In our first meeting, my perception about this subject is going to be boring. When we had our first topic, it was kinda dull and uninteresting because of our teacher. She was that old but her age doesn’t care about that. What I mean is that at her age, her voice is not that loud just like us. She is a strict teacher. When she is having her long discussion about introduction to Literature, I was so quiet and silent because of weariness.
*Photo taken by Kyrien Kaye Bismar* [kyrienkhaye.blogspot.com]
I just slept because of this boring subject. She is strict when it comes to quizzes and examination but I know that she has her aim for us students to pass so that would be knowledgeable and more informed about she had discussed. About our teacher, Dr. Remedios Dellera, even though the weather is not fine and we all are tired, she always continues teaching her lesson. She also gave us recitations and we also related ourselves into the songs of her favorite singer who passed away, Kenny Rogers. And I realized that there is a lot of things that we can learn about literature.
The first topic we discussed was all about MYTH. There are a lot of myths in different parts of Philippines. Myths are a well known story or should I say, it is a famous story which was made up from the past to explain natural events or to justify religious beliefs or social customs. If we describe a belief or explanation as a myth, we mean that many people believe it but it is actually untrue.
"THE FATE OF NARCISSUS"
So it was that fair Narcissus fell in love with himself. One day as he was walking in the forest he stopped to refresh himself at a pond of water. As he bent down to drink from the pool, he noticed something that he had not noticed before. It was a reflection of someone so fair and pure that he just could not help but to fall head over heels in love with it.
In his eyes, this reflection was the most beautiful he had ever seen. Not realizing that the reflection was of his very own, he tried to touch the face, yet each time he reached down to touch the face, yet each time he reached down to touch the reflection it quickly ripped away, only to reappear in a moment time when the pond went still.
Narcissus would stare at his reflection for the next several years until death finally took him. When he died, poor Echo cried tears for sorrow, and as Venus watched from above, she took pity on Narcissus' soul and let a flower (narcissus flower) grow in the exact spot where he died. Legend has it that Narcissus still gazes at his reflection where flowers meet ponds and trees.
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The next topic was LEGEND. When we say legend, it is a very popular story that may be true. Others may define legend as a story that people talk about, concerning people, places, or events that exist or are famous at the present time. In this subject, Professor Dellera told us that we have to choose one kind of legend and we have to cite it in front without reading it. The legend I chose was “The Legend of Crocodile Rock in Pasig River”. Next to that, we took up riddles. This is the most interesting topic that we had discussed I’d never been sleepy when we were taking this lesson. RIDDLES are a puzzle or joke in which we can ask a question that seems to be nonsense but which has a clever ar amusing answers. In riddles, we must have such wide imagination to know the answer. Riddle is “Bugtong” in Tagalog.
Examples:
What do elves do after school?
- GNOMEWORK
Throw me from the highest building and I will not die. But throw me in the water and I will.
- TISSUE
What has a neck but no head?
- BOTTLE
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The second to the last topic was PROVERBS. Proverbs are short sentence that people often quote which gives advice or tells you something about life.
Examples:
"Stolen fruits are the sweetest."
- It means that, what is forbidden is the most tempting.
"Early birds catches worm."
- It means, if you want to do something, you must do it as soon as you can.
"The best things in life are free."
- We don't have to pay what is important. Love is free.
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And the last topic was BALLAD. A ballad is a song. This may be poem which tells a story in such simple language. It is a slow, romantic popular song. Kenny Roger’s song is an example of a ballad. We related our life in one of Kenny’s songs. The song I chose here was “Don’t fall in love with a dreamer”. He had his duet with Kim Carnes.
"Don't fall in love with a dreamer"
Just saw you sitting there
Never looked better than tonight
And it’d be so easy to tell you I’d stay
Like I’ve done so many times
I was so sure this would be the night
You’d close the door and wanna stay with me
And it’d be so easy to tell you I’d stay
Like I’ve done so many times
Don’t fall in love with a dreamer
‘Cause he’ll always take you in
Just when you think you’ve really change him
He’ll leave you again
Don’t you fall in love with a dreamer
‘Cause he’ll break you everytime
Put out the light and just hold on
Before we say goodbye
Now it’s morning and the phone rings
And you say you’ve gotta get your things together
You just gotta leave before you change your mind
And if you knew what I was thinking girl
I’d turn around if you’d just ask me one more time
BALLADEER is the term for the singer of ballads. BALLADRY is ballads which consider as a group.
Hoping for a good and high grade in this subject because of many things I have learned here. :)
