Philippine Literature

The diversity and richness of Philippine literature evolved side by side with the country’s history.
This can best be appreciated in the context of the country’s pre-colonial cultural traditions and the
socio-political histories of its colonial and contemporary traditions.
The average Filipino’s unfamiliarity with his indigenous literature was largely due to what
has been impressed upon him: that his country was “discovered” and, hence, Philippine “history”
started only in 1521.
So successful were the efforts of colonialists to blot out the memory of the country’s largely
oral past that present-day Filipino writers, artists and journalists are trying to correct this inequity
by recognizing the country’s wealth of ethnic
traditions and disseminating them in schools and
in the mass media.
The rousing of nationalistic pride in the
1960s and 1970s also helped bring about this
change of attitude among a new breed of
Filipinos concerned about the “Filipino identity.”

Pre-Colonial Times

Owing to the works of our own

archaeologists, ethnologists and
anthropologists, we are able to know more and
better judge information about our pre-colonial
times set against a bulk of material about early Filipinos as recorded by Spanish, Chinese, Arabic
and other chroniclers of the past.
Pre-colonial inhabitants of our islands showcase a rich past through their folk speeches,
folk songs, folk narratives and indigenous rituals and mimetic dances that affirm our ties with our
Southeast Asian neighbors.
The most seminal of these folk speeches is the riddle which is tigmo in
Cebuano, bugtong in Tagalog,paktakon in Ilongo and patototdon in Bicol. Central to the riddle is
the talinghaga or metaphor because it “reveals subtle resemblances between two unlike objects”

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and one’s power of observation and wit are put to the test. While some riddles are ingenious,
others verge on the obscene or are sex-related:

Gaddang:

Gongonan nu usin y amam. If you pull your daddy’s penis

Maggirawa pay sila y inam. Your mommy’s vagina, too,

(Campana) screams. (Bell)

The proverbs or aphorisms express norms or codes of behavior, community beliefs or

they instill values by offering nuggets of wisdom in short, rhyming verse.
The extended form, tanaga, a mono-riming heptasyllabic quatrain expressing insights
and lessons on life is “more emotionally charged than the terse proverb and thus has affinities
with the folk lyric.” Some examples are the basahanon or extended didactic sayings from
Bukidnon and the daraida and daragilon from Panay.
The folk song, a form of folk lyric which expresses the hopes and aspirations, the
people’s lifestyles as well as their loves. These are often repetitive and sonorous, didactic and
naive as in the children’s songs or Ida-ida(Maguindanao), tulang pambata (Tagalog)
or cansiones para abbing (Ibanag).
A few examples are the lullabyes or Ili-ili (Ilongo); love songs like
the panawagon and balitao (Ilongo);harana or serenade (Cebuano); the bayok (Maranao);the
seven-syllable per line poem, ambahan of the Mangyans that are about human relationships,
social entertainment and also serve as a tool for teaching the young; work songs that depict the
livelihood of the people often sung to go with the movement of workers such as
the kalusan (Ivatan), soliranin (Tagalog rowing song) or the mambayu, a Kalinga rice-pounding
song; the verbal jousts/games like the duplo popular during wakes.
Other folk songs are the drinking songs sung during carousals like the tagay (Cebuano
and Waray); dirges and lamentations extolling the deeds of the dead like
the kanogon (Cebuano) or the Annako (Bontoc).
A type of narrative song or kissa among the Tausug of Mindanao, the parang sabil,
uses for its subject matter the exploits of historical and legendary heroes. It tells of a Muslim
hero who seeks death at the hands of non-Muslims.
The folk narratives, i.e. epics and folk tales are varied, exotic and magical. They explain
how the world was created, how certain animals possess certain characteristics, why some
places have waterfalls, volcanoes, mountains, flora or fauna and, in the case of legends, an
explanation of the origins of things. Fables are about animals and these teach moral lessons.
Our country’s epics are considered ethno-epics because unlike, say, Germany’s
Niebelunginlied, our epics are not national for they are “histories” of varied groups that consider
themselves “nations.”
The epics come in various
names: Guman (Subanon); Darangen (Maranao); Hudhud (Ifugao);and Ulahingan (Manobo).
These epics revolve around supernatural events or heroic deeds and they embody or validate
the beliefs and customs and ideals of a community. These are sung or chanted to the
accompaniment of indigenous musical instruments and dancing performed during harvests,
weddings or funerals by chanters. The chanters who were taught by their ancestors are
considered “treasures” and/or repositories of wisdom in their communities.

