LET Secondary English — Philippine and World LiteratureRevision Notes

Exam Tips

• Genre identification questions often give a brief description (e.g., 'a short narrative using animals to teach a lesson') and ask you to name the genre — memorize the one-sentence definition of each folk narrative type.
• For sonnet types, the rhyme scheme is the surest identifier: abab cdcd efef gg = Shakespearean; octave-sestet structure = Petrarchan.
• If a LET item mentions 'purging of pity and fear,' the answer is CATHARSIS.
• If a LET item mentions 'tragic flaw,' the answer is HAMARTIA.
• Link HAIKU to MATSUO BASHO and NATURE for a complete correct answer in matching questions.

Key Points

• Literature is divided into three broad categories: PROSE (ordinary sentence-paragraph form), POETRY (verse with rhythm and compressed language), and DRAMA (written for performance).
• Prose fiction includes the NOVEL (long, complex narrative), the NOVELLA (mid-length), and the SHORT STORY (single effect, few characters, readable in one sitting).
• Prose nonfiction includes the ESSAY (formal or informal discussion of a topic), BIOGRAPHY (a life written by another person), AUTOBIOGRAPHY (a life written by oneself), diaries, and speeches.
• Folk narrative forms — myth, legend, fable, and parable — are frequently confused in the LET. MYTH = gods and origins of the universe; LEGEND = origin of a place, name, or thing with a historical flavor; FABLE = animals as characters that teach a moral (e.g., Aesop's 'The Tortoise and the Hare'); PARABLE = human characters used to teach a moral or spiritual lesson (e.g., the Prodigal Son, the Good Samaritan).
• Narrative poetry tells a story: the EPIC (long heroic narrative), the BALLAD (song-like narrative), and the metrical romance.
• Lyric poetry expresses personal emotion: the ODE (exalted praise), the ELEGY (lament for the dead), the SONNET (14 lines), and the song.
• Dramatic poetry uses a speaking character: the dramatic monologue and the SOLILOQUY (character thinking aloud alone on stage).
• SHAKESPEAREAN (English) SONNET: three quatrains + one closing couplet; rhyme scheme abab cdcd efef gg.
• PETRARCHAN (Italian) SONNET: one octave (8 lines) + one sestet (6 lines).
• HAIKU: three lines of 5-7-5 syllables, traditionally about nature; perfected by Japanese poet Matsuo Basho.
• Drama types: TRAGEDY (protagonist's downfall through a tragic flaw, producing catharsis); COMEDY (happy ending); MELODRAMA (heightened emotion and sensation); FARCE (broad, physical humor).
• CATHARSIS: Aristotle's term in the Poetics for the purging of pity and fear experienced by the audience during tragedy.
• HAMARTIA: the tragic flaw of the protagonist that leads to his or her downfall.

Definitions

Section Title

Major Literary Genres

Common Mistakes

• Confusing MYTH and LEGEND — remember: myth = gods + cosmic origins; legend = human-scale origin story with historical flavor.
• Confusing FABLE and PARABLE — the animal vs. human character distinction is the definitive test.
• Thinking the ODE is a lament — the ODE praises; the ELEGY mourns.
• Forgetting that the SHAKESPEAREAN SONNET has 14 lines divided into 3 quatrains + 1 couplet (abab cdcd efef gg).
• Miscounting haiku syllables — always 5 (line 1) – 7 (line 2) – 5 (line 3).
• Calling a dramatic monologue a soliloquy — a soliloquy requires the character to be alone on stage; a dramatic monologue has an implied listener.

Exam Tips

• Freytag's Pyramid is tested directly — memorize the five stages in order: Exposition → Rising Action → Climax → Falling Action → Denouement.
• If a LET question asks for the 'turning point' of a story, always answer CLIMAX.
• For conflict classification: if the struggle is within a character's own mind (e.g., guilt, doubt), it is Person vs. SELF (internal conflict).
• Point of view: the presence of 'I' or 'me' as narrator = First Person; 'he/she' with access to all minds = Third-Person Omniscient.
• Theme questions: eliminate answers that are single words or plot summaries — the correct theme is always a complete statement of insight.

