LIT 221 LES.

ABOUT LITERATURE
Definition

The word literature comes from “litera”, a Latin word which in English means letter. It has been defined
differently by various writers. As a body of literary products, it may be oral, written, or visual, which
contain imaginative language to portray realistically thoughts, emotions, and experiences of people. As a
product of one’s culture, literature concretizes the values, emotions, actions, and ideas of men. It uses
language that stimulates insight and intellect of readers as well as making them discover the beauty of
language. Filipino authors Atienza, Ramos, Salazar and Nazal in their Panitikang Pilipino wrote “true
literature is a piece of written work which is undying. It expresses the feelings and emotions of people in
response to his everyday efforts to live, to be happy in his environment and, after struggles, to reach his
Creator.”

Literary Standards

Literature possesses distinct qualities that makes it separate from others. These are:

1. Universality – appeals to everyone regardless of culture, race, sex and time.

2. Artistry – has an aesthetic appeal.
3. Intellectual value – stimulates critical thinking that in turn enriches the process of abstraction and
reason that makes man realize the fundamental truth about life.
4. Suggestiveness –appeals to the emotional power of man to define symbolisms, nuances, implied
meanings, images, and messages that will give and evoke their visions beyond the plane of
ordinary life and experience.
5. Spiritual value – elevates the spirit and the soul giving literature the power to motivate and
inspire.
6. Permanence – endures time and draws factors of time like timeliness (occurring at a particular
time) and timelessness (remaining invariable through time).
7. Style – presents peculiar ways on how man sees life reflected on his ideas and expressions.

Classification of Literature (Structure, Form, Genre)

There are different classifications of literature according to its usage. Some of the classifications are:

1. Structure
 Fiction – an imaginative narration, either oral or written which purpose is to entertain and to
stimulate the mind and feelings of the readers
 Non-Fiction – a “real life” narration or exposition based on history and facts and which purpose
is an intellectual appeal to convey facts, theories, generalizations, or concept about the topic
written.
2. Form
 Prose – spoken or written within the common flow of language in sentences and paragraphs
 Poetry – expressed in verse, measure, rhythm, sound, and imaginative language

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3. Genre
 Fiction – a narrative in prose showing an imaginative recreation and reconstruction of life. It
presents life in two levels: the world of objective reality and the world of subjective reality.
The first one is made up of human actions and experiences while the latter is dealing with
human apprehension and comprehension categorized either as novel or short story.
 Poetry – a patterned form of verbal or written expression of ideas in concentrated,
imaginative, and rhythmical terms that often contain the elements of sense, sound, and
structure.
 Essay – a prose composition in moderate length that presents exploration or evaluation of a
topic, thus, explaining a viewpoint.
 Drama – a composition in prose form that presents story told entirely in dialogue and action
intended to be performed before an audience.

LITERARY GENRES
(Fiction, Poetry, Essay, and Drama)
FICTION

Fiction is unrealistic as it is not presented as objectively as possible, making the readers to be transported
in the world of make-believe. Readers are assumed to see real life characters playing roles similar to the
circumstances and environment they are in.

Elements of Fiction (Setting, Characters, Plot, Point of View, and Theme)

a. Setting – the time and place in which the events of a story happen (consists also of distinctive ways
of thoughts, behavior, local color, dialect, custom)
b. Characters – the representations of the human beings in a story which are a complex combination
of the inner and outer self

Ways of revealing characters: They are revealed according to:

 Actions of the characters

 Thoughts of the characters
 Descriptions of the characters
 Descriptions of other characters
 Descriptions of the author

Kinds of character

According to Principality:Protagonist is the character with whom readers empathize.

Antagonist is the character that goes against the protagonist.
According to Development: Dynamic character exhibits noticeable development.
Static character exhibits no changes and development.
According to Personality: Round character displays different personalities throughout.
Flat character reveals conventional traits remaining the same.

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c. Plot – the sequence of events in the story, arranged and linked by causality.

Kinds of Plot

 Linear Plot moves with the natural sequence of events where the arrangement of events
is sequential. “The Old Man and the Sea” (1952) by Ernest Hemingway, a novel, is an
example. The story follows the sequence of Santiago’s (the old man) journey out to
sea, to his struggle with the marlin, up to his return to his home.
 Circular Plot is where the linear development of a story merges with an interruption in the
chronological order to show an event that happened in the past. Novels with film
adaptation use circular storytelling. Examples are Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
and The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis.
 En Medias Res is a kind of plot where the story commences in the middle part. An
example is The Iliad by Homer that begins dramatically with the quarrel between
Achilles and Agamemnon during the Trojan War.

