Types of Literature

General Types of Literature

Literature can generally be divided into two types; prose and poetry. Prose consists of those written within the common flow of conversation in sentences and paragraphs, while poetry refers to those expressions in verse, with measure and rhyme, line and stanza and has a more melodious tone.

I. PROSE

There are many types of prose. These include novels or biographies, short stories, contemporary dramas, legends, fables, essays, anecdotes, news and speeches.

a. Novel. This is a long narrative divided into chapters. The events are taken from true-to-life stories…and span a long period of time. There are many characters involved. Example: WITHOUT SEEING THE DAWN by Steven Javallena.

b. Short Story. This is a narrative involving one or more characters, one plot and one single impression. Example: THE LAUGHTER OF MY FATHER by Carlos Bulosan.

c. Plays. This is presented on a stage, is divided into acts and each act has many scenes. Example: THIRTEEN PLAYS by Wilfredo M. Guerrero.

d. Legends. These are fictitious narrative, usually about origins. Example: THE BIKOL LEGEND by Pio Duran.

e. Fables. These are also fictitious and they deal with animals and inanimate thins who speak and act like people and their purpose is to enlighten the minds of children to events that can mold their ways and attitudes. Example: THE MONKEY AND THE TURTLE.

f. Anecdotes. These are merely products of the writer’s imagination and the main aim is to bring out lessons to the reader. It can be stories about animals or children. Example: THE MOTH AND THE LAMP.

g. Essay. This expresses the viewpoint or opinion of the writer about a particular problem or event. The best example of this is the Editorial page of a newspaper.

h. Biography. This deals with the life of a person which may be about himself, his autobiography or that of others. Example: CAYETANO ARELLANO by Socorro O. Albert

i. News. This is a report of everyday events in society, government, science and industry, and accidents, happening nationally or not.

j. Oration. This is a formal treatment of a subject and is intended to be spoken in public. It appeals to the intellect, to the will or to the emotions of the audience.

II. POETRY

There are three types of poetry and these are the following:

A. Narrative Poetry. This form describes important events in life either real or imaginary.

The different varieties are:

1. Epic. This is an extended narrative about heroic exploits often under supernatural control. Example: THE HARVEST SONG OF ALIGUYON translated in English by Amador T. Daguio

2. Metrical Tale. This is a narrative which is written in verse and can be classified either as a ballad or a metrical romance. Examples: BAYANI NG BUKID by Al Perez

3. Ballads. Of the narrative poems, this is considered the shortest and simplest. It has a simple structure and tells of a single incident. There are also variations of these: love ballads, war ballads, and sea ballads, humorous, moral, and historical or mythical ballads. In the early time, this referred to a song accompanying a dance.

B. Lyric Poetry. Originally, this refers to that kind of poetry meant to be sung to the accompaniment of a lyre, but now, this applies to any type of poetry that expresses emotions and feelings of the poet. They are usually short, simple and easy to understand.

1. Folksongs (Awiting Bayan). These are short poems intended to be sung. The common theme is love, despair, grief, doubt, joy, hope and sorrow. Example: CHIT-CHIRIT-CHIT

2. Sonnets. This is a lyric poem of 14 lines dealing with an emotion, a feeling, or an idea. These are two types: the Italian and the Shakespearean. Example: SANTANG BUDS by Alfonso P. Santos

3. Elegy. This is a lyric poem which expresses feelings of grief and melancholy, and whose theme is death. Example: THE LOVER’S DEATH by Ricaredo Demetillo

4. Ode. This is a poem of a noble feeling, expressed with dignity, with no definite number of syllables or definite number of lines in a stanza.

5. Psalms (Dalit). This is a song praising God or the Virgin Mary and containing a philosophy of life.

6. Awit (Song). These have measures of twelve syllables (dodecasyllabic) and slowly sung to the accompaniment of a guitar or banduria. Example: FLORANTE AT LAURA by Franciso Balagtas

7. Corridos (Kuridos). These have measures of eight syllables (octosyllabic) and recited to a martial beat. Example: IBONG ADARNA

C. Dramatic Poetry

1. Comedy. The word comedy comes from the Greek term “komos” meaning festivity or revelry. This form usually is light and written with the purpose of amusing, and usually has a happy ending.

2. Melodrama. This is usually used in musical plays with the opera. Today, this is related to tragedy just as the farce is to comedy. It arouses immediate and intense emotion and is usually sad but there is a happy ending for the principal character.

3. Tragedy. This involves the hero struggling mightily against dynamic forces; he meets death or ruin without success and satisfaction obtained by the protagonist in a comedy.

4. Farce. This is an exaggerated comedy. It seeks to arouse mirth by laughable lines; situations are too ridiculous to be true; the characters seem to be caricatures and the motives undignified and absurd.

5. Social Poems. This form is either purely comic or tragic and it pictures the life of today. It may aim to bring about changes in he social conditions.