Key Points

• SETTING: the time and place of the action; may be physical, historical, or atmospheric.
• CHARACTER types: PROTAGONIST (central character) vs. ANTAGONIST (opposing character); ROUND character (complex, multi-dimensional) vs. FLAT character (one-dimensional); DYNAMIC character (changes through the story) vs. STATIC character (does not change).
• PLOT follows Freytag's Pyramid in five stages: EXPOSITION (introduction of setting, characters, and situation) → RISING ACTION (complications and conflicts build) → CLIMAX (point of highest tension and the turning point) → FALLING ACTION (consequences of the climax unfold) → DENOUEMENT or RESOLUTION (loose ends tied up, conflict resolved).
• CONFLICT is the struggle driving the plot: Person vs. Person, Person vs. Self (internal conflict), Person vs. Nature, Person vs. Society.
• POINT OF VIEW determines who tells the story: FIRST PERSON uses 'I' and is limited to one character's experience; THIRD-PERSON LIMITED follows one character's mind using 'he/she'; THIRD-PERSON OMNISCIENT knows all characters' thoughts and feelings.
• THEME is the underlying insight or truth about human life — it is NOT the topic and NOT a plot summary. Example: the theme of 'Noli Me Tangere' is the destructive power of colonial oppression and social injustice.
• TONE is the author's attitude toward the subject; MOOD is the feeling evoked in the reader.
• Poetry-specific elements: METER (measured, rhythmic pattern), RHYME SCHEME (pattern of end rhymes, labeled a-b-a-b, etc.), STANZA (a grouped set of lines), and PERSONA (the speaker of the poem, who is not necessarily the poet).

Definitions

Section Title

Elements of Literature

Common Mistakes

• Saying the CLIMAX is the most exciting scene — it is specifically the TURNING POINT where the conflict reaches its peak and begins to resolve.
• Confusing DYNAMIC with ROUND, and STATIC with FLAT — these are separate axes: round/flat = complexity of characterization; dynamic/static = whether the character changes.
• Confusing TONE (author's attitude) with MOOD (reader's feeling) — tone is felt from the author's word choices; mood is felt by the audience.
• Stating the THEME as a single word (e.g., 'love') instead of a complete insight (e.g., 'love can lead to both great sacrifice and great suffering').
• Assuming the speaker of a poem (persona) is always the poet — the persona is a fictional or constructed voice.

Exam Tips

• When identifying a figure of speech: FIRST check for 'like' or 'as' (simile); if absent but a comparison is made, it is a metaphor; if human traits are given to a non-human, it is personification.
• For the three types of irony: think of 'The Gift of the Magi' and 'The Necklace' for SITUATIONAL irony; 'To be or not to be' in context for DRAMATIC irony.
• SYNECDOCHE vs. METONYMY: ask 'Is the substitution a PART of the thing?' — if yes, synecdoche; if it is merely associated, metonymy.
• APOSTROPHE always involves direct address: if you see 'O [something non-human or absent]!' it is apostrophe.
• Memorize paired opposites: simile/metaphor; oxymoron/paradox; metonymy/synecdoche; alliteration/assonance — LET often tests your ability to choose between these near-pairs.

Key Points

• SIMILE: comparison using 'like' or 'as' — 'brave as a lion,' 'she ran like the wind.' The connecting word (like/as) is always present.
• METAPHOR: direct comparison WITHOUT 'like' or 'as' — 'the world is a stage,' 'life is a journey.' No connecting word.
• PERSONIFICATION: giving human traits to non-human things — 'the wind whispered,' 'the flowers danced.'
• HYPERBOLE: deliberate exaggeration for effect — 'I've told you a million times,' 'I'm so hungry I could eat a horse.'
• APOSTROPHE: addressing an absent person, a dead person, or a non-living thing directly — 'O Death, where is thy sting?' 'O my country, I weep for you.'
• OXYMORON: two contradictory words placed together — 'deafening silence,' 'living death,' 'sweet sorrow.'
• PARADOX: a statement that seems contradictory or absurd but contains a deeper truth — 'the child is father of the man,' 'I must be cruel to be kind.'
• METONYMY: naming a thing by something closely associated with it — 'the Crown' for the monarchy, 'the pen is mightier than the sword.'
• SYNECDOCHE: a part representing the whole, or the whole representing a part — 'all hands on deck' (hands = sailors), 'the Philippines won gold' (the Philippines = the athlete).
• ALLITERATION: repetition of the same initial consonant sound — 'she sells seashells,' 'Peter Piper picked a peck.'
• ASSONANCE: repetition of vowel sounds within nearby words — 'the rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain.'
• ONOMATOPOEIA: words that imitate the sounds they describe — buzz, hiss, tick-tock, sizzle, crash.
• ALLUSION: a reference to a well-known person, place, event, or work of literature — 'he met his Waterloo,' 'a Judas in the group.'
• SYMBOLISM: an object, person, or event that stands for a broader idea — a dove symbolizes peace; the noli's social cancer symbolizes colonial corruption.
• EUPHEMISM: a mild or indirect expression used in place of something harsh or uncomfortable — 'passed away' for died; 'not very bright' for stupid.
• LITOTES (understatement): affirming something by denying its opposite — 'not bad at all' (meaning very good); 'she's not the smartest person in the room.'
• THREE TYPES OF IRONY — verbal irony: saying the opposite of what is meant (sarcasm is a form); situational irony: an outcome that is opposite to what was expected ('The Necklace' and 'The Gift of the Magi'); dramatic irony: the audience knows something a character does not.
• FORESHADOWING: hints or clues early in a story about what will happen later.
• FLASHBACK: a scene that interrupts the narrative to show an earlier event.
• IMAGERY: language that appeals to the five senses (sight, sound, smell, taste, touch).

