Philippine

Literature
Prepared by:

Lovelene Chrizze D. Perez

MAENGLS-LL
 What is
Literature?
Literature
 It is a body of work, either
written, oral, or visual, containing
imaginative language that
realistically portrays
thought, emotions, and
experiences of the human
condition.
• A product of particular culture that
concretizes man’s array of
values, emotions, actions and ideas. It is
therefore a creation of human experiences that
tells about people and their world.
Literature

• Is a body of written works.

• Originated from oral traditions.
• Are imaginative works.
• Deals with stories and poetry.
• The content depends on the author.

Three Points of Literature

• Literature portrays human experience.

• Authors interpret these human experiences.
• It is an art form and a style of expression.
Literature
is
LIFE
ignatius joseph n
estroga
 Importance of Literature

• Studying literature is like looking

at the mirror of life where man’s
experiences, his innermost
feelings and thoughts are
reflected.
• Through literature, we learn the
culture of people across time
and space.
 Importance of Literature

• We understand not only the past life

of a nation but also its present.
• Moreover, we become familiar not
only with the culture of neighboring
countries but also with that of
others living very far from us.
Why do we need to study
Philippine Literature?
• To trace the rich heritage of ideas handed
down to us by our forefathers.
• To appreciate our heritage.
• To understand that we have noble traditions
which can serve as the means to assimilate other
cultures.
 The
Three
Literary
Periods
 BC-1564
The
Pre-Colonial
Period
 The Pre-Colonial Period

• This existed before the Spanish occupation

in the 1500s.
• It is oral in nature and is full of lessons and
ideas about life, its blessings, and its
consequences.
• It contains ideas from birth to the grave.
• The oral characteristic of pre-colonial literature gives the possibility
for many alterations.
• In the Philippine context, no matter how it may be considered as
altered, pre-colonial literature is still revered to by many Filipinos.
• The sources are usually the local native town folk.
 Forms
1. Oral Literature 2. Folk Songs
a. Riddles a. Lullabies
b. Proverbs b. Drinking Songs
c. Love Songs
3. Folk Tales d. Songs of Death
a. Myths e. Religious Songs
b. Legends
c. Fables
d. Epics
 Riddles (Mga Bugtong)
• These are statements that contain superficial
words, but they function figuratively and as
metaphors, and are in the form of questions.
• These are questions that demand deeper
answers.
• Deals with everyday life.
• It usually has mundane things as answers.
• This is used in the past as a form of game in
small or large gatherings.
 Examples:

Bisaya

Baboy sa lasang, (A wild pig of the forest,)

Ang tunok puro lansang. (Is covered with spikes.)

Answer: Nangka (Jackfruit)

Meranaw Chabacano

Sominub lawiyan, (It dived,) Tagia que tagia, (You keep on slashing it,)
Mbowat lawitan. (It rose.) Hende ta penetra. (But it does not penetrate)

Answer: Ragum (Needle) Answer: Agua (Water)

 Proverbs (Mga Salawikain)
• These are statements that are considered as
wise.
• These are usually given by parents or elders
of the community.
• There is belief that experience is the best
teacher.
 Examples:

Mandaya on Viriginity

Yang ataog aw madugdug, (An egg once broken,)

Di da mamauli. (Will never be the same.)

Tausug on Secret Affairs Ilocano on Guilt

In lasa iban uba, (Love and cough,) Ti agutak, (He who cackles
Di hikatapuk. (Cannot be hidden.) Isut nagitlog. (Laid the egg.)
Folk Songs

• These are folk lyrics that are usually

chanted.
• These usually contain ideas on
aspirations, hopes, everyday life and
expressions of love for loved ones.
• It is bounded by the learning of good
morals.
• It is easy to undestand because it is
straightforward and not figurative in
nature.
 Forms

