De La Salle University-Dasmariñas

College of Liberal Arts

Languages and Literature Department
Literature of the Philippines

Total Examination Reviewer

Midterms

Name:
Course, Year and Section: HUB22/HUB21/HUB23
The following discussions and notes are based on Ms. Maureen Requiestas’ lectures and
notes:

1. The boy who never learned

2. Damdamin
3. Macdo
4. Ugat sa Dugo
5. Letter to Pedro
6. Violence on TV Can’t Compare to Reality
7. Dyugdyugan
8. LIham ni Pinay Mula sa Brunei
9. Study Notes
Literature is generally divided into two main kinds, Prose and Poetry.

Prose- a literary work that uses sentences and paragraphs to convey ideas, feelings, and
actions.
Poetry- refers to writings in verse with rhythm and rhyme. Characterized to have a
melodious tone.

Short Story- artistic form of prose fiction which focuses on a single main incident,
involving one or more characters, and is intended to produce a single dominant
impression. Read in one sitting only

Types of Poetry

Types of Poetry

Dramatic Poetry
Lyric Poetry
Narrative Poetry -meant to be
-expresses the
-tells a story performed on stage
feelings of writer

Narrative Poetry

Epic Ballad
-narrative of a heroic -shortest & simplest
adventures narrative poem
 Lyric
Poetry
Ode
-most
majestic
Folk Sonnet type of
-lyric poem Psalm Song Corrido
songs of 14 iambic
lyric Elegy -has a -has a
-song
-short pentameter poetry, -poem measure of measure of
praising
poems line with exalted in expressing 12 syllables 8 syllables
formal God or the or or
intended tone and lamentatio
rhyme or Virgin dodesyllabi octosyllabic
to be sung expresses n
scheme Mary c lines lines
pattern lofty
praise for
some
person

Dramatic Poetry

Tragedy
Comedy
-involves main Melodrama
-komos-revelry Farce or Sainete
character -also called soap
-usually light and -exaggerated
struggling with opera. Highly
written to amuse comedy
some dynamic emotive stories
and entertain
forces

Literature may also be divided into

1. Non-fiction-actual facts and information.
2. Fiction- collective term for literary narratives that portray imaginary people
caught in imaginary situations. There are two forms of fiction: short story and
novel.
Lt.: fictio-to invent or make up
 FICTION

Biographical Fiction
Historical Fiction
Realistic Fiction -tells a story about a Fanciful Fiction
-uses a real setting
-uses elements that person who actually -is a combination of
usually in the past
are related to life-like lived but the real and imaginary
but the characters are
situations experiences told may events
imaginary
not be factual.

MAIN ELEMENTS
OF FICTION

PLOT
SETTING
-framework of fiction THEME
CHARACTERS -time, place, and
EXPOSITION -underlying main
-are persons whom general environment
CONFLICT idea of a literary
the story is told in which a fiction
CLIMAX work
occurs.
DENOUEMENT

Plot development
Plot-framework of a fiction. Consists of causally related events.

Exposition-Characters are exposed, Setting is given, and Time is identified

Complication- Events that led to the turning point. Opposing forces.
Climax- Turning point of the story. There is a change of one character’s personality,
status, belief, etc.
Denouement- Conclusion. Resolution of the story. Also called rising action and falling
action.

Aspects of a Plot
1. Peripeteia- an attempt to do something but actually accomplishes the opposite
2. Anagnorisis- change from ignorance to knowledge. Form of a discovery
3. Catastrophe- means death, mutilation etc.
4. Juxtapose- things will always turn out the way that they must be

Aristotle- according to him, the best form of plot is a combination of peripeteia and
anagnorisis.

Frye- according to him, there are four basic plots. These are:
1. Romance
2. Tragic
3. Comic
4. Ironic and Satiric

Satire- ridicules peoples, ideas, customs, and their institutions. This is done in order to
bring reform or change. Exaggeration and irony are two frequent satirical devices.

Two Kinds of Plot

1. Organic Plot- without unnecessary events
2. Episodic Plot- with unnecessary events

Conflict- struggle between opposing forces.

Two kinds of Conflict

1. External Conflict- a character may be in conflict with external forces like a group
of persons (social) or with nature (physical conflict)
2. Inner or Internal Conflict- conflict in which a character battles himself/herself
(psychological).

Characters

According to their relationship to the conflict:

1. Protagonist- central character in conflict whether good or bad. Hero or heroine
2. Antagonist- adversary that opposes the protagonist or the forces who struggle
against the protagonist. It may be persons, things, conventions of society or fate
chance or any combination of these.

Foil- minor character in the plot that is created to emphasize the protagonist’s
character.

Characters may also be classified according to their development

1. Flat or stock character- is the same sort of person at the end and beginning of the
story.
2. Round or developing or multidimensional character- undergoes a change in some
aspect of character, personality or outlook, be it for better or for worse.
This is a very dynamic character.

