Objectives

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

 define literary meaning, and

 determine how the literary devices of a work of fiction work together to convey its literary meaning.

What is "literary meaning"?

How does one determine the "literary meaning" of a work of fiction?

Let’s Review

Literary elements – These devices are inherent in a literary text. Some examples are the characters, setting, conflict, plot, and theme
of a short story.

Literary techniques – These devices are used deliberately by a writer in his or her work to convey a particular meaning. Dialogue is an
example.Learn about it!

The literary meaning of a work is conveyed through its elements and the literary techniques that the writer used. In a short story, for
instance, the writer weaves a story, putting elements and techniques together in a specific arrangement to convey its meaning.

Consider Francisco Arcellana’s short story "The Mats." Arcellana focused on the character’s actions and dialogues to reveal their
innermost feelings, which can be clues to the literary meaning of the work.

"The Mats" (A Summary)

By Francisco Arcellana

The short story "The Mats" is about the Angeles family. As the title suggests, their story unfolds like the unfolding of a sleeping mat. It
begins with Emilia and her children waiting excitedly for Mr. Jaime Angeles’s return from a business trip. In a letter, Mr. Angeles told his
wife that he had asked a mat weaver to make decorative sleeping mats for each one in the family. To some degree, the children knew
what those mats would look like because their mother kept one herself. This mat was a gift from Emilia’s mother. It had been a witness
to the couple’s wedding night as well as to the illnesses and even deaths in the family. Then the day came when Mr. Angeles arrived
home at last. The family had a long dinner. The table was cleared right after, and Mr. Angeles had a cigar. When it was time to untie the
mats, Mr. Angeles cut the cord that held the bundle with scissors. He began unfolding the mats one by one. He handed the first one to
Emilia; the second one to himself; the third one to his eldest, Marcelina; the fourth one to his son, Jose; and three more to his children
Antonia, Juan, and Jesus. Each mat had the name of the family member on it as well as something special like the cadena de amor on
Emilia’s mat, a lyre on Marcelina’s, and the symbol of Aesculapius on Jose’s. Then Emilia noticed the other three mats that were not yet
unfolded. In a different voice, Mr. Angeles told her that they were for those who were not there. Emilia was speechless, and the children
fell silent. Mr. Angeles unfolded the first of three remaining mats; it revealed a name that the children knew, but it seemed strange to
them. Nana Emilia told her husband, "You know, Jaime, you didn’t have to. You didn’t have to." To this Mr. Angeles only said, "Do you
think I’d forgotten? Do you think I had forgotten them? Do you think I could forget them?" Then he called out the names of his dead
children, namely, Josefina, Victoria, and Concepcion, as if they were there to get the mats themselves. Emilia pleaded with him to stop.
To this he only said, "Is it fair to forget them? Would it be just to disregard them?" The children wanted to turn away from their father,
but they did not. Emilia held back her frustration. Mr. Angeles unfolded the remaining mats in silence.

Literary Meaning of "The Mats"

It is shown through the characters Emilia and her husband that coping with the death of loved ones is a struggle. Emilia seemed to
lead a normal life from the beginning of the story until the moment her husband told her that he had the mat weaver made three mats
for their three dead children. Forced to remember their dead children, she could only hold back from feeling frustration perhaps with her
husband. On the other hand, Mr. Angeles dealt with the death of his children in a way that he knew how, that is, remembering them on
special occasions even if that made his wife and children uncomfortable.

Summary
The literary devices, elements and techniques, that are present in a work like a short story, bring about the literary meaning of the work.
This meaning can be about people or life in general.
Objectives
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

 identify the Filipino dramatists or playwrights in English during the Postwar Period in the Philippines (1946–
1960); and
 analyze a Filipino drama or play in English published during that period.

What is a drama?
What are the elements of a drama?
Who are the Filipino dramatists in English that emerged during the Postwar Years?

Drama
Drama is a literary work that tells a story through actions and dialogues. It is usually performed on stage.

Elements
Characters – These actors set the scene and flow of the story.

Dialogues – These are conversations between the characters.

Plot – This is the series of events that take place.

Stage directions – These statements tell the actors how they should look, move, and speak. They also give the
director a picture of how the setting looks like, and what music and other sounds would set the mood of the play.

Philippine Drama in English During the Postwar Period (1946–1960)

By the 1940s and 1950s, dramas in English had been performed on stage in the Philippines. During that time, three
notable Filipino dramatists emerged. They were Severino Montano, Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero, and Alberto S.
Florentino.

Severino Montano (1915–1980) established the Arena Theatre at the Philippine Normal College in 1952. Almost
two hundred performances were staged there from 1953 to 1964. Among those performances were the staging of
Montano’s four major dramas, namely, Parting at Calamba (1953), Sabina (1953), The Ladies and the
Senator (1953), and The Love of Leonor Rivera (1954).

Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero (1910–1995) was a prolific playwright. He wrote over a hundred plays; most of them were
staged. His plays portray the educated middle class. Among his popular works are Wanted: A
Chaperone (1940), The Three Rats (1948), and Condemned (1943).

Alberto S. Florentino (1931– ) became known for his drama The World Is An Apple. It won first prize in the Carlos
Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature in 1954 and was published in the Sunday Times Magazine that same year.
The play as well as the others like Cavort with Angels (1959) and Oli Impan (1959) is set in Tondo slums.

During the period, the theater was moribund in the cities, however. One reason is that the language used, which
was English, made the plays only accessible to the educated Filipinos.
"The World Is an Apple" by Alberto S. Florentino is a one-act play. As the term suggests, a one-act play is
composed of only one act or part. Its story has a few characters; it is condensed and has a single effect.