• Lullabies- these are locally known as the

Hele. These are sung to put to sleep babies.
The content varies, but usually, parents sing
these with ideas on how hard life is and how
they hope that their child will not
experience the hardships of life.
• Drinking Songs- these are locally known as Tagay and are sung
during drinking sessions.
• Love Songs- to many Filipinos, these
are known as the Harana. It can also be
called Courtship Songs and are used by
young men to capture the heart of the
girl that they love.
• Religious Songs- are songs or chants that are usually given
during exorcisms and thanksgiving during good harvest.
• Songs of Death- are lamentations that contain the roll of
good deeds that the dead has usually done to immortaliz his
or her good image.
Examples:

Lullabies

Ilocano

Maturog, duduayya Go to sleep, dear little one

Maturog kad tay bunga, Will my child please sleep,
Tay lalaki nga napigsa This strong boy
Ta inton dumakkel tay bunga, So when the child grows big
Isunto aya tay mammati He will obey
Tay amon a ibaga me. Everything that we say.
Folk Tales (Mga Kwentong Bayan)

• These are stories of native Filipinos.

• These deal with the power of nature-
personified, their submission to a deity-
usually Bathala- and how this deity is
responsible for the blessings and
calamities.
• These also tackle about irresponsibility, lust, stupidity,
deception, and fallibility that eventually leads to the instilling
of good morals.
Usual Themes:

• Ceremonies needed to appease the

deities.
• Pre and Post apocalypse
• Life and Death
• Gods and Goddesses
• Heroes and Heroines
• Supernatural beings
• Animals
Forms

• Myths- these tackle the natural to

strange occurences of the earth and
how things were created with an aim
to give an explanation to things.

-There is Bathala for the Tagalogs

and the Gueurang for the
Bikolanos.
- Paradise is known as Maca, while
Hell is Kasanaaan
• Legends- through legends, the natives
uderstood mysteries around them. These
stories usually come with a moral lesson that
give credit to supernatural powers,
supernatural occurences, and other out-of-
this-world native imagination.
• Fables- are short or brief stories that cater the children of the native
Filipinos and are usually bounded by good manners and right
conduct. These stories use animals as characters that represent a
particular value or characteristic.
• Epics- are very lengthy narratives that are based on oral traditions.
These contain encounters of fighters, stereotypical princes or heroes
that save a damsel in distress.
Examples:

Myths The Story of Bathala

Ang Pag-aaway ng Dagat at Langit

Legends The Legend of Maria Makiling

The Legend of the Sampaguita

Fables Ang Kuneho at and Pagong

Si Juan Tamad

Epics Hinilawod
Darangen
1521-1898
The
SPANISH
Period
The Spanish Period

• The start of the Philippine's more colorful history

took place in March 6, 1521 when Ferdinand
Magellan docked on the shores of Homonhon.
• The Filipinos were then called “Ladinos”, meaning
they were latinized.
• Filipinos were called two things. One is the “Taga-Bayan”, while the other is
the “Taga-bukid” or “Taga-bundok”.
• A person who is a Taga-bayan is considered urbane and civilized and were in
easy range of the church and state.
• A person who is a Taga-bundok or Taga-bukid is called a Bruto Salvage (Savage
Brute) or Indio and were the ones who lived far from the center of the Spanish
power.
Forms

1. Religious Literature 2. Secular or

Non-Religious Literature

a. Pasyon a. Awit
b. Senakulo b. Korido
c. Komedya c. Prose Narratives

3. Propaganda Literature 4. Revolutionary Literature

 Religious Literature
• Revolves around the life and the death of Jesus
Christ.
Forms of Religious Literature:

Pasyon- it is about the passion (journey and suffering) and the death of Jesus
Christ.

Senakulo- it is the re-enactment of the Pasyon.

Komedya- it depicts the European society through love and fame, but can also
be a narrative about a journey, just like Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy. It is also
considered religous, because it usually depicts the battle between the Christians
and the Saracens or the Moros.
 Secular or Non- Religious Literature

• Revolves around tales of valiance and adventure.

Forms of Secular or Non-Religious Literature:

Awit- these are tales of chivalry where a knight saves a princess. Florante at
Laura is a good example.

Korido- is a metrical tale or a tale that follows the struture of a poem.

