21 ST

CENTURY LITERATURE
• From the Latin word littera which means letters.
• It refers to anything that is written
• A body of written works produced in a particular
language, country, or age
• Enduring expression of a significant human experience
in words well-chosen and arranged.
• PROSE – is an expression (whether written or
spoken) that does not have a regular rhythmic
pattern.
• POETRY – is an expression that is written in
verse, often with some form of regular rhythm.
 PROSE POETRY

• A literary medium • A kind of writing that

distinguished from poetry formulates a concentrated
especially by its greater imaginative awareness of
irregularity and variety of experience in language chosen
and arranged to create a
rhythm and its closed
specific response through its
resemblance to the patterns
meaning, sound & rhythm.
of everyday speech.
PROSE

PROSE VS POETRY
A.Biography – a story of a certain person’s life written
by another who knows him well.
Example: Cayetano Arellano by Socorro O. Alberto
B.Autobiography – a written account of a man’s life
written by himself.
Example: A Woman with No Face by Ms. Pilar Pilapil
C. Diary – a daily written record or account of
the writer’s own experience, thoughts,
activities or observation.
D. Journal – a magazine or periodical
especially of a serious or learned nature.
E. Essay – a short literary composition
which is expository in nature.
F. Novel – a long fictitious narrative with a
complicated plot. It is made up of
chapters.
G. Short Story – a fictitious narrative
compressed into one unit of time, place
and action.
Example:
Dead Stars by Paz Marquez Benitez
The Necklace by Guy de Maupassant
H. Drama/Play– it consist
entirely of dialogues in prose
and is meant to be acted on
stage.
TRAGEDY - is one of the oldest forms of drama. The theme
of a tragedy usually revolves around the ruins of a dynasty,
downfall of man, emotional betrays, moral setback, personal
loss, death, and denials.
Protagonist often have a tragic flaw – a characteristic that
leads them to their downfall. This form of drama rarely has
happy endings.
COMEDY - is a lighter than tragedy, and provides a happy
ending. The intention of comic playwrights is to make their
audience laugh.
P OET RY

PROSE VS POETRY
• Is derived from a Greek word poesis meaning
“making or creating.”
• Is a kind of language that says it more intensely than
ordinary language does.
NARRATIVE POETRY
a. Epic – a long narrative poem recounting the deeds
of a hero with supernatural powers.
Example: BIAG-NI-LAM-ANG by Pedro Bukaneg
b. Metrical Romance – a narrative poem that
tells a story of adventure, love and chivalry.
The typical hero is a knight on a quest.
Examples:
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Ibong Adarna
Florante at Laura
c. Metrical Tale – deals with any emotion or
phase of life and is told in a simple,
straightforward, and realistic manner as
possible.
Example:
The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio
d. Ballad - a short narrative poem which could
be sung.
Examples: Lord Randal, Get Up and Bar the
Door, Richard Cory, Lochinvar, La Belle Dame
Sans Merci
LYRIC POETRY
a. Ode – the most majestic type of lyric
poetry. It expresses enthusiasm, lofty praises
of some person or thing, deep reflection, or
restrained feeling.
Example:
Ode to a Nightingale by John Keats
b. Elegy – a poem that voices the author’s
personal grief for a loved one or a
meditation on death. It is a poem of
lamentation.

Example: Break, Break, Break by Alfred Lord

Tennyson
LYRIC POETRY
c. Sonnet – composed of 14 iambic
pentameter lines. The Italian writer
Francesco Petrarch was the first to write
sonnets.
LYRIC POETRY
d. Simple Lyric – touches every mood and
emotion of the human heart.

Example:
The Tiger by William Blake
The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost
DRAMATIC POETRY – the poetic form is
used to set forth life and character by means of
speech and action.

