GENERAL INTRODUCTION stimulate critical thoughts to the readers.
By
Why was poetry developed ahead of prose?
In practically all literatures in the world, poetry
was developed ahead of prose for two reasons:
First, poetry was the best literary form to
preserve literature. Poetry has meter and
rhyme/rhyme pattern which prevent alteration
in the transcription when the literary output has
to be passed from one source to the next. Should
a word, phrase gets forgotten, the meter and
rhyme helps in remembering the exact verse of
the original. Unlike poetry, prose which uses
sentences, has no definite measurement and
pattern in rhyme. Thus, an idea when expressed
in the sentence form may be transcribed in many
different ways when transferred from one
source to the next.
Second, poetry was developed ahead of prose
because of the premise that emotions are more
elemental than reason, or that man feels first
before he thinks. To illustrate, emotions serve as
the stimuli to write and when one writes under
the heat of passion, the emotions lead the writer
to resort to figurative language that suits what
the person feels. The result is poetry. Under the
powerful spell of emotions, when one writes,
this writer does express himself or herself to
declarative sentences like “I am mad.” “I feel
despair.” Instead, this person will be driven to
come up with expressions best suited to the
emotions that consume him/her.
THREE LITERARY STANDARDS
A great literature is aesthetically satisfying.
Aesthetically satisfying means artistically
fulfilling. This means that the writer has
rendered the form in a creative way such that
the literature appeals to sense of beauty.
“Maganda ang pagkakasulat, mahusay ang
pagkakagawa.”
A great literature is intellectually stimulating. It
shows the capacity of the literary work to
intellectually stimulating, the work succeeds to
make the readers reflect, ponder, and make
value judgements. Great literature which is
intellectually stimulating challenges readers to
rationalize, validate and form intelligent
conclusions.
A great literature is spiritually uplifting. Great
literary works can help deepen the faith and
spirituality of a person. It strengthens the
readers’ sense of right and wrong. It helps the
readers confront difficult issues and leads them
to moral discernment.
A great literature is emotionally powerful. Great
literary works can elicit empathy from the
readers, that is, it has the power to make the
readers identify with the characters wherein
they put themselves into their shoes. They
literally go under the skin of the characters whey
the readers cry in their defeat and rejoice in their
victories. They can relate to whatever emotional
states these characters undergo.
Literature and its Division
Literature is humanity itself. Matthew Arnold
even puts it as a “criticism of life” because our
connection with literature provides an objective
base for our understanding of life.
According to this writer, literature “consists of
writings which interpret the meanings of nature
and life, in words of charm and power, in artistic
forms and of permanent interest.” (Baldick,
2009).
The collective body of literary productions may
be classified into two big divisions namely poetry
and prose. However, one other type has been
included arbitrarily among these divisions—
drama which may be rendered both in prose and
poetry although its form is entirely different
from the two.
Poetry’s definition has been expanded to refer
to “literature that evokes a concentrated
imaginative awareness of experience or a
specific emotional response through language
chosen and arranged for its meaning, sound, and
rhythm.”
There are four major types of poetry namely
lyric, narrative, and dramatic and prose poetry.
Prose is the other division of literature which
uses a natural form of expression. Prose writing
does not adhere to the rules of rhyme, rhythm
and meter rather it employs a language
characterized by its close semblance to the
patterns of everyday speech.
Prose is subdivided into two major types, fiction
and nonfiction. Fiction is a form of narrative that
tells about imaginary characters and events. A
prose writing based on real people and events is
classified as non-fiction. Under fiction are two
types, short story and the novel. Non-fiction
includes essays, oration, biography,
autobiography, memoirs, letters, and epistles.
Drama is defined as a “composition in verse or
prose intended to portray life or character or to
tell a story usually involving conflicts and
emotions through action and dialogue and
typically designed for theatrical performance.”
Drama develops primarily by means of dialogue-
-the lines spoken by the characters. The plot and
the action of drama unfold on the stage as the
characters interact. From Greece where it
originally started, drama may be classified as
tragedy and comedy.
NOVEL
- Unlimited space
- Series of actions and events
- Multiple Plot
SHORT STORY
- Artistic narration which is centered in
dominant action and singled unified
impression
- Why single dominant action? Because it
has limited space only
- One sitting
ELEMENTS OF SHORT STORY
- Setting – background of the story (place
