Literature

Ms. Reynosa B. Rimoro

What is Literature?
WHAT IS
LITERATURE?
LATIN: litteratura
- writing formed with letters
originally from the word “Litera” or
Littera which means letters
 IMPORTANCE OF
LITERATURE
Reading and studying Literature in very important for
various reasons as outlined below:
• Literature improves the command of language
• It teaches about the life, cultures, and experiences of
people in the country and other parts of the world.
• It gives information about other parts of the world
which you may never be able to visit in your lifetime.
(Shimmer Chinodya, 1992:36)
of
1. Epic - accounts the heroic
exploits of a community’s hero,
usually involving superhuman
abilities.
2. Ballad - depicts a single
incident that transpired in a
person’s life.
3. Metrical Tale - narrates a story
in a “metered” or “measured”
number of syllables; hence, it
was called metrical.
1. Song - a lyric poem of various theme which is meant to
be sung in its entirety.
2. Ode - a lyric poem of noble and exalted emotion which
has dignified countenance.
3. Elegy - a lyric poem of sad theme such lamentation for
the dead, longing for a missing love, and a grief for things
beyond one’s control.
4. Sonnet - a lyric poem of 14 iambic pentameter lines
usually about love and beautiful themes.
 Dramatic Poetry
1. Tragedy - features a hero 3. Melodrama - a combination
whose hubris or shortcoming of the elements of tragedy and
eventually causes his downfall comedy yet ends in a happy
or defeat often ending in a note.
very sad conclusion. 4. Farce - an exaggerated
2. Comedy - the hero comedy that aims to elicit
triumphs and overcomes the laughter and relaxation.
odds towards the end and
5. Social Play - tackles social
emerges victoriously.
issues and problems .
Elements of Fiction

WHAT
IS
FICTION
Fiction

• Fiction can have


Fiction = some true facts,
events, or people
“make believe” though

or
“not true”
stories
1. 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
2. Characters
The
PEOPLE,
ANIMALS,
OR
THINGS
the story is about (The “Who” of the Story)
3. Conflict

A problem or
struggle
the character
must face in the
story
 Plot: Conflict
Conflict is the dramatic struggle
between two forces in a story.
Without conflict, there is no plot.
 There are 2 types of
Conflict

Internal: External:
Inside the Character Outside the Character
 Plot: Types of
Conflict
Character vs Character

Character vs Nature

Character vs Society

Character vs Self
4. Plot
 The storyline
or series of
events that make
up the story
The
“What Happened?”
of the Story
Plot
• The plot of a story
is where the
reader learns what
is happening and in
what order:
• First . . .
• Then . . .
• Next . . .
• Finally . . .
 Climax

The climax suggests how the conflict or

problem in the story will be resolved.
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 . . .

5.
6. Narrative
Perspective
Author’s Point of
View
Identifying Narrative Perspective

It's about the narrator (who tells the story)

We're not looking at dialogue.

We don't care what characters say.
Only the narrator's voice matters.
Pronoun Case
We are trying to figure out the narrator's view
point on the story.

Perspectives and Signal Words

First-Person I, me, my, mine, we, us,
ours,
Second-Person you, your

Third-Person he, she, her, they, them

(also character's names)
Third-Person Omniscient

Narrator tells thoughts and feelings of more than

one character.

Example
Tim was mad at Shay. He blamed her. Shay
knew Tim would be mad, but she wanted to live
her life.
Third-Person Limited
Narrator is limited to one character.
Tells thoughts & feelings of one character
Example
Tim was mad at Shay. He blamed her. Shay just
left without saying anything. She left a note and
then left him.
Quick Fire Challenge
1. Read the following passages.

2. Determine the narrator’s perspective.

 When I was four months old, my mother
died suddenly and my father was left to look
after me all by himself… I had no brothers or
sisters. So through boyhood, from the age
of four months onward, there was just us
two, my father and me. We lived in an old
gypsy caravan behind a filling station”
 The previous night, make your plans for the
next day and write them down… If you attend
an exclusive Samurai’s party and feel timid, you
cannot do your part in making it a successful
party. You had first better prepare by
convincing yourself that you will have a grand
time. And you should feel grateful for the
invitation.
 Harold Davis took a deep breath and slowly
started to peel the gauze from the wound on his
grandmother’s leg. “Hold on, Grandma. I’m almost
done,” He said quietly. “Don’t worry, baby. It
doesn’t hurt too much,” she quietly replied. “Just
take your time.” Harold glanced up at his
grandmother lying on the couch. He could tell she
was in pain from the way she gripped the cushions,
but still she managed to smile back at him.
7.
TONE
- is the author's attitude toward a subject
- the tone depends on what the author himself feels towards the setting or the
character, and what he wants the readers to feel
- The tone in a story indicates a particular feeling. It can be joyful, serious,
humorous, sad, threatening, formal, informal, pessimistic, and optimistic
- AUTHOR/WRITER CENTERED

