LITERATURE UNDER SPANISH COLONIALISM (1565-1897)

When Spain established her first permanent settlement in the Philippines in 1565, she imposed
on the Filipino people the Spanish monarchy and the Roman Catholic religion, and along with
the two came all the feudal institutions that represented European civilization as far as the new
colony was concerned. In the centuries to come, a distinction would be made between those
Filipinos who settled where they were within easy reach of the power of the Church and State in
pueblos (taga-bayan), and those who kept their distance from the colonial administrators and
their native agents, staying close to the sources of their livelihood in the mountains or the
hinterlands (taga-bukid, taga-bundok).

The distinction went beyond indicating mere geographic origins and took on overtones of
cultural snobbery as the effect of colonization seeped deeper into the consciousness of lowland
Filipinos. In time, taga-bayan came to be a flattering term for the Hispanized and, therefore,
"urbane and civilized" Filipino, while taga-bukid/taga-bundok was to mock the indio (native) who
had not learned the ways of the colonial masters and, therefore, among the brutos salvages
(savage brutes).

In this way did the non-Christian Filipinos come to be regarded with condescension, if not
outright contempt and suspicion, by lowlanders who soon began to think of themselves as the
more "genuine" Filipinos. Although it endowed town residents with a special status, colonialism
constantly reminded them of their subjection to Spanish might. The name "Filipino," after all,
was reserved for Spaniards born in the Philippines, and everybody else who had only native
ancestors was an "Indian."

Spanish colonial rule was supposed to derive its authority from the union of Church and State.
The parish priest, however, was practically the only Spaniard who had direct contact with
Filipinos. As such, he became the embodiment of Spanish power and culture among the
colonized populace. Through their contact with him and the beliefs and values he carried,
religion exerted a pervasive influence on the minds of Christianized Filipinos.

The literature of the entire period was in the main created under his encouragement and
supervision, although in the last half-century of Spanish rule, the attitudes and outlook of
medieval Catholicism as these were represented by the friar/ missionary/ parish priest began to
be challenged by Filipinos who had, by virtue of a university education, come into the orbit of
liberal minds in nineteenth-century Spain and Europe.

A Confluence of Two Cultures.

Monopoly of printing presses by religious orders prior to the nineteenth century explains the
religious content of early written literature. The Dominicans were the first to set up a printing
press, and Doctrina Christiana (Christian Doctrine 1593), the first book ever published in the
Philippines, was their output. Early in the seventeenth century, the Franciscans, Jesuits and
Augustinians put up their respective presses and turned out grammars, dictionaries and
catechism and confession manuals. The first printed literary work in Tagalog appeared in one of
the books produced by the friar-lexicographer Francisco Blancas de San Jose. This was the
poem "May Bagyo Ma'r May Rilim (Though It Is Stormy and Dark)" which was published in
Memorial de la vida cristiana Memorandum Book of Christian Life, 1605) along with poems by
San Jose himself and by the bilingual poet (ladino) Fernando Bagongbanta.

Written in praise of the book in which it appears, "May Bagye Ma't May Rilim" uses turbulent
nature imagery to affirm Christian heroism. Significant is the use of the seven-syllable line, the
monorime and the talinghaga (metaphor) of precolonial poetry. In this poem by an anonymous
author, we have a meeting of two cultures. Christian ideals brought over by the Spaniards are
contained in a poetic form that bears all the earmarks of indigenous culture on which the
colonizers were building a new colonial culture.

The work exemplifies what the missionaries were doing to oral literature they found among the
Filipinos. Being such a pervasive presence in Philippine society during the three centuries of
Spanish colonialism, the songs, riddles, proverbs and tales of the pagans understandably made
the missionaries and parish priests apprehensive, especially because a number of uprisings
motivated by religious nativism had erupted early during the colonial period.

Oral literature was "Christianized" where it could not be suppressed or eradicated, but very little
of it saw print. What found its way into books was only a handful of literary works that, in the
twentieth century, had given the impression that there was hardly any worthwhile developments
in the literary field prior to the nineteenth century. Of course, such an impression had reckoned
literary development only in terms of published works. Needless to say, new oral lore kept
enriching traditional literature which continued to circulate among the masses, the overwhelming
majority of whom had lost the ability to read after the Roman alphabet supplanted the
indigenous syllabary.

Spanish Imposition, Filipino Response. Reading, writing and arithmetic were taught in
catechetical school which was usually the farthest the Filipino of the time could go in education.
Of course, the main purpose of schooling was to impart the fundamentals of Christian doctrine
to the children who would, in time, take over from the adults as loyal subjects of the monarch
and devoted flock of the Church.

