,
and judgment about those different elements.
The two things that we need to understand here assertion and evidence.
Assertions
• are our statements and it must be backed up by evidence.
• We don't use in literary criticism our opinions and especially we don't backup our opinions with our opinions, people.
• Example
Pano mo nasabi na babae yung main character nung story? You must have a basis.
QUESTION?
Why do we have to make sure that this is how our literal system analysis will be?
ANSWER
Because it is a scholarly argumentation of our point about a text. Hindi ito basta-basta lang. You must have assertions and
these assertions must have evidence and remember, the major premise of the literary criticism is to answer the whys and
the so what’s about the things.It is still important for you to know the who, what, when, where, the basic elements.But
once you know of them, you don’t stop, you go back, you go deeper.
QUESTION?
How an author comes into the picture in literary criticism?
ANSWER?
After all, it's the author that absolutely the text that you will analyze.
But I'll give you a few seconds to take in this framework 3rd, 4th or third burn.
There are four critical variables
• The world
The world is a source of inspiration and the source of the things that are written or thought of by the author from the
world that he lives in, to the events that are happening around the author, to dreams, make beliefs that inspire the
author. So, all of those things come from the world in which he or she lives in. The world affects the author to be able
to write, the author writes the text and carefully crafts the text that will contain the message that he or she wants to
convey.
•
The author
•
The text
The text will reach the readers who will then have the time to make their own interpretations and to hopefully get the
message that the author intends it to be. Now, somehow it becomes a psychic because the reader, as a result or as
an effect of reading the text could have a sort of change of heart, change of thought, change of emotion, or change of
perspective. And this change could affect the world which will then in turn affect another author, the text, and another
set of readers and so on and cycle could potentially, so this is the criticality of those four critical variables literary
criticism and analysis.
•
The reader
WATER
is essential in literary criticism and analysis.
Additional two things about this theory?
➢ Number one, you will see that the text must also be looked at based on its context. We know that what is contained in
the text, that's the content.
➢ But it's not only context that we look at, it's also the context.
➢ I even knew about how complicated literal criticism could be, there are more layers and levels and considerations
including this the context. You could see it the context of the ideologically constructed languages in other texts or
objective realities as seen in some texts.
➢ The real-world realism
➢ Symbols and archetypes beyond the world context that are existing in the literary text.
➢ Second thing that I'd like to point out here, you will notice that there are already some sample theories here. Below
you will see that after it there are some variables.
➢ It’s because while all the four critical variables are important in literary criticism, it is more important for some
literary theories.
EXAMPLE
Formalism as a theory looks intensely at a text. While all four, the entire water is important, when you use formalism as a
lens, you give focus or emphasis on the text, because in formalism it is the one most important.
QUESTION?
Which critical variable is more important in this theory?
The answer is one or more of these four, because there are some theories wherein two could be most critical. Again, all four
are important in all theories. It’s just that some gives emphasis or focus on one word.
Persuasive
3 Major Purposes:
1. To inform
2. To communicate
3. To persuade
To persuade is what we would want in literary criticism.
Because we are not only giving are contentions and providing evidence. You are trying to make your readers believe what your
actual assertions is correct or plausible. You want to convince that is potential interpretations about the text.
It is persuasive essays, but it is not just persuasive essay nowadays. There are also:
• Publish articles
• Recorded interviews
• Vlogs and Blogs
REMEMBER!!
You could use multiple theories to further your appreciation in literary text.
THEORIES
1. Archetypal
When you heard the number 13?
“Malas” “Friday the 13th”
It just a number, but the more common is bad luck and something common.
2. Formalism
Formalistic theory wherein it emphasizes on the value of literature and its elements.
3. Biographical / Historical
Its divided in to two
Historical when you look at the actual events in history, based on actual facts and what really happen in the timeline.
Biographical is life of an author.
4. New Historicism
Looks at a particular timeline in history, looks at ideas and assumptions during at a particular era for example,
cultural constructs at a particular time, taboos, prejudices etc., you are looking at a social perspective of cultural
era.
5. Marxist
It influences by Carl Marx, a communist manifesto, what happens of the power ships? What’s the symbol of power?
Theory that looks in the power. What the currency of power?
6. Reader Response
This theory is highlights “what is the reader response to the text? This is ultimate text to self-connections; how does
connection establish between the text and the experiences of the reader and potential readers.
7. Feministic Theory
Movement that wants to treat all genders are equal, it does not want that the female is the dominant gender.
8. Psychoanalytical Criticism Theory
Sigmund Freud, there are different personalities, different frames of mind plus sexual in flamingos.
AFFECTIVE THEORY
9. Affective Theory
The nature of man is central to literature
This theory questions the ethical goodness or badness
Believes that a work of art, like literature, should arouse in the reader a definite, calculate emotion
In addition:
► Behavior, emotions, what triggers literature to be told
► Specific experiences came with it, and emotions emanated with it
► Being aroused because of how emotions are manifested in the text – the readers able
to absorb it and get some sort of effect/emotions
► "Lakas maka-good vibes nito” – naaapektuhan tayo
--This theory encourages a deep strong sense of awareness in the reader that leads to action
The emotions to be evoked from the reader are fundamental considerations and are vastly important
Man needs a means to release their emotions – may it be a good cry or a hearty laugh
The reader brings his/her own thoughts, feelings, and meaning to the text through their emotions
Guide Questions:
1. Do the feelings in the literary work get through the reader?
2. Have the readers shown/felt emotions?
3. What are the emotional effects of the text?
In addition:
► Reader is the most important variable
► World is also important, inspiration, elements that triggers emotion came from the
world
► The author is the one crafts emotion
► The text embodies the emotion
► Confused with reader-response theory – the focus is solely on the emotion and the
action that could potentially be an effect of that emotion being decoded from the text
and encoded to the reader