Literature
What Latin word does "literature" come from, and what does it mean?
"Litaritura / literatura" — meaning "writing formed with letters."
What does the word "prosa" mean, and what kind of writing does it describe?
"Straightforward" — writing that follows the natural flow of everyday speech.
Name the three dimensions of setting.
Setting as place, time, and cultural context.
What are the two kinds of epic poetry?
Popular/ancient epic (no definite author) and modern epic (definite author).
Which literary composition is considered the basis of Christianity, originating from Palestine and Greece?
The Bible / the Sacred Writings.
Name the two ways literature is broadly classified.
Fiction vs. non-fiction; poetry vs. prose.
Name the two major types of prose.
Fiction and non-fiction.
Which point of view uses "I" or "we," sharing the same limits as third-person limited?
First person point of view.
Which lyric poem type has 14 lines and deals with an emotion, feeling, or idea?
The sonnet.
Name the two ancient Greek epics written by Homer.
The Iliad and the Odyssey.
What novel, written around 2000 BC, is considered the first novel in the world?
The Epic of Gilgamesh.
Name the six elements of fiction.
Plot/structure, characterization, theme, setting, point of view, style.
What are the two broad categories of non-fiction?
Informative non-fiction and literary non-fiction.
Which lyric poem's theme is always death, expressing grief and melancholy?
The elegy.
Which is the longest epic in the world, containing the history of religion in India?
The Mahabharata.
Give the three reasons why literature is important.
sparks empathy & understanding, teaches about the past / learn about past lives, escapism & possibilities.
What are the three types of conflict a protagonist may face?
Person vs. person, person vs. environment/society, person vs. self.
Differentiate autobiography from biography.
Autobiography is a life story told by the subject (usually 1st person); biography is a life story told by someone else.
What Filipino verse form is dodecasyllabic (12 syllables) and sung with a guitar or banduria?
The awit (e.g., Florante at Laura).
Which work by Dante shows the religion and customs of early Italians?
The Divine Comedy.
During the Romantic period, what narrower meaning did "literature" begin to take on?
It began to mean specifically "imaginative" literature, rather than all books and writing.
Differentiate a "round" character from a "flat" character.
A round character is complex and many-faceted, like a real person; a flat character has only one or two traits and can be summed up quickly.
What three elements make up "diction," central to an author's style?
Vocabulary, syntax, and rhythm.
Name all five types of dramatic poetry.
Comedy, melodrama, tragedy, farce, social poems.
Which collection of tales from Arabia and Persia shows the ways of government, industry, and society of the Arabs and Persians?
One Thousand and One Nights (the Arabian Nights).