Example: The Dramas of Shakespeare

UNIT II
1. SENSE – IS REVEALED
THROUGH THE WORDS, IMAGES
AND SYMBOLS.
a. Diction – this refers to the Denotative and Connotative
meanings.
b. Images and Sense Impressions – these refers to the words
or expressions that appeals to the senses.
c. Figures of Speech – used to create a special effect or an
image through the unordinary use of words.
2. SOUND – IS THE RESULT OF THE
CREATIVE COMBINATION OF
WORDS.
a. Rhythm – beat/phase (fast or slow) stressed and
unstressed.
b. Meter
c. Rhyme Scheme – this is formal arrangement of
rhymes in a stanza or in the whole poem.
3. STRUCTURE
a. Word order – natural and unnatural arrangement of
words.
b. Ellipsis – omitting some words for economy and effect.
c. Punctuation – abundance or lack of punctuation marks.
d. Shape – contextual and visual designs: jumps, omission
of spaces, capitalization, lower case.
4. THEME
• Defined as a main idea or an underlying meaning of
a literary work that may be stated directly or
indirectly.
Ex: Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare – Love
and friendship
5. TONE
• in written composition, is an attitude of a writer toward a
subject or an audience. Tone is generally conveyed through
the choice of words or the viewpoint of a writer on a
particular subject.

Ex: Proud, Friendly, Humorous, Sad, Fearful…

PROSE POETRY
Most everyday writing is in prose form. Poetry is typically reserved for expressing
something special in an artistic way.
The language of prose is typically The language of poetry tends to be more
straightforward without much decoration. expressive or decorated, with comparisons, rhyme,
and rhythm contributing to a different sound and
feel.
Ideas are contained in sentences that are Ideas are contained in lines that may or may not be
arranged into paragraphs/ sentences. Lines are arranged in stanzas.
There are no line breaks. Sentences run to Poetry uses line breaks for various reasons – to
the right margin. follow a formatted rhythm or to emphasize an idea.
Lines can run extremely long or be as short as one
word or letter.
The first word of each sentence is Traditionally, the first letter of every line is
capitalized. capitalized, but many modern poets choose not to
follow this rule strictly.
Prose looks like large blocks of words. The shape of poetry can vary depending on line
length and the intent of the poet.
Figures of
Speech
 FIGURES OF SPEECH
• Definition: A “figure” of “speech” creates
pictures (figures) using words (speech). An author
can create a special effect or an image through
the unordinary use of words.
• If an author’s words are successful, the reader will
create or paint a picture in his mind of the scene
the author describes.
 FIGURES OF SPEECH
• A number of methods can be used to bring
words to life. The most common figures of
speech can be remembered using the acronym
S.H.A.M.P.O.O. You may be able to “clean up
your writing” with a little SHAMPOO.
1. SIMILE
• a comparison of two things, usually employing the
words like, as, as if, and as though.

• Examples:
• A smile as big as the sun.
• She prays like a mantis.
EX:
"My face looks like a wedding -cake left out in the
rain.“

Today I’m feeling as fresh as a daisy.

2. METAPHOR
• is a comparison that is not stated but implied.

• - In which one thing is said to be another.

• Examples:
• The planet is your playground.
• The Lord is my shepherd.
EX:
You are my sunshine.
Life is a rollercoaster.
She is a walking dictionary.
3. PERSONIFICATION

• Assigns actions done by humans to something non-

human or abstract.

• Example:
• My car was happy to be washed.
• The sun is dancing.
 4. APOSTROPHE
• is a figure of speech in which speaker speaks
directly to an object or an idea as if it were a
person.
EX:
“Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are.
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky.”
Course Topic 1 (1.3 Language - b. Figures of Speech, and c.
Diction)
• "Blue Moon, you saw me standing
alone Without a dream in my heart Without
a love of my own.“
 5. A PARADOX is a statement which seems to
contradict itself but which contains a deeper truth.

EX:
The child is father of the man
Less is more
You can save money by spending it.
 6. IRONY - the expression of one's meaning by
using language that normally signifies the
opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic
effect.
EX:
Oh great! You failed the exam.
"Wow, you could win an award for cleanliness!“ (Looking
at her son's messy room, Mom says)
 7. OXYMORON
• -is a figure of speech that combines incongruous or
contradictory terms.

