English 2nd Term

• The years 1935 to 1945 saw the emergence of a significant trend in Philippine literature in English.
• Jose M. Hernandez describes this period as a time of self-discovery and of rapid growth.
• The writers consciously and purposefully create a national literature.
• The writers had gained full control of the English language and could successfully manipulate it as a literary medium.
• Experimentation with different literary forms and techniques and moods was the fashion during the emergence period.
• Three groups of writers emerged during the emergence period: those who were concerned with social consciousness, those whose main concern was craftsmanship, and those who were determined to explore local color.
• In 1937, the Philippine Book Guild was founded with the purpose of producing literature and creating a reading public.
• In 1939, the Philippine Writers Guild was established with the creed to develop a common cultural consciousness among Filipinos.
• The Free Press, The Graphic, and the Philippine Magazine followed a policy of providing ample space for literary work in English.
• The Commonwealth Literary Awards, established in 1940, gave the first substantial prices to meritorious writers.
• The first winners of these awards were: Essay Division – Literature and Society by Salvador P. Lopez, Short Story Division – “How My Brother Leon Brought Home a Wife” by Manuel E. Arguilla, Poetry Division – “Like the Molave” by Rafael Zulueta da Costa, and Novel Division – His Native Soil”, by Juan Cabreros Laya.
• The policy adopted by newspapers to issue weekly supplements when literary works were published during the emergence period contributed to the flowering of Philippine literature in English.
• The Japanese occupation of 1941 - 1945 brought this flowering of Philippine literature in English to an abrupt close.
• A group of essayists banded together to form the Philippine Writer’s League.
• One reason for this is that nationalistic themes and revolutionary subjects were popular among the general public.
• Another reason may have been that movies took over the zarzuela despite the great competition put up by the latter.
• Jose Garcia Villa’s influence on Philippine poetry has been deeply felt.
• They were animated by the belief that “literature conditioned society.”
• Jose Garcia Villa was charged with indecency when he published “Man Songs.”
• The revolt against traditional values and mores was first felt in poetry.
• Guerrero succeeded in establishing a drama tradition in the University of the Philippines and had put up the UP Mobile Theater.
• Prominent among the playwrights of this period were Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero and Severino Montano.
• His first book of poems was published in 1933.
• Although the West has already rebelled against photographic representations of life, the Filipino playwrights in English were not yet at home with representational realism.
• Gonzalez and Nick Joaquin wrote effective portrayals of Filipino life evocative of rustic scenes, rising artistic value and significance.
• In the drama, the Western influence continued its firm hold on Filipino playwrights.
• In poetry, the literary output was rather meager although there seemed to be genuine desire to create new poetic modes of expression.
• Juan C. Laya is a regional-realist and gives a down-to-earth portrayal of the farmers and fisherfolk.
• Dramatic realism could not assimilate unrealistic dialogue and situations resulting from the use of English.
• The sonnet enabled them to create love lyrics which captured nuances and moods through a more skilled manipulation of language and imagery.
• The Philippine drama in English lagged behind in development compared to other literary forms.
• The literary works that were produced during the Japanese occupation years were published abroad.
• In his first books of essays, “Literature and Society,” Salvador P. Lopez insisted that the writer should have a direct responsibility to society.
• The “schoolroom poets” still provided inspiration, and the Romanticists offered patterns that Filipino poets followed.
• In the field of the novel, Juan C. Laya’s “His Native Soil” won the first Commonwealth Literary Award in 1940.
• Playwrights who adopted English as their vehicle of artistic expression felt neither rebellious nor inciting.
• His second collection of poems, entitled “Poems by Doveglion,” won the Commonwealth Literary Award in 1941.
• Although the Japanese occupation years produced little literary work of significance, the period was to become a rich source of subject matter in the succeeding period.
• The period of emergence saw a shift from romantic idealism to romantic realism.
• This realism reached a climax in the stories of Manuel E. Arguilla, N.V.M.