Examples of these epics are:

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the Lam – ang (Ilokano); Hinilawod (Sulod); Kudaman (Palawan); Darangen
(Maranao); Ulahingan (Livunganen-Arumanen Manobo); Mangovayt Buhong na Langit (The
Maiden of the Buhong Sky from Tuwaang–Manobo); Ag Tobig neg Keboklagan (Subanon);
and Tudbulol (T’boli).

The Spanish Colonial Tradition

While it is true that Spain subjugated the Philippines

for more mundane reasons, this former European power
contributed much in the shaping and recording of our
literature. Religion and institutions that represented
European civilization enriched the languages in the
lowlands, introduced theater which we would come to know
as komedya, the sinakulo, the sarswela, the playlets and
the drama. Spain also brought to the country, though at a
much later time, liberal ideas and an internationalism that influenced our own Filipino intellectuals
and writers for them to understand the meanings of “liberty and freedom.”

Literature in this period may be classified as religious prose and poetry and secular prose
and poetry.

Religious lyrics written by ladino poets or those versed in both Spanish and Tagalog were
included in early catechism and were used to teach Filipinos the Spanish language. Fernando
Bagonbanta’s “Salamat nang walang hanga/gracias de sin sempiternas” (Unending thanks) is a
fine example that is found in the Memorial de la vida cristiana en lengua tagala (Guidelines for
the Christian life in the Tagalog language) published in 1605.
Another form of religious lyrics are the meditative verses like the dalit appended
to novenas and catechisms. It has no fixed meter nor rime scheme although a number are written
in octosyllabic quatrains and have a solemn tone and spiritual subject matter.
But among the religious poetry of the day, it is the pasyon in octosyllabic quintillas that
became entrenched in the Filipino’s commemoration of Christ’s agony and resurrection at
Calvary. Gaspar Aquino de Belen’s “Ang Mahal na Passion ni Jesu Christong Panginoon natin
na tola” (Holy Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ in Verse) put out in 1704 is the country’s earliest
known pasyon.
Other known pasyons chanted during the Lenten season are in Ilocano, Pangasinan,
Ibanag, Cebuano, Bicol, Ilongo and Waray.
Aside from religious poetry, there were various kinds of prose narratives written to
prescribe proper decorum. Like the pasyon, these prose narratives were also used for
proselitization. Some forms are: dialogo(dialogue), Manual de Urbanidad (conduct
book); ejemplo (exemplum) and tratado (tratado). The most well-known are Modesto de Castro’s
“Pagsusulatan ng Dalawang Binibini na si Urbana at si Feliza” (Correspondence between the Two
Maidens Urbana and Feliza) in 1864 and Joaquin Tuason’s “Ang Bagong Robinson” (The New
Robinson) in 1879, an adaptation of Daniel Defoe’s novel.
Secular works appeared alongside historical and economic changes, the emergence of
an opulent class and the middle class who could avail of a European education. These Filipino
elite could now read printed works that used to be the exclusive domain of the missionaries.
The most notable of the secular lyrics followed the conventions of a romantic tradition: the
languishing but loyal lover, the elusive, often heartless beloved, the rival. The leading poets were
Jose Corazon de Jesus (Huseng Sisiw) and Francisco Balagtas. Some secular poets who wrote

