Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Ang Literatura ng
Pilipinas
I. Pre-colonial Literature
A. Traditional Verses
1. riddles usually a rhyming couplet, each having
a regular syllabic count, varying from four syllables to as
many as 14 syllables. Riddles draw their subjects from
everyday life, and they are used to test wit, ingenuity,
and imagination.
2. proverbs terse statements of practical wisdom
based on long experience and observations about life.
They cover a wide range of subjects from the expressions
of general attitudes toward life to exhortations on
behaviour. Proverbs are stated in figurative language and
are usually rendered in rhyming couplets. They serve to
ensure social conformity.
3. songs are of great variety, expressive of a
gamut of human experiences and feelings. They are sung
at almost every occasion: work, worship, wedding, war,
with the accompaniment of musical instruments, mostly
percussive and stringed. They include lullabies, street
C. Prose Narratives
1. Barlaan at Josaphat (1712) By Baltazar
de Santa Cruz translated by Fr. Antonio de Borja into
Tagalog. It tells the story of the conversion to
Christianity of a young Indian prince.
2. El Martir de Golgota (1863) Juan
Evangelistas Tagalog version of Enrique Perez
Escrichs fictional biography of Christ.
3. Tandang Basio Macunat (1882) by Fr.
Miguel Lucio Bustamante
4. Urbana at Feliza (1855) by Fr. Modesto de
Castro, constituted a code of conduct for the period.
5. Lagda a Visayan compilation of maxims
first published under the Caton Christiano (1734,
1746, 1850) in Waray and in Cebuano (1865, 1893).
and
learningbecame the official medium of
1.
English
instruction.
Magazines started publication: College Folio (1910),
Philippine Free Press (1905), Philippines Herald
(1920), Philippine Education Magazine which gave
literary prizes.
Zoilo Galang published Child of Sorrow (1921), first
Filipino novel in English, and Life and Success (1921)
first volume of essays in English.
The UP Writers Club was founded (1927).
Newspapers and magazines provided space for
literary pieces for the regions: Muling Pagsilang
(1903, Tagalog), Ang Kaluwasan (1902, Cebuano),
Makiugalingon (1913, Hiligaynon), and Nueva Era
(1908, Ilocano), Liwayway (1922, Tagalog), Bisaya