Philippine Literature: Comprehensive Bullet-Point Notes

PRE-COLONIAL PERIOD (before the Spaniards)

• Earliest written record of Philippine events dates to $1521$; prior history survives through oral tradition (folk speeches, songs, narratives, rituals, mimetic dances) that show cultural kinship with Southeast Asia.

• Political set-up

• Independent barangays each led by a chieftain (datu); power rested on alliance networking rather than on fixed territorial borders.
• No formal schools; knowledge transmitted by imitation & daily practice.

• Shared cultural practices

• Animistic worldview: strong belief in spirits & supernatural beings.
• Clear social classes & ranking systems.
• Trade, marriage alliances, feasting, & diplomacy drove economic–political life.

• Literary dimensions

• Purely oral; language mirrored everyday life.
• Common genres: riddles (bugtong), proverbs (salawikain/epigrams), folk songs—vehicles for thought & emotion.
• Epics held highest prestige; ASEAN study listed >100 Filipino epics, majority from Palawan.
• Proverbs/epigrams largely collected in Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilocano.
• Baybayin (indigenous script referenced by Pedro Chirino, $1500$s) later declared the National Writing System via House Bill $1022$.
• Themes sprang from hunting, household work, child-rearing, natural phenomena.
• Anyone versed in the language & forms could perform as poet, singer, or storyteller; rites & ceremonies invariably included chants.

Principal oral forms

• Folk Tales – anonymous, timeless, placeless prose narratives circulated orally.
• Legends – prose explaining the origin of a thing, place, or name.
• Myths – characters possess supernatural powers; aim to explain existence of beings, objects, or events.
• Epics – long narrative poems celebrating heroic exploits.
• Folk Songs – oldest literary form; express hopes, aspirations, emotions. Types include kundiman, kumintang, oyayi/hele, and drinking songs.
• Other Forms

• Proverbs (salawikain)
• Riddles (bugtong)
• Charms/Chants (bulong)
• Maxims (rhyming couplets of $5$, $6$, or $8$ syllables)
• Sayings (kasabihan) & Idioms (sawikain)
• Tanaga – four rhyming lines, $7$ syllables each.

SPANISH COLONIAL PERIOD $1565$–$1898$

• Two phases

• Early Spanish $1565$–$1863$ (largely religious→secular)
• Revolutionary $1864$–$1896$ (rise of nationalism)

• Linguistic landscape

• Spanish introduced as official medium, later supplanted by Tagalog/vernacular as nationalist spirit soared.
• Literature appeared in Spanish, Tagalog, & various dialects.

• Printing milestone: Xylographic press (Dominicans) enabled first books & religious tracts.

• Poetry & moralistic writings by Ladinos (bilingual Tagalog–Spanish verse-makers) e.g.

• Fernándo Bágongbantâ
• Tomás Pinpin

• Genres flourishing

• Folk songs persisted.
• Drama & metrical romances of European provenance (awit & corrido).

• Newspapers

• Diaryong Tagalog $1882$ (Spanish–Tagalog) spearheaded reformist journalism.
• Underground La Solidaridad $1889$ served as Reform Movement mouthpiece.

Emergent literary forms & notable publications

• Books

• “Doctrina Cristiana” $1593$ by Frs. Juan de Plasencia & Domingo Nieva – first printed book.
• “Nuestra Señora del Rosario” by Fr. Blancas de San José
• “Barláan at Jósaphát” (Greek→Tagalog) $1708$ by Fr. Antonio de Borja
• “Urbana at Felisa” by Modesto de Castro – Father of Classic Tagalog Prose.
  • Recreational drama: Cenaculo, Carillo, Zarzuela, Moro-Moro, Balagtasan, Duplo, Karagatan.
  • Novel: Pedro Paterno’s “Ninay” $1885$ – first Filipino novel (Spanish; Eng/Tagalog translations $1907$/$1908$).

Key writers

• Francisco Baltazar $1788$–$1862$ – “Master of Traditional Tagalog Poetry”; authored “Florante at Laura” $1838$–$1861$.
• Pedro Paterno $1857$–$1911$ – poetry collection “Sampaguitas y Poesías Varias” $1880$; novelist (“Ninay”).
• José Rizal $1861$–$1896$ – “Noli Me Tangere” $1887$ & “El Filibusterismo” $1891$ exposed colonial abuses.
• Andrés Bonifacio $1863$–$1897$ – poem “Pag-ibig sa Tinubuang Lupa” in Kalayaan $1896$.
• Leona Florentino $1849$–$1884$ – “Mother of Philippine Women’s Literature”; $20$ poems exhibited in Europe $1889$.

AMERICAN COLONIAL PERIOD $1910$–$1945$

• Sub-periods

• Apprenticeship $1910$–$1930$
• Emergence $1920$–$1930$

• Historical frame

• Emilio Aguinaldo capitulated $1901$; lost presidential race to Manuel L. Quezon $1935$.

