Life of an English Major Part 2: The Literature Side

                 Literature appears boring and not fun with others at first sight because it is just words and no pictures and will put anyone to sleep. But if we look literature differently and try to read a genre of literature, it says otherwise. Yes it is still filled with words let us accept that but if we use our own imagination while we read, we will find literature as useful. Literature is the another wide domain that an English Major student will be tackling while pursuing this course. 

                As an English Major student, he/she will know that there are actually five macro skills that is inborn within us and must be improved for latter use or upon growing up. These macro skills are: Writing, Listening, Reading, Writing and Viewing. Sadly on today's generation, the macro skill Reading is left out as this spells doom because that macro skill is so essential for a person. We are facing the so called "Death of the Readers" according to one educator and this is actually true as today's generation lacks comprehension in reading especially here in the Philippines. An actual encounter with a book lover and reader in the younger generation gives hope and it reminds us of the movie Wall-E where a plant is still living on an Earth scattered with garbage and pollution. 

            To help a future educator with teaching and learning about literature, he/she will be exposed to numerous amounts of literary criticisms and genres. Literary criticism, as the name implies enables someone to criticize literature, find its plausible flaws upon reading and trying to understand its underlying message and suggest improvements along the way. Criticisms is a hard pill to swallow as this can be understood as an offensive statement who is not even open enough for it. For the one who will criticize, they must be careful and accurate while doing it. And for the students taking up the course, though it is hard implementing the different ways of literary criticism, know that literature is subject to many interpretations and there is no definite right and wrong interpretation. 

                For genres of literature, students first will learn the difference of a poem to prose then after that they will encounter the different classes for each of them. For poem, they will meet the fun poetry which is composed of Haiku, Shakespearean sonnet, Acrostic poetry and more. For prose, they will encounter short stories that they will be tasked to interpret, understand, answer the questions relating to it that will be given and criticize as what the previous paragraph suggests. 

               Relating to Part 1, if English Major students will have a clue or hint about the background of the child thanks to how the child learned the first language, here in the literature side they will have a glimpse of an author's background. Known authors like William Shakespeare and Edgar Allan Poe had different backgrounds and it is completely relevant on how they compose their literary work. With that being said, Students will also study the different ways on how literary authors do their own work in other words literary devices. Alliteration, Assonance, and Metaphor are some of the vast poetic devices available.

              Now as a Future educator, how will these help on someone who is pursuing or who wanted to take this course or how is that even relevant? 

                Knowing these vast amount of knowledge in relation to literature gives a whole different meaning thus giving interest to also. Future educators will surely ask the same question of today's generation on what is the relevance of studying past literature on the present. Take for example the hit primetime series Maria Clara and Ibarra, upon this writing of the blog the series will transition from Noli Me Tangere to El Filibusterismo but first its main protagonist Maria Clara Infantes also known as "Klay" asked her professor what is the relevance of studying this today. 

                As students delve into studying literature upon pursuing the course, they will find answers like this is a form of medium to convey message to today's generation that this is what is happening to our country, like what Dr. Jose Rizal did. Students will also enhance their reading capabilities and comprehension. And again in relation to part 1, thanks to Literature, students will have a proper basis or guide on how to write sentences then paragraphs and if they want, their own literature.

                "Literature adds to reality it does not simply describe it. It enriches the necessary competencies that daily life requires and provides; and in this respect, it irrigates the deserts that our lives has already become"                                                                                                                    Clive Staples Lewis