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Lesson I: Introduction to Literature

21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World
12 ABM B MTW/F – 3:45-4:45 PM Instructor: Ms. Paulette M. Manalaysay

GENERAL DESCRIPTION:
This course aims to engage students in appreciation and critical study of the 21st century literature from the
Philippines and the world encompassing its various dimensions, genres, elements, structures, contexts and
traditions.

Group 1: LITERATURE is part of our culture, tradition & history. It also evolves
human emotion, feelings & thoughts through oral & written works. It also includes
theme and genre like drama, legend, myths and fantasy.

Group 2: LITERATURE is a written or spoken language that expresses history,

realities or the life that can also have through the imagination. It also have branches
such as poetry, drama and prose and the genres of literature are fable, legend, fantasy,
folktale, historical fiction and parable.

Group 3: LITERATURE is an expression of life and expressing emotion thru words. It is about embracing
ones own language by writing anything about life, love & history.

Group 4: LITERATURE can be an instrument to express emotion, feelings and thoughts through written
works and verbal performances. The examples for the written works are autobiography, fables, novels, short
stories that talks about our culture and tradition while an example of verbal performance are spoken poetry
and theater plays.

Group 5: LITERATURE is the understanding of culture, beliefs and traditions. It is through imagination,
records perspective, author and language. Among its branches include prose, drama and poetry. Literature
helps us in learning, writing and enriching our vocabularies.

 Etymologically: “acquaintance with letters”.

 Latin “littera” - individual written character (letter)
 Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin: “litteratura” - writing, grammar, learning
 a body of written works; books and other writings (usually by expert authors)
 writings in prose or verse, esp. those of an imaginative or critical character; 2 major features: language and its
imaginative character
 the body of written works produced in a particular language, country, or age.
 Literature is concerned with the content and the form, in other words not only the story but the way it is written.
 In a narrow sense, literature could mean only text composed of letters, or other examples of symbolic written
language.
 In a broader sense, it is “life” itself for it has in its scope man's feelings and emotions. In other words, it is about
experiences-records of man's everyday struggle for life.
 It is the collective body of literary productions, embracing the entire results of knowledge and fancy preserved in
writing; a body of written works produced in a particular language, country, or age.

Lesson I: Introduction to Literature : 21st Century Literature

Instructor: Ms. Paulette M. Manalaysay
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I. DRAMA
 a play for theater told by character dialogue (talking)
 it is a story d in dialogue form by actors on stage for an audience.
 It is meant to be performed but possible just to read a play.
 It includes more than theater such as television plays, radio plays, movies - making a world come alive before
an audience.
 In the context of the theater, the story is called the PLAY.

SUBGENRES OF DRAMA
1. COMEDY - a funny or humorous drama with a happy ending; resolving funny situations with charm, wit and
laughter. Example: The Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare

2. TRAGEDY - a sad drama with a sad ending. It is a serious play that ends unhappily because the main
character has a serious flaw or is caught in a perilous circumstance that must be overcome.
Example is Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

II. FICTION
 a story that did not actually happen in real life.
 a prose writing that tells about imaginary characters and events; although some writers base their fiction on
actual events and people to which they add invented characters, dialogue, settings and plots.
 it may be a long work or a short work of fiction.

SUBGENRES OF FICTION
1. FANTASY - a story in a fantasy world. It has monsters, magic or characters with superpowers.
Example: Harry Potter, Chronicles of Narnia, Wizard of Oz, Coraline

2. FOLKLORE/FOLKTALES - old cultural stories; passed down through oral tradition.

It includes fairytales, fables, myths, legends and tall tales. It usually has an unknown author or will be “retold”
or “adapted” by the author
a. Fable: short story with personified animals and a moral lesson. Example: Aesop’s Fables
b. Mythology: has gods/goddesses and usually accounts for the creation of something. Example: Greek
Mythology
c. Tall Tale: Set in the Wild West, the American frontier. Main characters skills/size/strength is greatly
exaggerated; Exaggeration is humorous. Example: The Tall Tale of Paul Bunyan
d. Legend: Based on a real person or place; Facts are stretched beyond nonfiction; Exaggerated in a
serious way. Example: The Legends of King Arthur
e. Fairytale: has magic and/or talking animals. Often starts with “Once upon a time…”; Like fantasy but
much older; Often has a human main character. Example: The Complete Grimm’s Fairy Tales

3. HISTORICAL FICTION - a fiction story based on real history. It set in the past and based on real people
and/or events. Example: Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell and the Book Thief by Markus Zusak

