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This module contains one (1) lesson:

LESSON 1 – LITERATURE AND HISTORY AND EVOLUTION OF PHILIPPINE

LITERATURE.

At the end of this module, the student is expected to:

● define literature;
● identify the geographic, linguistic, and ethnic dimensions of Philippine literary
history from pre-colonial to the contemporary; and
● create a graphical timeline about notable events that happened on different
literary periods.

General Instructions: Answer all the activities on this module. Use separate sheets of
paper for your answers.

Activity I RECALL THE PAST. We might have heard our parents or grandparents
share something about the norms and the usual things they do in the past. It was during
the times when they were younger and when they were still in what they typically say,
“noong panahon namin.”
In this activity, recall and share with us some stories that you heard from them
about the past or the older generation.

LITERATURE

The word literature derived from the Latin term “litera” which means “letter”.
Literature can be categorized into written and oral form. These are some of the following
definitions of literature:

● Literature expresses the feelings of people to society, to the government, to his

surroundings, to his fellowmen, and to his Divine Creator. (Brother Azurin)
● Literature is anything that is printed as long as it is related to the ideas and
feelings of the people, whether it is true, or just a product of one’s imagination.
(Webster)
● “True literature” is a piece of written work which is undying. It expresses the
feelings and emotions of people in response to his everyday efforts to live, to be
happy in his environment and, after struggles, to reach his “Creator.”
(PANITIKANG FILIPINO)

HISTORY AND EVOLUTION OF PHILIPPINE LITERATURE

1. Pre-Colonial Period

▪ The evolution of Philippine literature depends on the influences of the different

colonizers that came to our country.
▪ The first Filipino alphabet is called ALIBATA. It is replaced by the Roman
alphabet which is used nowadays.
▪ Indigenous Philippine literature is based on traditions, customs, and beliefs of a
particular area or community in the country.

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Subject: 21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World – Module 1
 ▪ Philippines is an archipelago and consists thousands of islands. These islands
have its unique specifications of cultures and traditions, therefore bearing
different set of native literature.
▪ Ancient literatures were written on perishable materials like dried leaves, bamboo
cylinder, and bark of trees.
▪ Literatures were handed down to us through the word of mouth that is why there
is no assurance that those literatures were not changed over the time.

The two literatures during the pre-colonial period were:

A. Written literatures Examples:

▪ Riddles or Bugtong – These are effective ways to inculcate the ability of

logical thinking of a child.
▪ Epigrams or Salawikain – These reflect the hidden meaning through the good
lines and also provide good values.
▪ Poems or Tanaga – These are common forms of poetry which has a quatrine
with 7 syllables on each with the same rhyme at the end of each line. It also
expresses insights and lessons in life

B. Oral literatures Examples:

▪ Chant – is used in witchcraft and enchantment. Ambahan, on the other hand, is

a traditional poetry of Hanunoo Mangyans of Oriental Mindoro which teaches
lessons about life.
▪ Balagtasan – this a debate done in verse. The term is derived from the surname
of Francisco Balagtas, the author of Florante and Laura.

2. The Spanish Colonial Period (1565-1897)

The start of deprivation of the indigenous Philippine literature was on the 16th
century. The Spanish colonial government finally entered the scene. This was the start
of them manipulating literature by monopolizing it under strict religious orders. Literature
mainly evolves on the themes of Spanish/ European culture and of course, the Roman
Catholic religion.

A. Literary Influences during Spanish colonization

▪ Christian Doctrine or Doctrina Christiana - was the first book ever printed in
the Philippines in 1593 by the Dominican press.
▪ Libro de la Lengua Tagala – written by Fernando Bagongbanta.
▪ Pasyon - influenced by the Spanish contexts of Christianity, telling about the
feeling of a Filipino mother towards a suffering son.
▪ Komedya - is a theatrical tradition by Filipinos sometimes in a form of singing.

B. Filipino Writers during the Spanish Colonization

▪ Marcelo H. del Pilar – wrote Pasyon Dapat Ipag-alab ng Puso where his
rebellious writing style was identified.
▪ Pascual Poblete – wrote Patnubay sa Binyagan which associated the Filipinos’
struggle for independence with Jesus’ life.
▪ Jose Rizal – wrote Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo. He made very
powerful contributions among the Filipinos and he also influenced the succeeding
writers.
▪ Francisco Baltazar - wrote Florante at Laura.

