I. INTRODUCTION

The word literature is derived from the Latin term litera which means letter.

Philippine literature is the body of works, both oral and written, that Filipinos wether native, naturalized or foreign born have created about the experience of people living in or relating the Philippine society.
Brother Azurin, said that “literature expresses the feelings of people to society, to the government, to his surroundings, to his fellowmen and to his Divine Creator.”
For Webster, literature is anything that is printed, as long as it is related to the ideas and feelings of people, whether it is true, or just a product of one’s imagination.
Philippine literature is the literature associated with the Philippines and includes the legends of prehistory, and the colonial legacy of the Philippines, written in both Indigenous, and Hispanic languages. Most of the notable literature of the Philippines was written during the Spanish period and the first half of the 20th century in Spanish language. Philippine literature is written in Spanish, English, Tagalog, and other native Philippine languages.

Literature deals with ideas, thoughts and emotions of man, literature can be said to be the story of man. Man’s loves, griefs, thoughts, dreams and aspirations coached in beautiful language is literature.
Why Do We
Need to Study
Philippine Literature?
We study literature so that we can better appreciate our literary heritage.

Through a study of our literature, we can trace the rich heritage of ideas handed down to us from our forefathers.

By the help of our literature we can understand ourselves better and take pride in being a Filipino.
Through such a study, we will realize our literary limitations conditioned by certain historical factors and we can take steps to overcome them.

Above all, as Filipinos, who truly love and take pride in our own culture, we have to manifest our deep concern for our own literature and this we can do by studying the literature of our country.
Literature and History

Literature and history are closely interrelated. In discovering the history of a race, the feelings, aspirations, customs and traditions of a people are sure to be included . . . and these feelings, aspirations, customs and traditions that are written is literature. History can also be written and this too, is literature. Events that can be written down are part of true literature. Literature, therefore, is part of history.





Literature and history, however, also have differences. Literature may be figments of the imagination or events devoid of truth that have been written down, while history is made up of events that really happened.
General Types of Literature
Literature can generally be divided into two types; prose and poetry.
Prose consists of those written within the common flow of conversation in sentences and paragraphs,
While poetry refers to those expressions in verse, with measure and rhyme, line and stanza and has a more melodious tone.

Different Types of Prose
a. Novels. A long narrative divided into chapters and events are taken from true-to-life stories.
b. Short story. This is a narrative involving one or more characters, one plot and one single impression.
c. Plays. This is presented on a stage, is divided into acts and each act has many scenes.

d. Legends. These are fictitious narratives, usually about origins.
e. Fables. These are also fictitious and they deal with animals and inanimate things who speak and act like people and their purpose is to enlighten the minds of children to events that can mold their ways and attitudes.


f. Anecdotes. These are merely products of the writer’s imagination and the main aim is to bring out lessons to the reader.

g. Essay. This expresses the viewpoint or opinion of the writer about a particular problem or event. The best example of this is the Editorial page of a newspaper.


h. Biography. This deals with the life of a person which may be about himself, his autobiography or that of others.

i. News. This is a report of everyday events in society, government, science and industry, and accidents, happening nationally or not.

j. Oration. This is a formal treatment of a subject and is intended to be spoken in public. It appeals to the intellect, to the will or to the emotions of the audience.



Different Types of Poetry
Narrative Poetry. This form describes important events in life either real or imaginary.

Lyric Poetry. Originally, this refers to a kind of poetry that is meant to be sung to the accompaniment of a lyre, but now, this applies to any type of poetry that expresses emotions and feelings of the poet. They are usually short, simple and easy to understand.
Dramatic Poetry. Known as dramatic verse or verse drama, is a written work that both tells a story and connects the reader to an audience through emotions or behavior.

Prepared By:

Jet Christian C. Reyta

The history of a nation can be learned in its constitution, its laws and its political statements. But to know the history of a nation’s spirit, you must read its literature. For in literature you can discover how the people of a nation have reacted to the events around them. In the stories, essays and poems contained in this volume, you will read the dreams, anxieties, joys and problems of the Filipino in the past seventy-five years. By reading this development of Philippine Literature you will review what has happened to the Filipino since 1900.

But literature offers much more than a mere personalized history. For an important quality of art is to share with others the intense realization of a human experience. Through this sharing, you may recognize your own experiences. You may learn what you are or how you have become what you are. You may even learn what you might be in the future. Philippine literature shows you how the Filipino differs from others. Yet in a sense the Filipino writer is linked with all the other writers of the world. For in explaining or questioning human experience, writers are never alone. Philippine Literature in English is really a part of the literatures of the world.

A further quality of literature is that the expressions used should be memorable. The language should be clear and forceful so that the ideas strike the reader with almost the same force with which they struck the writer. The early Filipino writers had difficulty in expressing themselves since English was a language new to them. The marvel is that they learned this language so quickly and with such facility.

Philippine literature in English reveals the spirit of the Filipino. Gradually this literature has learned to express the deepest of human experiences in words that create memorable images. You may divide Philippine Literature in English into many types and numerous periods. But for our purposes, we shall consider three stages through which the literature has passed. The Philippine literature, it is important because by this we can preserve the literatures we have today. If no one would introduce or explain it to the up coming generations it would not exist in the next generation.