LIT
Literary Standards
A. Artistry – aesthetically appealing and reveals or conveys hidden truth and beauty of a
literary work
B. Suggestiveness – allows the work to inspire and provoke thoughts and understanding
beyond the actual words written on the page
C. Intellectual Value – promotes critical thinking that enhances both abstract and reason-
based thought processes and makes readers focus on the fundamental truths of life and nature
D. Spiritual Value – lifts the inner spirit and soul and has the power to motivate and inspire
readers
E. Permanence – determined by a written work’s ability to stand the test of time, which makes it impossible to determine at the moment of writing.
F. Universality – appeals to the hearts and minds of most readers
G. Style – refers to the distinct way the authors express their thoughts.
2 MAIN FUNCTION ACCORDING TO HORACE
Dulce (sweetness)- to entertain
Utile (usefulness)- to give information
DIVISIONS OF LITERATURE
A. Poetry
Poetry features the metrical and sophisticated use of language through imagery, figurative language, and poetic devices. Usually, poets leave implicit messages in their works that need to be “dug out” by the readers. Three types of poems and their subtypes are enumerated below.
1. Lyric – originally sung with a lyre, focused on the writer’s personal experiences and emotions
a. Elegy – a poem to honor the dead.
b. Ode – a poem that pays tribute to a person, idea, place, or another concept.
c. Sonnet – a fourteen-line poem with a specific rhyme scheme, i.e., Shakespearean or Petrarchan.
d. Haiku – a three-line poem that originated in Japan; follows the 5-7-5 syllable scheme and uses
nature to express an emotion or concept.
2. Narrative – tells a story in lines and verses, originally sung by bards
a. Ballad – set to music, focused on usual human experiences
b. Epic – tells the story of heroes and their adventures.
c. Metrical Tale – topics vary from romance, the quest for adventure, love, and various phases of life.
d. Metrical Romance – deals with the story of adventure, love, chivalry, and deeds of derring-do, also called chivalric poems.
B. Fictional Prose
Prose, unlike poetry, is written in ordinary, non-metrical language but still utilizes literary techniques to deliver its message. For fictional prose, texts feature characters, settings, and incidents which are born out of the writer’s imagination. It may include supernatural elements or extraordinary events, but these are still ultimately rooted in reality. Two main types of fictional prose are:
1. short story – has its plot, characters, setting, and conflict, and it can be read in one sitting
2. novel – an extended work of prose that features chapters with fictional elements
C. Nonfictional Prose
Nonfiction presents facts or opinions about reality. Writers straightforwardly express their message to convey information to their readers effectively. The following are the types of nonfictional prose:
Biographical Narratives
Biography is a story of a person’s life written by another person.
A Profile is an in-depth article or essay about one person or place.
Character sketch-According to the Collins English Dictionary Character sketch is a “brief
description or portrayal of a person's character, qualities, etc.”
An interview is a meeting of people, usually face-to-face, to discuss an issue or topic.
Autobiographical Narratives
Autobiography– is a story of a persons’ life written by themselves.
Memoir – a recollection of a person’s specific experience. It deals with a slice of life in contrast to an autobiography that deals with an individual’s life.
Special types include Travel writing, Food writing, and Nature writing
Travelogue/Travel Writing is an author’s experiences while traveling
Food Writing-Nonfiction writing that concentrates on food. It’s in the form of memoirs and essays written in creative nonfiction, but it can also include history and explanations of scientific concepts.
Nature Writing- it deals with the natural environment. The phrase "nature writing" "has typically been reserved for a style of nature representation deemed literary, written in the speculative personal voice, and presented in the form of the nonfiction essay," according to eco critic and author Michael P. Branch in his book Beyond Nature Writing.
Diaries and Journals
Diary – is a record of a person’s daily experiences and his/her thoughts and emotions.
Journal-According to the Oxford Dictionary, journaling is a daily record of personal news or happenings that function much like a newspaper or magazine.
Keeping a journal typically entails more than just keeping track of daily activities. Analysis of your feelings over a specific incident or about what occurred is another important component of a successful writing routine.
Emerging forms of literature
Blogs and Facebook status posts (Note: classification still depends on content; standards of literature should still be applied to gauge their merit)
Other types
Literary reportage or literary journalism
• literary journalism (which is also called “new journalism”)
-writing in a personal way about the facts in a news event which is still close to traditional reportage.
Essays (descriptive and reflection essays, etc.)
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, an essay is “an analytic or interpretive literary composition usually dealing with its subject from a limited or personal point of view.”
D. Drama
Drama is meant to be performed on stage. Actors and actresses are expected to act out the scenes
on a script while following stage directions and using props and costumes to bring the characters and events to life. Like poetry and fiction, it may utilize symbolism and allegory to present a hidden message to the audience. Here are the different types or genres of drama:
1. Comedy – lighthearted, humorous, often ends with a happy ending
2.Farce – exaggerated humor, slapstick, improbable events
3. Musical – the entire production is set to a musical score.
4. Melodrama – dramatic or comedic storylines; may also feature singing and dancing, exaggerated characters, and exciting events
5. Tragedy – darker themes, flawed characters, heroic downfall usually ends in the death of a character
6. Tragicomedy – a combination of elements of comedy and tragedy