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in this same tradition were Leona Florentino, Jacinto Kawili, Isabelo de los Reyes and Rafael
Gandioco.
Another popular secular poetry is the metrical romance, the awit and korido in Tagalog.
The awit is set in dodecasyllabic quatrains while the korido is in octosyllabic quatrains. These are
colorful tales of chivalry from European sources made for singing and chanting such as Gonzalo
de Cordoba (Gonzalo of Cordoba) and Ibong Adarna (Adarna Bird). There are numerous metrical
romances in Tagalog, Bicol, Ilongo, Pampango, Ilocano and in Pangasinan. The awit as a popular
poetic genre reached new heights in Balagtas’ “Florante at Laura” (ca. 1838-1861), the most
famous of the country’s metrical romances.
Again, the winds of change began to blow in 19th century Philippines. Filipino intellectuals
educated in Europe called ilustrados began to write about the downside of colonization. This,
coupled with the simmering calls for reforms by the masses gathered a formidable force of writers
like Jose Rizal, Marcelo H. del Pilar, Mariano Ponce, Emilio Jacinto and Andres Bonifacio.
This led to the formation of the Propaganda Movement where prose works such as the
political essays and Rizal’s two political novels, Noli Me Tangere and the El filibusterismo helped
usher in the Philippine revolution resulting in the downfall of the Spanish regime, and, at the same
time planted the seeds of a national consciousness among Filipinos.
But if Rizal’s novels are political, the novel Ninay (1885) by Pedro Paterno is largely
cultural and is considered the first Filipino novel. Although Paterno’s Ninay gave impetus to other
novelists like Jesus Balmori and Antonio M. Abad to continue writing in Spanish, this did not
flourish.
Other Filipino writers published the essay and short fiction in Spanish in La Vanguardia, El
Debate,Renacimiento Filipino, and Nueva Era. The more notable essayists and fictionists were
Claro M. Recto, Teodoro M. Kalaw, Epifanio de los Reyes, Vicente Sotto, Trinidad Pardo de
Tavera, Rafael Palma, Enrique Laygo (Caretas or Masks, 1925) and Balmori who mastered
the prosa romantica or romantic prose.
But the introduction of English as medium of instruction in the Philippines hastened the
demise of Spanish so that by the 1930s, English writing had overtaken Spanish writing. During
the language’s death throes, however, writing in the romantic tradition, from the awit and korido,
would continue in the novels of Magdalena Jalandoni. But patriotic writing continued under the
new colonialists. These appeared in the vernacular poems and modern adaptations of works
during the Spanish period and which further maintained the Spanish tradition.

The American Colonial Period

A new set of colonizers brought about new

changes in Philippine literature. New literary forms such
as free verse [in poetry], the modern short story and the
critical essay were introduced. American influence was
deeply entrenched with the firm establishment of
English as the medium of instruction in all schools and
with literary modernism that highlighted the writer’s
individuality and cultivated consciousness of craft,
sometimes at the expense of social consciousness.

The poet, and later, National Artist for

Literature, Jose Garcia Villa used free verse and
espoused the dictum, “Art for art’s sake” to the chagrin of other writers more concerned with the
utilitarian aspect of literature. Another maverick in poetry who used free verse and talked about
illicit love in her poetry was Angela Manalang Gloria, a woman poet described as ahead of her

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time. Despite the threat of censorship by the new dispensation, more writers turned up “seditious
works” and popular writing in the native languages bloomed through the weekly outlets like
Liwayway and Bisaya.
The Balagtas tradition persisted until the poet Alejandro G. Abadilla advocated modernism
in poetry. Abadilla later influenced young poets who wrote modern verses in the 1960s such as
Virgilio S. Almario, Pedro I. Ricarte and Rolando S. Tinio.
While the early Filipino poets grappled with the verities of the new language, Filipinos
seemed to have taken easily to the modern short story as published in the Philippines Free Press,
the College Folio and Philippines Herald. Paz Marquez Benitez’s “Dead Stars” published in 1925
was the first successful short story in English written by a Filipino. Later on, Arturo B. Rotor and
Manuel E. Arguilla showed exceptional skills with the short story.
Alongside this development, writers in the vernaculars continued to write in the provinces.
Others like Lope K. Santos, Valeriano Hernandez Peña and Patricio Mariano were writing minimal
narratives similar to the early Tagalog short fiction called dali or pasingaw (sketch).
The romantic tradition was fused with American pop culture or European influences in the
adaptations of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Tarzan by F. P. Boquecosa who also penned Ang Palad ni
Pepe after Charles Dicken’sDavid Copperfield even as the realist tradition was kept alive in the
novels by Lope K. Santos and Faustino Aguilar, among others.
It should be noted that if there was a dearth of the Filipino novel in English, the novel in
the vernaculars continued to be written and serialized in weekly magazines like Liwayway, Bisaya,
Hiligaynon and Bannawag.
The essay in English became a potent medium from the 1920’s to the present. Some
leading essayists were journalists like Carlos P. Romulo, Jorge Bocobo, Pura Santillan Castrence,
etc. who wrote formal to humorous to informal essays for the delectation by Filipinos.
Among those who wrote criticism developed during the American period were Ignacio
Manlapaz, Leopoldo Yabes and I.V. Mallari. But it was Salvador P. Lopez’s criticism that grabbed
attention when he won the Commonwealth Literay Award for the essay in 1940 with his “Literature
and Society.” This essay posited that art must have substance and that Villa’s adherence to “Art
for Art’s Sake” is decadent.
The last throes of American colonialism saw the flourishing of Philippine literature in
English at the same time, with the introduction of the New Critical aesthetics, made writers pay
close attention to craft and “indirectly engendered a disparaging attitude” towards vernacular
writings — a tension that would recur in the contemporary period.