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Subject: 21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World – Module 1
 3. The American Colonial Period (1898-1945)

▪ The Philippine literature in Spanish was starting to lose its track on the first
decade.
▪ The poems of Fernando Ma. Guerrero, Balmori, and many other writers
discussed revolution, sentiments for patriotism, and reform which proved that
Philippine literature was used to claim freedom from the colonizers.
▪ Although Philippine literature was written in English, the preservation of the
content for Filipino experiences was still achieved.
▪ Short story writers in English became one of the foundations of the Philippine
literature. Also, English poetry was founded.
▪ Sarzuela was then overpowered by English drama.

4. The Contemporary Period (1946 to present)

This period started during the rebirth of freedom in 1946 to present. The
Americans returned in 1945. Filipinos rejoiced and guerrillas that fled to the mountain
joined the liberating American Army. On July 4, 1946, the Philippines regained its
freedom and the Filipino flag waved joyously alone. The chains were broken.

A. The State of Literature during this Period

The early post-liberation period was marked by the “struggle of mind and spirit”
and was posed by the sudden emancipation from the enemy, and the wild desire to see
print.

▪ Heart of The Islands (1947) – a collection of poems by Manuel Viray.

▪ Philippines Cross Section (1950) – a collection of prose and poetry by Maximo
Ramos and Florentino Valeros.
▪ Prose and Poems (1952) – by Nick Joaquin.
▪ Philippine Writing (1953) – by T.D. Agcaoili.
▪ Philippine Havest – by Amador Daguio.
▪ Horizons Least (1967) – a collection of works by the professors of UE, mostly in
English (short stories, essays, research papers, poem and drama) by Artemio
Patacsil and Silverio Baltazar.
The themes of most poems dealt with the usual love of nature, and of social and
political problems. Toribia Maño’s poems showed deep emotional intensity.
▪ Who Spoke of Courage in His Sleep – by NVM Gonzales.
▪ Speak Not, Speak Also – by Conrado V. Pedroche
▪ Other poets were Toribia Maño and Edith L. Tiempo, Jose Garcia Villa’s Have
Come, Am Here has won acclaim both in the country and abroad.

B. The New Filipino Literature during this Period

This was the time when Philippine literature in Tagalog was revived. Most
themes in the writings dealt with Japanese brutalities, the poverty of life under the
Japanese government and the brave guerilla exploits.

⮚ Period of Activism (1970-1972)

Many young people became activists to ask for changes in the government. In
the expression of this desire for change, keen were the writings of some youth who
were fired with nationalism in order to emphasize the importance of their petitions.

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Subject: 21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World – Module 1
 ● The Literary Revolution

The youth became completely rebellious during this period. This was proven
through the bloody demonstrations in the sidewalk which is also a form of literature.
Campus newspapers started showing and expressing rebellious emotions. The once
aristocratic writers developed awareness for society by holding a pen and writing on
placards in red paint the equivalent of the word MAKIBAKA (To dare!).

● Writing During the Period of Activism

The irreverence for the poor reached its peak during the mass revolution. Bomba
films that discredit our ways as Filipinos also started to come out.

⮚ Period of the New Society (1972-1980)

The period of the New Society started on 1972. The most common and most
used themes in writings dealt with the development and progress of the country. The
New Society tried to stop pornography or those writings which gave bad influences on
the morals of the people. All school newspapers were temporarily stopped during this
period.
● Filipino Poetry during the Period of the New Society

Most of the themes dealt with patience, regard for native culture, customs and
the beauties of nature and surroundings.

● The Play under the New Society

This was the time of reviving old plays and dramas, like the Tagalog Zarzuela,
Cenaculo and the Embayoka of the Muslims.

● Radio and Television

The use of radio continued during this period. The play series like Si Matar,
Dahlia, Ito Ang Palad Ko, and Mr. Lonely were example of the forms of recreation for
those who do not have television.

● Filipino Films

A yearly Pista ng mga Pelikulang Pilipino (Yearly Filipino Film Festival) started
during this time. The festival lasts usually for a month and only Filipino films are allowed
to be shown in all theaters.