MOOD
- is how we are made to feel as readers, or the emotion evoked by the
author
- is the feeling or the atmosphere that the reader gets when he is
reading the story
- READER CENTERED
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 8. FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE
- words to create an image or suggests an idea.
- not meant to be taken literally
- gives new meaning to ordinary words
Examples:
Their daughter is a doll.
My teammate is a snail and turtle combined.
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 FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE
1. SIMILE – is a stated comparison between two things that are actually unlike but have
something in common. A simile is easy to recognize because it is introduced by the
words like, as, resemble, or similar to.
Example:
a. quiet as a mouse ( to describe a person)
b. Twinkle, twinkle little star,
How I wonder what you are!
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky.
2. METAPHOR – makes a direct comparison of two unlike things that have something in
common. A metaphor DOES NOT INCLUDE the words like, as, resemble, or similar to.
Examples:
a. “Even a night-time, Mama is a sunrise.”
b. Stars are great drops of golden dew.
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3. PERSONIFICATION – gives human qualities to n object, an animal or an idea. It
enables the reader to see ordinary things in a new and interesting way.
Examples:
a. The car complained as the key was roughly turned in its ignition.
b. My alarm clock yells at me to get out of bed every morning.
4. ALLITERATION – repetition of initial consonant sounds in a verse or a line of a poem.
It is an important tool for poets. It gives musical quality and a rhythm to a poem.
Examples:
a. She sells sea shells by the sea shore.
b. Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
5. HYPERBOLE - exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally.
Examples:
a. This bag weighs a ton.
b. She’s my guardian angel. 54
6. IRONY – a figure of speech in which you use words to suggest a meaning that is opposite
of what you really think.

TYPES OF IRONY:
a. Verbal irony – saying one thing when you really men the opposite or contrary
Examples:
1. A sister walks into her brother's messy apartment and says, "I see you're still the king
of clean!“
2. In Beauty and the Beast, an animated Disney movie, Belle refuses to marry Gaston
by saying "I just don't deserve you!“

b. Situational irony – what actually happens is the opposite of what is expected

Examples:
1. Posting on Facebook about what a waste of time social media is
2. A police station that gets robbed
3. A fire station that burns down 55
c. Dramatic irony – the reader or audience knows something a character does not
Examples:
1. We all know the ending of Titanic — that ship is going down. But everyone on
board thinks that it’s “unsinkable”!
2. Dramatic irony can happen when the characters just don’t know what kind of
movie they’re in. In a horror movie, for example, the characters might be exploring a
creepy old basement when one says “Don’t be a wimp,
there’s nothing down here!” Even if we’ve never seen the movie before, we
know it’s a horror movie and we can be pretty sure that there is something down
there — only the characters don’t know about it.

7. OXYMORON – is the combination of two mutually contradictory words in case where

the contradiction is apparent only, the two is being realized
Examples:
1. James Bond is a well-known agent.
2. Parting is such sweet sorrow. 56
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8. LITOTES

- Litotes, derived from a Greek word meaning “simple,” is a

figure of speech that employs an understatement by using
double negatives or, in other words, a positive statement
expressed by negating its opposite expressions

- For example, using the expression “not too bad” for “very
good” is an understatement, as well as a double negative
statement that confirms a positive idea by negating the opposite
(meaning it’s good, by saying it’s not bad)

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EXAMPLES OF LITOTES
1. They do not seem the happiest couple around.
2. The ice cream was not too bad.
3. New York is not an ordinary city.
4. Your comments on politics are not useless.
5. You are not as young as you used to be.
6. I cannot disagree with your point of view.
7. He is not the cleverest person I have ever met.
8. She is not unlike her mother.
9. Keanu Reeves is not an ordinary man.
10. A million dollars is no small amount.
11. You are not doing badly at all.
12. Your apartment is not unclean. 60
9. SYMBOLISM
Often poems will convey
ideas and thoughts using
symbols
A symbol can stand for many
things at one time and leads
the reader out a systematic
and structured method of
looking at things.
 10. IMAGERY
 one of the most important elements of a poem
 this device is used by the poet for readers to create an image in their imagination.
 it appeals to all the five senses
e.g. When the poet describes the flower is brightened; an image of a red
flower is immediately created in the reader’s mind.

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11.

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12.

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VOICE CAN BE DESCRIBED AS:
M
E
L
A
N
C
H
O
L
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Sarcasm is an ironic or satirical remark tempered by
humor. Mainly, people use it to say the opposite of
what's true to make someone look or feel foolish.

For example, let's say you see someone struggling to

open a door and you ask them, “Do you want help?”

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- having an atmosphere of strangeness or secrecy

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Literary Standards
7 things to Consider
LITERARY STANDARDS:
1. TISYRTRAT
LITERARY STANDARDS:
2. CELLINETLAUT ELAVU
LITERARY STANDARDS:
3. VINESSGESTEGUS
LITERARY STANDARDS:
4. LAURPITIS LAVUE
LITERARY STANDARDS:
5.CEENNAMPER
LITERARY STANDARDS:
6. TYLIASVERINU
LITERARY STANDARDS:
7. YSTLE