Parts of a Plot

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The Parts of a Plot are:

 Exposition: “What is the setting in the beginning of the story?”, “Who are the main
characters at the beginning of the story?” It sets the scene by introducing the
situation and settings and lays out the characters by introducing their environment,
characteristics, pursuit, potentials, and limitations.
 Complications: “What events happen after the exposition that gives problem?” It is the
start of the major conflict or problem in the plot.
 Crisis: “What events happen after the exposition and before the climax?” It is the part
that establishes curiosity, uncertainty, and tension. It requires a decision.
 Climax: “When does the main character face the problem?” This is the turning point of
the story when things will never be the same for the character. It is the peak of the
story which leads to an affirmation. A decision, an action, or even a realization. This
is the point of greatest emotional intensity, interest, and suspense.
 Denouement: “What happens immediately after the climax?” It is the finishing of things
right after the climax, and shows the resolution of the plot.
 Ending: “What happens at the very end of the story?” It is the part that brings the story
back to its equilibrium.

Literary Devices

 Flashback is the use of interruption of the writer of the chronological sequence of a story
to go back to related incident which occurred in the past.
 Foreshadowing is the use of the hints or clues of the writer to indicate events that will
occur later in the story. This is a technique that creates suspense and prepares the
reader for what is to come.

Conflict as Part of the Plot

Conflict is the opposition of persons or forces in a story that give rise to the dramatic action.
The opposition builds tension, predicament, or challenge that propels the plot of the story.

Types of Conflict

 Person vs. Person – a character has a problem with one or more of the other characters.
Examples: In The Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen must go up against other
contestants in order to survive – her vs. them. In The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy faces off
against the Wicked Witch. Murder mysteries with the investigator vs. murderer also
are person vs. person stories
 Person vs. Society – a character has a conflict with some element of society (school, law,
accepted way of doing things, etc.)
Examples: Atticus Finch opposed his racist community in Harper Lee’s To Kill a
Mockingbird. Wilbur fights for his survival against a society that eats pigs in Charlotte’s
Web. In Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, the society treats women as
property of the state.

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 Person vs. Self – a character has trouble deciding what to do in a particular situation.
Examples: Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games must reconcile her need to survive
in the battle arena with her desire not to kill another human being. Daniel Scott
Keyes's short story Flowers for Algernon has a main character struggling with losing his
intelligence to a congenital mental disability, with the focus on the character’s feelings
about his circumstances: the conflict between his intellect and emotion are central
 Person vs. Nature – a character has a problem with some natural happening (snowstorm,
avalanche, or any element common to nature)
Examples: Ernest Hemingway’s Old Man and the Sea is a classic example. In Life of Pi,
the protagonist must face a tiger trapped in the boat with him. The drought is a
formidable opposition in John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath, as is the setting in Cormac
McCarthy’s The Road.
 Person vs. Fate – a character battles with what seems to be uncontrollable problem.
Examples: Although Star Wars contains plenty of external conflicts, a major part of the
storyline is Luke’s destiny to become a Jedi Master. In The Odyssey, Odysseus
encounters all sorts of mystical creatures. Fate has made Frodo the ring-bearer in Lord
of the Rings.

d. Point of View – determines who tells the story.

Types of Point of View

 First person point of view – the narrator is the main or minor character who uses the
pronoun “I” to express his own views and tells the story in his own words.
Example: Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, narrated by main character Offred:
I want to be held and told my name. I want to be valued, in ways that I am not; I
want to be more than valuable. I repeat my former name; remind myself of what
I once could do, how others saw me. I want to steal something…

 Third person omniscient point of view – the narrator that tells the story from an all-
knowing point of view that makes him seem seeing the mind of all the characters.
Example: Lord of the Flies by William Golding is an example of a third-person omniscient
narrative. The narrator is not a character, so they can tell the reader what the boys on the
island are thinking and feeling at any moment.
The fair boy said this solemnly; but then the delight of a realized ambition
overcame him. In the middle of the scar he stood on his head and grinned at the
reversed fat boy.
“No grownups!”

 Third person limited point of view – has a narrator that tell only what he can see or hear
“inside the world” of the story. He is otherwise known as “camera technique narrator” as
he does not reveal what the characters are thinking and feeling.
Example: George Orwell’s 1984 is a famous third-person limited book. It follows
protagonist Winston Smith, and though there are many characters, the narrator never
discloses their thoughts.

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What can you do, thought Winston, against the lunatic who is more intelligent
than yourself, who gives your arguments a fair hearing and then simply persists
in his lunacy?

