Philippine Literature - AND
Philippine Literature
Part I – The HistoricalBackground ofPhilippine Literature
Chapter 1Introduction to the Studyof Literature
Definition of Literature:The word literature is derived from the Latinterm litera which means letter. It has beendefined differently by various writers.Some loosely interpret literature as anyprinted matter written within a book, amagazine or a pamphlet.Others defineliterature as a faithful reproduction of man’smanifold experiences blended into oneharmonious expression.Because literature deals with ideas, thoughtsand emotions of man, literature can be said tobe the story of man.Man’s loves, griefs,thoughts, dreams and aspirations coached inbeautiful language is literature.
In order to know the history of a nation’sspirit, one must read its literature. Hence it is,that to understand the real spirit of a nation,one must “trace the little rills as they coursealong down the ages, broadening and deepeninginto the great ocean of thought which men ofthe present source are presently exploring.”Brother Azurin, said that “literature expressesthe feelings of people to society, to thegovernment, to his surroundings, to hisfellowmen and to his Divine Creator.” Theexpression of one’s feelings, according to him,may be through love, sorrow, happiness,hatred, anger, pity, contempt, or revenge.
For Webster, literature is anything that isprinted, as long as it is related to the ideasand feelings of people, whether it is true, orjust a product of one’s imagination.In PANITIKING PILIPINO written by Atienza,Ramos, Salazar and Nazal, it says that “trueliterature is a piece of written work which isundying.It expresses the feelings andemotions of people in response to hiseveryday efforts to live, to be happy n hisenvironment and, after struggles, to reachhis Creator.”
Why We Need to Study Philippine LiteratureWe can enumerate many reasons for studyingliterature.Here are but a few:We study literature so that we can betterappreciate our literary heritage. We cannotappreciate something that we do notunderstand.Through a study of ourliterature, we can trace the rich heritage ofideas handed down to us from our forefathers.Then we can understand ourselves better andtake pride in being a Filipino.
Like other races of the world, we need tounderstand that we have a great and nobletradition which can serve as the means toassimilate other cultures.Through such a study, we will realize ourliterary limitations conditioned by certainhistorical factors and we can take steps toovercome them.Above all, as Filipinos, who truly love andtake pride in our own culture, we have tomanifest our deep concern for our ownliterature and this we can do by studying theliterature of our country.
Of Philippine Literature in English and TimeFramesIt can be said that Philippine literature inEnglish has achieved a stature that is, in away, phenomenal since the inception ofEnglish in our culture.Our written literature, which is about fourhundred years old, is one of slow andevolutionary growth.Our writers strove toexpress their sentiments while struggling witha foreign medium. The great mass of literaturein English that we have today is, indeed, atribute to what our writers have achieved inthe short span of time. What they have writtencan compare with some of the best works inthe world.
Much is still to be achieved. Our writershave yet to write their OPUS MAGNUMS.Meanwhile, history and literature are slowlyunfolding before us and we are as witnessesin the assembly lines to an evolving literarylife.Time frames may not be necessary in a studyof literature, but since literature and historyare inescapably related it has becomefacilitative to map up a system which will aidus in delineating certain time boundaries.
These time boundaries are not exactly welldefined; very often, time frames blend intoanother in a seeming continuum.For asystematic discussion of the traditions,customs, and feelings of our people that can betraced in our literature, we shall adopt certaindelimitations.These time frames are:Time Frames of Philippine Literature in EnglishDifferent opinions prevail regarding the stagesthat mark the development of Philippineliterature in English. Let us take the followingtime frames for purpose of discussion:
1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.The Period of Re-orientation: 1898-1910Period of Imitation: 1910-1925Period of Self-Discovery: 1925-1941Japanese Period: 1941-1945The Rebirth of Freedom: 1946-1970Period of Activism: 1970-1972Period of the New Society: 1972-1981Period of the Third Republic: 1981-1985Contemporary Period: 1986
Literature and HistoryLiteratureandhistoryarecloselyinterrelated. In discovering the history of arace, the feelings, aspirations, customs andtraditions of a people are sure to be included . . and these feelings, aspirations, customs andtraditions that are written is literature. Historycan also be written and this too, is literature.Events that can be written down are part of trueliterature.Literature, therefore, is part ofhistory.
Literature and history, however, also havedifferences. Literature may be figments of theimagination or events devoid of truth thathave been written down, while history is madeup of events that really happened.Literary Compositions that Have Influencedthe World.Among them are:1.2.3.4.5.6.The Bible or the Sacred WritingsKoranThe Iliad and the OdysseyThe Mahab-harataCanterbury TalesUncle Tom’s Cabin
7. The Divine Comedy8. El Cid Compeador9. The Song of Roland10. The Book of the Dead11. The Book of the Days12. One Thousand and One Nights or TheArabian NightsGeneral Types of LiteratureLiterature can generally be divided into twotypes; prose and poetry.
