Josol, Jianne Shanley P. - Written Work 2

 A Critical Analysis on the Philippine Literature by Frank R. Blake 

What is Philippine Literature? How is Philippine Literature defined by historians, teachers, or other professionals? These are questions frequently asked by various people, academic and non-academic. Moreover, as do many professionals, they try to convey their thoughts and ideas about people’s questions by writing an article. That is how Frank R. Blake communicated his explanations by writing an article entitled  ‘Philippine Literature’ in 1911, published in American Anthropologist, a journal of the American Anthropological Association. In the article ‘Philippine Literature,’ Frank R. Blake delivers information and shares his insights about what defines Philippine Literature while also giving light to its nature. Frank R. Blake views Philippine literature as written speech that utilizes a language deemed a component of the Philippines, evidently lacking in graceful or creative writing. Furthermore, in ‘Philippine Literature,’ Frank R. Blake successfully explains that the literature of the Philippines only falls as literature due to its nature being written speech and not as being writing with artistic traces. 

Moreover, the article ‘Philippine Literature’ dwells on the lives of the native population of the Philippine Islands. The native population is composed of various tribes that fall into three clusters: (1) the mountain pagan tribes, (2) the Mohammedan Moros of Sulu and Mindanao, and (3) the Christian tribes. Essentially, each tribe has a language that differs from other tribes. The pagan tribe was the first tribe discussed. There are some languages of the pagan tribe that exists in written form. The tribe possesses native alphabets that are only utilized for short inscriptions. The tribe prints other works written by missionaries in Roman type and are of a religious character. Moving forward, the second tribe the article examined was the Mohammedan tribes. This tribe has two principal languages: (1) Sulu, which is spoken primarily in the territory of the Sultan of Sulu, and (2) Magindanaw, which is owned and used by the most influential tribe on Mindanao. The literary monuments of this tribe, which are composed in a slightly altered variation of the Arabic alphabet, are all in manuscript form. The writings of the Moros are categorized into four heads: (1) Historical annals, (2) Legal codes, (3) Religious texts, and (4) Writings of varied characters, tales, and others. The Moros write all the books in their tribe. Finally, the last tribe that the author tackled is the Christian tribe. This tribe is known for its numbers and its high degree of civilization. The Christian tribes publish their works in different languages: Bisayan and Tagalog being the most numerous, Ilokan with less than half the number of the previously mentioned language, Bikol, Pangasinan, Pampanga, Ibanag, Kuyo, Zambal, and Batan and Kalamian. Overall, the languages mentioned totaled 800 works. Moreover, the verses in this tribe are crafted with great detail. Details include the syllables, vowels, consonants, and many others. The Christian tribes feature different works such as religious works, class of writings, dramatic productions, plays, proverbs and riddles, books, and newspapers and periodicals. Some of the works from this tribe are by anonymous writers. All in all, the author effectively discussed the nature of the various tribes from the Philippine Islands. 

Additionally, the article had several primary ideas that circled Philippine literature. The article’s main ideas were the descriptions and differences in the tribes: the Pagan tribes, the Mohammedan Moros of Sulu and Mindanao, and the Christian tribes. The tribe all differ in the features that each of them has. The article has a description text structure as it provides specific characteristics or attributes of the various tribes. As previously summarized, the Pagan tribe has languages that exist in written form, possess native alphabets, and prints works in Roman type. Next, the Mohammedan tribe has two principal languages, literary monuments in manuscript form, writings categorized in four heads, and books written by themselves. Lastly, the Christian tribe has high numbers and civilization, works published in various languages, verses crafted with specific details, a multitudinous amount of different works. Practically, characteristics of the tribes, such as the languages and alphabets used, are used to describe the principal concepts. 