 Third person central point of view – has a narrator that limits narration to what the central
character thinks, feels, does, and what and whom the central character observes.

 Third person editorial point of view – has a narrator that comments on the action by telling
the readers its significance or evaluating the behavior of the characters.

e. Theme – the significant truth about life and its nature which takes place in the illustrations of the
action, preoccupations, and decisions of the characters. It may be about love and sacrifice, a hero’s
journey, war and peace, coming of age, courage, death and dying, friendship, power of love, etc.

POETRY

Poetry is considered as the most difficult and most sophisticated of all literary genres. One of its distinct
characteristics is that it is briefly written but it suggests many connotations. It is more musical if to be
compared to the other literary forms.

Elements of Poetry (A. Sense, B. Sound, and C. Structure)

A. Sense of the Poem (Denotation vs. Connotation, Imagery, Figurative Language)

1. Denotation vs. Connotation. The dictionary meaning of the word is the denotation while the
suggested or implied meaning associated with the word is the connotation.
2. Imagery. It is known as the senses of the mind as it is using sensory details or descriptions that
appeal to one or more of the five senses: sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell.
3. Figurative language. It is a language for descriptive effect in order to convey ideas or emotions
which are not literally true but express some truth beyond the literal level. Figures of speech are
a kind of figurative language that uses words, phrases, and sentences in a non-literal definition
but gives meaning in abstractions.

Types of Figure of Speech:

1. Allusion is a reference in a work of literature to a character, a place, or a situation from history,

literature, the Bible, mythology, scientific even, character, or place. Example: …as you scribe:
Antonio Pigafetta annotating the progress of our journey inside… *Your Name by R. S. Galan

2. Antithesis is a disparity of words or ideas. Example: It is virtually a sea but dry like a heart…
*Lahar on My Mind byu Mike Maniquiz

3. Apostrophe is an address to an inanimate object, an idea, or a person who is absent or long

dead. Example: For what were you before the birth of the daystar, O my soul where were
you… *Fragments: The Deserts of God by Leonides Benesa

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4. Hyperbole is an exaggeration used to express strong emotion, to make a point, or to evoke

humor. Example: This heat, I mutter, melts the very bones
*Young Man in a Jeepney by Merlie Alunan

5. Irony is a contrast or discrepancy between appearance and reality. Example: …for, though it
gives him life, it is dragging him nearer his grave. *The Man by J. de Atayde

6. Litotes is a deliberate sarcasm used to affirm by negating its opposite. Example: Even in his
plain dress, I find him not at all displeasing. *Anonymous

7. Metaphor implies comparison instead of a direct statement and that equates two seemingly
unlike things or ideas. Example: Juliet is the sun. *Romeo and Juliet by W. Shakespeare

8. Metonymy is the use of a word for one thing to refer to something related to that thing.
Example: To say that the crown will have an heir… (for king etc.) *Anonymous

9. Onomatopoeia is the use of a word or phrase that actually imitates or suggests the sound of
what it describes. Example: Oh, the bells, bells, bells! What a tale their terror tells of despair…
*The Bells by Edgar Allan Poe

10. Oxymoron is putting together two opposite ideas in one statement. Example: It is futile to
ask for guidance or direction in this unmappable landscape…*Strum and Drug by Francis Santos

11. Paradox is a phrase or statement that seems to be impossible or contradictory but it is

nevertheless true, literally or figuratively. Example: This shows the absolute necessity of what
has “no use.” *The Useless by Chuang Tzu

11. Personification is giving human attributes to inanimate objects, an animal, force of nature, or
an idea. Example: Sunflowers pushed out of the shadows…*Assylum Flowers by R. T. Torrevillas

13. Simile uses a word or phrase such as “as” or “like” to compare unlike things or ideas. Example:
His lips as soft as rose petals… *The One I Love by Judi Anro Dizon

14. Synecdoche is the naming of parts to suggest the whole. Example: Respect is due for snowy
hair life they lived is beyond compare (elder people). *Anonymous

B. Sound of a Poem (1. Tone, 2. Rhythm, and 3. Meter)

1. Tone Color is achieved through repetition.

a. Repetition of a Single Sound

 Alliteration – repetition of similar and accented sound at the beginning of the words.
Example: In a summer season, when soft was the sun *Pierce Plowman

 Assonance – repetition of similar accented vowel sounds. Example: Thou still

unravished bride of quietness, Thou foster child of silence and slow time
*Ode on a Grecian Um

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 Consonance – repetition of similar consonant sounds within or at the end of words.