Up until the eighteenth century, it was a rare Filipino who had schooling beyond the catechetical
level, so that anyone who could read the Roman alphabet, learned Spanish well enough to write
in it and interpret for the missionaries became a privileged person. Among these Filipinos,
referred to by the colonizers as ladino) ("Latinized," i.e., able to read and write in one of the
Latin languages), were Pedro Bukaneg (the Ilokano poet to whom the published version of
Lam-ang in often attributed), Tomas Pinpin (the printer/author of a manual titled Ang Librong
Pag-aaralan ng mga Tagalog ng Wikang Castilla [The Book the Tagalogs Must Stud in Spanish],
1610) and Fernando Bagongbanta (the poet mentioned earlier for hi contribution to San Jose's
Memorial de la vida cristiana).
The first Filipino literary artist, the first one to come up with a long work that bore the signs of
conscious design and careful composition, was Gaspar Aquino de Belen (no dates available
The long poem Ang Mahal na Passion ni Jesu Christong Panginoon Natin (The Sacred Passion
of Jesus Christ Our Lord, 1704) appeared as an addendum to Aquino's translation of a Spanish
devotional work.

Written in Tagalog octosyllabic verse the poem relates the events leading to the crucifixion,
starting from the Last Supper, in strophes of five monoriming lines. In its time, Ang Mabal na
Passion was treasured as a Christian narrative poem intended to replace the epic poems of the
pagan past. Now, it deserves to be admired for the vigor of the poeri earthy language and for his
insight into the psychology of the biblical figures who emerge vividly as though they were the
poet's own contemporaries. Like the traditional epics, Aquino's poem was sung to a fixed
melody and was intended to edify its audience at special occasions.

After Aquino (Gaspar Aquino de Belen's "Ang Mahal na Passion ni Jesu Christong
Panginoon Natin" ), the genre that evolved came to be designated as pasyon, a permanent
tribute to the 1704 poem. A related genre in the native theater was the sinakulo, a stage play on
the passion and death of Christ. Both the pasyon and the sinakule were performed during the
Lenten season, and this endowed them with a ritual significance that left a deep impression on
the consciousness of generations upon generations of Christian Filipinos who at given times in
ther history alternately saw Christ as a model of humility and submissiveness to religious and
secular authority, and as a rebel with the zeal and reckless daring of a visionary preparing the
way for the ideal society.

The fact that Aquino was a layman in the employ of the Jesuit printing press reveals quite a bit
about conditions for the productions of literature during the seventeenth century. Missionaries
were the literary patrons of the day, being the ones who owned and ran the printing presses.
Works in the vernacular wett intended for use by missionaries in their work, so that whatever
was published were communicated orally to the populace. As a bilingual Filipino of his time
Aquino stood apart from his countrymen, his position in the Jesuit press and the opportunity to
publish a long work indicative of the esteem he had earned by virtue of his ability to absorb the
culture of the colonial power.

In the eighteenth century, the ability to affect the manners and the mores of the Spaniards was a
sign of a higher socio-economic status. It was perhaps during the second half of this century
that the komedya reached full development as a theater genre. The komedya drew its plot from
medieval Spanish ballads about highborn warriors and their colorful adventures for love and
fame, providing Filipino viewers a glimpse of an idealized European society that exemplified the
virtues of religious piety and steadfast loyalty to the monarch. Along with the sunakwie, it
satisfied the people's curiosity about a period and a society that stood in direct contrast to the
instability and misery of life in their time and their country.

Two types of narrative poems became popular at about the same time that the komedya
appeared in the Philippines. These are the awit and the koride, both of them drawing their
subject matter from the same Spanish ballads that provided many a komedya with plots. The
awit differed from the koride in that its strophe consisted of four monorhyming dodecasyllabic
lines while the strophe of the latter consisted of four monoriming octosyllabic lines. Both were
sung or chanted, never simply read, and apparently they circulated the way oral literature
circulated, enabling the more popular ones to reach a wide audience at a time when the greater
majority of the population was illiterate.

The first half of the nineteenth century witnessed the peak of the awit as a poetic genre in the
masterwork of the poet Francisco Baltazar (1788-1862). popularly known as Balagtas. Of
Balagtas' total output, only three complete works are now available: a short farce (La India
Elegante y el Negrito Amante [The Fashionable India and Her Negrito Suitor), n.d.); a full length
komedya (Orosman at Zafira [Orosman and Zafira), ca. 1857-60); and a well-known awit
(Pinagdaanang Buhay ni Florante at ni Laura sa Cabariang Albania [The Life Florante and
Laura Went through in the Kingdom of Albania], ca. 1838). In spite of the lack of a big corpus of
published works, historians have put Balagtas in the forefront of Philippine literature,
designating him as the first of the two literary giants of the period of Spanish colonialism.