Prose Narratives- are easy to understand instructional materials that in a

literary light that teaches Filipinos on proper decorum. Pagsusulatan ng
Dalawang Binibini na si Urbana at Feliza (1864) is a good example.
 Propaganda Literature

• These were in the forms of satires, editorials, and

news articles that aimed to attack the Spanish
Rule.
• The propaganda trinityis composed of Dr.Jose
Rizal, Marcelo H. Del Pilar, and Graciano Lopez
Jaena

Examples:

Graciano Lopez Jaena

Ang Fray Botod- One of his works written in Jaro, Iloilo in 1876, six years after
the Cavite Revolt attacking the friars in the Philippines. He exposed how some of
the friars were greedy, ambitious and immoral.
LA HIJA DEL FRAILE (The Child of the Friar) and
EVERYTING IS HAMBUG (Everything is mere show)-
Here Jaena explains the tragedy of marrying a
Spaniard.
Marcelo H. Del Pilar

KAIINGAT KAYO (Be Careful)- a humorous and sarcastic dig in answer to Fr. Jose
Rodriquez in the novel NOLI of Rizal, published in Barcelona in 1888. He used
Dolores Manapat as pen-name here.

DASALAN AT TOCSOHAN (Prayers and Jokes)- similar to a cathecism but

sarcastically done agains the parish priests, published in Barcelona in 1888.
Because of this, del Pilar was called “filibuster.” Done in admirable tone of
supplication and excellent use of Tagalog.
ANG CADAQUILAAN NG DIOS (God’s Goodness)-
published in Barcelona, it was also like a cathecism
sarcastically aimed against the parish priests but also
contains a philosophy of the power and intelligence of
God and an appreciation for and love for nature.
Dr. Jose Rizal

NOLI ME TANGERE- this was the novel that gave spirit to the propaganda
movement and paved the way to the revolution against Spain. In this book, he
courageously exposed the evils in the Spanish-run government in the
Philippines.
 Revolutionary Literature

• are exposes that sparked revolution and resistance

in the hearts of Filipinos.
Examples:

Andres Bonifacio

Katungkulang Gagawin ng mga Anak ng Bayan (Obligations of our Countrymen)

– an outline of obligations just like the Ten Commandments, hence, it is likewise
called Ang Dekalogo.

Ang Dapat Mabatid ng mga Tagalog (What the Tagalogs should Know) – an
essay outlining the basic tenets of Bonifacio’s ideas on nationalism.
Examples:

Emilio Jacinto

Liwanag at Dilim (Light and Darkness) – a collection of

essays on different subjects like freedom, work, faith,
government and love of country.

Apolinario Mabini

El Desarollo y Caida de la Republica Filipina (The Rise and Fall of the Philippine
Republic) – this essay highlights the establishment of the Philippine republic and
its subsequent doom due to disunity among the Filipinos
Examples:

Dr. Jose Rizal

El Filibusterismo– This is a sequel to the NOLI. While the

NOLI exposed the evils in society, the FILI exposed those in the
government and in the church. However, the NOLI has been dubbed the novel
of society while that of FILI is that of politics.
Publications

El Heraldo de la Revolucion (Herald of the Revolution)

– printed the decrees of the Revolutionary
Government, news and works in Tagalog that aroused nationalism.
This is the Official Newspaper of the Revolutionary Government
of Aguinaldo.

La Independencia (Independence) – an independent newspaper founded and

edited by General Antonio Luna.

La Republica Filipina (The Philippine Republic) – a private newspaper edited by

Pedro Paterno.

La Libertad (Liberty) – another private newspaper edited by Clemente Zulueta.

