Philippine Literature Analysis Essay Example

character stereotypes, and rhythmic devices, were used to facilitate transmission.

During the Spanish colonial era, literature comprised both religious and secular works. These two types of literature were prominent in the first two centuries, along with reformist and revolutionary literature that emerged in the nineteenth century, reflecting the desire for change and independence. Spanish colonial rule also brought about a feudal system and the Catholic religion was enforced. The printing presses were controlled by religious orders, and the first book to be published, Doctrina Cristiana (Christian Doctrine, 1593), was released by the Dominicans.

The first printed literary work in Tagalog, called "May bagyo ma't may rilim" (Though There Be Storm and Darkness), was published in Memorial de la vida Cristiana (1605) by Francisco Blancas de San Jose, a friar lexicographer. In 1704, Gaspar Aquino de Belen published "Ang mahal na passion ni Jesu Christong panginoon natin" (The Passion of Jesus Christ Our Lord), a narrative poem about the life of Christ. The dominant literature at the time focused on affirming religious values and included forms like the sinakulo, a play about the passion of Christ, the ejemplo, which discussed saints, and the komedya, which depicted battles between Christians and Moors.

Nationalist literary historians argue that the feudal and colonial discourses in the Philippines played a role in its colonization. These discourses propagated various beliefs and values such as submission to one's fate, obedience to authority, the superiority of the colonizers, and the dominance of Catholicism over Islam. Moreover, Spanish ballads, which served as inspirations for the komedya, also influenced narrative poetry like the awit, characterized by its four monohasloo. com http://hasloo. com/philippine-online-encyclopedia Powered by Joomla!