Filipino writers during Balagtas' time wrote not for a reading but for a "listening" audience, so
that many written works seemed to have existed only as manuscripts that passed from hand to
hand. However, opportunities for publishing were opening up with the establishment of
commerciall printing presses in Manila.

The colony had begun to enjoy a measure of economic progress resulting from the development
of cash crops; direct trade between Spaim and the Philippines; and active participation of
foreign firms in the export trade. Economic prosperity stimulated the growth of a Filipino middle
class which hac the money and the leisure to avail itself of the trappings of European culture in
terms of education, clothes, food, ornaments and social graces. Whereas before printed works
were almost exclusively for the use of missionaries, now they ha become available to the
wealthy, literate members of the middle class.

Florante at Laura (Florante and Laura) was indicative of the pressures that acted upon the
Filipino man of letters during the early part of the nineteenth century. On the one hand, there
was the inescapable awarerness that he could reach his audience mainly through the traditional
method of oral performance, literacy being limited up until then to very few Filipinos.

On the other, there was the drive to display the writer's credentials, the most important of which
was urbanity manifested in the ability to reflect the culture of the colonial masters Thus, Florante
at Laura was in the form of the awit familiar to Filipino lovers of traditional verse, and it was sung
like the ancient epics and the more recent pasyen At the same time, it bore marks of classical
learning manifest in the allusions to Greek and Roman mythology, and its figurative language
was clearly patterned after the extravagant thetoric of Spanish poetry of the Middle Ages.

The poem related the story of two lovers who are parted by the political intrigues fomented by
an evil member of the royal household of Albania. Because he is jealous of Florante who has
won Laura's hand, Adolfo seeks the death of Florante after he seizes the throne of Albania.
When Albania comes under the power of Adolfo, Florante is away fighting in a war.

He is lured into a trap by his rival, and is exposed to wild beasts in a forest outside the
kingdom. On the verge of certain death, Florante is rescued by Aladin who has wandered into
the forest. Aladin is Persian, son of a wicked sultan who wants Aladin's sweetheart for himself.

In another part of the forest, Laura is about to be ravished by Adolfo but is saved by Flerida, a
Persian princess in the disguise of a warrior, who has been searching for her sweetheart who
was banished by the sultan. The voices of the women are heard by the warriors and there is a
joyous reunion. News comes that Albania has been liberated. Florante and Laura are
proclaimed the new monarchs, and Aladin and Flerida submit themselves to Christian baptism.

Mahiganting Langit (Vengeful Heaven) is the first of the celebrated soliloquies that make
Florante at Laura a rich source of ethical precepts many of which have entered the traditional
lore of Filipinos. This passage is the well- loved lamentation by Florante in which he bewails the
lot that has befallen Albanis in a recital of the effects of tyrannical rule often interpreted as
Balagtas indictment of colonial oppression by Spain. Whether the political meaning was part of
the original design of the poem is a matter no longer susceptible to proof, for neither Balagtas
nor any of his contemporaries left records to help the modern reader resolve the issue.

The fact is, however, that in the last half of the nineteenth century, Jose Rizal and his generation
were to read foreshadowings of nationalism in Balagtas poem. It would seem that oral
transmission of the poem from one generation of readers and listeners to another had allowed
the growing disaffection of Filipinos with Spain to collect around the text until the poem was
thought to be an accurate reflection of the misery and outrage of a people refusing to be
crushed by foreign oppression.

Thus, it happened that by the time the Propagandı Movement was agitating the emerging
Filipino intelligentsia to articulate their grievances against colonial rule, Florante at Laura had,
by the agency of populas tradition, turned into an imaginative work anticipating in an allegorical
form the reformists' own condemnation of colonial abuses.

Taken purely as poetry, Florante at Laura unquestionably towers above other works written in
Tagalog before it. Skill in manipulating the rich mellifluous music of the Tagalog language and a
deft hand in creating artful metaphors highly prized by lovers of traditional poetry - these put
Balagtas in a class by himself as Tagalog poet. All succeeding poets in the language were to be
measured against him, so that the appearance of modern Tagalog poetry in the twentieth
century was to come in the form of a revolt against Balagtas.

The discovery of a text of Orosman at Zafira in 1974 does not only confirm the poet's superiority
to his predecessors and contemporaries but, above all, suggests that Balagtas' prodigious talent
found fuller and freer expression in the theater. Political ambition that in Florante at Laura was
described as "the cause of every evil deed," is the force that keeps things happening in
Orosman at Zafira. The three-part play is about the assassination of Mahamud, sultan of
Marruecos and father of Zafira, and the consequent moral and civil disruptions that culminate in
the disintegration of the family of the usurper Boulasem, grand pasha of Tedenst and father of
Abdalap and Orosman.

