In-depth Literature Notes

Introduction to Literature

What is Literature?

  • Definition Origins:

  • Term C from Latin "litera" meaning "letter"

  • French phrase "bel les-letters" translating to "beautiful writing"

  • Conceptual Definitions:

  • Kahayon (1998): Literature deals with humans’ ideas, thoughts, and emotions; it's the story of man.

  • Lye (1999): A body of texts marked by imaginative verbal recreation, enhancing experience through language's qualities.

  • Daguio (1962): Beautiful expressions interpreting aspects of human life, highlighting life itself as literature.

Reasons for Studying Literature

  • Self-Knowledge: Understand our heritage and uniqueness.
  • Cultural Awareness: Recognize our noble traditions while assimilating new cultures.
  • Literary Capacity: Understand and train to overcome limitations.
  • Appreciation: Recognize and improve our own literary merit.

Hallmarks/Qualities of Literature

  • Artistry: Appeals to the sense of beauty.
  • Suggestiveness: Evokes emotions and stirs imagination.
  • Intellectual Value: Stimulates thought and reveals truths about life and nature.
  • Spiritual Value: Enhances moral values and personal growth.
  • Universality: Timelessness and relevance across cultures and eras.
  • Permanence: Stands the test of time; literature endures.

Principal Ingredients of Literature

  • Human Experiences:
  • Interrelated sensations, feelings, moods, thoughts, and events presented in texts.
Levels of Analysis: Subject
  1. First Level: Describes specific events or feelings.
  2. Second Level: Generalizations derived from descriptions.
  3. Third Level: The overarching human conditions and values; known as the theme.
  • Form: The chosen artistic structure – includes stanzas, rhyme, and plot arrangements in poetry, novels, and essays.
  • Point of View: The angle from which a writer presents experiences; involves the reader’s emotional involvement and the author's attitude.

Divisions of Literature

Main Categories

  • Prose: Ordinary structured language; sentences and paragraphs.

  • Fiction: Not factual stories, with narratives that include novels and short stories.

  • Non-Fiction: Factual writing, including essays, biographies, and journals.

  • Poetry: Expresses ideas through meter and figurative language.

  • Types: Lyric, narrative, and dramatic poetry.

  • Drama: Performed literature, utilizing dialogue to convey themes; includes tragedy, comedy, and more.

Detailed Types of Literature
  • Fiction: Novels, short stories, novellas.
  • Non-Fiction: Biographies, essays, editorial pieces, diaries.
  • Poetry Types: Lyrical, narrative, elegies, odes.
  • Drama Types: Tragedy, comedy, farce; includes terms such as soliloquy and monologue.
Additional Forms
  • Myths: Narrative explaining origins.
  • Legends: Real events believed to hold historical truth.
  • Parables: Simple morals or religious lessons.
  • Fables: Stories with plants or animals conveying virtues.
  • Travel Literature: Accounts of journeys and perceptions of places.