• Example:
• Why then, O brawling love! O loving hate! O heavy
lightness, serious vanity; Misshapen chaos of well-
seeming forms! Feather of lead, bright smoke, cold
fire, sick health!
8. HYPERBOLE

• -is a figure of speech that uses exaggerations to

create emphasis or effect; it is not meant to be taken
literally.

• Example:
• I told you a million times to clean your room!
EX:
My backpack weighs a ton!

She already cried a gallon of tears.

I'll just die if I don't go to the party.

 9. UNDERSTATEMENT
• -is a figure of speech employed by writers or speakers to
intentionally make a situation seem less important than it
really is.

• Examples:
• A nurse about to give an injection saying, “It will sting a
bit.”
• To describe a disappointing experience, a participant may
say, “It was…different.”
EX:
- “It’s a bit warm.” (When one is sweating
profusely in a sauna or traveling through a desert
at midday)
- “I’m a little tired.” (After completing a
marathon or after having not slept all night long)
10. An ONOMATOPOEIA is a word that
actually looks like the sound it makes, and
we can almost hear those sounds as we
read.
 • water plops into pond
splish-splash downhill
warbling magpies in tree
trilling, melodic thrill
 
whoosh, passing breeze
flags flutter and flap
frog croaks, bird whistles
babbling bubbles from tap
11. ALLITERATION

• -is the repetition of initial sounds in neighboring

words.

• Example:
• Fresh fern fronds from the forest.
In ALLITERATION, words that begin
with the same sound are placed close
together. Although alliteration often
involves repetition of letters, most
importantly, it is a repetition of the
INITIAL CONSONANT sounds.
EX:

Phillip’s feet smells awful.

Dirty dogs dig in the dirt.
Cute cats cooking carrots.
Cheerful cop was promoted.
12. ASSONANCE
• -is a figure of speech that refers to the repetition of
vowel sounds to create internal rhyming within
phrases or sentences.

• Example:
• A certain purple curtain, captain.
• (Note: er in certain, ur in purple, and ur in curtain. Also: ain in
certain, curtain, and captain.)
Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds
in words very close to each other.
Lotos-Easters by Tennyson
Music that brings sweet sleep down from the blissful skies.
Here are cool mosses deep,
And through the moss the ivies creep,
And in the stream the long-leaved flowers weep, And from the
craggy ledge the poppy hands in sleep.
13. Consonance means the
repetition of the same or similar
consonant sounds.
“Rap rejects my tape deck, ejects projectile
Whether Jew or gentile, I rank top percentile
Many styles, more powerful than gamma rays
My grammar pays, like Carlos Santana plays.”.
14. ANAPHORA

• -is a stylistic device that consists of repeating a

sequence of words at the beginnings of
neighboring clauses to give them emphasis.

• Example:
• You are lovely, you are gorgeous, you are pretty,
you are glorious, you are, you are, you just are!
 16. ELLIPSIS
• -is the omission of a word or words. It refers to
constructions in which words are left out of a
sentence, often to avoid redundancy, but in a manner
that a sentence can still be understood.

• Example:
• Rizal spoke seven languages, Bonifacio only two.
• [Note: Bonifacio only (spoke) two (languages)]
17. EUPHEMISM
• -is a figure of speech used to express a mild, indirect,
or vague term to substitute for a harsh, blunt, or
offensive term.

• Example:
• Saying “passed away” for “died”; or “in between
jobs” to mean “unemployed”
 EXAMPLES:
EUPHEMISM
• Jail • Correctional facility
• Abortion • Pregnancy termination
• Homeless • On the streets
• Pornography • Adult entertainment
• Beer/liquor • Adult beverages
• Late (in terms of thinking/actions) • Chronologically-challenged
• prostitute • Comfort woman
18. METONYMY
• -is a figure of speech in which a thing or concept is not
called by its own name, but by the name of something
intimately associated with that thing or concept.

• Example:
• using “Malacañang” to refer to the president or the
government administration or saying “a hand” to mean
“help”
METONYMY is a figure of speech in which
something is called by a new name that is related
in meaning to the original thing or concept. 