Mahamud's death and Boulasem's take- over in Marruecos occasion a revolt headed by Zelim,
the pasha of Duquela who thinks he is more worthy of the throne. Seeking to avenge her
father's death, Zafira joins forces with Zelim but the two of them are defeated by Boulasem's
army which is under the leadership of Boulasem's two sons. On the day of victory, Abdalap
schemes to win the support of the army and gets himself proclaimed the new sultan. The unrest
created by the sudden change of leadership gives Zelim the opportunity to organize the
opposition against Abdalap. Zafira uses Orosman's love for her to gain his sanction for the plot
against Abdalap who meets his end in 1 duel with Zelim.

Three love plots are women into the story of Boulasem's bid for power. In the first, Abdalap and
Orosman are rivals over Zafira's love. Abdalap, against Boulasem's wishes, wants Zafira for
himself, and one of his motives in overthrowing his father is to possess Zafira. Zafira is in love,
however, with Orosman, who thereby finds himself torn between love for a sworn enemy of his
father and devotion to a parent fighting a war to hold on to power that had been usurped.

The second plot is about Abdalap and Zelima. Abdalap abandons Zelima when he becomes
enamoured with Zafira. Spurned by her lover, Zelima turns into a ruthless justicer who joins the
plot to unseat Abdalap. In the third plot, Gulnara, a lady in Mahamud's court, falls in love with
one of the sultan's generals, but remains steadfast in her loyalty to Zafira during the days of the
revolt against Boulasem.

Although the komedya was traditionally about Christians and Moors, Balagtas chooses, as he
did in Florante at Laura, to rise above the theme of religious war. His real concern, it would
appear, is with the clash of human motives when men and their women are caught up in the
turmoils of social disorder. In Orasman at Zafira, this concern engages him in the creation of
character portraits that have greater depth and dimension than the conventional cardboard
heroes and heroines of the celebrated anit, revealing a more mature artist than the one we
know through Florante at Laura.

The verse, as utterances by characters tossed about by passion and ambition as they move
against a background of court intrigue, battles and personal confrontations, surpasses in many
places the grandeur of the poetry of the earlier work. As a matter of fact, the lines are more
sinewy and substantial always equal to the task of allowing us insights into the characters and
the situations in which the plot embroils them. Given all the conventions and the cramping
limitations of the komedya as a popular dramatic form in the nineteenth century, Balagtas had
been able to create an artistically intricate and absorbing study of power and passion.

Prose by Filipinos did not make its appearance in print until the nineteenth century, although
prose works by missionaries using the vernacular had bees published since the early years of
the conquest. Modesto de Castro was a native priest who lived in the first half of the nineteenth
century, notable for his sermons in Tagalog. His lasting contribution to the history of literature
was the popular book of manners called Pagsusulatan ng Dalawang Binibini na si Urbana at
Feliza (Exchange of Letters between Two Maidens Urbana and Feliza, 1864).

S Katungkulan sa Bayan (On Public Office) and Sa Piging (At a Banquet) are excerpta from the
book that help us appreciate the profound influence of de Castro's prescriptions and
proscriptions on the social behavior of Christian Filipinos, nor only in the Tagalog region but in
other regions as well where the work reached the people through translation. In literature,
Urbana at Feliza was to establish the stereotypes of popular characters who were to people
Tagalog dramas and novels in the early years of the twentieth century.

The Growth of a Nationalist Consciousness.

A royal decree in 1863 opened new horizons to the emergent middle class when it provided for
a complete educational system consisting of elementary, secondary and collegiate levels. From
the early Filipino products of this system were to come the writers who would go beyond what
Tomas Pinpin and Fernando Bagongbanta did in the seventeenth century as Filipinos using the
Spanish language for literary purposes. Pedro Paterno (1857-1911) and Jose Rizal (1861-1896)
were writers who employed Spanish no longer to propagandize for the Christian religion but for
a changing concept of "Filipino," which at this stage had ceased to refer only to Philippine-born
Spaniards and now included Spanish mestizos, Chinese mestizos and Hispanized indios.

In 1880, Pedro Paterno put together a collection of his Spanish poems under the title
Sampaguitas (native fragrant flowers), a book more notable for what it symbolized than for its
value as literature. By its insistence on being "Filipina" Sampaguitas marked the beginning of
national consciousness among the Filipino intelligentsia. Ninay (1885), like Sampaguitas,
insisted on its "nationality." The first Filipino novel ever, the book tells of the young woman Ninay
who dies of heartbreak brought on by separation from her sweetheart Carlos and aggravated by
the loss of her parents. The plot of the novel is unfolded through a narrative device that gives
the author an excuse to take the readers on a folkloristic tour of Philippine customs and
traditions intended bring out the uniqueness and to exoticism of Spain's Asian colony.

