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According to Serrano and Ames:

Filipino Literature regardless of the

language in which it is written expresses the

Filipino soul, national traditions, customsand cultural values which are so ingrained

in a people that no super imposition of

foreign cultural patterns can completely

eradicate them.

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According to Websters Dictionary

Literature covers all the

writings of a particular country, time,

kind, etc. especially those valued for

excellence of form and expression.

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The word literature is derived from theLatin word littera, which means letters.

It also means anything written or

printed. In usage, however, it means thosewritings in prose and verse which deal with

themes or permanent value and universal

interest and are usually characterized by

creativeness and imagination, by grace ofexpression and great emotional effect.

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According to Meyer in his bookThe

Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature

Literature does not lend itself to asingle tidy definition, because the making of

it over the centuries has been as complex,

unwieldy, and natural as LIFE itself.

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1. Is literature anything that is written, from

ancient prayers to graffiti?

2. Does it include songs and stories that were not

written down until many years after they were

recited?

3. Does literature include scripts from Seinfeld?

4. Is literature only that which has permanent

value and continues to move people?

5. Must literature be true or beautiful or moral?

6. Should it be socially useful?

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Two general kinds of literature:

Noncreative literature is written record of facts.

Examples:

news stories, feature articles, source books

most textbooks, dictionaries and encyclopedia

Creative literature is the product of the writers

imagination, originality, creative skills and

intellectual inventiveness.

Style is a revelation of the writer as an artist

through his or her distinctive craftsmanship. It is

also achieved through the use of words artistically,

imaginatively andcreatively to interpret life.

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Tell whether the following writing is CREATIVE orNONCREATIVE

1. A history textbook2. Joy in Poetry

3. An editorial

4. World Almanac

5. Lifestyle section

6. An Anthology of Chinese Literature7. Plays for Reading

8. The Origin of the Banana Plant

9. China, The Rainbow Land: A History

10.T

he Cries of Birds and other Poems

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Some view points on Literature include the following:

1. We can get the meaning of a piece of literature byhaving lived it because literature is a product of and

about life.

2. Life illumines literature just as literature illumines life.

3. Literary forms (which refers to a writers way of saying

things exist because writers have fashioned them toserve their needs.

4. The distinguishing marks of literature are humanization

and vivid concretization and some objectives that would

describe it are imaginative, creative , interpretative andselective.

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The importance or relevance of literature:

1. Materials progress and political power of may vanish;the spirit of nationalism may wane; but the glories of

literature withstand the forces of decay and decline.2. Literature is eternally burning flame, exuding light that

renders significance to civilization.

3. In literature, likewise, there is conserved a heritagewhich gives meaning to the peoples ideals. It mouldsthe mind of a people by preserving the experience of

the past in a cohesive and beautiful manner.4. Literature mirrors the depths of a culture and manifests

the truly creative genius of the race.

5. Literature, though seeming to hide timidly between the

covers of a book, has frequently generated ideas thathave had a tremendous effect. It has exhibited the

potency of an explosive in its capacity for upsetting thesocial order.

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6. Literature helps us grow both personally and

intellectually.

7. It helps us to connect ourselves to the cultural

context of which we are a part.

8. It helps us develop mature sensibility andcompassion for the condition of all living things,

human, animal and vegetable.

9. Literature is one of the things that shape our lives; it

makes us human.

10.It encourages us to assist creative talented people

who are in need.

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Nature of literature

1

. Literature is couched in literary language which abounds inambiguities, homonyms, grammatical gender.

2. It is permeated with historical accidents, memories and

associations.

3. It is highly commutative.

4. It conveys the tone and attitude of the speaker or writer.

5. It does not merely state and express what it says.

6. It also wants to influence the attitude of the reader, persuade

him and ultimately change him.

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Literary types or forms of genres

Genre is a grouping of literary works based upon outer form

and also upon the inner form.

1. PROSE FICTION OR NARRATIVE FICTION

2. POETRY

3. DRAMAS AND PLAYS

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Classification and

Definition of LiteraryTypes

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I. Narrative poetry tells a story

which is imaginative and

rhythmical language.

A. Epic is a long, narrative poem

divided into distinct relationship to

some great hero, action or time. Epicsare essentially single poems od

exceeding dignity and power.

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Two kinds of epic:

1. Folk or popular epic (Beowulf)

does not have a known author

but evolved gradually from thepeoples ancient traditions.

2. Literary epics have distinct

authorship