Prose consists of those written within thecommon flow of conversation in sentences andparagraphs, while poetry refers to thoseexpressions in verse, with measure and rhyme,line and stanza and has a more melodious tone.I. PROSEThere are many types of prose. These includethe following:a.Novels.A long narrative divided intochapters and events are taken from true-to-lifestories.
Example:WITHOUT SEEING THE DAWN byStevanJavellanab. Short story. This is a narrative involvingone or more characters, one plot and onesingle impression.Example:THE LAUGHTER OF MY FATHER byCarlosBulosanc. Plays. This is presented on a stage, isdivided into acts and each act has manyscenes.
Example:GuerreroTHIRTEEN PLAYS by Wilfredo M.d. Legends. These are fictitious narratives,usually about origins.Example:THE BIKOL LEGEND by Pio Durane. Fables. These are also fictitious and theydeal with animals and inanimate things whospeak and act like people and their purpose isto enlighten the minds of children to eventsthat can mold their ways and attitudes.Example:THE MONKEY AND THE TURTLE
f. Anecdotes. These are merely products ofthe writer’s imagination and the main aim isto bring out lessons to the reader.Example:THE MOTH AND THE LAMPg. Essay. This expresses the viewpoint oropinion of the writer about a particularproblem or event. The best example of thisis the Editorial page of a newspaper.h. Biography. This deals with the life of aperson which may be about himself, hisautobiography or that of others.
Example:O. AlbertCAYETANO ARELLANO by Socorroi. News. This is a report of everyday events insociety, government, science and industry, andaccidents, happening nationally or not.j. Oration. This is a formal treatment of asubject and is intended to be spoken in public.It appeals to the intellect, to the will or to theemotions of the audience.II. POETRYThere are three types of poetry and these arethe following:
A. Narrative Poetry.important events inimaginary.This form describeslife either real orThe different varieties are:1. Epic. This is an extended narrative aboutheroic exploits often under supernaturalcontrol.Example:THE HARVEST SONG OF ALIGUYONtranslated inEnglish by Amador T.Daguio2. Metrical Tale. This is a narrative which iswritten in verse and can be classified eitheras a ballad or a metrical romance.
Examples: BAYANI NG BUKID by Al PerezHERO OF THE FIELDS by Al Perez3. Ballads. Of the narrative poems, this isconsidered the shortest and simplest. It has asimple structure and tells of a single incident.There are also variations of these: love ballads,war ballads, and sea ballads, humorous, moral,and historical or mythical ballads. In the earlytime, this referred to a song accompanying adance.B. Lyric Poetry. Originalaly, this refers to thatkind of poetry meant to be sung to theaccompaniment of a lyre, but now, this appliesto any type of poetry that expresses emotionsand feelings of the poet. They are usuallyshort, simple and easy to understand.
1. Folksongs (Awiting Bayan). These are shortpoems intended to be sung.The commontheme is love, despair, grief, doubt, joy, hopeand sorrow.Example:CHIT-CHIRIT-CHIT2. Sonnets. This is a lyric poem of 14 linesdealing with an emotion, a feeling, or an idea.These are two types: the Italian and oP.
3.Elegy.This is a lyric poem whichexpresses feelings of grief and melancholy,and whose theme is death.Example:THE LOVER’S DEATH by RicaredoDemetillo4. Ode. This is a poem of a noble feeling,expressed with dignity, with no definitenumber of syllables or definite number oflines in a stanza.5. Psalms (Dalit). This is a song praisingGod or the Virgin Mary and containing aphilosophy of life.
6. Awit (Song). These have measures of twelvesyllables (dodecasyllabic) and slowly sung tothe accompaniment of a guitar or banduria.Example:BalagtasFLORANTE AT LAURA by Franciso7. Corridos (Kuridos). These have measures ofeight syllables (octosyllabic) and recited to amartial beat.Example:IBONG ADARNA
C. Dramatic Poetry1. Comedy. The word comedy comes fromthe Greek term “komos” meaning festivity orrevelry.This form usually is light andwritten with the purpose of amusing, andusually has a happy ending.2.Melodrama.This is usually used inmusical plays with the opera. Today, this isrelated to tragedy just as the farce is tocomedy. It arouses immediate and intenseemotion and is usually sad but there is ahappy ending for the principal character.
