Thursday, June 20, 2013
Interpretation: A Poem That Has No Title
To my Creator I singWho did soothe me in my great loss;To the Merciful and KindWho in my troubles gave me repose.Rizal opens the poem in thanksgiving. The entire poem is generally about God and is speaking in the second person to God. However, it is important to observe the order in which these verses are written. That...
Monday, June 10, 2013
Anatomy of the Anti-Hero
by Nick JoaquinPaint my picture truly like me, and not flatter me at all, but remark all these roughnesses, pimples, warts, and everything as you see me. -- Oliver CromwellTwo views of Rizal that scan the man behind the monument are clearly headed for controversy. A startling anatomy of the hero is offered in "The First Filipino" by...
Interpretation: To the Filipino Youth
Unfold, oh timid flower! Lift up your radiant brow,This day, Youth of my native strand! Your abounding talents showResplendently and grand,Fair hope of my Motherland! Soar high, oh genius great,And with noble thoughts fill their mind;The honor's glorious seat,May their virgin mind fly and findMore rapidly than the wind.The first line, "unfold, oh timid flower," implies that the...
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Interpretation: Education Gives Luster to Motherland
Wise education, vital breathInspires an enchanting virtue;She puts the Country in the lofty seatOf endless glory, of dazzling glow,And just as the gentle aura's puffDo brighten the perfumed flower's hue:So education with a wise, guiding hand,A benefactress, exalts the human band.In this first stanza, Rizal expresses that education is what builds up a country and allows her to...