and time)
Integral – there is a change
Allegory – there is no change
- Characters – to make believe
Major vs. Minor Characters
For minor: Flat (typical or common);
round (Uniquely different)
Protagonist (model of virtue)
Antagonist (Villain; anti-hero; nemesis)
- Plot – action/storyline/short story
1st – exposition (introduction)
2nd - development/complication
(problem/conflict)
3rd – Climax (exciting part)
4th – Resolution (unknots) also known as
denouement
- Theme – what is the story all about?
Dominant idea – convey in the story
Universal condition – must be generic (
do not mention names)
Story of the central character
- Conflict – no conflict no short story
It is the clash of opposing forces
The struggle/problem – how the
characters react?
The central character carries the conflict
Kinds of Conflict
1. Internal – Man vs. Himself
(emotions and reason)
2. External – Man vs. Man
 - Man vs. Society
- Man vs. Fate
- Man vs. Nature
- Point of View – who is the author?
1. Internal narrator – first person
2. External narrator – third person
- Outside observer
- Omniscient – all knowing (past, present,
future); secrets of the character and
they can enter the minds of characters
- Limited Observer – limited revelation;
imagination and open minded.
THE DIVINE COMEDY
Medieval – time of growth Christianity 500 BC –
1200
Renaissance – 1265 – believes in the potential of
a human person (after life is not important)
WHO IS DANTE ALLIGUERY?
He came to a political family – anti- pope
- Glubellines - church and state
- Guelphs (pro pope) – black and white
In year 1302 – Divine Comedy (1308-1320)
- Dante was ejected from France
- Dante was exciled
Divine Comedy was completed with 14,233 lines
called tercet or triad with 11 hendeca syllables;
for rhyming it is interlacking.
Divina Comedia is highly religious
- Tragedy is a serious work and command
respect
- Book 1: Inferno with 33 cantos – he
needs to pass through 9 circle of hell
- Book 2: Purgatory with 33 cantos
(washed away your sin) – he needs to
pass through 9 spheres
- Book 3: Paradiso with 33 cantos – must
be purified like water – it is a journey to
9 celestial bodies
SUMMARY OF INFERNO
Exposition: It begins with Dante in the middle of
his life getting lost in a dark wood which is sin
and he cannot find a straight path
Development/Complication: Dante was trying
to find the right path by taking the easy shortcut.
However, he was stumbled by three beasts
which are a hungry lion, a leopard which he tried
to evade, and a she-wolf which drives Dante
away. Dante was scared and helpless.
Climax: Dante met Virgil and he told how he was
chased away by the wild beasts. Virgil explained
to Dante that he must take a different path as
the wolf does not allow anyone to pass until they
greyhound comes and drives her away.
Resolution: After their long conversation, Virgil
told that he has been sent by Dante’s beloved,
Beatrice and two other holy women to guide
Dante to heaven. Virgil stated that they must
pass through hell to get there, afterward,
Beatrice, a worthier spirit, will guide Dante
through the rest of his journey.
THE 9 CIRCLES OF HELL
*at 9th circle you will meet Lucifer*
1st circle: Limbo – never experience peace (least
offensive)
2nd circle: Lust – symbolizes restlessness of a
person. Desire for fleshly pleasure. It is
considered as poetic justice
3rd circle: Gluttony – over indulgence. The
punishment would be forced to lie in a vite slush
that is produced by never ending icy rain; you will
be watched by the king of the worm
4th circle: Greed – those who hoarded
possessions. Those who lavishly spent it –
jousting
5th circle: Anger – where the wrathful and sullen
are punished for their sins. Punishment: nonstop
mortal combat
6th circle: Heresy – it is considered as heavy sin –
speak ill or bad things about God. Punishment
would be flaming tombs.
7th circle: Violence
- Out ring – inflict harm/violence to other people
- Middle Ring – commit suicides
- Inner Ring – blasphemers and sodomites (God)
8th circle: Fraud (cheating)
- You will become a stone
9th circle: Treachery (betrayal)
b. Personification – the attribution
of a human characteristics to
something non human
c. Apostrophe – speaks directly to
someone who is not present
d. Allusion – Can be biblical,
historical and mythological
allusion.

*9 spheres of Purgatory – at the 9th sphere you

will directly go to Garden of Eden*
*9 celestial bodies – at the 9th you will meet God
– empyream – summum bonum*

FIGURES OF SPEECH

1. Comparison
a. Simile – comparison of two
unlike entities , with the use of
“like” and “as “
b. Metaphor – express comparison
without using “like” and “as”
(linking verb)
2. Substitution
a. Metonymy – substitution of the
name of an attribute
b. Synecdoche – body part for the
whole, whole for the body part
3. Contradiction
a. Irony – sarcasm – negative –
saying the opposite meaning
b. Paradox – statement but with
contradiction
c. Oxymoron – white lies – logically
true
4. Sound
a. Alliteration – repetition of
identical initial consonant
b. Assonance – repetition of the
sound of a vowel
c. Onomatopoeia – sound
associated with what is named
5. Miscellaneous
a. Hyperbole – exaggerated
statements