 Example:
“Hollywood is obsessed with this new diet.”
"The pen is mightier than the sword.“

The crown—a royal person

Boots on the ground—refers to soldiers
Suits—can refer to businesspeople
 19. SYNECDOCHE
• -is a figure of speech in which a part of something is
used to represent the whole or the whole of something
is used to represent part of it.

• Examples:
• Sixty hands voted. (Note: the part hand is used to refer the whole
person.)

• The country supported the president.

• (Note: The word country is used to refer to part of the country, namely, most
people.)
SYNECDOCHE is a figure of speech that
compares unlike things in such a way that part is
considered as a whole thing.
EXAMPLES:
His parents bought him a new set of wheels. (new car)
White hair. (elderly people)
Ask for her hand—refers to asking a woman to marry
What would I do without your
smart mouth?
Drawing me in, and you
kicking me out
‘Cause all of me
Loves all of you
 You’re insecure,
Don’t know what for,
You’re turning
heads when you walk
through the door
Elements
of a Story
~ ELEMENTS OF A STORY ~

• Character
• Setting
• Conflict
• Plot
• Point of view
CHARACTERS
The
PEOPLE,
ANIMALS,
OR
THINGS
the story is about (The “Who” of the Story)
TYPES OF CHARACTER
• Major character – is usually given much development, more conflicts to
resolve, more background story, and usually more action.
• Minor character – usually serves a certain purpose to move a plot, but is
not as developed and explored as a major character.
• Round character- have the capacity to surprise you in a convincing and
even inevitable way. They are more complex, more MYSTERIOUS, and
more UNPREDICTABLE.
• Flat character- also known as the stock or stereotype character who does
not develop. Want only one simple thing.
OTHERS

• Protagonist – hero/heroine
• Antagonist – a foil to the protagonist
• Deuteroganist – second in importance
• Fringe – one who is destroyed by his inner conflict
• Typical or minor characters
SETTING

The
TIME
and
PLACE
of the story
(The “When” & “Where” of the Story)
SETTING
Long Ago Today In the Future

• Stories don’t always directly tell us their time period

• Sometimes we must figure it out from “clues” / descriptions in the story
such as the style of clothing worn, the activities done, or the technology used
by the characters.
SETTING IS ALSO THE “PLACE” OF THE STORY
STORIES CAN HAVE MORE THAN
ONE SETTING
CONFLICT

A problem or
struggle
the character
must face in the
story
THERE ARE 2TYPES OF
CONFLICT

Internal: External:
Inside the Character Outside the Character
INTERNAL CONFLICT

Internal Conflict

Internal conflicts are thoughts or feelings the characters struggle with like
thinking they are going to lose a game or feeling worried.
EXTERNAL CONFLICT

Conditions or people that are causing problems for the main character are
called
external conflicts.

These problems are happening “outside” of the character.

PLOT
• The plot of a story
is where the reader
learns what is
happening and in
what order:
• First . . .
• Then . . .
• Next . . .
• Finally . . .
PLOT
 The storyline or
series of events that
make up the story

The
“What Happened?”
of the Story
• Narrative order
- the sequence of events is called Narrative Order.
• Chronological the most common type of narrative order in children’s
books.
• Flashback occurs when the author narrates an event that took place
before the current time of the story.
• Time lapse occurs when the story skips a period of time that seems
unusual compared to the rest of the plot.
 GUSTAV FREYTAG’S
STRUCTURE OF A PLOT

CLIMAX

COMPLICATION DENOUEMENT

EXPOSITION RESOLUTION
 EXPOSITION
•Introduces the time,
place, setting, and the
main characters
 COMPLICATION
•Unfolds the problems and
struggles that would be
encountered by the main
characters leading in crisis.
CLIMAX

The most exciting

part of the story
–
where the plot was
leading.
CLIMAX

The climax suggests how the conflict or

problem in the story will be resolved.
DENOUEMENT
• Is the untying of the entangled knots or
the part that shows a conflict or a
problem is solved, leading to its
downwards movement or end.
 RESOLUTION