● Comics, Magazines and other Publications

The newspapers donned new forms during this time. News about economic
progress, discipline, culture, tourism and the likes were highly favored.

⮚ Period of the Third Republic (1981-1985)

After ten years of military rule and after some changes in the life of Filipinos
which started under the New Society, Martial Rule was at last lifted on 1981.

● Filipino Poetry - Poems during this period of the Third Republic were romantic
and revolutionary.
● Filipino Songs - Many Filipino songs dealt with themes that were really true-to
life like those of grief, poverty, aspirations for freedom, love of God, of country
and of fellowmen.
● Philippine Films during the Period - The Festival of Filipino Films continued
during this period. The people’s love for sex films also was unabated.
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Subject: 21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World – Module 1
 ⮚ Rebirth of Freedom (1986-present)

History took another twist during this period. Once more, the Filipinos regained
independence after losing it for twenty years. This was also the time when People
Power prevailed.

● Newspapers and other Publications

Newspapers which were once branded as crony newspapers became instant

opposition papers overnight. This was true of BULLETIN TODAY which became an
opposition paper.

● Books

The Philippine revolution of 1986 and the fire of its spirit that carried the Filipinos
through another epoch in the Philippine history is still being documented.

Activity II
A. CROSSWORD PUZZLE. Complete the puzzle by reading the clues below.

DOWN
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Subject: 21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World – Module 1
(2) This period was when many young people became activists to ask for changes in
the government.
(4) The first Filipino alphabet.
(6) A debate done in verse and is derived from the nickname of the author, Francisco
“Balagtas” Baltazar.
(8) Author of Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo.
(10) This was overpowered by English drama.
(12) It is a theatrical tradition by Filipinos sometimes in a form of singing.
(14) These films started to come out as a tool used to discredit our ways as Filipinos.

B. SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS. Share your understanding about the different questions
below. Your answer must consists of not lower than five (5) sentences.

● How do you think literatures from the different literary periods have been
preserved up to this day?
● How did the colonizers affect our literature?

C. TELL ME YOUR THOUGHTS. Give three (3) ideas/insights about what you have
learned regarding the different topics or literary periods below.

● Pre-colonial Period (3)

● Spanish Occupation in the Philippines (3)
● American Occupation in the Philippines (3)
● Japanese Occupation in the Philippines (3)
● Modern Times Literature of the Phippines (3)

Activity III TIMELINE. Create a graphical timeline of the literary periods in the
Philippines by giving ideas about what happened respectively during these periods.
Write your answers on each box.

GRAPHICAL TIMELINE OF DIFFERENT LITERARY PERIODS IN THE PHILIPPINES

PRE-COLONIAL SPANISH AMERICAN CONTEMPORARY

Activity IV
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Subject: 21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World – Module 1
A. MODIFIED TRUE OR FALSE. Write TRUE if the statement is correct and if FALSE,
double-underline the word/words that make/s the statement incorrect then, write the
correct word/phrase.

1. The Philippine literature during Spanish period was starting to lose its track on the
first decade of the American Colonial Period.
2. The start of deprivation of the indigenous Philippine literature was on the 18th
century.
3. Ancient literatures were written on perishable materials like dried leaves, bamboo
cylinder, and bark of trees.
4. Komedya was overpowered by English drama during the American Colonial Period.
5. Contemporary period started during the period of activism.
6. The early post-liberation period was marked by the “struggle of heart and spirit.”
7. During the rebirth of freedom, many young people became activists to ask for
changes in the government.
8. The youth became completely rebellious during the period of literary revolution.
9. The contemporary period started on 1972.
10. Most of the themes during the period of new society dealt with patience, regard for
native culture, customs and the beauties of nature and surroundings.
11. Plays were revived during the period of new society.
12. The use of radio continued during the period of activism.
13. The yearly Filipino Film Festival usually lasts for a week and only Filipino films are
allowed to be shown in all theaters.
14. During the period of new society, news about economic progress, discipline, culture,
tourism and the likes were highly favored.
15. The irreverence for the poor reached its peak during the rebirth of freedom.

B. LOOK FOR ME. List down 10 contemporary writers and authors. Across their
names, give one notable work they have created.

Example: 1. Carlos Bulosan - My Father Goes to Court

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Subject: 21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World – Module 1