The Contemporary Period

The flowering of Philippine literature in the various languages continue especially with
the appearance of new publications after the Martial Law years and the resurgence of committed
literature in the 1960s and the 1970s.

Filipino writers continue to

write poetry, short stories, novellas,
novels and essays whether these are
socially committed, gender/ethnic related
or are personal in intention or not.

Of course the Filipino writer

has become more conscious of his art
with the proliferation of writers workshops
here and abroad and the bulk of literature

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available to him via the mass media including the internet. The various literary awards such as
the Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature, the Philippines Free Press, Philippine
Graphic, Home Life and Panorama literary awards encourage him to compete with his peers and
hope that his creative efforts will be rewarded in the long run.

With the new requirement by the Commission on Higher Education of teaching of Philippine
Literature in all tertiary schools in the country emphasizing the teaching of the vernacular literature
or literatures of the regions, the audience for Filipino writers is virtually assured. And, perhaps, a
national literature finding its niche among the literatures of the world will not be far behind.

Chart of Literary Genres and Subgenres:

All
Fiction
Drama

Stories composed in verse or prose, usually for

theatrical performance, where conflicts and emotion
are expressed through dialogue and action.

Fable

Narration demonstrating a useful truth, especially in

which animals speak as humans; legendary,
supernatural tale.

Fairy Tale

Story about fairies or other magical creatures, usually for children.

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Fantasy

Fiction with strange or other worldly settings or characters; fiction which invites suspension of
reality.

Fiction

Narrative literary works whose content is produced by the imagination and is not necessarily
based on fact.

Fiction in Verse

Full-length novels with plot, subplot(s), theme(s), major and minor characters, in which the
narrative is presented in (usually blank) verse form.

Folklore

The songs, stories, myths, and proverbs of a people or "folk" as handed down by word of mouth.

Historical Fiction

Story with fictional characters and events in a historical setting.

Horror

Fiction in which events evoke a feeling of dread in both the characters and the reader.

Humor

Fiction full of fun, fancy, and excitement, meant to entertain; but can be contained in all genres

Legend

Story, sometimes of a national or folk hero, which has a basis in fact but also includes imaginative
material.

Mystery

Fiction dealing with the solution of a crime or the unraveling of secrets.

Mythology

Legend or traditional narrative, often based in part on historical events, that reveals human
behavior and natural phenomena by its symbolism; often pertaining to the actions of the gods.

Poetry

Verse and rhythmic writing with imagery that creates emotional responses.

Realistic Fiction
Story that can actually happen and is true to life.

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Science Fiction
Story based on impact of actual, imagined, or potential science, usually set in the future or on
other planets.

Short Story
Fiction of such brevity that it supports no subplots.

Tall Tale
Humorous story with blatant exaggerations, swaggering heroes who do the impossible with non-
chalance.
All Nonfiction

Biography/Autobiography
Narrative of a person's life, a true story about a real
person.

Essay
A short literary composition that reflects the author's
outlook or point.

Narrative Nonfiction
Factual information presented in a format which tells a
story.

Nonfiction
Informational text dealing with an actual, real-life subject.

Speech
Public address or discourse.

Elements of a Short Story

What Is a Short Story?

