LITERATURE

is an oral or written records of a certain period or country expressing vividly and powerfully
the thoughts and feelings of mankind
-- it represents significant human experiences in various forms ( feelings, moods,
attitudes, ideas and events ) in an interrelated series. Through the medium of
language, it presents mans dreams and aspirations, his joys and sorrows, his
triumphs and failures, his wisdom and folly.
TWO ASPECTS OF LITERATURE
1. simple enjoyment and appreciation
2. analysis and description
SIGNIFICANCE OF LITERATURE (Why study it)
1. to know the truth
2. to understand other people
3. to intensify ones awareness of the common lot of man in all ages and in all countries
4. to will the good; admire the good and true and to despise their opposites
5. to promote a right moral attitude
6. to bring one into contact with great minds
7. to expand ones life immeasurably
LITERATURE

PROSE

FICTION
1.Fable
2. Myth
3. Legend
4. Parable
5. Folktale
6. Fairy Tale
7. Short Story
8. Novel
9. Novelette
10. Anecdotes

POETRY

NON-FICTION
1. Autobiography
2. Biography
3. Diary
4. Essay
5. Journal
6. History

DRAMA
NARRATIVE
LYRIC
Prose
1. Ballad
1. Ode
1. Tragedy
2. Epic
2. Elegy
2. Comedy
3. Metrical Tale
3. Song
2.1. Romantic
or Romance
4. Sonnet
2.2. Satiric
2.3. Sentimental
Poetry
1. Comedy
2. Melodrama
3. Tragedy
4. Farce
5. Social poems
6. Masque
7. Monologue
A. PROSE consists of those written within the common flow of conversation in sentences and
paragraphs (written in ordinary form of language in non-metrical rhythm)
1. FICTION works of literature based on writers imagination
1.1. FABLE a short tale that contains a moral/lesson and whose character are often
animals given various human qualities (ex. The Monkey and the Turtle, Aesops Fable)
1.2. MYTH a story or group of interrelated stories that people accept as making
statements about the universe and human life (ex. Stories of Greek gods and
goddesses)
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1.3. LEGEND a story made up from long ago which tells of the origin of things, events,
or forces in nature (ex. The Bikol Legend, The Legend of Mt. Makiling)
1.4. PARABLE a short narrative that use people to illustrate mans relationship with
God (ex. Stories from the Bible)
1.5. FOLKTALE a narrative filled with the superstitions, anecdotes, proverbs, legends
and customs of a particular group, race, geographical region or culture (ex. A Manobo
Folktale, The Happy Mirror)
1.6. FAIRY TALE a narrative that relates the lives and adventures of supernatural
spirits, or of mysterious creatures whose behavior and actions are often playful and
benevolent but also sometimes sinister and wicked (ex. Cinderella, Peter Pan)
1.7. SHORT STORY a narrative involving one or more characters, one plot and one
single impression (ex. The Laughter of my Father, My Brothers Peculiar Chicken)
1.8. NOVEL an extended narrative divided into chapters that portray fictional characters
engaging in action and conflicts (ex. Without Seeing the Dawn, Gullivers Travels)
1.9. NOVELETTE a fictional narrative that is longer than a short story but shorter than
a novel
1.10. ANECDOTE a story about animals or children that is merely a product of the
writers imagination and the main aim is to bring out lessons to the reader (ex. The
Moth and the Lamp)
2. NON-FICTION works of literature other than novels or short stories esp. such works
aside from poetry and drama
2.1. AUTOBIOGRAPHY a life story of a person written by himself (ex. My
Autobiography)
2.2. BIOGRAPHY a life story of a person written by another person (ex. The Life Story of
Dr. Jose Rizal)
2.3. DIARY a day-to-day account of a persons activities and experiences (ex. The Diary of
Anne Frank)
2.4. ESSAY a prose composition of any length expressing the writers viewpoint or opinion
about a particular problem or event (ex. The Editorial page of a newspaper, The Essays)
2.5. JOURNAL a report of everyday events in society, government, science and industry,
and accidents, happening nationally or locally (ex. News stories from the newspaper)