Definitions

Section Title

Literary Devices and Figures of Speech

Common Mistakes

• Calling every comparison a simile — remember: simile MUST have 'like' or 'as'; without these words, it is a metaphor.
• Confusing OXYMORON (two contradictory words: 'bitter sweet') with PARADOX (a contradictory statement: 'I must be cruel to be kind').
• Confusing METONYMY (associated thing: 'the White House said') with SYNECDOCHE (part for whole: 'all hands on deck').
• Labeling all irony as sarcasm — sarcasm is a type of verbal irony but not all verbal irony is sarcasm.
• Forgetting that APOSTROPHE is a figure of speech, not just a punctuation mark — in literature, it means direct address to the absent or non-living.
• Identifying ALLITERATION by rhyme instead of initial consonant sounds — alliteration = same beginning consonant sound, not end rhyme.

Exam Tips

• The epic-to-people matching is almost always in the LET — master the five pairs cold: Biag ni Lam-ang/Ilocano; Hudhud/Ifugao; Darangen/Maranao; Hinilawod/Panay; Ibalon/Bicol.
• For Rizal: remember 1887 (Noli) → 1891 (Fili); Ibarra → Simoun; RA 1425 = the legal mandate for their study.
• For the American period 'firsts': A Child of Sorrow (1921) = first PH novel in English; 'Dead Stars' (1925) = first modern PH short story in English — memorize both author and year.
• When a question mentions 'National Artist for Literature,' the most frequently tested names are Nick Joaquin, F. Sionil Jose, Amado V. Hernandez, Edith L. Tiempo, and Virgilio Almario.
• Korido vs. awit: if you see Ibong Adarna = korido = 8 syllables; Florante at Laura = awit = 12 syllables = Balagtas.