Florentino’s play only has three characters, namely, Gloria, Mario, and Pablo. The story takes place one evening in
an improvised home in Intramuros. Gloria and Mario are a poor couple. Their poverty forces Mario’s hand both
literally and figuratively. So, he returns to his old life of stealing and joins his old friend Pablo for a heist.

The World Is An Apple: A Synopsis

It is payday, and Mario comes home without any money to give his wife Gloria for their sick daughter named Tita. At
first, he tells his wife that he spent all of his money on a few drinks with his friends. However, Gloria does not believe
him because he does not look intoxicated. Then Mario attempts to lie the second time by telling her that he spent it
all on a woman. Once again, Gloria does not believe him because she knows Mario loves their daughter very much
that he could not have done it. Finally, Mario tells her that he lost his job a week ago and that he has been looking
for a new one ever since. Gloria is shocked to hear the news and worried that Mario would not be able to find a job
soon. Mario, however, assures her that it will not take long for him to get a new job.

Gloria then asks Mario why he lost his job. Mario relates that he was accused of pilfering (stealing a small amount of
something) at work. He took an apple that rolled out of a broken crate and thought of giving it to their child. The
people at his work kept the apple, though, for evidence. Gloria wants Mario to ask those people for a second
chance, but Mario is convinced that they want to throw him out so that they could bring their own men into the job.
When Gloria suggests that Mario complain, he does not want to do so for fear of those people finding out about his
police record. Then he tells Gloria that he has found a good job. He is to be a night watchman for a company. Gloria
is thankful to God, though she feels uncertain because she will be alone at night without Mario by her side.

Then comes Pablo, Mario’s friend. Mario becomes nervous, and Gloria is not very happy to see him. Pablo asks
about their child’s condition and offers money to Gloria so that she can take her to a doctor, but Gloria refuses it.
She is convinced that Pablo has come to lead Mario back to his old ways. Soon enough, she discovers that Mario
has indeed decided to go back to stealing for their sake. She tries to stop him from going, but Mario leaves with
Pablo anyway. Before he leaves, he tells Gloria to take care of their daughter and herself, and he will take care of
himself. The story ends with Gloria shouting Mario’s name as she watches him walk away with Pablo.

Summary
The three notable Filipino dramatists in English of the Postwar Years are Severino Montano, Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero,
and Alberto Florentino. They produced relevant dramas during the period. However, because their works were
written in English, they could only reach out to the educated class.
Objectives
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

 identify some Filipino writers of creative nonfiction and their works; and
 analyze a few selected Filipino works of creative nonfiction.

What makes a work of creative nonfiction?

What are the different kinds of creative nonfiction?

In this lesson, you will learn more about creative nonfiction in general and the Philippine creative nonfiction. Also,
you will read a few selected works by Filipino writers.

Creative Nonfiction
It is a major genre of literature. It refers to narratives of real events told in a literary style.

Kinds of Creative Nonfiction

 Memoir - This account is narrowly focused on a single event in a person’s life.

 Biography - This is a detailed account of a person’s life written by another person.
 Autobiography - This is a written account of the life of a person written by the subject himself or herself.
 Diary - This is a collection of discrete accounts of a person’s experiences and thoughts each day.
 Essay - This writing features any subject that the writer personally comments about or describes.

Philippine Creative Nonfiction

The American Occupation (1898–1940)
The essay in English proved to be an influential medium. The first volume of essays was Life and Success (1921) by
Zoilo Galang. The earliest travel writing was Notas de Viaje (1930) by Maria Paz Mendoza-Guazon. The essay
“Literature and Society” by Salvador Lopez sparked a debate on socially relevant literature versus aesthetic value. It
won in the first Commonwealth Literary Awards in 1940.

The Japanese Occupation (1941–1945)

Because of censorship, only a few essays in English were published. Horizons from My Nipa Hut, published in 1941,
is a collection of humorous essays by Francisco B. Icasiano. I Am a Filipino, the most famous essay of Carlos P.
Romulo, was published the same year.

1960s and 1970s

Literary journalism came into its own. It appeared in some publications like the Philippines Free Press and
the Philippine Graphic. It attracted some of the best Filipino writers. Nick Joaquin, who sometimes used the pen
name Quijano de Manila, was the most prolific among those writers.

1990s
A few autobiographies and memoirs were published like Memory’s Fictions: A Personal History (1993)
and Postscript to a Saintly Life(1994) by Bienvenido Santos. Also, there were works on wars like Living With the
Enemy: A Diary of the Japanese Occupation (1999) by Pacita Pestaño-Jacinto, and Breaking the Silence (1996) by
Lourdes Reyes Montinola.

Also, published in this period were travel writings by Filipino women like Sylvia Mayuga’s Earth, Fire & Air (1992)
and Kerima Polotan’s Adventures in a Forgotten Country (1999).
Early 21st Century
This period saw the publication of collections of short essays and narratives of young writers. Their works
were Wala Lang (2004) by Bud Tomas; Love, Desire, Children, Etc.: Reflections of a Young Wife (2005) by Rica
Bolipata-Santos; The King of Nothing To Do(2006) by Luis Katigbak; and Stressed in the City (2007) by April T. Yap.

Summary
Creative nonfiction refers to narratives of real events told using a literary style of writing. Some of its forms are the
memoir, the biography, the autobiography, the diary, and the essay. In Philippine Literature, the essay is the most
common form of creative nonfiction.