LITERATURE

Introduction to Literature

DEFINITIONS
Etymological Definition

Real Definition

- Derived from the Latin word Litera, which means letter

- A faithful reproduction of mans manifold experiences blended into one harmonious expression - (Zulueta & Kahayon)

Literature is anything that is printed, as long as it is related to the ideas and feelings of people, whether it is true or a product of ones imagination. - Webster

CHARACTERISTICS

CONTENT
- mans ideas or thoughts, feelings or emotions, dreams or aspirations

THEME
- love, grief, happiness, hatred, pity, or revenge

LANGUAGE
- imaginative, creative, interpretative, selective, figurative

FORM
- narrative, poetic

IMPORTANCE

1. 2.

It help us to appreciate and preserve literary heritage It helps us to connect ourselves to cultural context which we are part It helps us to grow both personally and intellectually It helps us to shape our lives and makes us humans

3. 4. 5.

It encourages us to assist talented people who are in need.

TYPES/DIVISIONS

1. POETRY
- is an expression of a feeling, an insight, and a discovery about mans life. It is alanguage of imagination in verse form.

A. NARRATIVE POETRY
- a poem that tells a story

A.1 BALLAD

The narration of a story in poetic form Examples: The Walrus and the Carpenter Lewis Caroll The Ballad of the Oysterman

A.2 EPIC

A story about the heroic deeds of an individual in written in verse Examples:

Illiad Odyssey Beowulf

A.3

METRICAL TALE

A fictitious account of events or facts presented based on the metric system as a standard of measurement.

Example: - The Rhyme of an Ancient Mariner, - Samuel Coleridge

B.

LYRIC POETRY
- a poem that is subjective and emotional

B.1 Song - a poem set to music

-Example: -Hymn

to Earth the Mother of all

B.1 SONG

B.2 Psalm

--

A poem that praises God

Example:

B.2 PSALM

Psalm 23The Lord Is My Sheperd

B.3 Elegy

-A

poem for a dead person

-Examples:

- Woes of Daphnis Theocritus

--

B.3 ELEGY

AmoresOvid

B.4 Corrido

poem having eight syllables in each line

B.4 CORRIDO
-Example: -Ibong

-A

Adarna

B.5 Sonnet

poem consisting of fourteen lines

B.5 SONNET
-Example -Sonnet

-A

116 -Sonnet 18

B.6 Ode

-A

poem that exalts a feeling or style

-Example:

B.6 ODE

to Aphrodite

-Ode

B.7 Lullaby

-A

song that makes children to sleep

-Example

B.7 LULLABY

and Goodnight Johannes Brahms

-Lullaby

B. DRAMATIC POETRY
- a play written in verse form

C.1 MONOLOGUE

- A dramatic sketch performed by one actor alone

C.2 SOLILOQUY

A presentation where one actor talks to himself

C.3 COMEDY

A light drama written with the purpose of amusing the audience

C.4 FARCE

An exaggerated comedy that seeks to arouse mirth by laughable lines

C.5 MELODRAMA

A drama that arouses an intense emotion and is usually sad.

C.6 TRAGEDY

A drama that involves hero struggling against dynamic forces

2. PROSE
- consists of those written within the common flow of conversations sentence and paragraphs

A. Novel A long narrative divided into chapters

A. NOVEL

B. Short Story
A narrative involving one or more characters, one plot, and single impression/event

B. SHORT STORY

C. Legend A fictitious narrative, usually about origins

C. LEGEND

D. Fable A fictitious narrative that deals with animals and inanimate things who speak and act like people

D. FABLE

E. Parable A simple story told to illustrate moral truth

E. PARABLE

F. Play

A drama presented on stage

F. PLAY

G. Anecdote A brief story of an interesting, amusing biographical incident.

G. ANECDOTE

H. Essay A literary composition usually deals with the subject from a personal point of view of a writer

H. ESSAY

I. Biography A written story of a persons life

I. BIOGRAPHY

J. News A report of recent events in the society

J. NEWS

K. Oration a formal and public speech

K. ORATION