Q4 Lesson 1 - 21st Century Lit

• Literature

  • Transforms and identifies ordinary language
  • It is a systematic deviation from everyday speech
• Literature is the art form that arises out of human ability to create language
• The Essence of Literature

  • It is a social document
  • It reflects various aspects of society's good values and its ill
  • In its corrective function, literature mirrors the ills of society with a view to making the society realize its mistakes and make amends
  • It introduces us to a new world of experience through books and help us grow and evolve through our literary journey.
• Geothe

  “The era of world literature is at hand, and everyone must contribute to accelerating it.”
• Nature and Definition

  • Literature is considered in a global context.
  • It suggests the sum of the world’s national literature and the circulation of work into the wider world beyond the country’s origin.
  • World literature started out to be an ideal or ambition.
• World literature

  It speaks to people of more than one nationality, hence it transcends borders.
• Literature is often used in the past primarily for the masterpieces of Western European literature, but now is being seen in global context as countries are experiencing similar situations and are all linked together.
• Periods in World Literature

  • Beginnings of the East 3000 BC–1400 AD
  • Ancient Greece 800 BC–323 BC
  • Roman Literature 300 BC–AD 500
  • The Middle Ages AD 450–1300
  • The Renaissance 1300–1650
  • Age of Rationalism 1650–1800
  • Age of Romanticism and Realism 1800–1890
  • The Modern World 1890–1945
  • The Postmodern World 1946–present
• Beginnings of the East (Oriental)

  • often referred to as Oriental Literature
  • deeply rooted in the ancient civilizations of Asia
• Ancient Civilizations of Asia

  • India
  • China
  • Persia (Iran)
  • Japan
• East (Oriental) Literature

  • explores philosophical concepts and spiritual values
  • uses the beauty of nature to depict human emotions
  • encompasses a diverse array of cultural traditions
• Works of East (Oriental) Literature

  • Indiana epic Mahabharata
  • Chinese Poetry
  • Japan Tale of Genji
  • Epic of Gilgamesh
  • The Analects
  • Shahnameh
  • Ramayana
  • The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam
• Features of Eastern Literature

  • Early Eastern literary works were passed down orally
  • Explores religious and philosophical concepts, reflecting the tradition and beliefs of the culture where they originate (e.g. karma, dharma, enlightenment, nature of existence)
  • Celebrate the interconnectedness of human with nature, achieving harmony with natural world
  • Has a wide range of unique literary styles, forms, and themes
  • Frequently delves in to themes of spirituality, mysticism, and inner transformation, seeking to illuminate path to enlightenment
• "If the cherry blossoms no longer bloom, will the heart of spring still be as serene?" - Murasaki Shikibu, Genji Monogatari


  -Talks about the pureness of youth
• Essence of literature:

  • social document (confides with history)
  • it reflects society's good values and ills
  • corrective function (we have to make things right, as Filipinos tend to repeat history)
  • new world of experience helps us to grow and evolve
• Ancient Greek Literature

  • explores fundamental questions of existence and morality
  • reflects the intellectual and artistic achievements of a civilization that laid the groundwork for Western thought and culture
• Greek writers and philosophers

  • Gorgias
  • Aesop
  • Plato
  • Socrates
  • Aristotle
  • Euripides
  • Sophocles
• Fifth Century (499-400 BCE)


  • The golden age of Greece
  • The sophisticated period of the polis and early democracy
• Polis

  individual city-state
• Athens


  Where some of the world's finest art, poetry, drama, architecture, and philosophy originated
• Features of Ancient Greek Literature

  • often draws upon rich mythology
  • epic poem is a prominent form in ancient Greek literature
  • renowned for its dramatic traditions, particularly tragedy
  • birthplace of Western philosophy
  • encompasses the aart of rhetoric and oratory
  • includes rich tradition of lyric poetry
• mythology

  • features gods, heroes, and mythical creatures
  • explore heroic deeds and struggles of legendary figures
• mythology works

  • Homer's epics: The Illiad, and The Odyssey
• Epic Poem

  • lengthy narratives written in dactylic hexameter
  • recount the heroic adventures of legendary figures
  • themes: honor, heroism, and fate
• Dramatic Traditions (Tragedy)

  • playwrights: Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides
  • explored human suffering, moral dilemmas, and the workings of fate
  • structure: includes a protagonist who experiences a reversal of fortune, leading to a cathartic emotional release for the audience.
• Philosophical inquiry


  a prominent feature of greek literature
• Greek philosophers

  • Plato and Aristotle
  • delves into questions of: ethics, metaphysics, politics, and the nature of reality.
• Rhetoric and Oratory

  • skilled speakers delivering persuasive speeches in public forums like the Athenian assembly and the law courts.
  • Persuasive works: Demosthenes' Philippics, and Pericles' Funeral Oration
• Lyric Poetry

  • a rich tradition characterized by musicality and emotional intensity
  • Poets: Sappho and Pindar
  • Themes: love, beauty, nature, and the divine
  • often accompanied by music and dance
• Ancient Greek Literature works

  • The Iliad
  • The Odyssey
  • Oedipus Rex
  • The Republic
• “Man is the vainest of all creatures that have their being upon earth.” - Homer, Iliad
• Greek Literary Genres

  • epic
• Greek literary genres

  • epic
  • lyric
  • pastoral poetry
  • tragic
  • comic drama
  • prose history
  • philosophy
• Greek people value honor the most as part of their identity
• Fate is a prophecy of the future. Greeks believe that once you know what will happen, it certainly will happen.
• Oedipal Complex


  attraction towards mother
• Hubris

  'pride' that lead to their downfall in the Odyssey
• Epics are considered a cultural bible

  • the thought is, people will follow god, or someone who is guided by god
  • Odysseus is guided by athena, that's why they followed him
• The Irony in Odyssey:

  • Odysseus violated the "xenia" or hospitality when he killed his wife's suitors. He doesn't like that part of the culture yet he is the one who practiced it.
  • Gods portrayed themselves as humans so always be hospitable.
  • They imposed themselves on the household, devouring the livestock, consuming the wine, insulting their host. They are rude not only to each other but to Telemachus and the guests, such as disguised Athena and Odysseus.
  • He disrespected the residents of cyclops (polyphemus)
• en media res


  a story opens or unfolds from the middle of the plot

  • evident on the part where the king told him "tell me your story first"
  • he was held captive on Calypso's island