Furthermore, the way Frank R. Blake presented his article was effective. The ideas and facts in the article were presented with clarity, accuracy, order, and coherence. The structure of each main idea was similar throughout the article. The author’s points in each tribe were not far from each other. The ideas in the article are connected, making the article and the concept of it flow smoothly. It is easy for the readers to move from one sentence and one idea to another. In the article, there is no abrupt shift in ideas. Also, the author explains ideas with supporting details, ensuring that readers are clarified about the context of the topic. The author used phrases to help readers follow his train of thought, such as, ‘the next in rank.’ This phrase can be found when the author ranked the number of works of the Christian tribes published in different languages. The author also shows transparency about his thoughts when he mentions “so far as I know” when talking about Philippine books during the colonial period. As examples were also given, the article’s point is easier to understand and connect to. The author used the phrase “for example” multiple times. He provides enough examples to the readers to help them understand his views and his stand. The author has used “for example” to provide clarity about the two classes of consonants, what corridos are, and what native riddles are. 

To continue, the way the author presents Philippine literature is impressive. The elements of Philippine literature were explained in great detail. The author presented Philippine literature as a subject that everyone should hear. The characteristics of Philippine literature were explained thoroughly and lacked nothing. The words used by the author were slightly challenging to understand, but the main idea can still be easily understood. The article can be easily understood, allowing the readers to connect and relate with the piece. For example, some difficult words that readers may find hard to understand include “genealogies,” “magic-texts,” and “edification.” There are not many significantly tricky words in the article, only some. In addition, it does not cause the viewers to perceive the text differently just because it is unknown to them. The article’s points are still evident, considering the difficulty of the words. However, it is still better if the author used words suitable to everyone. It may be a minor inconvenience, but it would be best if people of all classes could easily understand a text as an author considers everyone’s situation.

Philippine literature has had its share of developments throughout the years. The timeline of its development goes back from the pre-colonial period and moves to the colonial period. The pre-colonial periods were less civilized than the colonial periods. There were only minor variations in the works in this period. The works from the pre-colonial period were all in written form. The languages spoken were lower in number than in the colonial period. Also, writings were easily countable as they were not that many. On the contrary, the colonial period of Philippine literature had numerous developments and upgrades. The colonial period was the period with the highest degree of civilization. There were numerous changes and additions in the colonial period, from the sizes of works to each type of works included. The sizes of the works from this tribe were specified; they range from small pamphlets to massive volumes. The Christian tribe used numerous languages to publish their works. These languages include Bisayan and Tagalog being the most numerous, Ilokan with less than half the number of the previously mentioned language, Bikol, Pangasinan, Pampanga, Ibanag, Kuyo, Zambal, and Batan and Kalamian. Also, people are now more critical of their works and their structure. The Christian tribe dwelled more on the specifics of their works. For instance, the number of syllables per line is given much significance. The ends of lines were also carefully monitored. They must be in assonance with each other, according to the article. Additionally, a stanza’s final syllable of lines must contain the same vowel. However, if words ended with a consonant, people would use words whose endings are in the same class, as there were two consonant classes. The Christian tribe gave great significance to the vocal endings of their works. Moreover, in terms of the variety of works, the colonial period stays ahead. There is a long list of the various works they offer: (1) religious works, (2) class of writings, (3) dramatic productions, (4) plays, (5) proverbs, (6) riddles, (7) newspapers, (8) periodicals, (9) new testament, (10) books, and (11) treatise. This assortment of works shows how much the Philippine literature has changed from the pre-colonial period to the colonial period. 

To summarize, the author successfully explained how Philippine literature could only be called literature due to it being a written speech. The author communicated his ideas in a way that was clear and precise. The order and coherence of the article were spot on, which made it easier to be appreciated. The main ideas and the article’s structure were built well, giving no trouble to the reader to keep up. Finally, the author easily noted the Philippine literature’s development as time passed. In conclusion, the efforts of Frank R. Blake as he wrote ‘Philippine Literature’ were not put to waste as he effectively conveyed his ideas to the minds of the public.