Example: “Out of this house” – said rider to reader, “Yours never will” – said farer to
fearer, “They’re looking for you” – said hearer to horror… *O Where Are You Going?

 Rhyme – is the repetition of the same stressed vowel sounds and any succeeding
sounds in two or more words. Internal rhyme is a type of rhyme found within the line
whereas terminal rhyme has the rhyme at the end of the line. Example: I think that I
shall never see, A poem as lovely as a tree. *Trees

b. Repetition of Words. Example: My dreams are dreams of thee, fair maid. *Rural Maid

c. Repetition of Sentences or Phrases. Example: I dream that one day our voices will be
heard. I dream that one day our hope becomes worth. *Paraiso

2. Rhythm is the pattern of beats created by the arrangement of stressed and unstressed syllables
which gives musical quality and adds emphasis to certain words and thus helps convey the
meaning of the poem.

3. Meter is a regular recurrence of stressed and unstressed syllables that five a line a more
predictable rhythm. Its unit of measure is termed as “foot” which usually contains an accented
syllable and one or two unaccented syllables.

C. Structure of the Poem is the manner in which words are arranged and parts are organized to form a
whole poem.

1. Words and its order is the grouping and choosing of words in verses where poets arrange them
in the unnatural order to achieve an effect.

2. Syntax is an effect achieved where words are fractured to have a desired effect.

3. Ellipsis is the omission of words or several words that clearly identify the understanding of an
expression.

4. Punctuation is the use of meaningful symbols that helps provide meaning clues.

Structure also refers to the way the poem is organized. This corresponds to the types of poetry.

Types of Poetry

 Narrative poem is a poem that tells a story. Epic is a long narrative poem that deals with
the life and heroism of a hero. Examples are Iliad and Odyssey (Greece), Ramayana and
Mahabharata (India), El Cid (Spain), Hinilawod (Panay, Philippines)

 Lyric poem is descriptive or expository in nature where the poet is concerned with
presenting a scene in words, conveying sensory richness of his subject, ideas, or emotion.
It is taken from the word lyre, thus, this poem is intended to be sung. An example is Sonnet
18 by W. Shakespeare.

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 Dramatic poem is a poem where a story is told through the verse dialogue of the characters
and a narrator. Examples are “Paradise Lost” by John Milton and “My Last Duchess” by
Robert Browning.

ESSAY

Essay comes from “essai”, a French word, which means trial or test. It explains a provisional exploration
of a subject and likewise gives details, point of view, or anything that can be said on a particular subject.
Its purpose is to explain a thought, a theory, an inkling, or a standpoint.

Elements of Essay

a. Idea explores the general proposition or thesis that the essay argues about. It may be spelled out at
the start or revealed gradually. It should be true but arguable and limited enough in scope.
b. Motive identifies the reason for writing and is suggested at the start of the essay. It establishes the
reason why the writer has thought of the topic.
c. Structure forms the shape of the ideas, the sequence of sub-topics and sections through which the
ideas are unfolded and developed. This takes place through convincing the reader and exploring
the topic.
d. Evidences identify the facts or details, summarized or quotes that one uses to support, demonstrate,
and prove the main idea and sub ideas. They are ample, concrete and connected to the idea.
e. Explanations are bits of background information, summary, context to orient the readers who are not
familiar with the text being discussed.
f. Coherence shapes the smooth flow of argument created by transition sentences that show how the
next paragraph or section follows from the preceding one that sustains the momentum.
g. Implication contextualizes the author’s findings. They explain why the information the author has
provided in a supporting detail is relevant, and they remind the reader of the central thesis of
the essay and of the main ideas of that particular body paragraph.
h. Presence points out the sensation of life in writing, of a mind invested in and focused on a subject,
freely directing and developing the essay, not surrendering control to easy ideas out of laziness
or fear, sentiments, or stock phrases.

General Types of Essay

a. Strict or Impersonal deals with serious topics that are authoritative or scholarly that can reveal the
writer’s mastery of the subject. Its characteristics are detached, objective, clear, and
straightforward.
b. Casual or Familiar deals with light, ordinary, eve common place subjects in a language that is bubbling,
casual, conversational, friendly, often humorous, and appeals more to the emotion that the
intellect.

Basic Parts of Essay

a. Introduction hints or relates to the main idea.

b. Main body presents the discussion and illustration of the main ideas raised.
c. Conclusion presents the generalization or insight of the essay.

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Major Patterns

a. Inductive pattern presents ideas from specific points leading to a general principle or thesis.
b. Deductive pattern develops ideas from general hypothesis to particular or specific proofs that lead to
a definite ending or conclusion.