A short story is a work of short, narrative prose that is usually centered around one single
event. It is limited in scope and has an introduction, body and conclusion. Although a short story
has much in common with a novel, it is written with much greater precision. Any time you are
asked to write an essay that is based on a piece of fiction, the following guide and questions may
help you.
Once you examine these narrative elements, you want to look for PATTERNS, or
MOTIFS, in the work. Pay attention to words & images that are related.
Setting
Setting is a description of where and when the story takes place. In a short story there are
fewer settings compared to a novel. The time is more limited. Ask yourself the following questions:
 How is the setting created? Consider geography, weather, time of day, social conditions,
etc.

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  What role does setting play in the story? Is it an important part of the plot or theme? Or is
it just a backdrop against which the action takes place?
 Does the setting change? If so, how?

Study the time period, which is also part of the setting, and ask yourself the following:
 When was the story written?
 Does it take place in the present, the past, or the future?
 How does the time period affect the language, atmosphere or social circumstances of the
short story?
Characterization
Characterization deals with how the characters in the story are described. In short stories
there are usually fewer characters compared to a novel. They usually focus on one central
character or protagonist. Ask yourself the following:
 Who is the main character?
 Who or what is the antagonist?
 Are the main character and other characters described through dialogue – by the way they
speak (dialect or slang for instance)?
 Has the author described the characters by physical appearance, thoughts and feelings,
and interaction (the way they act towards others)?
 Are they static characters who do not change?
 Are they dynamic characters who change?
 What type of characters are they? What qualities stand out? Are they stereotypes?
 Are the characters believable?
 Do the characters symbolize something?
Plot and Structure
The plot is the main sequence of events that make up the story. In short stories the plot is
usually centered around one experience or significant moment. Consider the following questions:
 What is the most important event?
 How is the plot structured? Is it linear, chronological or does it moves around?
 Is the plot believable?

CONFLICT: Conflict or tension is usually the heart of the short story and is related to the main
character. In a short story there is usually one main struggle.

 How would you describe the main conflict?

 Is it an internal conflict within the character?
 Is it an external conflict caused by the surroundings or environment the main character finds
him/her in?
CLIMAX: The climax is the point of greatest tension or intensity in the short story. It can also be
the point where events take a major turn as the story races towards its conclusion.

 When does the climax take place?

RESOLUTION: The resolution is the end of the story. It focuses on how the conflict is ultimately
resolved.
Are the closing sentences significant? How does the end relate or connect to the
opening?

Narrator and Point of View

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 The narrator is the person telling the story. Consider this question: Are the narrator and
the main character the same?
By point of view we mean from whose eyes the story is being told. Short stories tend to
be told through one character’s point of view. The following are important questions to consider:

 Who is the narrator or speaker in the story?

 Does the author speak through the main character?
 Is the story written in the first person “I” point of view?
 Is the story written in a detached third person “he/she” point of view?
 Is there an “all-knowing” third person who can reveal what all the characters are thinking
and doing at all times and in all places?
 Is the narrator trustworthy?
Style
The author’s style has to do with his or her vocabulary, use of imagery, tone, or the feeling
of the story. It has to do with the author’s attitude toward the subject. In some short stories the
tone can be ironic, humorous, cold, or dramatic.
 Is the author’s language full of figurative language: metaphors, symbols, personification,
etc.?
 What images are used?
 What is the tone or mood of the story?

Theme
The theme is built on a topic, such as death, hope, the American dream, etc. and how the
topic affects the human condition, society, or life. As a reader, focus on what the story
is revealing about the topic. The theme should be expressed as a statement, a general
observation about human nature.

To help you write a thematic statement, consider the following:

1. What is the story about – its general topic(s) (IE: money, wealth, death, etc.)?
2. How is the topic developed? (Consider how characters change, symbols, climax, etc.)
3. Do you notice any patterns in imagery, diction, etc.?
4. Does the title have any significance?
5. Does the narrator or character include any statement(s) that reveals a theme or
observation?

What a theme is NOT:

 a word or phrase (topic or subject)
 a command
 a judgment

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Prepared by:

JEFFREY L. METRILLO
Instructor 1

Checked by:

CAMELO A. OBVIAR MENCHIE M. PASIA EVANGELINE O. CASTRO

Chairman Member Member

College of Computer Studies Module Editing Committee for General Education Subjects

Recommending Approval:

ROBIN V. FETALVO, Ph. D.

Dean
College of Computer Studies

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