Philippine Literature

Do we already have literature even before the Spaniards set their foot in our lands?

The answer is yes. According to the Spaniards we already have literature when they came here in our country.

The Philippine literature has Ancient Filipino Poetry, Ancient Filipino Tales and Ancient Filipino Metrical Tales.

Ancient Filipino Poetry

            Ancient Filipino Poetry consists of songs, poems and riddles. Songs and poems were done through religion (e.g. prayers, rituals, worshipping), courtship, during harvest seasons and celebrations. Riddles, on the other hand, were done during wakes.

Ancient Filipino Tales

            It consists of legends, fables and myths. Legends explain how things started. It explains certain phenomena (e.g. The Legend of Coconut, The Legend of Sampaguita). Fables, however, are short stories whose characters are animals. All fables consist of moral lessons (e.g. Why Hens Keep on Scratching, The Ape and The Firefly). Myths are the story of Gods and Goddesses (e.g. The Story of Bathala).

Ancient Filipino Metrical Tales

            What is epic?

            Epic is a long narrative that tells a heroic adventure. There are three elements of an epic. These are lineage, adventure and character. The lineage must be an offspring of a mortal and a god (half mortal, half god). The adventure of an epic should always be the hero is in pursuit of something or someone. The character is that the hero is always righteous and displays superhuman traits during his childhood days.