DRAMA

Drama is a composition in prose form that presents a story told entirely in dialogue and action. It is written
with the intention to be performed before an audience. It has a two-fold nature: literature and theater.

Elements of Drama

A. Setting identifies the time and place in which the events occur. It consists of historical period, the
moment, day and season, and scenery found in the preliminary descriptions.

B. Characters are the people in the play who are the principal material in a drama.
Character Aspects

1. Physical – the age, sexual category, size, race, and color; deals with the external attributes
envisaged from the playwright’s description or from what the characters say

2. Social – character’s world or environment, economic status, occupation, familial affiliation

3. Psychological – habitual responses, attitudes, longings, likes, dislikes

4. Moral – decisions of the characters either socially acceptable or not, intentions that project
what is upright or not
C. Plot lays out the series of events that form the entire play. It is the framework which brings the events
to a cohesive form and sense.

Types of Plot

1. Natural Plot is a chronological sequence of events’ arrangement where actions continuously

takes place as an end-result of the previous action.

2. Episodic Plot is made up of series of episodes where the story builds up and characters
interrelate cohesively as the theme develop. Each episode independently comprises a
setting, climax, and resolution, thus, a full story in itself is formed.

D. Theme is considered as the unifying element that defines the dramatized ideas of the play. It is the
over-all sense of implication of the action. It defines the problem, emphasizes the ethical judgment
and suggests attitude or course of action that eliminates the crisis in an acceptable way. Some
examples of themes in drama are love, redemption, forgiveness, revenge, good vs. evil, survival, etc.
One theme of Hamlet is uncertainty, for example, while Ridley Scott's Blade Runner explores what it
means to be human.

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E. Style refers to the mode of expression or presentation of the play which pints out the playwright’s
position or viewpoint in life.

Major Dramatic Attitude:

1. Realism is an accurate, detailed, and life-like description in a play where things are
presented as real as can be set in actual life, with dialogues that sound like day-to-day
conversation. Examples: A Doll's House by Henry Ibsen (1879), The Cherry Orchard by Anton
Chekhov (1903), A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams (1947)

2. Non-realism is a method of presentation identified as something stylized or theatricalized.

Drama in a non-realistic style can include *dramatic action that looks like exaggerated
characterization shown in language, voice, and movement; *the use of mask and non-
realistic costumes; *direct address where the character speaks directly to the audience;
*movement or mime that can be used at any time to emphasize an important moment or
an important idea; or *singing and dancing that can help to tell stories and create dramatic
meaning.

Types of Drama

1. Tragedy is a play in which the main character is brought to ruin or suffers a great sorrow. It is a play
that has an unhappy ending, usually with the death of the protagonist. The tragic hero is a likeable
character who, due to a certain misfortune or fatal flaw, experiences a downfall that ultimately results
in his death. The downfall of a virtuous and heroic character causes the audience to feel sympathy and
empathy. An example is Shakespeare’s Othello written in 1604. Othello is a noble, honest and valiant
general, is exploited by his traitorous ensign Iago into murdering his wife, Desdemona. Iago
uses Othello’s jealousy and insecurities against him to make him believe that Desdemona is cheating
on him.
2. Comedy is a play that is lighthearted, absurd and humorous and is meant to be entertaining for
audiences. Comedies involve unusual characters who usually get tangled up in unfortunate yet
ridiculous situations. However, comedies are usually resolved with a happy ending. This type of drama
started with Aristotle in ancient Greece in the 4th century BCE. An example is The Simpsons. That had
a 26-year run. Most characters on the show had hilarious characters.
3. Melodrama is a type of play that is sensational, overly dramatic and appeals to the audience's
emotions. The characters in melodramas undergo unrealistic circumstances and experience strong
emotions that are exaggerated. The very first melodrama is that of Jean-Jacques Rousseau's Pygmalion
written in 1770. The protagonist Pygmalion is a sculptor who falls in love with his own sculpture, which
later comes to life.
4. Farce Farce in drama is also often humorous, but its humor depends more on the character's physical
appearance and silly jokes rather than on the storyline. Farce differs from a comedy in that the plot is
primarily illogical, and the occurring events are impossible. Also, the jokes and humor are often crude
and inappropriate for the events where they are employed. For example, Samuel Beckett's theatre
drama Waiting for Godot is a farce performance. The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer is made
up of dozens of characters with their own unique and sometimes extravagant stories, leaving the “plot”
to be lost to some readers and audiences.

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