Literature. came from the Latin word “Littera”

Littera. meaning letters and referring to an acquaintance with the written word.

Literature. is the written work of arts of a specific culture, sub culture, religion, philosophy or the study of such written work which may appear in poetry or in prose.

Examples of Literature:

• Prose Fiction

• Drama

• Poetry

• Prose Non-Fiction

Prose Fiction. is a narrative written without a metrical patter that tells an imaginary or invented story.

Drama. is the portrayal of fictional or non-fictional events through the performance of written dialogue either prose or poetry.

Poetry. Is a type of literature that conveys a thought, describes a scene or tells a story in a concentrated, lyrical arrangement of words.

Prose Non-Fiction. Any literary work that is based mainly on fact, even though it may contain fictional elements. Example: Essay, Journals and biography.

Literary Devices/Figurative Languages

Figurative Language. is a word or phrase that does not have its normal literal meaning. It used by the writer for the sake of comparison or dramatic effect.

Simile. a stated comparison between to unlike things or persons that have something in common using like or as. Example: Her smile is a mysterious as Mona Lisa’s.

Metaphor. an implied comparison between two persons or things that are unlike in most respects.

The example words like or as are left out. Example: The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

Personification. giving human quality to inanimate objects or abstract things. Example: The flowers dance in the garden.

Metonymy. Consists in the naming of a thing by one of its attributes. Example: The crown prefers taxes from the underlings to support his expenses.

Synecdoche. substituting a part for a whole, an individual for a class or a material for the thing. Example: Many squatters dream of roofs over their heads.

Hyperbole. An exaggeration used for artistic effect. Example: Thanks a million!

Litotes. a deliberate understatement used to affirm by negating the opposite. Example: The trip wasn’t a total lost.

Irony. The use of word to signify the opposite of its literal meaning. Example: You’re beautiful; You look like a Christmas tree.

Oxymoron. Putting together in one statement two contradictory terms. Example: The sound of silence is indeed, deafening.

Apostrophe. An address to a (a) dead person as though he were alive (b) an absent of a person as though he were present. Example: Ninoy, you’re not alone

Climax. the arrangement of words ideas according to their degree of importance; thus, the last set appears most valuable. Example: “I came, I saw, I conquered” – Julius Caesar

Anti-Climax. A real apparent or ludicrous decrease in importance or impressiveness of what is said. Example: He lost his shoelace, his house charred to ashes, his wife even abandoned him.

Anti-thesis. equating or balancing two opposing ideas. Example: There is a time to sow and there is a time to reap

Pun. A play on words with humorous, witty effect. Example: House’s everything for all Filipinos.

Paradox. A seemingly, contradictory but true example. Example: There is a grief in happiness.