Younger than Paterno by only four years, Rizal showed himself to be of an entirely different
temperament. He was only eleven years old when the priest- martyrs Gomez, Burgos and
Zamora were executed in 1872, but as his Spanish novels would reveal, he was sensitive to the
forces that were building up in Philippine society as the clamor for reforms was met with
repression that in turn generated a more insistent clamor for change. Noli Me Tangere (Touch
Me Not, 1887) tells about the young man Ibarra who, having obtained a university education in
Europe, comes home to the Philippines full of the zeal and idealism of a dedicated reformist.
Ibarra believes that education holds the key to social change and gears his energy in this
direction. However, he finds himself obstructed at every turn by two friars: Fray Damaso who is
later revealed to be the father of Ibarra's sweetheart, Maria Clara; and Fray Salvi who covets the
love of Maria Clara. Through the machination of Fray Salvi, an uprising is organized which
implicates Ibarra as financier and leader of the rebels. An outlaw named Elias, who owed Ibarra
his life, comes to the young man's aid. A successful escape is engineered for Ibarra, but Elias
loses his life when he is hit by bullets intended for the fleeing Ibarra.

Noli Me Tangere marks the first time realism as a literary concept entered Philippine writing.
Previous poetry and drama drew heavily from Spanish ballads for their subject matter,
presenting their audience with images of a society belonging to the long ago and the far away.
In Paterno's Ninay, the locales and the characters were Philippine but have been so
romanticized that they might as well have been foreign. When Noli Me Tangere portrayed
contemporary Philippine society, it was with the end of analyzing the problems of the colony so
that something could be done to solve them. What gives it power and worth, in spite of its formal
weaknesses, is Rizal's searing indictment of the Spanish colonial regime and his devastating
portraits of colonialists and their tools. The chapter "Capitan Tiago" is a masterful character
study in which touches of irony and wit leaven the author's heavily detailed commentary on the
weaknesses of the native elite that make them prone to exploitation by their foreign masters.

El Filibusterismo (The Filibuster, 1891) is a sequel to Noli Me Tangere. A mysterious stranger

named Simoun is bent on hastening the downfall of the colonial regime, employing the
double-tactic of abetting the corruption of friars and civil officials through money on the one
hand, and on the other, instigating an armed rebellion among the masses. Actually Simoun is
Ibarra in disguise. He has come back to rescue Maria Clara from the convent in which she had
sought virtual entombment after the rumored death of Ibarra. As a novel, El Filibusterismo is
even more loosely plotted than Noli Me Tangere but its wealth of political insight makes it an
interesting window into Rizal's mind. It is a bitter book, attesting to Rizal's darkening vision of the
possibility of enlightened rule by Spain in the immediate future. The final chapter of the novel is
sa dramatic working out of the novelist's view of revolution through character analysis, in which
Simoun's pain and anguish are juxtaposed with Padre Florentino's quietism and moral certitude
to bring the novel to a deeply moving conclusion.

Rizal's poetry, like his novels, was to leave a deep imprint in the works of succeeding writers.
The best of the poems are personal and deeply-felt, the patriotic fervor evoked by imagery
growing around a situation that is always drawn with restraint. A las Flores de Heidelberg (To
The Flowers of Heidelberg) and Ultima Adios (Final Farewell) represent two different modes -
the first is conversational, only hinting at the pain of the exile; the second sonorous and
incantatory, achieving a cumulative emotional impact by piling detail upon evocative detail until
the climactic penultimate stanza. Rizal's patriotic verse is particularly affecting and memorable
because in it we have a poet's personal sacrifice for the country dovetailing with his art.

The essay as literary form found a congenial time to develop during the campaign for reforms in
the last quarter of the nineteenth century. The Propaganda Movement (1872-1896) provided the
impetus for its development - issues had to be clarified, abuses and injustices denounced,
accusations refuted, future action laid out. The newspaper La Solidaridad (The Solidarity,
1889-1895) as the organ that would project the views of the movement was founded "to fight all
forms of reaction, to impede all retrogression, to hail and accept all liberal ideas, and to defend
all progress..." It was in the pages of La Solidaridad that the essay became Philippine Spanish
literature's significant contribution to Philippine literature. Through Su Excelencia, Señor Don
Vicente Barrantes (His Excellency, Sir Don Vicente Barrantes) by Rizal and Asimilacion de
Filipinas (The Assimilation of the Philippines) by Marcelo H. del Pilar, we get a taste of the flavor
and impact of essays by the rwo leading propagandists. Sardonic and caustic humor is expertly
wielded by Rizal as a weapon in his attack on the Spanish journalist whose writings on the
Philippines were markedly anti-Filipino, and the essay is decidedly a masterpiece of the genre.
Del Pilar's essay is of an altogether different type, a coolly rational and dispassionate analysis of
the issue of assimilation.