• Literary climate

• Early writers still preferred Spanish; English gradually adopted via American education.
• Early English works imitated U.S./British models but evolved into indigenous themes/styles.
• Short story rose as dominant genre late in the period.
• Plays chiefly tackled nationalism.

Representative forms & texts

• Short Story – defined as fiction readable in one sitting (≈$1{,}000$–$20{,}000$ words).

• “Dead Stars” by Paz Marquez Benitez – first English Philippine short story.
  • Novelists
• Juan C. Laya – “His Native Soil” (Commonwealth Literary Awards $1940$, $1$st prize).
• Zoilo M. Galang – “A Child of Sorrow” $1921$, first English-language Filipino novel.

JAPANESE OCCUPATION $1942$–$1945$

• Key events

• Invasion $Dec\,8,\,1941$; guerilla resistance.
• Bataan “Death March”: $100$-km trek; ≈$10{,}000$ deaths.
• HUKBALAHAP (anti-Japanese) vs KALIBAPI (Japanese-backed).
• José P. Laurel headed Japanese-sponsored Republic.
• Gen. Douglas MacArthur withdrew $1942$, returned $1944$; Battle of Leyte Gulf announced liberation.

• Literary restrictions

• Total press censorship; English outlawed in print; only Tagalog & dialects allowed.
• Limited, often pessimistic output (per Victoria Abelardo).

• Genres & works

• Haiku (three-line, $5$–$7$–$5$, $17$ syllables) gained popularity.
• Tagalog short stories blossomed; Liwayway editors compiled “Ang Pinakamabuting Maikling Kathang Pilipino ng $1943$” with classics:
  • “Lupang Tinubuan” – Narciso G. Reyes
  • “Uhaw ang Tigang na Lupa” – Liwayway Arceo
  • “Nayon at Dagat-dagatan” – N. V. M. Gonzalez
  • “Suyuan sa Tubigan” – Macario Pineda
• Essays: “Literature and Society” – Salvador P. Lopez
• Autobiography: “The Good Fight” – Manuel L. Quezon

• Distinguished writers

• Carlos P. Rómulo – Pulitzer laureate; notable books: “I Saw the Fall of the Philippines”, “I See the Philippines Rise”, “Mother America”, “My Brother Americans”.
• Narciso Reyes – first-prize short story “Lupang Tinubuan”.

POST-COLONIAL & CONTEMPORARY PERIOD $1945$–present

Political backdrop

• Leadership succession

• Sergio S. Osmeña $1944$ (succeeded Quezon) → Manuel A. Roxas $1946$ → Elpidio R. Quirino $1948$ → Ramon F. Magsaysay $1953$ (died $1957$) → Carlos P. Garcia $1957$–$1961$ → Diosdado P. Macapagal.

Martial Law era

• Ferdinand E. Marcos became president $1965$, re-elected $1969$, declared Martial Law $Sept\,21,\,1972$ (“New Society”).
• Elections $1978$ & $1981$ kept him in office; Ninoy Aquino’s assassination ignited dissent.
• People Power (EDSA) Revolution $1986$ installed Corazon C. Aquino (Marcos exiled, died $1989$).

Fifth Republic to present

• Cory Aquino’s term marked by political/economic instability; IMF forced repayment of $27.2$-billion debt (allegedly inherited).
• Fidel V. Ramos (“Centennial President”) inaugurated $1992$; garnered UNESCO Peace Award for MILF agreement.
• Joseph Ejercito Estrada elected $1998$; ousted $2001$ (plunder charges).
• Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo $2001$–$2010$; multiple impeachment attempts & later hospital arrest.
• Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III (“PNoy”) served $2010$–$2016$.
• Rodrigo Roa Duterte (incumbent at transcript time) assumed office $2016$.

Literary developments

• Immediate post-WWII landmark: Macario Pineda’s novel “Ginto sa Makiling” – sociopolitical & moral mirror, stylistically reminiscent of Balagtas & Rizal.

• Drivers of literary flowering (Sarvia):

• University of the Philippines founded $1908$ (English medium).
• Philippine Writers’ Association established $1953$.
• Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards inaugurated $1955$.

• Dominant themes & works

• War memories:
  • “Without Seeing the Dawn” – Stevan Javellana $1947$ (English)
  • “Watch in the Night” – Edilberto Tiempo (English)
• Vernacular realist novels of Lazaro Francisco: “Bayaning Nagpatiwakal” $1932$, “Sugat sa Alaala” $1950$, “Maganda pa ang Daigdig” $1956$, “Daluyong” $1962$.
• Nick Joaquin fused Spanish & American influences; famous for flashback technique.
• Folk echoes linger in poetry (e.g., Balagtasan) though oral tradition waned; short story became the favorite modern medium.