3.Tragedy.This involves the herostruggling mightily against dynamic forces;he meets death or ruin without success andsatisfaction obtained by the protagonist in acomedy.4. Farce. This is an exaggerated comedy. Itseeks to arouse mirth by laughable lines;situations are too ridiculous to be true; thecharacters seem to be caricatures and themotives undignified and absurd.5. Social Poems. This form is either purelycomic or tragic and it pictures the life oftoday. It may aim to bring about changes inthe social conditions.
Exercises1. Deals with ideas, thoughts, and emotions ofman. It is said to be the story of man.2. Literature as a faithful reproduction ofman’s manifold blended into oneharmonious expression.3-5. Three reasons why do we need to studyPhilippine Literature.6. Written by Harriet Beecher Stowe of the US.This depicted the sad fate of slaves; thisbecame the basis of democracy later on.
7. This was written by Confucius of China. Thisbecame the basis of Roman Calendar.8. This deals with the life of a person whichmay be about himself, his autobiography orthat of others.9.These have been the source of myths andlegends of Greece. They were written byHomer.10.This is a lyric poem of 14 lines dealing withan emotions, a feeling, or idea.
Chapter 2The Pre-Spanish Period
Historical BackgroundLong before the Spaniard and otherforeigners landed on Philippine shores, ourforefathers already had their own literaturestamped in the history of our race.Our ancient literature shows our customsand traditions in everyday life as trace in ourfolk stories, old plays and short stories.Our ancestors also had their own alphabetwhich was different from that brought by theSpaniards. The first alphabet used by ourancestors was similar to that of the MalayoPolynesian alphabet.
Whatever record our ancestors left were eitherburned by the Spanish friars in the belief thatthey were works of the devil or were written onmaterials that easily perished, like the barks oftrees, dried leaves and bamboo cylinders whichcould not have remained undestroyed even ifefforts were made to preserve them.Other records that remained showed folk songsthat proved existence of a native culture trulyour own. Some of these were passed on byword of mouth till they reached the hands ofsome publishers or printers who took interestin printing the manuscripts of the ancientFilipinos.
The Spaniards who came to the Philippinestried to prove that our ancestors were reallyfond of poetry, songs, stories, riddles andproverbs which we still enjoy today andwhich serve to show to generations the trueculture of our people.Pre-Spanish Literature is characterized byA. LEGENDS. Legends are a form of prosethe common theme of which is about theorigin of a thing, place, location or name.The events are imaginary, devoid of truthand unbelievable. Old Filipino customs arereflected in these legends. Its aim is toentertain. Here is an example of a legend isTHE LEGEND OF THE TAGALOGS.
B. FOLK TALES. Folk tales are made up ofstories about life, adventure, love, horror andhumor where one can derive lessons about life.These are useful to us because they help usappreciate our environment, evaluate ourpersonalities and improve our perspectives inlife. An example of this is THE MOON ANDTHE SUN.C. THE EPIC AGE. Epics are long narrativepoemsinwhichaseriesofheroicachievements or events, usually of a hero, aredealt with at length. Nobody can determinewhich epics are the oldest because in theirtranslations from other languages, even inEnglish and Spanish. We can only determinetheir origins from the time mentioned in thesaid epics.
Aside from the aforementioned epics, there arestill other epics that can be read and studiedlike the following epics.a.b.c.d.e.f.g.h.i.j.k.Bidasari-Moro epicBiag ni Lam-ang-Ilokano epicMaragtas-Visayan epicHaraya-Visayan epicLagda-Visayan epicHari sa Bukid-Visayan epicKumintang-Tagalog epicParang Sabir-Moro epic“Dagoy” at “Sudsod”-Tagbanua epicTatuaang-Bagobo epicIndarapatra at Sulayman
l. cinD. FOLK SONGS. Folk songs are one of theoldest forms of Philippine literature thatemerged in the pre-Spanish period. Thesesongs mirrored the early forms of culture.Many of these have 12 syllables. Here are theexamples:a. Kundimanb. Kumintang o Tagumpay
c.d.e.f.g.Ang Dalit o ImnoAng Oyayi o HeleDianaSoliraningTalindawOTHER FORMS OF PRE-SPANISH POETRYE. Epigrams, Riddles, Chants, Maxims,Proverbs or Sayings1. Epigrams (Salawikain). These have beencustomarily used and served as laws or rules ongood behavior by our ancestors. To others,these are like allegories or parables that impartlessons for the young.
