21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World

Sto. Tomas Senior High School

INTRODUCTION TO WORLD LITERATURE

The art of literature is not being studied by itself alone, but also in relation to its style, forms, language,
and techniques used by the writers. All ambitious and intellectual individuals read to achieve a more
balanced outlook in life. They expose themselves to the different literary forms in poetry and prose of
the different countries of the world. The readers experience the joys, anxieties, dreams and even Page | 1
problems of the people in various parts of the globe. They read bulk of literary genre from the oldest
civilization to the present day generation, which helps them enrich their knowledge, and share with the
experiences, values, thoughts, beliefs, culture, feelings and aspirations in life of the people of the
particular place where the literary piece belong.

POETRY
Poetry is a literary type written in verse. It haps measures, rhymes, lines, stanzas, and tone.

Classes of Poetry
 Lyric Poetry - This is a kind of poetry intended to be sung. It expresses emotions and feelings of
the poet. It is usually short, simple and easy to understand. This includes simple lyric, a variety of
short poem that is characterized by subjectivity, imagination, melody, and emotion.
 Narrative Poetry - This is a long descriptive poem about life and events that may be real or
imaginary. It tells a story with sequential order of events.
 Dramatic Poetry - This is a long poetry that has the intention of being presented on stage. It may
have a story but emphasis lies more on the character rather than on the narrative.

PROSE
Prose is a literary type that is written within the common flow of conversation in sentences and
paragraphs. The subject matter is usually familiar and ordinary although it tackles subjects on heroism,
beauty, love and common experiences with nobility of spirits, which in poetry may be found with
eloquent expressions. Prose is usually divided into fiction and nonfiction.

Types of Prose
Fiction This defined as a series of imaginative facts
about truths in human life. The incidents may or
may not happen in real life, and the characters
may or may not have existed, but as long as it can
happen within the bound of possibility and
probability.
(e.g. Novel, short story)

 Novel - A Long narrative story divided into chapters and may involve few or numerous
characters. The events may be true-to-life or fictitious. The novel covers a long period of time.
Because of its length, it has the capacity to give more complex plot, numerous characters, and
more elaborate setings.
  Short Story - A short story is short narrative artistic in nature involving one or more characters
that focus on a single plot, one single impression. The impression may be surprise, sadness,
sympathy, terror and anger, among others. It is characterized by its setting, character, plot and
message.

The Elements of a Short Story

A. Character- persons involved in a conflict.

 Protagonist- the hero or the heroine in the story
 Antagonist- the villain in the story who usually the cause of foil or thwart to the protagonist
 Deuteragonist- second in importance in the story
 “Fringe” character- destroyed the inner conflict (example: Goethe’s Dr. Fautus)
 Minor characters

B. Setting- time and place involved in the story. It gives a hint to the motive of the characters. It also
gives the mood of the story because places and time provoke feelings to the readers.

C. The organization of the incidents of the story. – A good plot should have a good beginning, middle
and end. It should be constructed that no incident can be displaced or omitted without destroying the
unity of the whole.
Qualities of the Plot
 Exciting – it should be exciting that the everyday reality that surrounds us.
 Good Structure- The episodes must be arranged effectively. It is important that the plot
structure is tying all the incidents together, so that one leads naturally into another.
 Pyramidal Structure of a Short Story

D. Conflict- The struggle of complication involving the characters

TYPES OF CONFLICT
man vs. man
Man vs. himself
Man vs. his environment

E. suspense – the part that keeps the readers in a state of uncertainty or in a state of guessing.
F. Climax – the highest point of interest in a story.
G. Denouement (Resolution) – the unfolding of the plot in a story. It is the event or the events following
the climax.
H. Point of view – the point of which a story is seen or told. It answers the question “Through whom
does the author tell the story?”
Three Points of View
 Omniscient – it enables the writer to present the inner thoughts and feelings of his
characters.
  Point of view of a single character – who is used by the author as a central observer
or participant in action. It is in the third person narrative that limits the knowledge
available to the readers. Detective stories often employ this point of view.
 First Person Narrative- This point of view is solely that of the character telling the
story. He may be the central character who either observes or participates in the
action.
I. mood – this is the predominating atmosphere or tone.
J. Style – this is the manner putting into language the ideas of the authors. Style may be used as a
general synonym for excellence, or it may more specifically suggest that a writer has found the unique
verbal pattern that precisely expresses the meaning he wishes to convey.

