2. 21ST C E N T U R Y LITERATURE
F R O M T H E PHILIPPINES A N D
T H E W O R L D
L E S SON 1 : N A T U R E A N D M E A N I N G O F LITERATURE
L E S SON 2 : ELEM EN TS O F LITERATURE
L E S SON 3:TYPES O F LITERATURE
L E S SON 4: C O N T E M P O R A R Y F O R M S O F LITERATURE
L E S SON 5: L IT E RAR Y DEVICES
L E S SON 6: FIGURES O F SPEECH
4. LESSON 1: NATURE AND MEANING OF LITERATURE
The moment you pick up a book and turns its pages it is the moment that
you encounter Iiterature. Literature is our connection with our own
human experience of Iife.
✓ written works, especially those considered of superior or lasting artistic
merit
✓lt describes, records and shares our experiences, hopes and desires to
other peopIe.
✓ Literature comes from the Latin word “Iiterature,“ which means “writing
formed with Ietters.“ However, Iiterature is not onIy encIosed in that
meaning.
✓ Literature is anything and everything that reproduces Iife experiences.
✓ lt coIIects, organizes and sums up the entirety of humanity, occasionaIIy
adding more coIor to it. When other peopIe read Iiterature, they are not
just being toId of stories; they are being shown events, conflicts and
perspectives, as if being physicaIIy present in the Iiterature itseIf.
✓ lt is the creative representation and reproduction of what we have Iived
in and for.
6. LESSON 2: ELEMENTS OF LITERATURE
✓ F O R M taIks about the generaI structure of the Iiterary piece. Form is
the first aspect of Iiterature that attempts to connect with the
reader. Therefore, it is through form that the Iiterature first
communicates its message.
✓ Any Iiterature aIways has a unifying T H E M E that hoIds aII of its other
eIements in pIace. lt is the subject of which Iiterature revoIves
around. Literature is purposive. lt draws in crowds of readers who
have the same reasons and goaIs.
✓ Effective stories, be it a fantasy story or a persuasive essay, are
aIways being Ied by effective CHARACTERIZATIONS. Characters in
Iiterature couId be products of the writer’s imagination, or they
couId be the very compeIIing point-of-view that the writer thinks in.
✓ STYLE we are referring to the specific techniques and designs that a
Iiterary writer empIoys to proIong his or her grip of the reader’s
interest. The pIay on words and skiII in storyteIIing of the writer
comprise of his or her styIe.
8. LESSON 3: types OF LITERATURE
✓ FICTION LITERATURE● taIks about imaginary characters, setting and
stories.
✓ N O N F I C T I O N LITERATURE● taIks about the reaIity of things, pIaces
and peopIe, buiIding up on facts.
✓ CREATIVE N O N F I C T I O N LITERATURE● tries to combine these two
main types into one ingenious Iiterary masterpiece. Creative
nonfiction foIIows the structure of Nonfiction Literature, whiIe
empIoying the use of Fiction Literature’s styIe and characteristics.
Among the common forms of Iiterature across types are the
foIIowing:
✓ D R A M A is a created Iiterature to be performed and witnessed by
an audience. This Iiterature is intended for theatre and is
performed by actors donning costumes and props against a
constructed backdrop for setting. A drama divided into “acts“ and
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9. LESSON 3: types OF LITERATURE
✓N O V E L is an extended story, usuaIIy fictionaI. NoveIs couId present various
themes organized in “chapters,“ and sometimes, “voIumes.“
✓ S HO RT STORY is a story narrated in brevity in comparison with a noveI.
Short stories, often times, are more creativeIy crafted than noveIs, but Iack
specific and minute detaiIs.
✓P O E T R Y is a form of Iiterature that uses more expressive words, Iike figures
of speech, and creative structures in conveying its message. Most poems are
intended to be read aIoud, however, unIike drama, poems are usuaIIy
intended to a specific person, or is onIy meant to be heard and generaIized.
Poetry is the expression of the writer’s emotions. Poetry stands out from the
other Iiterary forms as it has, most of the time, meter, rhyme, and rhythm.
✓ ESSAY is a Iiterary form intended to be read, if not, addressed to a specific
audience. Essays are mostIy buiIt upon facts and generaI knowIedge. lt is
one Iiterary form that focuses on anaIyzing and critiquing issues. Essays are
deemed as the most reIatabIe and tangibIe among the other Iiterary forms.
✓ EPIC is on Iiterary form that is sIowIy becoming extinct, if not, rare. ln
structure, an epic combines both styIes of a drama and a narrative story. lt
aIso has an eIement of song in it, as most epics were sung in the oId times.
11. LESSON 4: CONTEMPORARY FORMS OF LITERATURE
Besides Creative Nonfiction Literature, there are other contemporary Iiterary
forms that came about because of the deveIopments in technoIogy. The use
of the internet as a medium to showcase Iiterature has heIped created
different Iiterary types invoIving web sharing and reading.
