Manuel S. Enverga University Foundation Catanauan, Inc.

Catanauan, Quezon

P r e l i m

Philippine Literature

Name: _____________________________________

Score: __________

I. True or False. Tick the box that correspond to your answer.

TRUE

FALSE

1. The word literature is derived from the Latin term litera which means letter.
2. We can appreciate something that we do not understand.
3. Our written literature, which is about four hundred years old, is one of slow and evolutionary growth.
4. Myth involves reference to one/two images that symbolize the characteristics of an unknown object that is to be guessed.
5. The Colonial literature is literature of a formative past by the various groups of people who inhabited the archipelago.
6. Novels are short poems that have been customarily been used as laws or rules on good behavior by our ancestors.
7. Literature isnt part of history.
8. Short story is a long narrative divided into chapters and events are taken from true-to-life stories.
9. Short story is an epic poem involving one or more characters, one plot and one single impression.
10. Legends are fictitious narratives, usually about origins.
11. Literature and history are closely interrelated.
12. Literature as an art is the creation of individuals and it is experienced by individuals.
13. Writers are people with visionary or prophetic insight into human life.
14. Wherever there are people there will be a literature.
15. Literature comes from human interest in telling a story, in arranging words in artistic forms, and in describing in words
some aspects of our human experiences.
II. Read the selections and then answer the question based on what is stated or implied.
He who cackled is the guilty party.
United we are strong, divided we fall.
A broom is sturdy because its strands are tightly bound.
1. The above passages are examples of _________________________.
2. Dont they imply some lessons to be learned? ______________________.
3. Is there a comparable idea being emphasizes in the three passages? What particular passages? ________________
katapangan at pakikipagsapalaran ng bayani
kamatayan at pagkabuhay
mga ritwal at kaugalian

mga supernatural na gawa ng bayani

pag-ibig at romansa
pakikipaglaban at kagitingan ng bayani
kayamanan, kaharian at ibat ibang mga kasiyahan o piging

4. Above are some of the examples of themes of what particular Philippines literary type? _____________________
5. In what particular era or literary period it flourished? _________________________
6. When we read this kind of literature there is no way we cannot see the characteristic of the protagonist in the story. Most of the time he is
characterized through his physical, social, or supernatural being or even in his intellectual or his moral. He as the storys main character is
what we often called the ________________.
An "epic" is usually an epic poem. This is a long poem that tells about the feats and adventures of a (usually legendary) hero.
A legend is usually a story about the great accomplishments of a hero, or of people in earlier times that is fantastic, but also believed to
be based in history, if not actual history. The stories are fantastic, but its easy to see how they might have been based on real people or
events, and simply embellished.
A myth is usually a story that talks about pre-history, or the origins of a culture. It usually involves gods, or supernatural forces, or things
that could not normally happen.
Having read the passages above, kindly give an example for each of the following.
7. Riddle: _________________________________________________________________
8. Sayings: _________________________________________________________________
9. Legend: _________________________________________________________________
10. Myth: ___________________________________________________________________
III. Read the selection carefully and filled the following spaces up to provide the story a relatively brief analysis.
Why the Sun Shines More Brightly Than the Moon
1
Email address: enverga_catanauan@yahoo.com.ph
Tele-Fax No. (042) 315-8203

Manuel S. Enverga University Foundation Catanauan Inc.;

Manuel S. Enverga University Foundation Catanauan, Inc.

Catanauan, Quezon

P r e l i m

Philippine Literature

Long, long ago there lived a fairy with two very beautiful daughters. Araw, the older daughter, was very amiable and had a kind disposition;
Buwan, unlike her sister, was dishonest, cruel, and harsh. She was always finding fault with Araw. One night, when the fairy came home
from her nocturnal rambles and saw Buwan badly maltreating her elder sister, she asked God for help against her unruly daughter.
Before this time, God had prepared very valuable gifts for the two sisters. These gifts were two enormous diamonds that could light the whole
universe. When God heard the prayer of the fairy, he descended to Earth disguised as a beggar. Upon learning for himself how bad-tempered
Buwan was and how sweet and kind-hearted Araw was, God gave the older sister her diamond as a reward. Buwan was greatly angered by
this favoritism on the part of the Almighty, so she went to the heavenly kingdom and stole one of God's diamonds. Then she returned to earth
with the precious stone, but there she found that were jewel was not as brilliant as Araw's.
When God went back to heaven and learned what Buwan had done, he sent two angels to punish her. But the angels abused their commission;
they seized both sisters and hurled them into the sea. They they threw the two stones upward into the sky and there they stuck. But Araw's
diamond was bigger and brighter than the one Buwan stole. Thereafter, the bigger jewel was called Araw ("day" or "sun") and the smaller
one, Buwan ("moon").
1. What is the setting of the story?
2. Who are the characters? (Characterize each)

3. Why the sun and the moon shine at different times of the day?
4. Why the sun shines more brightly than the moon?
5. Why there are spots on the face of the moon, and the sun?
6. What the origin of the stars?
7. Write the summary in 3 sentences.

8. What is the central motif of the myth? (1 sentence only)

IV. Enumerate the following. (Use another sheet of paper if necessary).

1. Genres of Literature:

2. Give the types or examples of the said each Genre:

V. Essay. Explain your views in 5 meaningful sentences.

1. What is your thought about studying Philippine literature?

When you reread a classic, you do not see more in the book than you did before; you see more in you than there was before.
Cliff Fadiman
2
Email address: enverga_catanauan@yahoo.com.ph
Tele-Fax No. (042) 315-8203

Manuel S. Enverga University Foundation Catanauan Inc.;