Key Points

• PRE-COLONIAL PERIOD: Literature was oral and communal, passed down through performance. The native script BAYBAYIN existed. Key forms: bugtong (riddle), salawikain (proverbs), tanaga (quatrain of 7-syllable lines), ambahan of the Hanunoo Mangyan (chanted 7-syllable verse), and folk songs including the oyayi or hele (lullaby).
• PHILIPPINE FOLK EPICS — match each epic to its people and region: BIAG NI LAM-ANG = Ilocano (Ilocos); HUDHUD = Ifugao (Cordillera); DARANGEN = Maranao (Lanao); HINILAWOD = Sulod, Panay (Visayas); IBALON = Bicol. The HUDHUD and DARANGEN have been recognized by UNESCO as masterpieces of oral and intangible heritage.
• SPANISH COLONIAL PERIOD: Literature was largely religious and didactic. The DOCTRINA CHRISTIANA (1593) is regarded as the FIRST BOOK PRINTED IN THE PHILIPPINES.
• THE PASYON is a chanted verse narrative of Christ's passion; its earliest published version is attributed to GASPAR AQUINO DE BELEN. The pasyon is performed in the PABASA during Holy Week; its dramatized form is the SENAKULO.
• The KOMEDYA or MORO-MORO staged Christian-Muslim conflict — a form of religious-theatrical performance during the Spanish period.
• Two Spanish-era metrical forms: KORIDO = 8-syllable lines (the anonymous IBONG ADARNA is the famous example); AWIT = 12-syllable lines, whose masterpiece is FLORANTE AT LAURA (1838) by FRANCISCO BALAGTAS (Francisco Baltazar), the 'Prince of Tagalog Poets.' The poetic debate form BALAGTASAN is named in his honor.
• PEDRO PATERNO's 'Ninay' is cited as the FIRST NOVEL WRITTEN BY A FILIPINO.
• THE PROPAGANDA MOVEMENT: Reformist writing flourished in the newspaper LA SOLIDARIDAD. Key figures: MARCELO H. DEL PILAR (pen name Plaridel) and GRACIANO LOPEZ JAENA (essayists).
• JOSE RIZAL's two novels are required study under REPUBLIC ACT NO. 1425 (the Rizal Law): NOLI ME TANGERE (1887) — exposes the social cancer of colonial society; key characters: Crisostomo Ibarra (protagonist), Maria Clara (beloved), Padre Damaso (antagonist/abusive friar), Elias (boatman-revolutionary), Sisa (tragic mother). EL FILIBUSTERISMO (1891) — darker sequel; Ibarra returns as the vengeful jeweler SIMOUN; other key characters: Basilio, Padre Florentino.
• Rizal's notable poems: 'MI ULTIMO ADIOS' (composed the eve of his execution) and 'A LA JUVENTUD FILIPINA.'
• AMERICAN PERIOD: English arrived through the public-school system and the THOMASITES. ZOILO GALANG's 'A Child of Sorrow' (1921) = first Philippine novel in English. PAZ MARQUEZ BENITEZ's 'Dead Stars' (1925) = first modern Philippine short story in English.
• Key American-period authors: JOSE GARCIA VILLA (pen name Doveglion) — experimental 'comma poems,' author of 'Footnote to Youth'; MANUEL ARGUILLA — local color stories, 'How My Brother Leon Brought Home a Wife'; CARLOS BULOSAN — 'America Is in the Heart'; CARLOS P. ROMULO — Pulitzer Prize for journalism.
• Tagalog writing in the American period: LOPE K. SANTOS's 'Banaag at Sikat' (pioneering social-labor novel); SEVERINO REYES's 'Walang Sugat' (sarswela).
• JAPANESE OCCUPATION PERIOD: English publication was suppressed; Tagalog writing flourished; wartime anthologies collected the best Tagalog stories; Japanese forms such as the haiku were explored.
• POSTWAR AND CONTEMPORARY PERIOD: NICK JOAQUIN (pen name Quijano de Manila), National Artist for Literature — 'May Day Eve,' 'The Woman Who Had Two Navels,' play 'A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino.'
• F. SIONIL JOSE, National Artist — ROSALES SAGA (five novels: Po-on, Tree, My Brother My Executioner, The Pretenders, Mass) on land, class, and social justice.
• AMADO V. HERNANDEZ, National Artist — 'Luha ng Buwaya,' 'Mga Ibong Mandaragit'; much written while imprisoned; carries a labor-nationalist vision.
• ALEJANDRO G. ABADILLA — 'Ako ang Daigdig,' which freed Tagalog poetry from traditional rhyme and meter.
• LUALHATI BAUTISTA — 'Dekada '70' renders the martial law era through a mother's eyes.
• EDITH L. TIEMPO, National Artist, poet and co-founder of the Silliman writers' workshop; VIRGILIO S. ALMARIO (Rio Alma), National Artist, poet and critic.
• State recognition: NATIONAL ARTIST AWARD for outstanding cultural contribution; CARLOS PALANCA MEMORIAL AWARDS = the country's most prestigious literary prizes.

Definitions

Section Title

Philippine Literary Periods

Common Mistakes

• Mixing up which epic belongs to which region — use this mnemonic: BIag = iLOCOs (BIL), HUDhud = IFUgao (HI), DARAngen = MARANao (DAM), HINIlawod = PANAy (HIP), IBALon = BICol (IBC).
• Confusing korido (8 syllables) and awit (12 syllables) — remember: awit has MORE syllables just like a longer 'song' (awit = song in Filipino).
• Saying Ibong Adarna was written by Balagtas — Ibong Adarna is an anonymous korido; Balagtas wrote Florante at Laura (awit).
• Forgetting that the FIRST BOOK PRINTED IN THE PHILIPPINES is the Doctrina Christiana (1593), not a novel.
• Calling 'Dead Stars' the first Philippine novel in English — it is the first modern Philippine SHORT STORY in English. The first Philippine novel in English is 'A Child of Sorrow' by Zoilo Galang.
• Confusing Nick Joaquin's pen name — it is QUIJANO DE MANILA, not Doveglion. Doveglion is Jose Garcia Villa's pen name.
• Forgetting that Ibarra becomes SIMOUN (not a different character) in El Filibusterismo.

