I.
DISCUSSION
Literature
is derived from the Latin litteratura meaning “ writing formed with letters”.
- It is most commonly refer to works of the creative imagination, including poetry,
drama, fiction, nonfiction, journalism, and in some instances, song.
Literary Genres
A category of literary composition determined by literary techniques, tone, content, or
even (as in the case of fiction) length.
The distinction between genres and categories are flexible and loosely defined, often with
subgroups.
The most general genres in literature are:
- Epic
- Comedy
- Creative nonfiction
They can all be in the form of prose and poetry.
Literary Conventions
Defining features of particular genre such as novel, a short story or a play.
FIVE MAJOR GENRES
o Fiction
o Drama(Plays)
o Folktale
o Poetry
o Non Fiction
SUBGENRES
Fiction Nonfiction Drama Folktale Poetry
FICTION
Is the
category
of
literature
Mystery Biography Plays Fable ABC Poem
and other
creative
work
whose
content is
Realistic Autobiography Skits Myth Haiku imagined,
Fiction
Historical Informational Musicals Fairy Tale Triangle
Fiction
Fantasy Reference Tragedy Legend Sonnet
Science Essay Comedy Tell tale Free Verse
Fiction
fabricated, or invented by the author that may not be necessarily based on facts.
It is the most common genre of literature because of its great storytelling
technique by using narration as its fundamental form.
The conventions of fiction differ from each subgenre. Although narrative in style,
each may have different elements.
Since fiction is narrative, the standard elements of a story are present but some of
the most important among these conventions are the setting, characters, conflict,
plot, and theme.
ELEMENTS OF FICTION
A. SETTING
Creates the mood of the story.
It tells the reader the when, where, and how of the narrative.
It sometimes includes the weather and climate where the story is set.
2 types of setting
1. Physical – may sometimes be general or specific where the story
takes place.
2. Chronological – is the time when the story takes place or the social
setting.
B. CHARACTERS
Can be defines as any person, animal, or persona represented in any
literary work.
May sometimes be simple and complex in order for the readers to
understand the development of the story based on the behaviors of the
characters.
Examples of the greatest literary characters that have shaped the ideas of
how we see the world – Tom Sawyer, Cinderella, and even Dr. Seuss –
and had gain such a following connecting many readers throughout the
world.
C. CONFLICT
Is the reason for the struggle of protagonist and antagonist or a different
cause in a story.
It refers to the different drives of the characters where different forces are
involved.
2 types of conflict
1. External – effect of external forces
2. Internal – may occur inside the character’s mind.
D. PLOT
It is the structure of your story
It is how you arrange the beginning, middle or end.
The events that you weave at the start of the story will help your readers as to how
the story will escalate up the ending itself.
It is the “why” for the things that occurred in the story.
It is what draws the readers into the lives of the characters and made them
understand the reason behind the characters’ decision in a story.
The structure of the plot is the way how the elements of a story are
arranged.
A plot, as you may have known already, has parts. Look at the diagram below.
This diagram is called Freytag’s Pyramid, named after the German novelist and
playwright Gustav Freytag.
E. POINT OF VIEW
It is how the character is told- more specifically who tells it.
a. First person POV
the narrator could be a major character, a minor character, or just a
bystander.
It is signified by I or We.
b. Second-person point of view
The story uses “you”
Remember that ”you” is not necessarily the person reading the narrative.
c. Third-person point of view
This point of view use the pronouns he, she, it or they.
It could be objective, limited omniscient, or omniscient.
Objective – the narrator just gives an unbiased POV.
Limited Omniscient- the narrator knows the thoughts, opinions, or feelings of one
character; as such, the narrator cannot tell anything which the character does not know
about them.
Omniscient- the narrator knows the thoughts, opinions, feelings of all characters, and
everything about the places and events.
F. THEME
It is the central topic of a story.
It is the main idea that the author wants to convey to the readers and what
the readers think the work wants to convey.
It is both author-based and reader-based element of literature.
It transcends cultural barriers and holds the underlying “big idea” of the
literary work.