By the resolution,
or ending of the story,
we learn how the conflict
is solved . . . one way
or another.
RESOLUTION

Resolution =
The end
The End
of
the story
We’re NOT done with our work though . . .
 … PLAYWRIGHTS

PLOT OF THE STORY

FOR THE STAGE PLAY
PLOT DEVICES

a. Flashback – something out of chronological order, to reveal

information, to understand a character’s nature.
b. Foreshadowing – a device to give a sign of something to come’
its purpose is to create suspense, to keep the readers guessing
what will happen next.
c. Suspense – this is the feeling of excitement or tension in the
reader’s experiences as the action of the plot unfolds.
d. Surprise Ending – this is an ending that catches the
reader off guard with an unexpected turn of events.
e. In Media Res – the technique of beginning a story in
the middle of the action, with background information
given later in flashbacks.
POINT OF VIEW
• The writer’s feeling and attitude toward his
subject; determines who tells the story. It
identifies the narrator of the story
CLASSIFICATION ( POINT OF VIEW )

a. First Person – the writer uses the pronoun “I”. He/she should be a
participant or a character in his own work; the narrator may be the
protagonist, an observer, a minor character, or the writer
himself/herself.
b. Third Person – the writer-narrator is a character in the story.
He/she narrates the based on what he observes, his opinion.on the
other hand, a limited third person is an outsider/observer who is
not part of the story.
• Omniscient – the writer narrator sees all;
he can see into the minds of characters and
even report everyone’s innermost thoughts.
Name Characteristics Pronoun
First Person Speaker part of the story, can observe I, me, mine we, us, ours (s)
characteristics, but reveals feelings
and reactions only of self

Story told only as one character can He, him, his, she, her (s)
Third Person observe They, them, theirs
Limited Third Person Narrator not part of the story, cannot He, him, his, she, her (s)
read any character’s mind. They, them, theirs

Omniscient Narrator/author knows all and sees He, him, his, she, her (s)
all They, them, theirs
MOOD
• The atmosphere or emotional effect
generated by words, images, situations in a
literary work

• Example
• Melancholy, joyous, oppressive and so on.
TONE
• A term used, sometimes broadly, to denote, an
attitude of feeling of the speaker or author a
conveyed by the language in its artful
arrangement; it describe the attitude of the
narrator or persona of the work whereas MOOD
refers to the emotional impact felt by the reader
of the work, although often similar, these
feelings are necessarily the same.
THEME
• The central or dominating idea is an
literary work; it is the topic or subject
of the section, which is sometimes
stated by a character or by the writer
himself, but oftentimes, it is merely
implied or suggested.
 Now,
let’s try it
together!

I N T H E S T O RY
“GOLDILOCKS AND THE THREE
BEARS” . . .
W H AT I S T H E
SETTING ?

TIME & PLACE

LONG AGO / A C O T TA G E I N T H E
WOODS

S
E
T
T
I
N
G
 WHO ARE
THE
CHARACTERS
?

MAIN CHARACTERS
 MAIN
CHARACTERS

Goldilocks
Papa Bear
Mama Bear
Baby Bear
THINK BACK OVER
T H E S T O RY:

W H AT I S T H E
PLOT ?

S TO RY L I N E
PLOT
PLOT
W H AT I S T H E
CONFLICT ?

PROBLEM TO OVERCOME
 CONFLICT

* Goldilocks
is hungry and
tired
(and apparently has no manners!)

* The bears will

return.
 ARE THESE
INTERNAL OR
EXTERNAL
CONFLICTS ?

“INSIDE” THE CHARACTER OR

“OUTSIDE”?
 CONFLICT
Being hungry or tired
could be INTERNAL
conflicts while the
bears returning home
is EXTERNAL.
W H AT I S T H E

RESOLUTION ?

HOW DOES THE STORY END?

 RESOL UTION

Goldilocks
runs home
when the bears
return.

(But has she learned

not to go in strangers’
houses …?)
 THE
RESOLUTION

of our story
and of this presentation !
The End