Characterization- is the technique of a writer uses to reveal the personalities of the

characters. An author may reveal a character’s personality and traits by describing
his:
1. physical appearance
2. speech and actions
3. inner thoughts and feelings
4. his effect on other characters

Characters may be presented into two ways:

1. Direct Presentation- author tells the readers straight out how a character looks,
thinks, feels and etc.
2. Indirect Presentation- opposite of direct presentation

Setting- refers to the time, place, and general environment in which a piece occurs.
Details of the setting may either be suggested or stated.
ROLES of a SETTING
1. serve as a background or physical context for the action
2. It can be used to reveal character and shape events
3. It may also help create the atmosphere from which the story revolves.

Theme- underlying main idea of a literary work. A philosophy or observation of life,

a principle of truth.

According to Arp and Perrine (1993), there are certain principles to follow in
determining the theme of a literary text:
1. Theme should be expressible in the form of a statement with a subject and a
predicate
2. theme should be stated as a generalization about life
3. Terms like all every, always, should be used cautiously.
4. We should avoid old clichés.

Narrator and Point of View

 Narrator- person who tells a story. The author may tell a story directly whereby he
usually remains an anonymous observer.

Point of View- is the angle of vision from where the story is told. Four basic point of
views as follows:
1. Omniscient- author tells the story using the third person pronoun. Knowing all
and is free to tell the readers everything about it.
2. Limited omniscient point of view- the author tells the story using the third person
pronoun but is limited to a complete knowledge of one character only.
3. First person point of view- the story is told by one of its characters, using the first
person pronoun.
4. Objective or Dramatic Point of View- the author tells the story using the third
person pronoun but is limited in reporting what the characters say or do.

Style- refers to the way an author expresses himself or herself.

Diction- types of words used.

Syntax- placement of words in a sentence

Imagery- use of concrete words or details that appeal to the senses

Types of Imagery
1. Visual
2. Auditory
3. olfactory
4. gustatory
5. tactile
6. organic
7. kinetic

Other Fictional Devices

1. Symbol- can be in the form of conventional and created
2. Irony- can be in the form of verbal, situational, dramatic or cosmic irony.
3. Tone
4. Mood
5. Motivation

Narrative Devices
1. Straight Narration
2. Dramatic Presentation
3. Foreshadowing
4. Flashbacks
5. Frame Story Device
6. Stream and Consciousness
STORY ANALYSIS

The Boy who Never Learned

-Susan Mercaida

Damdamin
-Ricardo de Leon

Macdo
-Merlinda Bobis

Ugat sa Dugo
-Dr. Joey Arrogante

Title Author Type of Fiction Protagonist/s Antagonist/s

The Boy who Susan Short Story Danny Persons that
never Learned Mercaida Dimatuto were cruel to
Danny, e.g.
Mang Doro
MacDo Merlinda Bobis Short Story Rosa and her Ms. MacLisa,
Older Sister Those who
judged Rosa
when her
napkin soiled
with blood from
coughing was
exposed to the
public
Damdamin Ricardo de Short Story Tata Fidel and Tata Fidel and
Luna Nana Loleng Nana Loleng’s
children
Ugat sa Dugo Dr. Joey Short Story Sidra External-Tiya
Arrogante Concha, Desta
Internal-
herself and her
past

PLOT ANALYSIS

Title Conflict Climax Denouement Conclusion

The Boy who Danny was When Ben Ben and Danny Ben and Danny
never Learned given the found out that became distant were separated
sobriquet Mang Doro and cold with by time.
Danny Cheated over each other.
 Dimatuto. Ben Ben was sent to Ben thought of
Manila to study. Danny as a
When the very important
Banahaw friend who
people thought touched and
and treated scarred his
Danny as a core.
hopeless case

When Ben took

care of Danny
as his ward
MacDo Rosa’s sickness When the Rosa helped her Rosa and her
people saw in coughing and elder sister
the blood- they went went outside
soiled napkin outside. and observed
that Rosa how judgmental
used. and uncaring
the public was.
Damdamin When Enyang When Tata Soledad went Enyang went to
kept on saying Fidel died home and took thinking how
that Tata Fidel care of her the things that
and Nana father’s wake the couple’s
Loleng’s and burial. Nana children did for
children will go Loleng talked to their father will
home and take Tata Fidel’s bring joy and
care of them. dead body. Later healing to the
in the story, Tata wounded soul
Fidel’s burial of Tata Fidel.
happened
Ugat sa Dugo The Familial When Sidra Sidra realized Sidra realized
curse that saw her that everything is that everything
Sidra’s mother, children rooted to the that their
Sidra herself, having sex very first familial family did
and Sidra’s with each curse that her mixes and she
children had other. mother did. experiences
done The flashbacks them at first
came one by one hand.
and started to
make her
enlightened with
the roots of the
familial incest
that she was able
to see among her
children.
 Title Type of Plot Conflict
The Boy who Organic, Ironic External
never Learned and Tragic Conflict
(Danny
versus Mang
Doro and
others)
MacDo Organic, Ironic External
Conflict
(Rosa and her
sister versus
Ms. McLisa
and the
judging
public
Damdamin Organic, External
Tragic Conflict
(Nana Loleng
and Tata
Fidel versus
their
children)
Ugat sa Dugo Organic, External
Tragic Conflict
(Sidra versus
Tiya Concha
and Desta
and the
others)

