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                           ***PHILIPPINE LITERATURE UNDER THE SPANISH COLONIZATION***

                When  it  comes from the background of Philippine literature under the spanish colonization .It is an accepted belief that spanish colonization of the philippines started in 1565 during the time of Miguel Lopez de Legazpi. The first spanish governor –general in the Philippines. Literature started to flourish during his time. This spurt continued unabated until the cavite revolt in 1872. The spaniards colonized the Philippines for more than three centuries.

             

                   During these times, many changes occurred in the lives of Filipinos. They embraced the catholic religion, changed their names, and were baptized. Their lifestyles changed too. They built houses made of stones and bricks, used beautiful furnitures like the piano and also used kitchen utensils. Carriages, trains and boats werte used as mean of travel. They had cockfights, horse races and the theater as means of recreation.

                    Not only that, the spaniards also had a big role in our past. Because they influence us in our Philippine Literature like our first Flipino alphabet called ALIBATA was replaced by the Roman alphabet. The teaching of the Christian Doctrine became the basis of religious practices. The Spanish language which became the literary language during this time lent many of its words to our language. European legends and traditions brought here became assimilated in our songs, corridos, moro-moros, etc. Ancient literature was collected and translated to Tagalog and other dialects. Many grammar books were printed in Filipino like Tagalog, Ilocano and Visayan. And also our periodicals during these times gained a religious tone.

     ***PHILIPPINE LITERATURE  UNDER THE    AMERICAN COLONIZATION***

                            The Filipino revolutionist won against the Spaniards who clonized us for more than 300 years. Our flag was hoisted on July 12, 1898 as a symbol of our independence. Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo was elected the first President of the Philippine Republic but this was short-lived. The Fil-American war was resulted in the defeat of Gen. Miguel Malvar in 1903. The peace movements started as early as 1900. Many Filipinos started writing again and the nationalism of the people remained undaunted. Filipino writers went into all forms of literature like news reporting, poetry, stories, plays, essays, novels, etc. Their writings clearly depicted their love of country and their longings for independence . The active arousal in the field of literature started to be felt in the following newspapers: like El Nuevo Dia (The New Day) established by Sergio Osmena in 1900.

                          The American censors twice banned this and threatened Osmena with banishment because of his nationalistic writings.El Grito Del Pueblo (The Call of the Nation) established by Pascual Poblete in 1900. El Renacimiento (The Rebirt) founded by Rafael palma in 1901. There were also  plays written then but after the first and second presentations, the Americans put a stop to this because of the consistent theme of nationalism. Included here the Kahapon, Ngayon at Bukas (Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow) by Aurelio Tolentino. Tanikalang Ginto by Juan Abad; Malaya by Tomas Remigio; at Walang sugat by Severino Reyes.The characteristics of literature during this period had three groups of writers contributed to Philippines literature. During the first year of the American period, the languages used in writing werte Spanish and Tagalog and the dialects of the different regions, but Spanish and Tagalog predominated. In 1910, a new group started to write in english.

                       Hence, Spanish, Tagalog, the Vernaculars and finally, English, were the mediums used in literature during these times. While the three groups were one in their ideas and spirit, they differed in their methods of reporting. The writers in Spanish were wont to write on nationalism like in honoring Rizal and other heroes.  The writers in tagalog continued in their lamentations on the conditions of the country and their attempts to arouse love for one’s native tongue. The writers in English imitated the themes and methods of the Americans. In a way, we can say that we can trace the beginnings of Philippine literature in English with the coming the Americans. For this purpose, we can divide this period into three time frames, namely: The Period of Re-orientation; The Period of Imitation; The Period of Self-discovery. Almost all Tagalog writers during the American Period were able to compose beautiful poems   which made it difficult to select the best. Even if poetry writing is as old as history, poetry still surfaces with its sweetness, beauty, and melody.