1900-1942
The
AMERICAN
Period
 SOME CONCURRENT
SIGNIFICANT HISTORICAL AND
LITERARY EVENTS IN THE
PHILIPPINES
 HISTORICAL

• 1898- American forces occupy Manila

• 1900- On January 29th, Taal Volcano erupts, killing 1,300
people and destroying 13 villages.
• 1901. Civil government is inaugurated with Judge
William H. Taft as governor.
• 1907: Establishment of the first Philippine Assembly.
Sergio Osmeña serves as the speaker from 1907-1922
• 1908- University of the Philippines was
founded.
• 1909- Manuel L Quezon was appointed as
Filipino Resident Commissioner to the
United States.
• 1913-1931- Governor General Francis
Burton Harrison initiates policy of
Filipinizing the government.
 LITERARY
• 1900- English becomes the official medium of
instruction of all public schools.
• 1901- The Philippine Normal School was
founded. Its purpose was to train Filipinos in
the Art of Teaching so that they could
eventually take charge of elementary
education.
• 1905- The Philippine Free Press was
founded
• 1910- The College Folio is published at the University of
the Philippines.
- This magazine printed the works of the first promising
writers in English. These early selections were mostly
ghost stories or folk tales explaining natural phenomena.
• 1920- The Philippine Herald began publication. It was
founded by Manuel L. Quezon and its magazine section
was edited by Paz Marquez Benitez.
• 1921- First Filipino novel in English, A Child of
Sorrow, is written by Zoilo M. Galang.
• First volume of essays in English, Life and
Success, is published by Zoilo M. Galang.
• 1924- Philippine Education Magazine is
started. It is later renamed Philippine
Magazine.
• 1925- The Philippine Free Press offers a
literary prizes.
• 1927- The writers club was founded at the
University of the Philippines.
PHILIPPINE LITERATURE IN ENGLISH
• 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.
 Period of Imitation (1910 – 1925)
• 1919: the UP College Folio published the literary compositions of
the first Filipino writers in English. They were the pioneers in short
story writing.
• Filipino writers imitated heavily American and British models
which resulted in a stilted, artificial and unnatural style, lacking
vitality and spontaneity.
• Short stories, novels and essays in English came to exist in this
period.
• Writers of this folio included Fernando Maramag (the best editorial
writer of this period) Juan F. Salazar, Jose M. Hernandez, Vicente del
Fierro, and Francisco M. Africa and Victoriano Yamzon. They
pioneered in English poetry.
 Period of Imitation (1910 – 1925)

Essay
Noted essayists: Carlos P. Romulo, Jorge C. Bocobo, Mauro Mendez,
and Vicente Hilario
- truly scholarly characterized by sobriety, substance and structure.
They excelled in the serious essay, especially the editorial type.

Informal Essay
Ignacio Manlapaz, Godefredo Rivera, Federico Mangahas, Francisco
B. Icasiano, Salvador P. Lopez, Jose Lansang and Amando G. Dayrit
-introduced the informal essay, criticism and the journalistic column.
They spiced their work with humor, wit and satire.
Period of Imitation (1910 – 1925)

Novel

Zoilo Galang
• Author of A Child of
Sorrow
• First novel in English
• Published 1921
Period of Imitation (1910 – 1925)
:

Short Stories

Paz Marquez Benitez

- Author of Dead Stars, stood out as a
model of perfection in character
delineation, local color, plot and
message. Other short stories
published during this time were but
poor imitations of their foreign
models.
- Published in 1920s
 Period of Imitation (1910 – 1925)
Philippine Collegian – replaced the UP College Folio

Newspapers and periodicals also saw print during this time like the
Bulletin, the Philippines Herald (1920), the Philippine Review, the
Independent, Rising Philippines and Citizens, and the Philippine
Education Magazine 1924.
 The American Period
• The Philippines had a great leap in Education and
Culture.
• The use of English alongside Filipino was practiced.
• The Philippines Public School system was
introduced.
• Free public instruction was given to the Filipinos.
• The literature during the American period was considered as imitative of
American model. Instead of asking the students to write originals, students
ended up following the form of American poets.
 Forms

1.Poetry- poetry under the American rule still followed

the style of the old, but had contents that ranged from
free writing to societal concerns under the Americans.

2.Drama- was usually used in the American period to degrade the Spanish rule
and to immortalize the heroism of the men who fought under the Katipunan.

3.Remake Novels- took up Dr. Jose Rizal's portrayal of social conditions by

colonial repression.
 Poetry
Jose Corazon de Jesus (1832-1896) popularly known
as “Batute,” created his own generation with his first
book of poems.

Mga Gintong Dahon (1920)- were poems pre-occupied with such non-
traditional themes as passion-slaying, grief-induced, insanity, and lover’s
suicide.

