HANDOUT 1

• What types of forms can literature take according to the study material?

  Literature can take oral, written, or visual forms.
• What are some examples of oral forms of literature

  
  

  • chants
  • riddles
  • myths
  • urban legends.
• How does literature differ from news reports or journal articles?

  Literature uses imaginative or creative language, while news reports or journal articles utilize direct language devoid of literary techniques or devices.
• Literature represents the realities that man faces in his everyday interactions with himself, other people, and the world.
• Why is literature considered more than just a depiction of reality?

  Literature is considered value-addition, making the representation of reality more meaningful.
• The key characteristics of literature

  • A body of literary productions
  • Can be oral, written, or visual
  • Contains imaginative language
  • Realistically portrays human thoughts, emotions, and experiences
  • Represents everyday interactions and adds value to reality
• What are the two types of literature students proposed by Tan?

  Student A and Student B
• What characterizes Student A in Tan's proposal about literature students?

  • Profits from readings and discussions of literary works
  • Studies literature well and goes beyond surface statements
  • Experiences aesthetic satisfaction from literary pieces
  • Encounters a meaningful learning experience
• What characterizes Student B in Tan's proposal about literature students?

  • Plagued by the question of the worth of literature
  • Does not profit from reading and participation
  • Fails to realize the meaning of literature in their life
• How does Student A differ from Student B in their approach to literature?

  Student A engages deeply and finds meaning, while Student B questions the value of literature and does not benefit from it.
• The Importance of Literature

  • Literature provides perspective.
  • Literature helps one understand his society and world.
  • Literature offers opportunities for expression.
  • Literature provides entertainment.
• Literature offers opportunities for expression

  • Writing literature gives on an opportunity to give insights on matters or issues using the power of language.
• Literature provides entertainment.

  • It takes us to places.
  • Aside from the fact that it teaches, it entertains us.
  • Literature is a friend to man
• Literary Standards - In evaluating pieces of literature, one applies certain recognizable standards of good literature. These are distinct qualities that separate it from the rest. These include:

  • Intellectual value
  • Universality
  • Artistry
  • Suggestiveness
  • Spiritual Value
  • Permanence
  • Style
• Intellectual value

  • Literature stimulates critical thinking that enriches mental processes of abstract and reasoning, making man realize the fundamental truths of life and its nature.
  • e.g. Machiavelli’s The Prince stimulates the mind because it gives insights about political theory.
• Universality

  • Literature appeals to everyone, regardless of culture, race, sex, and time which are all considered significant.
  • e.g. Chinua Achebe’s Dead Men’s Path appeals not only to Nigerians but possibly to people of different races.
• Artistry

  • Literature has an aesthetic appeal and thus possesses a sense of beauty.
  • e.g. The beauty of storytelling in Dingdong Novenario’s Ang Huling El Bimbo appeals to its viewers
• Suggestiveness

  • Literature unravels and conjures man’s emotional power to define symbolisms, nuances, implied meanings, images and messages, giving and evoking visions above and beyond the plane of ordinary life and experience.
  • e.g. J. Neil Garcia’s use of images and symbol in his poem, The Conversion effectively conveys the feelings of the persona.
• Spiritual value

  • Literature elevates the spirit and the soul and thus has the power to motivate and inspire, drawn from the suggested morals or lessons of the different literary genres.
  • e.g. Guy de Maupassant’s The Necklace subtly reveals the dangers of vanity.
• Permanence

  • Literature endures across time and draws out the time factor: timeliness, occurring at a particular time, and timelessness, remaining invariable throughout time.|
  • e.g. Reading your favorite novel The Little Prince piece again and again will not be tiring because it gives you new insights each time.
• Style

  • Literature presents peculiar way/s on how man sees life as evidenced by the formation of his ideas, forms, structures, and expressions which are marked by their memorable substance.
  • e.g. Adonis Durado’s Balaki ko Day Samtang Nagsakay Ta’g Habal-habal features a persona who is a habal-habal driver speaking to his beloved passenger/lover. This playful poem written in Bisaya has a distinct style.
• Why is the focus on the 21st century in literature education?

  Because SHS students were born in or just before the 21st century, making it their century.
• How do the perceptions of the 20th century differ between SHS students and teachers?

  For SHS students, the 20th century is viewed as the 19th century is viewed by teachers.
• Literature provides perspective

  • It presents human life and experience.
  • one gets to walk in the shoes of others who may not have the same life as his, and who may not have the same experiences he encounters in his everyday living.
  • man is given the opportunity to feel what the characters in a story feel
  • A reader interacts with characters whose lives, inner conflicts, and aspirations may resonate with his.
  • allows one to discover himself and grow through the exposure of beliefs, attitudes, values of the people of the world.
• Literature helps one understand his society and world

  • Literature is a mirror that reflects the culture to which it belongs.
  • Literature is a window which allows its readers to see in an intimate way, the thoughts, feelings, vanities, and beliefs of a particular nation or social group.
  • Enables humanity to see their own predicament and progress and the world they are in.
  • Literature allows one to “connect”; commune with the World and the Universe
  • Its transcendence allows us to become more knowledgeable about different facets of life.