PHILIPPINE LITERATURE DURING AMERICAN PERIOD
Brief History
The Filipino revolutionist won against the Spaniards who colonized Philippines for more than 300
years.
The Philippine flag was hoisted on June 12, 1898 as a symbol of independence. Gen. Emilio
Aguinaldo was elected the first president of the Philippine Republic, which was short – lived.
Americans colonized the country. And in 1901, Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo surrendered to the
Americans.
FEATURES OF PHILIPPINE LITERATURE UNDER AMERICAN
REGIME
Spanish and Tagalog and the Vernaculars were the languages used in writing during the first years
in American period, but Spanish and Tagalog were the predominated language.
In 1910, a new group started to write in English. Hence, Spanish, Tagalog, the Vernaculars and
finally English, were the mediums used in literature during these times.
The creation of Philippine literacy works during the American Period in the Philippines was advanced by
two significant developments in education and culture.
THE PERIOD OF
SELF-DISCOVERY
(1925-1941)
Some of the Filipino Writers during American
Colonization
1950
Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero (1911-1995)
1900
satire
Philippine Literature in English is divided into
three time frames:
THE PERIOD OF IMITATION
(1910-1925)
Amado Vera Hernandez (1903-1970)
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A Filipino writer and labor leader who was known for his criticism of social injustices in the Philippines and
was later imprisoned for his involvement in the communist movement. He was the central figure in a
landmark legal case that took 13 years to settle.
While being a reporter, columnist and editor of several newspaper and magazines including Watawat,
Mabuhay, Pilipino, Makabayan and Sampaguita, he also honed his poetic craft. He received the Republic
Cultural Heritage Award, a number of Palancas and an award from the National Press Club for his
journalistic achievements.
Usapin ng mga Pilipino (1915)
The Development of Philippine Politics (1926)
The Filipino Rebel: A Romance of the American Occupation of the Philippines (1931)
1919 - UP College Folio
1920 - Bulletin, Philippine Herald
1924 - The Philippine Review, the Independent, Rising Philippines and Citizens, and the Philippine
Education Magazine.
FORM:
epistolary
gothic
Ballad
Epic
Picaresque
Announcement and obituary page
He was a Filipino novelist and publisher.
He was the founder of Inang Lupa publishing and was active in textbook in the 1950s.
He also wrote many stories and novels about his country and native land.
He was awarded a Commonwealth prize for his English novel "His Native Soil".
STANZAS
romance
Many Filipino started writing again and the nationalism of the people remain undaunted. Filipino writers
went into all forms of literature like news reporting, poetry, stories, plays, essays and novels. Their writings
clearly depicted their love of country and their longings for independence.
couplet (2 lines)
tercet (3 lines)
quatrain (4 lines)
cinquain (5 lines)
sestet (6 lines)
septet (7 lines)
octave (8 lines)
Editorial Page
magic realism
THE PERIOD OF sELF - dISCOVERY
(1925-1941)
weather Section
feminist
Historical Background
ALLEGORY
Parts Of A
Newspaper
Classified Ads Section
THE PERIOD OF IMITATION
(1910-1925)
1910 - English - Medium of instruction on public schools
El Renacimiento - Rafael Palma - 1901
Philippines Free Press - 1905
Sursum Corda - Justo Juliano - 1907 - first work published in English
My Mother and Air Castles - Juan F. Salazar - 1909
Manuel Arguilla (1911-1944)
Paz Marquez-Benitez (1894-1983)
Faustino S. Aguilar (1882-1955)
COMIC
Maximo Maguiat Kalaw(1891-1955)
THE PERIOD OF
RE-ORIENTATION
(1898-1910)
STRUCTURE and POETRY
KINDS OF NOVELS
1890
Elements of a Short Story
He graduated in University of the Philippines with a Bachelor of Science Education degree.
He was a member of the first class of the University of the Philippines, graduating with a Bachelor
of Arts degree in 1912.
Authored the short story "How My Brother Leon brought Home a Wife", which won first prize in
the Commonwealth Literary Contest in 1940
He also became the director Filipino Players from 1941-1947.
He wrote well over a hundred plays, 41 one which have been published. His published and unpublished
plays have either been broadcast over the radio or staged in various parts of the Philippines.
Zoilo Galang (1895-1959)
1940
Authored the first Filipino modern English language short story,
Dead Stars, Published in the Philippine Herald in 1925.
Benitez was among the first generation of Filipinos trained in the American education system which used
English as the medium of instruction.
THE PERIOD OF RE-ORIENTATION
(1898-1910)
He studied at the Philippine Normal School and the University of the Philippines wherein he became the
editor of Collegio Folio, the first school paper in UP.
Ode
Elegy
Sonnet
Sports Page
setting
characterization
plot
conflict
climax
resolution
theme
point of view
News section
Lyric Poetry
Narrative Poem
Descriptive Poem
Juan Cabreros Laya (1911-1952)
realism
1920
A self-starter, he learned typing and stenography in English and Spanish all by himself. Attracted to the
English language, he took special courses at the University of the Philippines in 1925, then went to
Columbia University for further studies in Literature.
He was soon writing books of fiction, biography and philosophy, and his output was prodigious. His early
poems saw print on the Kapampangan paper, “E Mangabiran". He authored “A Child of Sorrow”, the first
English novel written by a Filipino. This was later made into a movie in 1930.
He was one of the first novelists in the Philippines to explore and present social realism through literature.
Pinaglahuan was Faustino’s response against imperialism and colonialism.
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