Marcelo H. del Pilar (1850-1896), also Plaridel in some of his Spanish essays, was well-versed
in the art of poetic jousting called duplo before he assumed the post of editor of La Solidaridad.
The long poem Sagot ng Espanya sa Hibik g Pilipinas (The Response of Spain to the Pleas of
the Philippines) was a companion piece to Hermenegildo Flores' Hibik ng Pilipinas sa Inang
Espanya (The Plea of the Philippines to Mother Spain), the poems together being a portrayal of
the sad plight of the Philippines under the "monastic supremacy" of the friars. Del Pilar was
especially effective as a parodist. Ang Paryong Dapat Ipag-alab ng Taong Baba se Kalupitan ng
Frails (The Passion Story That Ought to Inflame the Hearts of Persons Subjected to the Cruelty
of Friars) illustrates Del Pilar's use of popular "sacred" forms to give his anti-friar attacks a keen
cutting edge. "Dupluhan" is a fragment from a duplo discourse in which the form of the folk
game has been given patriotic content.

As the nineteenth century drew to a close, it became increasingly clear to the intelligentsia
subscribing to the Propaganda Movement that the campaign for reforms was not bringing about
desired changes in colonial policy. The shift from Spanish to Tagalog as the language of the
nationalist movement signaled more than a change of medium; it was above all a shift in tactics.
A new audience was being addressed - the Filipino masses rather than Spanish liberals and
fellow native intellectuals. This meant that reformism had been abandoned and the revolution
had begun.

The Katipunan used the vernacular of Manila and surrounding provinces as its official language.
Consequently, Tagalog came to be associated with nationalism, and the literature that was to be
written in it in the years to come would play up the nationalist cause. Katipunan supremo Andres
Bonifacio (1863- 1896) and Emilio Jacinto (1875-1899) used Tagalog to advantage as a tool for
organizing the masses. "Katapusang Hibik ng Pilipinas (The Ultimate Plea of the Philippines)"
refers back to Flores" "Hibik" and del Pilar's "Sagor" and builds on the situation implied in the
two earlier poems wherein a daughter in desperate straits calls on her mother for succor.
Bonifacio's poem, aiming to establish once and for all the break from reformism, makes the
daughter speak out in renunciation of the "negligent and perfidious" mother. The Katipunan
manifesto "Ang Dapat Mabatid ng mga Tagalog (What the Tagalogs Must Know)" is a simple
and forthright essay rallying the Filipinos in the struggle against Spain. It might be safely
assumed that the manifesto traveled along the route of oral literature, bringing the call to arms
to Filipinos wherever the Katipunan could penetrate. The same could not be said of Emilio
Jacinto's short essays that have come down to us under the title Liwanag at Dilim (Light and
Darkness) These seem to have been intended for publication in the Katipunan newspaper
Kalayaan (Freedom) of which Jacinto was the editor. The style and method of "Ang Ningning at
Liwanag (Shiny Light and Bright Light)" and "Kalayaan" suggest that these were meant to be
pondered over the way printed articles demand to be read. To compare them with Modesto de
Castro's "letters" in Urbana at Feliza is to realize that between 1864 and 1896 a profound
change of values had taken place, and the new values to be propagated demanded a new
lucidity so that Filipinos who would grasp them would know how to translate them into action.
The Revolution that led to the proclamation of independence in Kawit, Cavite, brief though it
was, gave Filipinos a feel of how it was to be in control of their fate. Soon enough, regionalism
and Jater capitulationism began to undermine the solidarity of those in the leadership. When
Spain ceded the Philippines to the United States at the Treaty of Paris in 1898, the Philippine
Republic was doomed. Apolinario Mabini was among those who tried through reason and
passion to keep the Revolution going. But the Republic was up against a powerful imperialist
country and the class interests of rich middleclass Filipinos. Mabini was steadfast as a
revolutionary at a time during the Philippine-American War when opportunism was pulling his
fellow intellectuals towards collaborationism. When General Franklin Bell, the ruthless
commander of the American forces in Batangas, called for the surrender of the Filipino
revolutionary forces on the ground that it was the duty of an army faced with insurmountable
odds to lay down its arms, Mabini wrote back and when copies of his reply were read by Filipino
soldiers, there was widespread approbation of his staunch position vis-à-vis the general's
remarks. Mabini's letter partakes of the same rational air that informs his major work La
Revolucion Filipina (The Philippine Revolution, 1902), a quality that bespeaks the author's
prodigious intelligence and wisdom. Women as literary artists doubtless existed prior to the
nineteenth century, It may be presumed without fear of contradiction that in precolonial times,
alongside the menfolk, women also invented riddles, proverbs, songs and tales When the
printing press was introduced by the Spaniards and with it the custom of appending a by-line to
a literary piece as a sign of ownership, mysteriously not a single poem or essay ever got
attributed to a woman. Why? Researchers have not yet come up with a definitive reply. Perhaps
writing for print carried with it a set of expectations that women, in the social setting of the times,
were not given the opportunity to meet. The literary forms that Spanish colonial culture had
introduced necessitated a certain amount of familiarity with rules of writing as these had been
laid down in Spain and Europe, and the severely limited education made available to women did
not give them access to such knowledge. Nonetheless, writing by women, though this did not
see print, was going on. Urbana at Feliza, in which two sisters exchange letters on sundry topics
that included the requisites of public office and proper decorum at the dinner table, suggests
that the personal letter was widely cultivated as a form of expression by women. As researchers
in women writing go deeper into the literary past, we ought to be getting fine samples of the
letter as a genre specially developed by women.