Exam Tips

• Memorize the superlatives: OLDEST epic = Gilgamesh; LONGEST epic = Mahabharata; FIRST MODERN NOVEL = Don Quixote; FIRST ASIAN NOBEL IN LITERATURE = Tagore (Gitanjali).
• Shakespeare is the most frequently quoted world author in the LET — know that 'To be or not to be' = Hamlet = soliloquy.
• For situational irony stories: 'The Necklace' (de Maupassant) and 'The Gift of the Magi' (O. Henry) are the canonical paired examples — know both author and ironic twist.
• For epic-to-tradition matching: Beowulf = Anglo-Saxon/Old English; Divine Comedy = Italian/Dante; Aeneid = Roman/Virgil; Song of Roland = French; El Cid = Spanish.
• Tagore's key facts: Indian, Nobel Prize in Literature (1913), Gitanjali — these three details together = a complete correct answer.

Key Points

• THE EPIC OF GILGAMESH: from ancient Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq); considered the WORLD'S OLDEST KNOWN EPIC.
• ILIAD and ODYSSEY: ancient Greek epics attributed to HOMER. The Iliad narrates the Trojan War; the Odyssey narrates Odysseus's ten-year journey home.
• AENEID: Roman epic by VIRGIL; narrates the founding of Rome by the Trojan hero Aeneas.
• MAHABHARATA: ancient Indian epic; the WORLD'S LONGEST EPIC; contains the BHAGAVAD GITA within it.
• RAMAYANA: ancient Indian epic attributed to VALMIKI; narrates the heroic prince Rama's quest to rescue his wife Sita.
• BEOWULF: the Anglo-Saxon Old English epic, composed around the 8th century; the hero Beowulf battles the monster Grendel.
• SONG OF ROLAND: the French national epic, from the medieval period.
• EL CID (Cantar de Mio Cid): the Spanish national epic.
• DIVINE COMEDY: by DANTE ALIGHIERI (Italian); a journey through Hell (Inferno), Purgatory (Purgatorio), and Paradise (Paradiso).
• GREEK TRAGEDY: SOPHOCLES' 'OEDIPUS REX' is the classic model of tragedy — demonstrates fate, the tragic flaw (hamartia), and catharsis.
• WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE: the most-tested world author. Key works: 'Romeo and Juliet' (star-crossed lovers); 'Hamlet' (contains the famous 'To be or not to be' soliloquy); 'Macbeth' (ambition and its consequences); 'Julius Caesar' (betrayal and political conspiracy).
• MIGUEL DE CERVANTES' 'DON QUIXOTE' is widely regarded as the FIRST MODERN NOVEL.
• Other major prose works: Victor Hugo's 'Les Miserables'; Leo Tolstoy's 'War and Peace'; Ernest Hemingway's 'The Old Man and the Sea'; Antoine de Saint-Exupery's 'The Little Prince.'
• SITUATIONAL IRONY CLASSICS: Guy de Maupassant's 'THE NECKLACE' (Mathilde spends years of toil to replace what turns out to be a fake necklace); O. Henry's 'THE GIFT OF THE MAGI' (each spouse sacrifices the very thing the other's gift serves).
• HAIKU tradition: perfected by Japan's MATSUO BASHO.
• ANALECTS OF CONFUCIUS: China's most influential philosophical-literary text.
• ONE THOUSAND AND ONE NIGHTS (Arabian Nights): an Arabian frame-tale collection featuring SCHEHERAZADE as the storyteller.
• RUBAIYAT OF OMAR KHAYYAM: Persian poetry, widely known through Edward FitzGerald's English translation.
• RABINDRANATH TAGORE: Indian poet and author of 'GITANJALI'; became the FIRST ASIAN NOBEL LAUREATE IN LITERATURE (1913).

Definitions

Section Title

Masterworks of World Literature

Common Mistakes

• Confusing the OLDEST epic (Gilgamesh = Mesopotamia) with the LONGEST epic (Mahabharata = India).
• Attributing 'Don Quixote' to Shakespeare — it was written by CERVANTES (Spanish); Shakespeare wrote the plays.
• Forgetting that the BHAGAVAD GITA is embedded within the MAHABHARATA, not a separate epic.
• Saying Homer wrote the Divine Comedy — the Divine Comedy is by DANTE; Homer wrote the ILIAD and ODYSSEY.
• Confusing RABINDRANATH TAGORE (first Asian Nobel in Literature; Gitanjali) with Confucius (Analects; Chinese philosophy).
• Mixing up 'The Gift of the Magi' (O. Henry; American) with 'The Necklace' (de Maupassant; French) — both illustrate situational irony but are by different national authors.