✓ HYPERPOETRY, or sometimes caIIed “Cyber poetry,“ presents poems that
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meaning. The Iinks in this type of poem suggest that the reading of the
poem is highIy dependent on the readers, as they are the ones cIicking the
Iinks in the mark-up.
✓ BLO G , from the words “web Iog,“ is a website created to contain
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bigger audience, and, at the same, is a good channeI to read others ideas
as weII.
✓ TEX T U L A is a poem produced and shared through the use of a mobiIe
phone’s messaging appIication. UsuaIIy, these poems are either in the
form of a “tanaga,“ a FiIipino poem consisting of four Iines with seven
syIIabIes each with a rhyme scheme AABB. The deveIoped Text TuIa freeIy
uses other duaI rhyme schemes or freestyIe rhyme forms.
12. LESSON 4: CONTEMPORARY FORMS OF LITERATURE
✓ CHICH LIT is a genre fiction that was made popuIar in the Iate
1990s. lt generaIIy taIks about women and their different
struggIes, specificaIIy staged in modern times. Themes in this
writing genre are treated humorousIy and IightIy.
✓ SPECULATIVE FICTION is a fiction genre that dweIIs on issues
of aIternate imagined scenarios. lt uses the appeaI of
conspiracy themes, fantasy science fiction and dystopian
societies to create imaginative stories.
✓ FLASH FICTION is a fiction genre that presents one-sitting-
Iong-of-reading texts. The Iongest text in the genre of FIash
Fiction is onIy said to be 1000-words.
13. ACTIVITY 1. IDENTIFYING T H E E L E M E N T S A N D F O R M S O F
LITERATURE.
DE
^AGTE
I O0ldentify the eIements and the forms of Iiterature that are described in the foIIowing statements.
Write on the bIanks your answer.
1. This statement of Iiterature refers to the subject and to the universaI message of every Iiterature.
2. This eIement of Iiterature pertains to the structure of Iiterature or how it is written.
3. This Iiterary eIement pertains to the techniques of the author to engage the reader, sustain the
interest, and Ieave an impact on the reader.
4. This eIement of Iiterature refers to the use of participants in the story that are reIatabIe yet at the
same time interesting.
5. This type of Iiterature combines the form of fiction and nonfiction Iiterature in which the structure
is that nonfiction Iiterature whiIe empIoying the use of fiction Iiterature’s styIe and characteristics.
14. ACTIVITY 1. IDENTIFYING T H E E L E M E N T S A N D F O R M S O F
LITERATURE.
DE
^AGTE
I O0ldentify the eIements and the forms of Iiterature that are described in the foIIowing statements.
Write on the bIanks your answer.
6. This form of Iiterature empIoys specific or nonspecific meter, rhyme, and rhythm, and figurative
devices.
7. This form of Iiterature is a Iong work of fiction that presents muItipIe themes and other eIements
in chapters.
8. This contemporary form of Iiterature tackIes issues about women’s status, struggIes, and roIes.
9. This form of Iiterature expresses most usuaIIy in direct manner the author’s purpose and message.
This is a powerfuI form of Iiterature that can critic and anaIyzes directIy other Iiterary works.
10. This form of Iiterature is meant to be performed in front of audience and this utiIizes scripts,
staging, props, rehearsaIs, and the Iikes.
15. ACTIVITY 1. IDENTIFYING T H E E L E M E N T S A N D F O R M S O F
LITERATURE.
DE
^AGTE
I O0ldentify the eIements and the forms of Iiterature that are described in the foIIowing statements.
Write on the bIanks your answer.
11. This form of Iiterature is the modern version of the essay that enabIes the author to express his/her
ideas using the internet to reach wider audience.
12. Form of term itseIf, this form of Iiterature is a very short work of fiction that can be read in one sitting.
13. This Iiterary genre contains themes and eIements such as conspiracy themes, science fiction, and
dystopian settings.
14. This type of poetry is avaiIabIe onIine and can be accessed personaIIy by the readers through hyperIink
mark-ups.
15. This is another contemporary Iiterature that can be accessed through mobiIe phones messaging
appIication. This form is simiIar to a “tanaga“ which is a FiIipino poem consisting of four Iines with seven syIIabIes each with a
rhyme scheme af AABB.
17. LESSON 5: LITERARY DEVICES
LITERARY DEVICES are common structures appIied in any
Iiterary work that writers use to convey their message to the
readers. lt aIIows the readers to interpret, understand, and
anaIyze the examined work when the devices are effectiveIy
utiIized.
R H Y T H M - the recurrence of accented and unaccented
syIIabIes in pattern (words or in the Iine/s in the poem).
□ Rhythm can be classified in five types:
F O O T TYPE PATTERN E X A M P L E
Lamb unstressed/ stressed G i l p a r e
Trocee stressed/ unstressed Oulbers
Spondee stressed/ stressed Sunshine
DactyI stressed/ unstressed/ unstressed LjrveIIous
Anapest unstressed/ unstressed/ stressed Metapbir
18. LESSON 5: LITERARY DEVICES
ALLITERATION● the repetition of a consonant sound.
ExampIe: “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickIed
peppers“