Under the less constricting socio-political atmosphere in the latter half of the nineteenth century,
early literary pieces by women surfaced, all of them poems Three samples are by the Ilokano
poet Leona Florentino, whose opinions and married life departed from the moral and social
expectations of the period. One poem is by the Supremo's wife Gregoria de Jesus who
addresses her deceased husband Andres Bonifacio, poignant in its recollection of details of her
married past that had now become reminders of her bereavement. The third bears the names of
nine women, each one an allegorical pen-name, pleading their case as victims of the ravages of
US. colonial rape. All these pieces, each in its own way, dramatize the constricted role of
women in a society dominated in the public sphere by male colonial officials and in the home by
fathers and husbands.

At the close of the nineteenth century, the body of written Philippine literature was in general
largely religious, consisting of poems and homiletic essays printed in Catholic pamphlets and
newspapers. The greater bulk of secular literature existed in the oral tradition and in
manuscripts that circulated among the authors' friends. This is made up of poems, plays and
songs on fomantie subjects taken from code of dish ballads. Nevertheless Philippion romantic
may be said to have come of age during this period, in that it had become aware of its
distinctness as the product of a colonized people struggling against the rule of a foreign power.
The writings of the intelligentsiglingainst the Propaganda Movement and later, of the leaders of
the Revolution of 1896 trace the emergence of the Filipino people. The self-conscious literature
that this emergence brought forth marks the beginning of a truly Filipino literature.

SPANISH TIMES

Introduction

From a historical standpoint, the Spanish Occupation brought schools and helped bring about
the birth of a nation. From a literary standpoint it had the following effects:

EFFECTS ON LITERATURE

1. By far, the strongest influence upon literature was Christianity which provided a new subject
matter and theme for literature, both directly and indirectly.

Directly, the first books printed were catechisms. The first book printed was the Doctrina
Christiana in 1593. Many poems were practically prayers and vice versa. Lives of the saints
were introduced. The Passion of Christ was re-written in vernacular verse and incidents in the
life of Christ and Christian doctrine itself served as material for several drama forms.

Indirectly, the long romantic tales "imported" from Europe, carried religious overtones in their
esteem for Christian virtues. Stage plays ended with conversion of the main characters and their
people to Christianity. Moral tracts leaned heavily on Christian doctrine.

2. A new language, Spanish, was introduced, making portions of the people and their literature
bi-lingual. Side by side with the catechisms were printed, books on grammar and linguistics,
dictionaries and vocabularies. This would be the start of Filipino writing in Spanish, or in both
Spanish and the vernacular, notably, Tagalog. Filipino writing in Spanish would extend up to and
peak in the American Period.

European forms of literature such as the metrical tale or romance were introduced.
3 These romantic tales mostly set in the Middle Ages in Europe would establish the long life of
courtly and romantic love in the country.

4. The introduction of printing would mark the turning point from the pre-literate stage to that of
the printed word.

From the 1550s to the 1890s, Philippine literature bloomed under the influence of
European giants like Spain's Golden Age, Italy, and French Medieval works. This period
saw a flourishing of genres, with religious and moral themes taking center stage.
Poems, prayers, and tracts expounded on Christian doctrine, while the "Pasyon" and
lives of saints ("buhay") offered devotional narratives. Dramas like the "Cenaculo" and
"Tibag" brought these themes to life, while verse games and rituals added a touch of
entertainment.

Beyond religious themes, folklore and popular culture thrived. Folksongs, metrical tales
("awit" and "corrido"), and even indoor games like "Bugtungan" showcased the creativity
of the people. Outdoor plays like the "Moriones" and "Sayaw sa Obando" provided
spectacles, while longer stage plays like "Moro-moro," "comedia," and "zarzuela"
offered more complex narratives.