2. Riddles (Bugtong) or Palaisipan. These aremade up of one or more measured lines withrhyme and may consist of four to 12 syllables.3.Chant (Bulong). Used in witchcraft orenchantment.4. Maxims. Some are rhyming couplets withverses of 5, 6 or 8 syllables, each line havingthe same number of syllables.5. Sayings (Kasabihan). Often used in teasingor to comment on a person’s actuations.6. Sawikain (Sayings with no hidden meanings)
Exercises1.The first alphabet used by our ancestorswas similar to that of the .2.What does Maria shouted to Ilog so that hewould cut the snake?3.In certain wide region of Luzon, there was avillage frequented by young men. This townwas full of trees, beautiful flowers and ariver where clear waters flowed. Whatattracted the young men more than thescenery?4.The writer of BIAG-Ni Lam-Ang5.Also known as Lullaby
6.These have been customarily used andserved as laws or rules on good behavior byour ancestors7.Sayings with no hidden Meanings8.Some are rhyming couplets with verses of5,6, or 8 syllables, each lines having thesame number of syllables.9.Used in witchcraft or enchantment.10. These are med up of one or more measuredlines with rhyme and may consist of four totwelve syllables.
Chapter 3The Spanish Period (1565-1898)
Historical BackgroundIt is an accepted belief that the Spanishcolonization of the Philippines started in 1565during the time of Miguel Lopez de Legazpi,the first Spanish governor-general in thePhilippines.Literature started to flourishduring his time.This spurt continuedunabated until the Cavite Revolt in 1872. TheSpaniards colonized the Philippines for morethan three centuries.During these times, many changes occurred inthe lives of Filipinos.They embraced theCatholic religion, changed their names, andwere baptized.
Their lifestyles changed too.They builthouses mad of stones and bricks, usedbeautiful furniture like the piano and usedkitchen utensils. Carriages, trains and boatswere used as means of travel. They heldfiestas to honor the saints, the pope and thegovernors. They had cockfights, horse racesand the theater as means of recreation.This gave rise to the formation of thedifferent classes of society like the rich andthe landlords.Some Filipinos finishedcourses like medicine, law, agriculture andteaching.Many Filipinos finished theirschooling already had been established.
A.SPANISH INFLUENCES ON PHILIPPINELITERATUREDue to the long period of colonization of thePhilippines by the Spaniards, they haveexerted a strong influence on our literature.1. The first Filipino alphabet called ALIBATAwas replaced by the Roman alphabet.2. The teaching of the Christian Doctrinebecame the basis of religious practices.3. The Spanish language which became theliterary language during this time lent many ofits words to our language.
4. European legends and traditions broughthere became assimilated in our songs,corridos, and moro-moros.5.Ancient literature was collected andtranslated to Tagalog and other dialects.6. Many grammar books were printed inFilipino, like Tagalog, Ilocano and Visayan7. Our periodicals during these times gaineda religious tone.
B. THE FIRST BOOKS1. ANG DOCTRINA CRISTIANA (THE CHRISTIANDOCTRINE). This was the first book printed inthe Philippines in 1593 in xylography. It waswritten by Fr. Juan de Placencia and Fr.Domingo Nieva, in Tagalog and Spanish.Itcontained the Pater Noster (Out Father), AveMaria (Hail Mary), Regina Coeli (Hail HolyQueen), the Ten Commandments of God, theCommandments of the Catholic Church, theSeven Mortal Sins, How to Confess, and theCathecism. Three old original copies of thisbook can still be found at the Vatican, at theMadrid Musem and at the US Congress.Itcontains only 87 pages but costs 5,000.0.
2. Nuestra Señora del Rosario. The secondbook printed in the Philippines was written byFr. Blancas de San Jose in 1602, and printed atthe UST Printing Press with the help of Juan deVera, a Chinese mestizo.It contains thebiographies of saints, novenas, and questionsand answers on religion.3. Libro de los Cuatro Postprimeras de Hombre(in Spanish and Tagalog). This is the first bookprinted in typography.4. Ang Barlaan at Josephat. This is a Biblicalstory printed in the Philippines and translatedto Tagalog from Greek by Fr. Antonio de Borja.
It is believed to be the first Tagalog novelpublished in the Philippines even if it is onlya translation. The printed translation hasonly 556 pages. The Ilocano translation inpoetry was done by Fr. Agustin Mejia.5. The Pasion. This is the book about thelife and sufferings of Jesus Christ. It is readonly during Lent. There were 4 versions ofthis in Tagalog and each version is accordingto the name of the writer.These are the Pilapil version (by MarianoPilapil of Bulacan, 1814), the de Belenversion (by Gaspar Aquino de Belen of Bat. in1704), the de la Merced (by Aniceto de laMerced of Norzagaray, Bulacan in 1856) andthe de Guia version (by Luis de Guia in1750).
Critics are not agreed whether it is
Events that can be written down are part of true literature. Literature, therefore, is part of history. Literature and history, however, also have differences. Literature may be figments of the imagination or events devoid of truth that have been written down, while history is made
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