Review-on-Literature.pptx - Review on Literature Ferdinand...

Review on Literature
Ferdinand T. Cantular, PhD

Opening Prayer
L
ord grant us the serenity
To accept the things we cannot change;
Courage to change the things we can;
And wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
As it is, not as we would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
If we surrender to His Will;
So that we may be reasonably happy in this life
And supremely happy with Him
Forever and ever in the next.
Amen.
(prayer attributed to Reinhold Neibuhr, 1892-1971)

Introductory points
Literature is multi-dimensional. Its
dimensions are all encompassing as it
covers aspects of culture, beliefs, ideology
and all that is in it in a society.
This is so because no writer writes from
a vacuum; every writer writes from specific
experience, context, and world view that is
unique to his/ her social world.

The classic way of dividing literature is
into poetry and prose . These two differ in
their form and process of delivering their
insight. Poetry tends to be subtler and more
suggestive whereas prose is direct and
straightforward.

A contemporary way of categorizing would
divide literature into the following genres-
poetry, drama, fiction, and essay . Under each
of this genre there are subtypes . Poetry has
narrative and lyric poems; drama has
tragedy, comedy, and tragicomedy; fiction
has short story and novel; and essay has
creative non-fiction, feature, journal, diary,
and memoir.

Literature as Mirror
Literature reflects the social world wherever it
emerged. Whether the writer is aware or unaware, his/
her writings mirror the culture to which he/ she
belongs. In this way, the Filipinoness of the Filipino
cannot only be known through its history, political
system and socio-economic profile but through the
myths, legends, epics, proverbs, riddles, songs, and
folktales of its pre-colonial writers and the writings of
F. Balagtas, J. Rizal, M. Arguilla, N. Joaquin, E. Alfon,
B. Santos, NVM Gonzales, B. Lumbera,E. & E. Tiempo,
G. Abad, L. Arceo, F.S. Jose, L. Deriada, I. Jubaira,C.
Bautista ,P. Lacaba, J. An Lim, A. Tan and the rest of
contemporary Filipino writers.

Each of the writer mentioned and those who
are not mentioned have reflected in their own
way the life, struggle, hope, and dreams of the
Filipino, and the identity of what it means to be
a Filipino. The same could also be said of the
literatures and writers of other nations.

Literature as Window
More than mere artifact of history, literature allows
its readers to see in an intimate way the thoughts,
feelings, vanities, and beliefs of a particular nation or
social group. While history would provide raw
data, demographics and information, literature
provides a vivid picture and deeper insight into- the
ancient conquest and struggle between the Greeks
and the Trojan in Homer’s Iliad , the need of spiritual
depth in the medieval times in Dante’s Divine
Comedy , the ambivalent nature of humanity in
Shakespeare’s plays and sonnets,

modern man’s interior conflict caused by the