DEFINITION OF LITERATURE

Literature is the art of written works. It is from the Latin letter littera which is meant by Arts and
Letters.
Literature is defined as books and other written works, especially those considered to have creative or
artistic merit or lasting value.
Literature is used to describe anything from creative writing to more technical or scientific works. Such
as, creative imagination (works of poetry, drama, fiction and nonfiction).
Definition of Literature According to:
1. Henry Van Dyke:
Literature consist of those writings which interpret the meaning of nature and life, in words of charm and
power, touched with the personality of the author, in artistic forms of permanent interest.
2. Imam Jafar Al-Sadiq (Muslim Scholar and Philosopher)
Literature is the garment which one puts on what he says or writes so that it may appear more attractive.
Literature is a slice of life that has been given direction and meaning, an artistic interpretation of the
world.
3. Roman Jakobson (Russian Formalist)
Organized violence committed on ordinary speech.
4. Ezra Pound
Great literature is simply language charged with meaning to the utmost possible degree.

Poetry noun

1. the art of rhythmical composition, written or spoken, for exciting pleasure by beautiful, imaginative,
or elevated thoughts.
2. literary work in metrical form; verse.

Poetry is language spoken or written according to some pattern of recurrence that emphasises
relationships between words on the basis of sound as well as meaning. This pattern is almost always
a rhythm or metre (regular pattern of sound units). This pattern may be supplemented by
ornamentation such as rhyme or alliteration or both.

Prose
noun

1. the ordinary form of spoken or written language, without metrical structure, as distinguished from
poetry or verse.
2. matter-of-fact, commonplace, or dull expression, quality, discourse, etc.

Prose is the form of written language that is not organised according to formal patterns of verse. It
may have some sort of rhythm and some devices of repetition and balance, but these are not
 governed by regularly sustained formal arrangement. The significant unit is the sentence, not the
line. Hence it is represented without line breaks in writing.

Prose Poetry
Prose poetry is poetry written in prose instead of using verse but preserving poetic qualities such as
heightened imagery and emotional effects. It can be considered primarily poetry or prose, or a
separate genre altogether. While prose poetry in the West originated in the 19th century, it has gain
more popularity since the 1980s.

Types of Prose

1. Prose Drama a drama in prose form. It consists entirely dialogues in prose, and is meant to be
act on stage.

2. Essay a short literary composition which is expository in nature. The author shares his thoughts
feelings, experiences, or observations on some aspects of life that has interested him.

3. Prose Fiction something invented, imagined, or feigned to be true)

1. Novel a long fiction narrative with a complicated plot. It may have one main plot and
one or more sub plots that develop with the main plot. It is made up of chapters.

2. Short Story a fictitious narrative compressed into one unit of time, place and action. It
deals with single character interest, a single emotion or series of emotions called forth by
a single. It is distinguished from the novel by its compression.

4. Biography and Autobiography

1. Biography a story of a certain persons life written by another who knows the subject
well.

2. Autobiography a written account of mans life written by himself.

5. Letter a written message which displays aspects of an authors physiological make-up not
immediately apparent in his more public writings. It is a prose form which by the force of its style
and the importance of its statements becomes an object of interest in its own right.

6. Diary a daily written record of account of the writers own experiences, thoughts, activities or
observations.

7. Journal a magazine or periodical especially of serious or learned nature. It is the reflection,

opinion of a read material.

Types of Poetry

Narrative Poetry a poem that tells a story.


1. Epic a long narrative poem of the largest proportions. Epic is a tale mainly about a hero
concerning the beginning, continuance, and the end of events of great significance on
tribal or national significance.
2. Metrical Poem a narrative poem that tells a story of adventure, love and chivalry. The
Typical hero is a knight on a quest.

3. Metrical Tale a narrative poem consisting usually a single series connective events that
are simple, and generally do not form a plot. Examples of these are simple idylls or home
tales, love tales, tales of the supernatural or tales written for a strong moral purpose in
verse form.

4. Ballad the simplest type of narrative poetry. It is s short narrative poem telling a single
incident in simple meter and stanzas. It is meant to be sung.

5. Popular ballad a ballad of wide workman ship telling some simple incidents of
adventure, cruelty, passion, or superstition, an incident that shows the primary instincts of
man influenced by the restraint of modern civilization.

6. Modern or artistic created by poet in imitation of the folk ballad, makes use of many of
its devices and conventions.

7. Metrical Allegory an extended narrative that carries a second meaning along worth the
surface story.
Lyric Poetry a poem that is very personal in nature. It expresses the authors own thoughts,
feelings, moods and reflections in musical language. It derived its name from the musical
instrument, the lyre.