III: DISCUSSION
POETRY
One of the oldest forms of literature. For most, it is the most beautiful genre
because of its use of aesthetic and rhythmic qualities of language to evoke
emotions and meanings through symbolic representation of ideas
It uses forms and conventions to suggest varied interpretations and emotional
responses
A kind of language that says more and says it more intensely than does
ordinary language
“It uses a “heightened language”
CONVENTIONS OF POETRY
1. Structure and Form
- It is organized in lines, verses, stanzas and the standard patterns of sounds
based on its forms
Stanza – a group of lines in a poem. It comes from the Italian word for a room
or a stopping place
Verses – lines in a poem. It comes from the Latin word “versus” it means the
same thing as a furrow
Forms:
a. Epic - a long poem which narrates the journey of a hero or a nation
Examples: “Iliad and Odyssey “ –Homer
Ovid “Metamorphoses” –
Firdawsi “Shahnameh” -
Dante Alighieri DivinaComedia” –
b.Sonnet- it has 14 lines with 10 syllables each line and a rhyme scheme
c.Ballad -a poem or song narrating a story in short stanzas.
Traditional ballads are typically of unknown authorship, having been passed on
orally from one generation to the next as part of the folk culture
d. Limerick - A limerick is a humorous poem consisting of five lines. The first,
second, and fifth lines must have seven to ten syllables while rhyming and having the
same verbal rhythm. The third and fourth lines only have to have five to seven
syllables, and have to rhyme with each other and have the same rhythm
e. Haiku - is a traditional form of Japanese poetry. Haiku poems consist of 3 lines. The
first and last lines of a Haiku
have 5 syllables and the middle line has 7 syllables.
The lines rarely rhyme
f. Free Verse - has its own rules
- Although it is called free, it is not entirely free
because it also needs to observe a body of rules that
dictates its shape and sound.
2. Figurative language
-also known as figures of speech
- peculiar language that uses expressions with a meaning different
from its literal interpretation
- it emphasizes and evokes the emotions that they want to convey
from the readers
a. Simile- comparison using like or as.
Example:
“Between my finger and my thumb
The squat pen rests: as snug as a gun.”
-Seamus Heaney
b.
3. Rhyme and Rhythm
Rhyme
The repetition of similar sounds mostly at the end of each line of a poem.
o End rhyme – it occurs at the end of two or more consecutive lines
o Internal line -occurs within the lines itself
Rhyme Scheme – the structure of rhyming pattern
Rhythm
Syllable length and stress creating a beat or pace
4. Meter
- Systematic regularity in the sound pattern of a poem
- A rhythm of accented and unaccented syllables.
o This measurement is called “ foot/feet”
Example:
/--/--/
Hickory,dickory, dock,
5. Imagery
-language in poetry that sparks off the senses .
- Although “image” is synonymous to “picture” drawing an image may not always
be visual. The use of words to draw mental images using the five senses is enough to
entice the reader into a deep sensory experience.
- “painting with words”
III: DISCUSSION
DRAMA (Play)
A literary genre that involves actors acting as characters in a story involving conflicts or
contrast especially intended to be performed on a stage.
It may be in prose or verse that is
interpreted in dramatic art or presentation. It may be in prose or verse that is interpreted in
dramatic art or presentation or an opera.
Today, many forms of drama have been created so as to maximize the have been created
so as to maximize the freedom of expression in this genre that many called “the highest form of
performing arts.”
Drama has five elements:
1. Plot
a series of events arranged logically to make the story more interesting.
try to recall how a narrative is divided using the Freytag’s Pyramid- from the
exposition, to the rising action, reaching the climax, then sliding down to the
falling action, and to close the story, the denouement.
this formula is also used in drama.
it is also called dramatic structure.
2. Characters
always in motion, in action
3. Dialogue
takes the form of a discussion in a drama. It is the lines spoken by the characters
in a story that shows conversation among the dialogue in drama is part of the
script and more specific with the certain character
4. Theme
The basic idea of a play; the idea, point of view, or perception that binds
together a work of art.
5. Scenery
The theatrical equipment, such as curtains, flats, backdrops, or platforms,
used in a dramatic production to communicate with the surroundings.
6. Style
has something to do with the playwrights’ or the writers’ use of language.
In addition, the presence of Acts and Scenes and Stage Directions
Acts and Scenes – the scene is a part of an act that is defined with the
development of the characters in a drama.
The elements that create the plot of a play and divide the play into acts
include the exposition that also gives information that sets up the story.
Both are vital in sequencing the narration of the drama into manageable parts
of the audience, actors and the people working behind the performance. An act is a major
division of the drama and forms the substantial structure of a story.
The scene is the actual action in a single setting and a moment in time. Multiple
scenes constitute a single act.
Stage Directions – give instructions to the actors on how they are going to
move and speak their lines on stage. It also includes when to enter and exit.
