Lesson 1: Literature and Its Characteristics
What is Literature?
➢ Literature came from the Latin word ‘litteratura’ or
‘littera‘ (meaning letter), which means writing formed
with letters (definition from Oxford English Dictionary
and Ancient History Encyclopedia, 2009).
➢ It is anything that is printed (definition from Webster
Dictionary), thus covers all the types of writing that we
read or write.
➢ But in an English class, “it refers to written
expressions with artistic merit and universal interest”
(Janovsky, 2020) – whether based from facts or a
product of imagination, and “a force that motivates
society” (Salazar, 1995).
There are two types of literature (based from Thomas De
Quincey’s concept):
1. The literature of knowledge that is didactic or informative
(scientific literature, literature for the piano, and
promotional literature)
2. The literature of power that depicts passions and feelings
(poetry, fiction and drama). This concept clearly draws a
line between the creation of literary work as an art and
occupation (or a work concerned with a particular focus).
❖ Literature is commonly known as an art
❖ Many cultures in the past and indigenous peoples today
continue on expressing their ideas and feelings orally,
and these are usually passed down through oral
traditions. And these are transcribed and preserved in a
2. Literature serves as an expression of ideas and feelings.
• To relish aesthetics of artistic expression
• To clarify intentions and release tensions
• To develop creativity
3. Literature enlarges the reader’s world to reality.
• To understand social milieu
• To have International understanding and give world
peace
• To describe or expose an event or happening for
understanding
4. It is a means of preserving the culture and appreciating
literary heritage.
• To recognize the ethnic traditions
• To be familiar with the historical background
• To develop historical sense
Lesson 2.1: The Historical Background of Philippine
Literature (The Pre-colonial Period)
❖ The history of the Philippines is believed to have begun
at least 709,000 years ago as seen to the discovered
remains (Ingicco et. al, 2018).
❖ Negrito groups were the first inhabitants to settle, and
groups of Austronesians later migrated. Their remains
were mostly located near rivers and seas, and scholars
believed that they had a rich past with influences from
the Southeast Asian neighbors.
❖ Since writing system was not yet established in this