1. Ode a lyric poem of some length, serious in subject and dignified in style. It is most
majestic of the lyric poems. It is written in a spirit of praise of some persons or things.

2. Elegy a poem written on the death of a friend of the poet. The ostensible purpose is to
praise the friend. But in the end of the poem, however, we can expect that poet will have
come to terms with his grief.

3. Song a lyric poem in a regular metrical pattern set to music. These have twelve
syllables and slowly sung to the accompaniment of a guitar or banduria.

4. Sonnet a lyric poem containing four iambic pentameter lines, and a complicated rhyme.

I. PROSE

There are many types of prose. These include novels or biographies, short stories, contemporary
dramas, legends, fables, essays, anecdotes, news and speeches.

a. Novel. This is a long narrative divided into chapters. The events are taken from true-to-life
storiesand span a long period of time. There are many characters involved. Example: WITHOUT
SEEING THE DAWN by Steven Javallena.

b. Short Story. This is a narrative involving one or more characters, one plot and one single
impression. Example: THE LAUGHTER OF MY FATHER by Carlos Bulosan.

c. Plays. This is presented on a stage, is divided into acts and each act has many scenes. Example:
THIRTEEN PLAYS by Wilfredo M. Guerrero.

d. Legends. These are fictitious narrative, usually about origins. Example: THE BIKOL LEGEND by
Pio Duran.

e. Fables. These are also fictitious and they deal with animals and inanimate thins 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. Example: THE MONKEY AND THE TURTLE.

f. Anecdotes. These are merely products of the writers imagination and the main aim is to bring out
lessons to the reader. It can be stories about animals or children. Example: THE MOTH AND THE
LAMP.

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. Example: CAYETANO ARELLANO by Socorro O. Albert
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.

II. POETRY
There are three types of poetry and these are the following:

A. Narrative Poetry. This form describes important events in life either real or imaginary.
The different varieties are:

1. Epic. This is an extended narrative about heroic exploits often under supernatural control.
Example: THE HARVEST SONG OF ALIGUYON translated in English by Amador T. Daguio

2. Metrical Tale. This is a narrative which is written in verse and can be classified either as a ballad or
a metrical romance. Examples: BAYANI NG BUKID by Al Perez

3. Ballads. Of the narrative poems, this is considered the shortest and simplest. It has a simple
structure and tells of a single incident. There are also variations of these: love ballads, war ballads,
and sea ballads, humorous, moral, and historical or mythical ballads. In the early time, this referred to
a song accompanying a dance.
B. Lyric Poetry. Originally, this 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.
They are usually short, simple and easy to understand.

1. Folksongs (Awiting Bayan). These are short poems intended to be sung. The common theme is
love, despair, grief, doubt, joy, hope and sorrow. Example: CHIT-CHIRIT-CHIT

2. Sonnets. This is a lyric poem of 14 lines dealing with an emotion, a feeling, or an idea. These are
two types: the Italian and the Shakespearean. Example: SANTANG BUDS by Alfonso P. Santos

3. Elegy. This is a lyric poem which expresses feelings of grief and melancholy, and whose theme is
death. Example: THE LOVERS DEATH by Ricaredo Demetillo

4. Ode. This is a poem of a noble feeling, expressed with dignity, with no definite number of syllables
or definite number of lines in a stanza.

5. Psalms (Dalit). This is a song praising God or the Virgin Mary and containing a philosophy of life.

6. Awit (Song). These have measures of twelve syllables (dodecasyllabic) and slowly sung to the
accompaniment of a guitar or banduria. Example: FLORANTE AT LAURA by Franciso Balagtas

7. Corridos (Kuridos). These have measures of eight syllables (octosyllabic) and recited to a martial
beat. Example: IBONG ADARNA

C. Dramatic Poetry

1. Comedy. The word comedy comes from the Greek term komos meaning festivity or revelry. This
form usually is light and written with the purpose of amusing, and usually has a happy ending.

2. Melodrama. This is usually used in musical plays with the opera. Today, this is related to tragedy
just as the farce is to comedy. It arouses immediate and intense emotion and is usually sad but there is
a happy ending for the principal character.

3. Tragedy. This involves the hero struggling mightily against dynamic forces; he meets death or ruin
without success and satisfaction obtained by the protagonist in a comedy.

4. Farce. This is an exaggerated comedy. It 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.

5. Social Poems. This form is either purely comic or tragic and it pictures the life of today. It may aim
to bring about changes in he social conditions.