Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION TO LITERATURE
Objectives:
At the end of this chapter, the students will be able to:
1. Define literature.
2. Identify the types of literature.
3. Distinguish the elements of literature.
What is Literature?
Literature came from the Latin word “litera” which means letters.
Webster defines literature as anything that is printed, as long as it is related to the
ideas and feelings of people, whether it is true, or just a product of one’s imagination.
Literature is also defined as a body of work, either written, oral, or visual, containing
imaginative language that realistically portrays thought, emotions, and experiences of
the human condition. Other writers define it as a product of particular culture that
concretizes man’s array of values, emotions, actions, and ideas. It is therefore a
creation of human experiences that tells about people and their world.
Importance of Literature
Studying literature is like looking at the mirror of life where man’s experiences, his
innermost feelings and thoughts are reflected.
Through literature, we learn the culture of people across time and space.
We understand not only the past life of a nation but also its present.
Moreover, we become familiar not only with the culture of neighboring countries
but also with that of others living very far from us.
Types of Literature
Prose
It came from the word “prosa” which means straightforward. It consists of written
works within the common flow of conversation presented in a straightforward manner.
Types of Prose
1. Novel - This is a long narrative divided into chapters. The events may be taken from
true-to-life stories and spans for a long period of time. There are many characters
involved.
2. Short Story - This is a narrative involving one or more characters, one plot and one
single impression.
3. Plays - This is presented on a stage, is divided into acts and each act has many
scenes.
4. Legends - These are fictitious narratives, usually about origins. It provides historical
information regarding the culture and views of particular group of people or country.
5. Folk Tales - A traditional narrative, usually anonymous, and handed down orally.
6. Fables - These are also fictitious and they deal with animals and inanimate things who
speak and act like people. Their purpose is to enlighten the minds of children to events
that can mold their ways and attitudes.
7. Myths - A traditional sacred story, typically revolving around the activities of gods and
heroes, which aim to explain a natural phenomenon or cultural practice.
8. Anecdotes - These are merely products of the writer’s imagination and the main aim
is to bring out lessons to the reader. For example: A mother tells her son a story about a
family vacation when she was growing up.
9. Essay - This expresses the viewpoint or opinion of the writer about a particular problem
or event. The best example of this is the Editorial page of a newspaper.
10. Biography - This deals with the life of a person which may be about himself, his
autobiography or that of others.
11. News - This is a report of everyday events in society, government, science and
industry, accidents etc., happening nationally or not.
12. Oration - This is a formal treatment of a subject and is intended to be spoken in
public. It appeals to the intellect, to the will or to the emotions of the audience.
Poetry
It is an imaginative awareness of experience expressed through meaning sound,
and rhythmic language choices as to evoke emotional response.
Types of Poetry
Narrative Poetry .This form describes important events in life either real or imaginary.
Types of Narrative Poetry
Epic: It is an extended narrative about heroic exploits under supernatural control. It may
deal with heroes and gods. The hero/heroine usually has the following characteristics:
idealism, courage, wisdom, beauty, endurance, chivalry and justice. E.g. Beowulf
Metrical Tales: This is a narrative which is written in verse and can be classified either as
a ballad or metrical romance. E.g. The Lady of Shallot by Lord Alfred Tennyson
Ballad: This is considered as the shortest and simplest of the narrative poems. It has a
simple structure and tells of a single incident. E.g. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Dramatic Poetry. An emotional piece of literature which includes a story which is recited
or sung. Soliloquy and dramatic monologues are the main instruments of this form.
Types of Dramatic Poetry
A. Comedy: This word comes from the Greek term “Komos” meaning festivity or revelry.
This form usually is light and written with a purpose of amusing, and usually has a happy
ending.
B. Melodrama: This is usually seen in musical play with the opera. Today, this is related
to tragedy just as the farce to comedy. It arouses immediate and intense emotion and
is usually sad but there is a happy ending for the principal character.
C. Tragedy: This involves the hero struggling mightily against dynamic forces; he meets
death or ruin without success and satisfaction obtained by the protagonist in a
comedy.
D. Farce: This is an exaggerated comedy. It seeks to arouse mirth by laughable lines;
situations are too ridiculous to be true; the characters seem to be caricatures and the
motives undignified and absurd.
E. Social Poems: This form is either purely comic or tragic and its pictures the life of
today. it may aim to bring about changes in the social conditions.
Lyric Poetry. Originally, this refers to that kind of poetry meant to be sung to the
accompaniment of a lyre, but now, this applies to any type of poetry that expresses
emotions and feelings to the poet. They are usually short, simple and easy to
understand.
Types of Lyric Poetry
A. Folksongs: These are short poems intended to be sung. The common theme is love,
despair, grief, doubt, joy, hope, and sorrow.
B. Sonnets: This is a lyric of poem of 14 lines dealing with an emotion, a feeling or an
idea. There are two types: the Italian and the Shakespearean.
C. Elegy: This is a lyric poem which expresses feelings of grief and melancholy, and
whose theme is death.
D. Ode : This is a poem of a noble feeling, expressed with dignity, with no definite
number of syllables or definite number of lines in a stanza.
E. Psalms: This is a song praising God or the Virgin Mary and containing a philosophy of
life.
F. Awit : These have the measures of twelve syllables (dodecasyllabic) and slowly sung
to the accompaniment of a guitar or banduria.
G. Corridos: These have measures of eight syllables (octosyllabic)and recited to a
martial beat. The songs are often about oppressions, daily life of peasants, and other
socially important information.
Elements of Literature
Character: Character plays a pivotal role in a drama, novel, short story and all kinds of
narratives. In drama, character reflects the personality of the protagonist and other
related characters. The method of conveying information about characters in art is
called characterization. Characters can be fictional or based on real, historical entities.
It can be human, supernatural, mythical, divine, animal or personifications of an
abstraction. There are round characters, flat characters, stereotypical stock characters,
etc.
Protagonist- The main character in a story. The protagonist experiences the conflict in
the story. The protagonist does not have to be “good.”
Antagonist- The cause of the conflict. The antagonist doesn’t have to be a person.
Setting: It refers to geographical location of the story, time period, daily lifestyle of the
characters and climate of the story.
Plot: Plot is the serial arrangement of incidents, ideas or events. In literature, the plot
encompasses all the incidents and provides aesthetic pleasure. The plot has the
following structure.
Introduction
Conflict
Rising action
Climax
Falling action
Denouement
Conflict: Be it a short story, drama or novel, conflict is the essential element of all these
literary forms. A plot becomes interesting and intriguing when it has its share of inbuilt
conflict and twists. Conflict can be internal conflict or external.
The central conflict in many short stories is often based on one of these four common
types of conflicts:
•character against character
•character against society
•character against nature
•character against self
Point of view: Point of view is another element of the narrative, through which a writer
tells the story. Authors use first-person point of view or third-person point of view. First-
person point of view indicates that the main character is telling the story, whereas the
third-person point of view directs that the narrator is telling the story. A novel can be
written in the first-person narrative, third-person narrative, omniscient point of view,
limited omniscient point of view, stream of consciousness and objective point of view.
These points of view play an important role in the distinct structure of the story or a play.
Theme: Theme is another prime element of literature, which contains the central idea of
all literary forms such as a novel, drama and short story. It reflects innocence,
experience, life, death, reality, fate, madness, sanity, love, society, individual, etc.