Sa Dakong Silangan (1928)- returned to the awit form, retelling the history of
Philippines under Spain, the coming of the U.S under the guise of friendship to
take over from Spain
 Drama

Severino Reyes (1861-1942) – spearheaded a

movement to supplant the komedya with a new type of
drama, the sarsuwela, a Filipino adaptation of the Spanish zarzuela.

Examples:

Walang Sugat (1902)- is a sarsuwela (drama in the form singing) drawn from the
period of Revolution, depicting the cruelty and corruption of friars and the
heroism of the soldiers of the Katipunan.
 Other successful sarsuwelas:

Hindi Aco Patay (1903) by Juan Matapang Cruz

Kahapon, Ngayon at Bukas (1903) by Aurelio

Tolentino- is an allegorical presentation of the history of the
nationalist struggle and how the U,S. frustrated the Philippine
revolution.

Tanikalang Guinto (1902) by Juan Abad (1872-1932)- is about Liwanag and

K’Ulayaw, lovers who stand for freedom and the Filipino.
 Remake Novels
Gabriel Beato Francisco (1850-1935)- is best known
for his trilogy of Fulgencia Galbillo (1907), Capitan
Bensio (1907), Alfaro (1909), depicting the 30 years of colonial
repression by the Spanish rule.

Inigo Ed. Regalado (1888-1976)- Madaling Araw (1909) was his first novel
showing the complex interrelations of issues and people in contemporary
Philippine society.

Juan Lauro Arsciwals (1889-1928)- Lalaking Uliran o Tulisan (1914), allusion to

the colonial law that branded Filipino patriots as bandits.
1941-1945
The
JAPANESE
Period
 1946- 1985

The
REPUBLIC
 The Japanese Period and the Republic
• The Philippine literature came into a halt.
• The use of the English language was forbidden, and the use of
the Filipino language was mandated under the Japanese rule.
• For some this was a problem, but to most writers, it was a
blessing in disguise.
• Almost all news papers were stopped except for some.
• Filipino literature was given a break during this period. Many
wrote plays, poems, short stories, etc. Topics and themes were
often about life in the provinces.
Forms
1. Poetry

2. Fiction

3. Drama

4. Newspapers

5. Essays
Drama
The drama experienced a lull during the
Japanese period because movie houses showing
American films were closed. The big movie houses
were just made to show stage shows. Many of the plays were
reproductions of English plays to Tagalog.

Newspapers

Writings that came out during this period were journalistic in nature. Writers felt
suppressed but slowly, the spirit of nationalism started to seep into their
consciousness. While some continued to write, the majority waited for a better
climate to publish their works.
Poetry

The common theme of most poems during the

Japanese occupation was nationalism, country,
love, and life in the barrios, faith, religion and the arts.

Fiction

The field of the short story widened during the Japanese Occupation.
Many wrote short stories.
Essays

Essays were composed to gorify the Filipinos

and at the same time to figuratively attack the Japanese.
 Writers of the Modern Period

 POETS  FICTIONISTS
 Cirilo F. Bautista  Gregorio C. Brillantes
 Rolando Tinio  Gilda Cordero Fernando
 Emmanuel Torres  Kerima Polotan Tuvera
 Virginia Moreno  Bienvenido Santos
 Tita Lacambra-Ayala  Ninotchka Rosca
 Marra Lanot-Lacaba  Lilia Pablo Amansec
 Edith Tiempo  F. Sionil Jose
 Erwin Castillo  Edilberto K. Tiempo
 Godofredo Burce Bunao  Nick Joaquin
Ophelia Dimalanta
 ESSAYISTS
 Maximo V. Soliven
PLAYWRIGHTS
 Carmen Guerrero Nakpil
 Amelia Lapeña Bonifacio
 Benjamin M. Pascual
 Estrella D. Alfon
 Nestor M. Torre
 Wilfrido Nolledo
 Sylvia Mayuga
 Rolando S. Tinio
 Cesar Majul
 Mar Puatu
 Teodoro F. Valencia
 Nestor Torre, Jr.
 Alejandro R. Roces
 Julian Dacanay, Jr.
 Azucena Grajo Uranza
 Cirilo F. Bautista
 Cactus