Internal
Conflict
(Sidra versus
herself)

Title Foil Characterizatio Protagonist/s Antagonist/s

n
The Boy who Ben Indirect Danny Persons that
never Learned Dimatuto were cruel to
Danny, e.g.
Mang Doro
 MacDo Ms. McLisa Direct Rosa and her Ms. MacLisa,
Older Sister Those who
judged Rosa
when her
napkin soiled
with blood
from coughing
was exposed to
the public
Damdamin Enyang Direct Tata Fidel and Tata Fidel and
Nana Loleng Nana Loleng’s
children
Ugat sa Dugo Tiya Concha Direct Sidra External-Tiya
Desta Concha, Desta
Internal-
herself and her
past
Title Theme Point of View
The Boy who Friendship Omniscient
never Learned sees no point of view
boundaries,
even time or
status does not
matter
MacDo Familial bonds First Person
surpass public point of View
judgment
Damdamin It is the Omniscient
perpetual duty Point of View
of the children
to take care,
honor, and
give thanks to
their parents.
Ugat sa Dugo Sowing what Limited
one reaps is an Omniscient
essential rule point of view
of life.

POETRY
May be defined as a kind of language that says more and says it more than does ordinary
language. Poetry takes all life as its province. Poetry as a whole is concerned with all
kinds of experience, beautiful, ugly, actual or imaginary. Poetry is a kind of
multidimensional language. Ordinary language, one which we use to communicate
information is one dimensional.
It has four dimensions
1. Intellectual
2. Sensuous
3. Emotional
4. Imaginative

The word poem came from the Latin word poema meaning something that is created and
composed.

Rhyme-repetition of similar or identical sounds. It is determined not by spelling but by

pronunciation. Its uses are:
1. may give pleasure to the ear
2. emphasize important words or lines
3. unify parts of the poem or the whole poem itself

End rhyme- rhyme that is found at the end of lines

Medial or Initial Rhyme
Rhyme Scheme- definite pattern to the end of the rhyme

Figurative Language
1. Simile
2. Metaphor
3. Personification
4. Apostrophe
5. Hyperbole
6. Metonymy
7. Synecdoche
8. Antithesis
9. Alliteration

Poems
Identify the Figures of Speech used in the poems studied. Answer the Guide Questions as
well.

Title of Poem/Type of Figures of Speech Rhyme Scheme

Poem
Letter to Pete, Also Called
pedro U.S. citizen
Violence on TV can’t I WASN’T ABLE TO FIND A SITE WITH POEM’S
compare to reality LINES. ILL TYPE THEM LATER.
Liham ni Pinay mula sa
Brunei
Dyugdyugan

Letter to Pedro, US Citizen, also called Pete by Rene Estella Amper

 Pete, old friend,
there isn’t really much change
in our hometown since you left.

This morning I couldn’t find anymore

the grave of Simeona, the cat we buried
at the foot of Miguel’s mango tree,
when we were in grade four,
after she was hit by a truck while crossing
the street. The bulldozer has messed it up
while making the feeder road into the mountains
to reach the hearts of the farmers.
The farmers come down every Sunday
to sell their agony and their sweat for
a few pesos, lose in the cockpit or get
drunk on the way home.

A steel bridge named after the congressman’s wife

now spans the gray river where Tasyo, the old
goat, had split the skin of our young lizards
to make us a man many years ago.

The long blue hills where we

used to shoot birds with slingshot or spend
the summer afternoons we loved so much doing
nothing in the tall grass have been bought
by the mayor’s son. Now there’s a barbed wire
fence about them; the birds have gone away.

The mayor owns a big sugar plantation, three

new cars, and a mansion with the gate overhung
with sampaguita. Inside the gate
are guys who carry a rifle and a pistol.

We still go to Konga’s store for rice

and sardines and sugar and nails for the coffin.

Still only a handful go to Mass on Sundays.

In the church the men talk, sleep; the children play.
The priest is sad.

Last night the storm came and blew away

the cornflowers. The cornfields are full of cries.

Your cousin, Julia, has just become a whore.

She liked good clothes, good food, big money.
That’s why she became a whore.
Now our hometown has seven whores.

