INTRODUCTION TO PHILIPPINE LITERATURE Objectives • identify the dimensions of Philippine precolonial literary history; • appreciate the contributions of the canonical Filipino writers to the development of national literature; and • differentiate/compare and contrast the various 21st century literary genres WHAT I KNOW! Read each item carefully then answer it. 1. It is considered the imaginative works of poetry and prose. A . Literature B. Convention C. Genre D. Art 2. This period is influenced by the birth of Public School systems. A . Contemporary B. Spanish C. American D. Japanese 3. This period makes the use of figurative languages and other modern techniques. A . Contemporary B. Spanish C. American D. Japanese 4. This period considered war times with influence on literary arts and forms. A. Pre- Colonial B. Spanish C. Japanese D. American 5. The period with something to do with Alibata. A. Pre- Colonial B. Spanish C. Japanese D. American 6. This period can be associated with religion and propaganda. A. Pre- Colonial B. Spanish C. Japanese D. American You Do Stock Illustrations – 7,577 You Do Stock Illustrations ... I-TEXTULA MO! Textula is a coined term; text and tula. It a text poem written in the form of text message. It is usually consisted of one to two stanzas and sent directly to the recipient. The entirety of the poem is being read by the recipient via mobile phones. Task: Think of a subject (thing, event, person, song, anything) that you would like to become the subject of your poetry. Write a free verse, not more than 8 lines poetry about your subject in Filipino or English. Publish your poem via text message, messenger, teams chat,or any online messaging app. Screenshot your published poetry and attach here. You may also write a title for your textula. WHAT IS LITERATURE? Literature is a body of written works, as when we are asked to make a review of the literature we have to read about or that was written about a particular topic. This meaning comes from the etymology of the word itself, the Latin littera, literally “letter”. “ T H E C ON T E N T O F L I T E RAT U R E I S AS LI M I T LE S S A S T H E D ES I R E O F H U M AN B EI N GS TO C O M M U N I C ATE W I T H O N E A N OT H E R.” Kenneth Rexroth, 2020 PROSE : POETRY T Y P E S O F L I T ER AT U R E • It uses ordinary language and regular grammatical conventions. PROSE Examples: Human conversation, textbooks, lectures, novels, short stories, fairy tales, newspaper articles, essays, legends, anecdotes, biographies, editorials, speeches, plays, and parables • It can either be fiction or non-fiction. PROSE Examples: sermons, political speeches, and modernist writing POETRY • It evokes a concentrated imaginative awareness of experience or a specific emotional response through language chosen and arranged for its meaning, sound, and rhythm Types: lyric, narrative, and dramatic P ros e vs. P oetr y • Continuous form • Verse form PHILIPPINE LITERATURE • in verbal or written form • reflection of the nation’s social, P H I L I P P I NE L I T E RA T U RE political, economic, historical, moral, and even spiritual conditions • written in English, Tagalog, and other vernacular language (Filipino) even before the Spanish colonization P E RI O D S OF P HI L I P P I NE L I T E RA T U RE • Pre-Colonial • Colonial • Post-Colonial PRE-COLONIAL PERIOD • printing was not available yet PRECOLONIAL PERIOD • word of mouth (sung, recited, or chanted) Examples: 1. folk narratives (kuwentong bayan) myths, legends, and fables 2. folk speeches (karunungang bayan) proverbs, sayings, and riddles 3. folk songs (awiting bayan) - kundiman or lullaby (oyayi). COLONIAL PERIOD • a shift to religious, social, and cultural influences COLONIAL PERIOD Examples: 1. Metrical romances (awit or corrido) – Florante at Laura and Ibong Adarna 2. Pasyon - chanted 3. Cenaculo - dramatized 4. Moro-moro (plot: a love story and a struggle between the Christians and Moros) 5. carillo (shadow play) 6. Tibag (St. Helena’s search for the Holy Cross) 7. Duplo - recitation of poems based on a given topic 8. karagatan - verbal jousts held at home F O R H OW M A N Y Y E A R S S PA I N COLONIZED THE PHILIPPINES? The Dominican’s introduction of printing paved the way to the preservation of literary works. Doctrina Christiana (1593) is the first book printed in the Philippines. Printing as means of spreading COLONIAL PERIOD Christianity: • Pamphlets • Novenas • Prayer books P RO P A G A N D A P E RI O D IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD ( S P A N I A RD S ) • Jose Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo • Marcelo H. del Pilar’s Diariong Tagalog (1882) • Graciano Lopez-Jaena • (La Solidaridad) Contributors: P RO P A G A N D A P E RI O D IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD ( S P A N I A RD S ) • Herminigildo Flores (Hibik ng Pilipinas sa Inang Espanya,1888) • Pedro Paterno (Sampaguita y otras poesias varias, 1880) • Dimas-Alang and Laong Laan (Rizal) • Naning, Katipulako, Tikbalang (Mariano Ponce) • Plaridel (del Pilar) • JoMaPa (Jose Maria Panganiban) • Taga-Ilog (Antonio Luna) • Revolutionary literature P RO P A G A N D A P E RI O D IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD ( S P A N I A RD S ) - reaction of the Filipinos against the Spaniards and the Americans • Jose Palma’s poem - “Filipinas” (1899) became the text of the Philippine National Anthem • In 1900, President William McKinley directed the P RO P A G A N D A P E RI O D IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD ( A M E RI C A N S ) Philippine Commission to make English the medium