Subject: Literature 1

Period : Preliminary

Lesso
n: 1

Literature

LITERATURE
ORIGIN

Latin

Litera

Acquaintance with letters

DEFINITIONS
The body of literary productions, written, oral or visual containing
imaginative language that realistically portrays thoughts, emotions, and experiences of
human conditions.
A force. There is perhaps no cultural force as potent and pervasive as it.
LITERARY STANDARDS
1. Universality Great literature is timeless and timely. It appeals to one and all, anytime,
anywhere because it deals with elemental feelings, fundamental truths and universal
conditions.
2. Artistry Literature has an aesthetic appeal and thus possesses a sense of beauty.
3.

Spiritual Value Literature elevates the spirit and the soul and thus has the power to
motivate and inspire.

4.

Permanence Literature endures across time and draws out the time factor; occurring at
a particular time or remaining invariable throughout the time.

5.

Style Literature presents peculiar ways on how man sees life as evidenced by the
formation of his ideas, forms, structure and expressions which are marked by their
memorable substance.

THE DIVISIONS OF LITERATURE

PROSE-It is a literary work which is spoken or written within the common flow of language. It
gives information, events, opinions, ideas or feelings.

DIVISIONS OF PROSE
A. FICTION - is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with
information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary and theoreticalthat is,
invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also
refer to theatrical, cinematic, or musical work.

Short story is a brief, artistic form which is centered on single main incident and
is intended to produce a single dominant impression.

Novel is extensive. Its length permits a greater number and variety of characters,
a more complicated plot, a more elaborate used of setting, a greater complexity of
the theme than short story.
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ELEMENTS OF FICTION
1. Setting is the time and place in which the event of a story occur.
2. Characters are the representations of human beings in a story. They are the complex
combination of both inner and outer self.
KINDS OF CHARACTER

According to Principality
Protagonist is the character with whom the reader emphasizes.
Antagonist is the character that goes against the main character.

According to Development
Dynamic is the character that exhibits noticeable development
Example: Ebenezer Scrooge, in A Christmas Carol by Dickens, was very stingy with his money.
He worked his employees very very hard for little pay. After his experiences with the ghosts
that visited him, he changed his ways, paying his employees a more than fair wage, providing
days off work and actually giving gifts.

Static - is the character who exhibits no changes and development.

Example: Bert, a bumbling salesman, never takes the time to organize his files, properly
record his sales, or follow up with customers. Finally, his boss gets fed up and fires him. Bert
struggles for two months to find a new sales position. During that time, his car is repossessed
for nonpayment and he maxes out his credit cards. Bert finally finds a new sales position but,
before a week passes, he is called into a conference with his new boss. Bert is informed he
must get organized or hell be fired. A week later the new boss fires Bert after he fails to follow
up with an important customer.

According to Personality
Round is the character that displays multiple personalities throughout the
story.
Example: A character in a story named Elaine never cuts anybody a break. She tells her
friends and coworkers that charity and compassion have no place in society. On the other
hand, Elaine can never pass up feeding a stray kitten or puppy, and always tries to find a good
home for lost or abandoned pets.

Flat is the character that reveals conventional traits, who remains

throughout the story.
Example: In a story about a friendly teacher named Sandra Smith, Louis Drud is a janitor in her
building. Louis is always tired and grumpy whenever Sandra runs across him and says hello.

3.

Plot is the sequence of events.

PARTS OF PLOT

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Exposition - This is the introduction of story - background information that is

needed to properly understand it. This information can include the protagonist, antagonist,
the setting and so forth. The inciting incident occurs here - the initial event which triggers
the rest of the story. In other words, what was it that put everything in motion? Inciding
incidents are not always obvious - you may not even catch them when reading the story.
Rising Action - is what occurs leading up to the climax. For example, in Harry
Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Harry must go through a set of tasks to reach where the
sorcerer's stone is hidden where he will have the final battle. These tasks are the "rising
action", and the final battle would be considered "the climax".
Climax
Climax - is considered the high point - the most exciting part - of the story. This is
where all the rising action and conflict building up in the story finally reaches the peak. It
is usually the moment of greatest danger or decision-making for the protagonist. The
turning point can be considered the incident right before the climax, or can also be used
as another name for climax. For example, in Romeo and Juliet, the climax occurs when
Juliet stabs herself.
Falling action - deals with events which occur right after the climax. These
events are usually the after-effects of the climax.
Resolution/Denouement - Here is the end of the falling action and the
conclusion to the story. There is usually a release of dramatic tension and anxiety (also
known as catharsis). It can also be the that portion at the end of the plot that reveals the
final outcome of its conflicts or the solution of its mysteries.
Denouement originates from the old French word denoer, which meant "to
untie". So you could say that denouement is the unraveling or untying of the complexities
of a plot.
Keep in mind, that sometimes stories have endings with a lot of unanswered
questions. It is up to your discretion on whether you want to identify a resolution, or argue
that a resolution in the story was never fully developed.
B. NON-FICTION is the form of any narrative, account, or other communicative work whose
assertions and descriptions are understood to be factual.

Essay-it is expository in nature

Oration-it is persuasive and convincing. It is meant to be expressed orally, not
to be merely read.
Biography- is a record of human life written by someone else.
Autobiography-is an account of a persons life written by himself.

POETRY - It is patterned form of verbal or written expression of ideas in concentrated,

imaginative, and rhythmical terms. It often contain the elements of sense, sound and structure.
It is considered the oldest literary form, the most difficult and most sophisticated.
KINDS OF POETRY
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A. LYRIC POETRY - a verse or poem that is, or supposedly is, susceptible of being sung to
the accompaniment of a musical instrument (in ancient times, usually a lyre) or that expresses
intense personal emotion in a manner suggestive of a song. Lyric poetry expresses the thoughts
and feelings of the poet and is sometimes contrasted with narrative poetry and verse drama,
which relate events in the form of a story.
TYPES OF LYRIC POETRY

Song It has melodious quality and is intended primarily to be sung, or it can be easily
set to music.
Sonnet It has 14 iambic pentameter lines with formal rhyme pattern or scheme.
Elegy this is a lament or an expression of grief for the dead.
Ode it is exalted in tone and expresses lofty praise for some person or object, event or
idea.
B. NARRATIVE POETRY -is a form of poetry which tells a story, often making use of the
voices of a narrator and characters as well; the entire story is usually written in metered verse.
The poems that make up this genre may be short or long, and the story it relates to may be
complex. It is usually dramatic, with objectives, diverse characters, and meter

Ballad is a short poem composed to be sung, and altered as it was orally transmitted
from generation to generation.
Metrical Tale it relates real or imaginary events in simple straight forward language
and realistic manner.
Metrical Romance - typically involved stories that included the adventures, trials, and
tribulations of knights as well as typically told stories of chivalrous feats of said knights.
Courtly love was a typical theme as well.
Epic is lengthy , ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic
deeds and events significant to a culture or nation.

Laus Deo Semper!