Pete, old friend,

every time we have good reason to get drunk
and be carried home in a wheelbarrow
we always remember you. Oh, we miss
both Pete and Pedro.

Remember us to your American wife,

you lucky bastard. Islaw, your cock-eyed
uncle, now calls himself Stanley
after he began wearing the clothes you sent
him last Christmas.

P.S. Tasyo, the old goat,

Sends your lizard his warmest congratulations.

Dyugdyugan by Lualhati Bautista

bago ka lumapit, gusto kong malaman mo

na sa loob ng maluwang na blusa ko

diretsahan ito, wala akong suso.

ang sagot niya, wala raw ‘yong kaso.

nawi-wish ko rin

na sana’y pareho kami ni carmi martin

huwag kang tanga, sagot niya

pag gano’n na kalaki, mahirap ding dalhin.

siguro’y alam mo ring nagdaan na ‘ko sa iba

sa kamang ganito, meron nang nakasama.

ang sagot niya, basta mahal kita.

ang tiyan ko’y marami nang bakat

ng nagdaang panganganak.

sabi niya, hulog daw iyon ng langit

bunga lang ng matamis na pakikipagtalik.

pero si sharon cuneta, sa kanyang pelikula

may asawa na’y virgin pa.

sabi niya,

kaya kita mo, hindi siya lumigaya.

sinasabi ko lang sa’yo

di ako humihingi ng paumanhin

ang sasabihin ng tatay mo

kaya mo bang tiisin?

ang sagot niya, mahal

ako’y malaki na
 ang buhay ko’y akin, ako’ng magpapasiya.

pagkatapos ng romansa at magaling na bukadura

nag-asawa siya ng iba.

Liham ni Pinay mula sa Brunei ni Ruth Mabanglo

Ako’y guro, asawa at ina.

Isang babae--pupol ng pabango, pulbos at seda,

Kaulayaw ng batya, kaldero at kama.

Napagod yata ako’t nanghinawa,

Nagsikap mangibang-lupa.

Iyo’t iyon din ang lalaking umuupo sa kabisera,

Nagbabasa ng diyaryo uma-umaga.

Naghihintay siya ng kape

At naninigarilyo,

Habang kagkag ako sa pagitan ng kuna at libro,

Nagpapahid ng lipstick at nagpapatulo ng gripo.

Hindi siya nag-aangat ng mukha

Umaaso man ang kawali o umiingit ang bata.

Hinahatdan ko siya ng brief at tuwalya sa banyo,

Inaaliw kung mainit ang ulo.

Wala siyang paliwanag

 Kung bakit hindi siya umuwi magdamag,

Ngunit kunot na kunot ang kanyang noo

Kapag umaalis ako ng Linggo.

Ayaw niya ng galunggong at saluyot

Kahit pipis ang sobreng inabot,

Ibig pa yatang maghimala ako ng ulam

Kahit ang pangrenta’y laging kulang.

Ako’y guro, asawa at ina.

Isang babae-- napapagal sa pagiging babae.

Itinakda ng kabahaging

Masumpa sa walis, labada’t oyayi

Kahit may propesyo’t kumikita ng salapi.

Iyo’t iyon din ang ruta ng araw-araw--

Kabagutang nakalatag sa kahabaan

Ng bahay at paaralan,

Ng kusina’t higaan.

May karapatan ba akong magmukmok?

Saan ako tatakbo kung ako’y malungkot?

May beerhouse at massage parlor na tambayan

Ang kabiyak kong nag-aasam,

Nasa bintana ako’t maghihintay.

 Nagbabaga ang katawan ko sa paghahanap,

May krus ang dila ko’t di makapangusap.

Humihingi ng tinapay ang mga anak ko,

Itinotodo ko ang bolyum ng radyo.

Napagod yata ako’t nanghinawa,

Nagsikap mangibang-lupa.

Noon ako nanaginip na nakapantalon,

Nagpapadala ng dolyar at pasalubong.

Nakakahinga na ako ngayon nang maluwag,

Walang susi ang bibig, ang isip ay bukas.

Aaminin kong ako’y nangungulila

Ngunit sariling kape ko na ang tinitimpla.

Nag-aabang ako ng sulat sa tarangkaha’t pinto,

Sa telepono’y nabubusog ang puso.

Umiiyak ako noong una,

Nagagamot pala ang lahat sa pagbabasa.

Ito lamang ang sagot,

Bayaang lalaki ang maglaba ng kumot.

Guide Questions for All Poems Read

1. Who is the author?
2. Does the title suggest the theme?
3. Who is the speaker?
4. Does it tell a story?
5. Does it have difinite number of lines, rhyme schemce and metrical pattern?
6. Does it have quatrain couplets?
7. What senses were touched?
8. What emotions were used and suggested?
9. What are the figrues of speech that were used?
10. What is the tone and mood?
11. What is the over-all meaning?