4. MYSTERY- a story about a crime/solution of a crime. Example: The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown and Gone
Girl by Gillian Flynn

5. REALISTIC FICTION – seems like real life, with characters dealing with real life problems. The plot often
takes place in the present time. The situations are true or could be, but the main characters are fictional.
Example: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green and Wonder by RJ Palacio
Lesson I: Introduction to Literature : 21st Century Literature
Instructor: Ms. Paulette M. Manalaysay
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6. ROMANCE- focuses on romantic love and relationship between two people; has positive ending making
readers believe that love will endure the rest of the lives of characters. Example: Me Before You by Jojo
Moyes

7. SCIENCE FICTION – a story in the future with advanced technology; based on impact of science, either
actual or imagined. It is set in the future or on other planets, has aliens, robots, and/or futuristic technology.
Example: The Hunger Games

8. THRILLER OR SUSPENSE- a story that makes readers nervous or excited. It is frightfully shocking,
terrifying, or horrible. It creates a feeling of fear in both the characters and the reader.
Example: The Girl With No Past by Kathryn Croft

III. NONFICTION
 Writing that is real and factual or that actually happened.
 It includes biography, autobiography, narratives, informational such as references, magazines and newspapers,
and speech and essay.

SUBGENRES OF NONFICTION
1. BIOGRAPHY- a story /writing about a person's life
Example: Einstein: The Life and the Universe by Walter Isaacson and Abrahan
Lincoln: A biography by Benjamin P. Thomas

2. AUTOBIOGRAPHY- a story the author writes about himself or herself.

Example: The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin and I Am Malala

3. NARRATIVE NON-FICTION- a story or narrative that happened in real life. Information based on fact that is
presented in a format which tells a story.
Example: Turn Right at Machu Picchu by Mark Adams; Rin Tin Tin by Susan Orlean

4. PERIODICALS/SERIALS- magazines, newspapers, journals that are written regularly or in series.

Example: The Philippine Star (Newspaper); National Geographic (Magazine); Journal of Business (Journal)

5. REFERENCE MATERIALS- books/resources with facts usually arranged by date or in alphabetical order.
Examples are dictionaries, encyclopedias, thesaurus, almanacs, atlases.

IV. POETRY
 a form of writing which uses language and sounds in special ways to express ideas.
 verse and rhythmic writing with imagery.
 types include lyric, narrative and dramatic poetry.
 basic elements include prosody, sound and form.
a. Prosody - meter, rhythm, & tone
b. Sound - Rhyme, assonance, alliteration, & consonance
c. Form - lines and stanza

SUBGENRES OF NONFICTION
1. LYRIC - a poem about the speaker's thoughts
 usually focusing on thoughts and emotions but does not tell a story.
 It includes elegy, ode, sonnet and haiku.

Lesson I: Introduction to Literature : 21st Century Literature

Instructor: Ms. Paulette M. Manalaysay
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elegy - formal ode - long lyric
lament for the poem with a
death of a person serious subject
basically written
with enthusiasm
and excitement
about a person or
thing.

sonnet - uses a haiku- traditionally

single stanza of a Japanese poem
(usually) fourteen consisting of three
lines and an short lines that do
intricate rhyme not rhyme.
pattern; originally a Note: As the form
love poem evolved, many of
haiku rules - including
the 5-7-5 practice
especially among
Western literature -
have routinely been
broken. However, the
philosophy of haiku
has been preserved.

2. NARRATIVE - a poem that tells a story. It is always told by a narrator. It might tell of a love story, the story
of a father and son or the deeds of a hero or heroine.
 subdivisions are epics and ballads
 Epics - a long poem about a hero. Example: Beowulf by Robert Nye
 Ballads - a song, originally transmitted orally, which tells a story. Example: The Ballad of Reading Gaol
by Oscar Wilde

3. DRAMATIC - words/verses spoken by a character. Subcategories of which includes soliloquy, dialogue

and monologue.
 Soliloquy - a long speech; one character; No others on stage can hear what is said; Reveals inner
thoughts or motives of a character
 Dialogue - shorter or longer speeches; between two characters; among many characters; Others
onstage can hear and respond.
 Monologue - Longer speech; One character; Others onstage can hear what is said and respond to it;
Generally reveals previous events; Explains a character’s choice of action.

Lesson I: Introduction to Literature : 21st Century Literature

Instructor: Ms. Paulette M. Manalaysay