Nonfiction It is expository in nature that aims to explain an

idea, a theory, a point of view, or maybe an
impression. Nonfiction, which is commonly called
essay is divided into formal and nonformal.
 Formal Essay
It deals more with serious subjects such as theology, science, politics, philosophy, morality, and
psychology, among others, and is intended to more intellectual group of individuals. The tone is
more objective and the style is clear. Its main purpose is to teach or instruct. It involves deeper
analysis of topics being discussed.
 Informal or Familiar Essay
This is an expression of the view and opinion of the writer about any subject in an ordinary
manner. The personality of the writer is revealed due to his style and treatment of the subject,
which is very personal. IT possesses charm, interest, and distinctive purpose to entertain and to
amuse. The tone is light, friendly, humorous, affectionate, and interesting as if the writer is
talking to his friends.

Drama
This literary form presented on a stage. It involves three elements namely, theater, actors and directors,
and an audience. It is an art of imitating human characters and actions. The actors impersonate the
characters in particular incident or event in the story. Early drama was usually written in poetic form,
while the modern and contemporary drama is usually written in prose. Drama is classified as tragedy
and comedy.

Literary Masterpieces of the World

A literary masterpiece is distinguished as the highest degree of literary form. To achieve this distinction,
a literary work should possess the following qualities:
 Artistry – this quality appeals to sensitivity of an individual for what is beautiful. This can be
achieved through the use of language that appeals to our senses.
 Intellectual Value – a literary work should appeal to our thoughts. It stimulates our mental
capability and enriches our fundamental ability.
 Spiritual value – it does not only enrich our minds but also makes us morally high for us to
become better person. This value will bring us closer to Almighty God.
  Permanence – A good piece of art endures the test of time. It is untiring and can be enjoyable to
the readers when read over and over again.
 Suggestiveness – this quality makes our imagination work beyond what we ordinarily do and
experience. It makes us move more than what we usually think about.
 Style – writers makes use of a technique to make their literary works unique and distinctive
from the others. They express their ideas more special than the others.
 Universality – A great work of art observes no limit, anytime, anywhere. It possesses
distinguishing traits and quality of men. These may be hatred, anger, jealousy, happiness, envy,
etc.

Literary Masterpieces that influenced the lives of the people of the World
1. The Bible or the Sacred writings: This has become the basis of Christianity originating from
Palestine and Greece
2. Koran: The Muslim bible originating from Arabia
3. The Iliad and the Odyssey: These have been the source of Myths and Legends of Greece. They
were written by Homer.
4. The Mahabharata: The Longest epic of the world. It contains the history of religion in India.
5. Cantebury: it depicts the religion and customs of English in early days. This originated from
England and written by Chaucer.
6. Uncle Tom's Cabin: written by Harriet Beecher Stowe of US. This depicted the sad fate of slaves.
This became the basis of democracy.
7. The Divine Comedy: (A Dante of Italy). This shows the religion and customs of early Italians.
8. El' Cid Compeador: This shows the cultural characteristics of Spaniards and their national theory.
9. The Song of Roland: This includes the Doce Pares and Ronces Valles of France. It tells about the
Golden Age of Christianity in France.
10. The Book of the Dead: This includes the cult of Osiris and the Mythology and theology of Egypt.
11. The Book of the Days: This was written by Confucius of China. This became the basis of Christian
Religion.
12. One thousand and One Night of the Arabian Nights: from Arabia and Persia(Iran). It shows the
ways of government of industries and of society of Arabia's and Persians
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