2.6. HISTORY a chronological record of significant events often with an explanation of
their causes (ex. The History of Earth, The History of Edsa)
3. DRAMA a composition, whether in prose or poetry, that tells a story through action and
dialogue and designed for theatrical performance
3.1. TRAGEDY a serious play in which the character meets with a disaster, either because
of a personal fault or through events that cannot be helped (ex. Romeo and Juliet,
Hamlet)
3.2. COMEDY a light amusing play into a happy ending
3.2.1. ROMANTIC set in never-never land and focused closely on two lovers in their
struggle to achieve happiness which ends uniting the characters in a celebration
to conclude the action
3.2.2. SATIRIC a type of comedy in which human foibles and actions are exposed
and exaggerated, often in a cruel fashion
3.2.3. SENTIMENTAL designed to elicit the sentimental emotions of the audience
through its depiction of stock character like the totally virtuous lover who
triumphs over the obstacles in their paths by completely evil villains
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B. POETRY a composition in verse which achieve its effects by rhythm, sound patterns and
imagery
1. NARRATIVE a poem that tells a story or describes important events in life either real or
imaginary with character, setting and various elements of plot
1.1. BALLAD a narrative in verse written about popular subjects and intended for oral
presentation, normally for singing and it can be tragic or humorous
1.1.1. POPULAR BALLAD also called ballad is originally intended for singing and
is usually anonymous (ex. Bonny Barbara Allan, Get Up and Bar the Door)
1.1.2. LITERARY BALLAD is consciously written for a literary purpose and its
author is unknown
1.2. EPIC an extended narrative about heroic exploits often under supernatural control
which may deal with heroes and gods
1.2.1. NATIONAL/FOLK/POPULAR EPIC is of unknown author and of slow
growth (ex. Biag ni Lam-ang, Beowulf, Ramayana, El Cid)
1.2.2. LITERARY/MODERN EPIC is of known author (ex. Paradise Lost, Divine
Comedy)
1.3. METRICAL TALE/ROMANCE a narrative poem of considerable length which treat
love, intrigue, and chivalric adventures, and romance (ex. Simple idylls or home tales,
love tales, tales of the supernatural or tales written for a strong moral purpose in verse
form)
2. LYRIC refers to that kind of poetry 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 and they
are usually short, simple and easy to understand
2.1. ODE a poem of a noble feeling, expressed with dignity, with no definite number of
syllables or definite number of lines in a stanza (ex. Ode on a Grecian Urn)
2.2. ELEGY a poem which expresses feelings of grief and melancholy over the death of a
specific person (ex. Elegy written in a Country Churchyard, Lycidas)
2.3. SONG verses adapted to musical expression 9ex. Folk songs, Love songs)
2.4. SONNET - a lyric poem of 14 lines dealing with an emotion, a feeling or an idea (ex.
Italian sonnets, English sonnets)
3. DRAMATIC refers to that kind of poetry that tells a story through action and dialogue in
verse form and designed for theatrical performance
3.1. COMEDY is usually light and amusing with a happy ending
3.2. TRAGEDY involves the hero struggling mightily against dynamic forces; he meets
death or ruin without success and satisfaction
3.3. MELODRAMA is usually used in musical plays with the opera; today, is related to
tragedy which arouses immediate and intense emotion and is usually sad but has a happy
ending
3.4. FARCE is an exaggerated comedy which seeks to arouse mirth by laughable lines;
situations are too ridiculous to be true; the characters seem to be caricatures and the
motives undignified and absurd
3.5. SOCIAL POEM is either purely comic or tragic and it pictures the life of today; it may
aim to bring about changes in the social conditions
3.6. MONOLOGUE a dramatic soliloquy
3.7. MASQUE a short allegorical dramatic performance popular as a court entertainment
in 16th and 17th century Europe, performed by masked actors often themselves members
of the court and consisting of dumb show combined with music and dancing