of instruction in all public schools. • In 1901, The Sedition Law prohibited every Filipino for advocating Philippine independence (speech, printing, publication, and circulation of any material that encourages the Filipinos to fight against the American colonial rule) • Juan Abad’s Tanikalang Ginto • Aurelio Tolentino’s Kahapon, Ngayon, at Bukas Poets focus on P RO P A G A N D A P E RI O D IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD ( A M E RI C A N S ) love, life, and playwriting A. Makata ng Puso 1. Lope K. Santos P RO P A G A N D A P E RI O D IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD ( A M E RI C A N S ) 2. Jose Corazon de Jesus (Huseng Batute) 3. Iñigo Ed. Regalado B. Makata ng Buhay 1. Ildefenso Santos 2. Florentino Collantes (Kuntil Butil) 3. Jose Corazon de Jesus C. Makata ng Dulaan 1. Tomas Remigio 2. Aurelio Tolentino 3. Patricio Mariano Perks of the American Occupation • Use of both the Filipino (Tagalog) and the English language in literary productions • Founding of the University of the Philippines and College Folio (1910) • Founding of the Philippine Normal School (1901) and “The Torch” (1913) • Essays become popular (Francisco Benitez, Jorge Bacobo, Amador T. Daguio, Leandro Fernandez, Zoilo M. Galand, Fernando Ma.Guerrero, Fernando Maramag, Camilo Osias, Claro M. Recto, Carlos P. Romulo, and Eulogio B. Rodriguez. 20TH CENTURY’S GREAT LITERARY FILIPINO WRITERS IN ENGLISH “Horrible Adventure” (The Philosophical Review, May 1916) Jorge Bocobo • “The Siren of 34 Real” (The Philosophical Review, July 1917) • “Dead Stars” (The Philippine Herald, September 20, 1925) Paz Marquez Benitez A MA D O R T. D AG UI O PA Z L AT O RE NA TA RC I L A M A L A B A NA N J OS E VI L L A PA N G A NI B A N A RT URO B. ROTO R L O RE T O PA RA S S UL I T J O S E G A RC I A VI L L A • interrupted literary development • English was prohibited J A PA NE S E O C C UPAT I O N • writers in English were encouraged to write in Filipino N. V. M . G ONZ A L E Z - “LUNSOD” - “ N AY O N AT D A G A T- D A G A T A N ” J A PA NE S E O C C UPAT I O N • haiku and tanaga • Sa Pula… Sa Puti by Francisco “Soc” Rodrigo • Huk and guerilla stories (in songs and plays) • Amado V. Hernandez • Comics Writers who opted to study in the United States and England: P O S T- WA R • Edilberto and Edith Tiempo • Francisco Arellana • Ricaredo Demetillo • Amador Daguio • Carlos Angeles • N.V.M. Gonzales • Bienvenido Santos POST COLONIAL PERIOD ST (21 CENTURY) “period of technological migrants, the Generation Z and the millennials” • information is within everybody’s reach POST COLONIAL PERIOD ( 2 1 ST C E N T U R Y ) • media in the production of pieces: oral, printed, and technological transmission • Isagani Cruz’s “21st Century Literature” (“textula”, graphic novels, performance poetry, prose novel serialized in blogs, hypertextual poem, eBook, flash fiction, urban legend, chick lit, speculative fiction, and creative non-fiction.) POST COLONIAL PERIOD ( 2 1 ST C E N T U R Y ) • Remoto, 2015 (sensitive to gender, alludes to technology, show culture as plural rather than singular, and questions conventions and supposedly absolute norms) • Prose novels • Hypertextual poems • Wattpad • Printed and electronically published literary pieces (formal or informal, English language, regional language, and dialects with corresponding translation) • issues on women, gays, and lesbians POST COLONIAL PERIOD ( 2 1 ST C E N T U R Y ) • local and national concerns like clamor for peace and poverty alleviation, environmental subjects including the effects of natural disasters • weaknesses of the government In summary, prose and poetry as 21ST C E N T URY L I T E RAT URE the most basic forms of literature will not just disappear but the non- traditionality of the venues by the which the literary pieces are published, how they structured on page, who write them, and what topics/subjects are explored set the difference. LESSON SUMMARY • Philippine literature across different periods is very distinct in terms of geographic, linguistic, and ethnic dimensions. • Literatures written during the pre-colonial times are presented through folk speeches, songs, rituals, and dances that constitutes ties with other Southeast Asian countries. • The Spanish colonization shaped our literature through religion and European kind of civilization. Philippine Literature in English flourished during the time of American colonization. • Filipino writers continue to write poetry, short stories, novellas, novels, and essays whether these are socially committed, gender/ethnic related, or personal in nature. Undeniably, Filipino authors became more conscious and expressive. • Philippine literature is diverse and rich which is evident in the differences in context, themes, and subject across era (pre-colonial – post colonial period) highlighting culture, traditions, socio-economic, and political contexts. Yet, in every literary piece you can mirror “Filipino identity”. References Kolář, S. (2000). Introduction to Literature. Retrieved from https://www.upjs.sk/files/7cc1d204dc718cca966d5215c19b33da.pdf Nemerov, H. (2020). Poetry. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/art/poetry Rannery D. (1938). What Is Literature? An Attempt At a Philosophical Definition. Retrieved from https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/48598217.pdf Rexroth K. (2020). Literature. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/art/literature Urquiola, L. & Lacuata, M. (2017).Voices:21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World. Abiva Publishing Inc. QC T H A N K YO U !