Excuse the cactus

Not quite futile
thirsting on the sill
excuse its quills
It should require
stuck out:
some sort of guile
they’re only an attempt
some genius
at self-defense
to subsist on sun
some lake sand
See how it bleeds
(have both for free!)
to fossils the old sand
and come out looking
itself looking to be such
freshly green,
a fussy fossil
(juicy even)
Tita Lacambra
Ayala As if in spite of
as if in fun.
 Second Invitation to the
Pope To Visit Tondo

Next time Your Holiness slums through our lives,

We will try to make our * *poverty
* exemplary,
The best is a typhoon month. It never fails
Emmanuel to find us, like charity, knocking on
Torres all sides of the rough arrangements we live in.
mud must be plenty for the feet of the pious.
We will show you how we pull things together
from nowhere, life after life,
prosper with children whom you love. Therefore
we will have more for you to love.
 The Contemporary Period
 Martial Law was lifted in 1981
 Filipino novelists in English have come of age

themes have changed from sentimentalized romanticism
to a more realistic and naturalistic delineation
 excellent mastery of the English language and literary
forms is evident
 1986 EDSA Revolution occurred
 gay and lesbian literature came out
 strong feminist tendencies are evident
 more social problems are tackled
 TV and films have become more popular
 younger writers have entered the literary scene
 more literary criticisms have been written
 more writing workshops are held for budding writers
 more writing contests (some with big prize money) are
held
 university presses have published collections and
anthologies
 Characteristics of the Literature

 daring or controversial choice of subject matter

 very innovative in structure and style
 influence of different –isms and literary trends from the
West
 characters have become more three-dimensional
characters, plot structure and narrative techniques are
more complex
 Writers of the Contemporary Period

 Fatima Lim  Cristina Pantoja Hidalgo

 Merlinda Bobis  Jessica Zafra
 Alfredo Navarra Salanga  Isagani R. Cruz
 Gemino Abad  Alfred Yuson
 Benilda Santos  Charlson Ong
 Ophelia Dimalanta  Arlene Chai
 Ma. Luisa Igloria  Cristina Manguerra Brainard
 Danton Remoto  Rosario Cruz Lucero
 Paulino Lim, Jr.  Connie Jan Maraan
 “GHOST”

So it was. Without warning, without even the

excuse of an earthquake, the foundation gave way
and came thundering down on congested Rizal
Avenue. A commuter train plying the route at that
time jumped through the missing racks and fell into
the street, mashing hundreds of pedestrians and
passengers through the pavement. Many of us were
decapitated: I myself was found beyond recognition.
But I was fortunate enough to have been identified
by the shoe that remained on one, unmangled foot
– half a pair of good Brazilian loafers I had inherited
from a friend.
Connie Jan
Maraan
 “PORTENTS”
Jessica Zafra
Positive, she said cheerily, as if I shouldn’t go
out and hang myself this instant. I held on to the
phone for a long time; I was sure that if I
let go I would fall down. The coffee turned to mud
in my mouth – I ran to the sink and heaved.
Congratulations, it’s a fetus.You frigging idiot.
Afterwards I sat at the kitchen table and tried to
make sense of the stuff swirling around in my head.
Visions of blood and umbilical cords and
feeding bottles whirled before my eyes like malevolent
frisbees. The newspaper was lying next to the
platter of toast; I read the headline about two hundred
times. “May use poison gas, Iraq warns.”
Next to it is a picture of a dead Kurdish
woman clutching the body of her child.
Mother. Child. I felt like throwing up all over again. I
imagined a creature ripping out of my stomach in a
gory mess, like the monster in Alien.
 LITERATURE
OF
THE PHILIPPINES
TODAY
 21st Century Literature

In the 21st centruy Philippines, there are a lot of

literary innovations that are adapted and created by
Filipinos. Nowadays, even those who do not have any
significant literary background make their own way using the freedom
that they have to write and to express.

There are a lot of new froms from the basic genres of literature; thus,
proving how far the literature in the Philippines has gone and how far it
will go on from here.
FIN