Cimafranca, Ashley Dimples M. - Written Work 1

 

1. What do you know about the different Literary Periods in Philippine Literature?

           The Philippines is rich in history, culture, language, and literature. In the Philippine literature, it has emerged as the consequence of the country’s evolving history. The pre-colonial period, Spanish colonial period, American colonial period, Japanese period, and the contemporary period are all variations of the literary period in Philippine literature. The pre-colonial period was the first literary period in the Philippines. Prior to the advent of Spanish influence, Philippine literature began through the ancient Filipinos. The Philippine literature was based on a specific region's traditions and customs. During that time, baybayin as the writing system and perishable materials were used to write the literature. Also, oral literature, folk songs and tales, and epics were the literary forms at that time which were passed down through speech from one generation to another. During the Spanish colonial period, Philippine literature changed and prospered. The Roman alphabet was introduced and used to replace the Philippine pre-colonial writing system. With that, Philippine literature began to imitate the conventional ways of Spanish in writing themes and forms. The focus of the literature at that moment was Christian faith and stories about the saint’s lives and other religious hymns. There were also a lot of recreational plays that emerged. During the American colonial period, Filipinos started to use the English language. Also, Filipinos engage in several forms of literature such as poetry, novels, plays, essays, and news reporting on the varied subject matter. Then in the midst of the Japanese period, the use of English was stopped. Although, three types of poems which were Haiku, Tanaga, and usual form were developed at that moment. Then during the contemporary period, Philippine literature becomes more professional and continues to flourish. The Filipinos at this time express their thoughts more freely. Therefore, they proceed in writing all different forms of literature like poetry, novels, prose, and short stories.

 

2. What are the essential elements of the literary pieces under different periods of Philippine literature?

Literature has different elements such as structure, theme, tone, point of view, etc. The structure refers to how the ideas in a literary piece flow, whereas the theme is the main concept that the author wants to deliver to the readers. On the other hand, the tone is the author's attitude towards their work, while the point of view refers to how the literary work is narrated. These few elements of a literary work bound them all together. However, in Philippine literature, each period has distinct essential elements in its literary pieces. Specifically, in the pre-colonial period, where oral literature marks its way, the common theme of the works is usually life experiences or human nature, while in the Spanish colonial period, the works mainly circulated on religious themes. Meanwhile, in the American colonial period, the English language is used, and the theme of the literary works is commonly their love for the country and yearning for independence. In the Japanese period, the subject of the poems was usually patriotism, love, faith, nature, and life. Lastly, in the contemporary period, there are a lot of different genres, and the themes of the literary pieces were true to life, the development of the country, and social topics.