The writers of this era were a diverse bunch. Missionary priests, Spanish friars, and
even Filipinos fluent in Spanish ("Ladinos") contributed their voices. Early Tagalog poets
like Fernando Bagonbanta and Tomas Pinpin paved the way, while renowned "Pasyon"
writer Gaspar Aquino de Belen left his mark. Later, Jose de la Cruz ("Huseng Sisiw")
and Francisco Balagtas ("Father of Tagalog Poetry") further enriched the literary
landscape.

Looking at the characteristics of this period, we see a clear focus on Catholicism,

Christian values, and even courtly love. Poetry was often direct and instructional, while
drama flourished in both short and long formats, with elements of action and spectacle.
However, what truly sets this literature apart is its uniquely Filipino character. The
seamless blending of literary, oral, and dramatic elements, along with the unmistakable
influence of both indigenous and Hispanic cultures, makes this period a fascinating
testament to the Philippines' rich cultural heritage.

Here's a more cohesive version of the text on Indigenization and Hispanization:

The Fusion of Indigenization and Hispanization in Philippine Literature

Philippine literature during the centuries spanning 1550s to 1890s witnessed a

fascinating dance between two distinct forces: Indigenization, drawing from the deep
well of ancient folk traditions, and Hispanization, the influx of Spanish and European
influences. This encounter wasn't a simple takeover, but rather a complex interplay that
both modified and enriched the existing folk literature.

Comparing key elements of the two periods reveals this dynamic fusion. Take the
Pasyon and epic narratives: themes and characters might have shifted under Spanish
influence, but the essence of storytelling remained vibrant. Similarly, poetry saw
changes in language and intent, often adopting devotional themes alongside traditional
forms. Likewise, drama incorporated European styles while retaining elements of
spectacle and audience participation.

This synthesis wasn't uniform. Spanish influence was strongest in Tagalog regions,
reflected in the literary selections of this book. However, it's crucial to remember that
vernacular literature thrived in other parts of the Philippines, each with its unique
blend of Indigenization and Hispanization.

Here's why this matters: understanding this dynamic exchange allows us to appreciate
the remarkable resilience and adaptability of Philippine literature. It wasn't simply
passive to foreign influences; it actively engaged, transformed, and created something
entirely new – a truly unique testament to the nation's rich cultural heritage.

LITERATURE OF RELIGION AND MORALITY

NOTES

If there is any difference between Philippine literature and the literature of other Asian countries,
it is due to Christianity, Easily. Christianity constitutes the strongest influence wrought by
Spanish occupation upon our literature. So pervasive was the Catholic religion in the literature,
so "intimate and manifold" was the relationship between the two, the except for a few types, the
entire literary body of this age might as well be called "religious literature." Certainly its bulk was
"the literature of religion and morality."

POEMS

The first Ladino poems with verse lines written in Tagalog and then in Spanish were written in
the early 1600s and the first poems in Tagalog were written in the early 1700s. Religious in tone
and subject matter, most of them were veritable catechetical lessons or outright prayers and
Marian poems by friars (including novenas and sermons)

PROSE

The most famous piece of moralistic literature of the period was Father Modesto de Castro's
Urbana at Feliza. On the literal level it is an exchange of letters between no sisters, one in the
city and the other in the province; on the allegorical level, it is a portrayal of urban and rural life,
and a code of conduct for the ideal girl in almost all situations, from courtship to marriage; in
almost all places, from Church to home; in her relations with God and man. It is full of moral
advice, and the didactic tone unmistakable. The proper young woman of this time lived by this
book.

PASYON-THE PASSION OF CHRIST

The most famous and most lasting religious literature is the Pasyon, a rendering in the
vernacular of the life and Passion of Christ, in stanzas of five rhyming verse lines The four
Tagalog versions are the de Belen (1704) the Guian (1750), the Pilapil (1814) and the de la
Merced (1852).

Often memorized, it is chanted throughout most of Holy Week in shifts of three to four hours
each. Thus chanted it is called the Pabasa (Reading). So widespread is it especially in the
Tagalog region, that it is sometimes referred to as the Tagalog epic.

BUHAY (LIFE OR LIFE STORY)

Although not represented in this book, mention must be made of buhays, lives of the saints and
of Biblical characters, and even of historical-legendary characters written like metrical tales and
as long. There are around 250 of such "Lives" with long titles, quite a number of which are at the
Lopez museum.

Sample: Buhay ni San Isidro Labrador at ng kanyang esposang si Santa Maria de la Cabeza,
napapalamnan sa uicang castila ni Padre Francisco Butiha by Pascual Poblete

VERSE DRAMATIZATIONS

Performed outdoor like street dramas, religious verse plays for dramatizations as istinguished
from full-length dramas) make up another group descended from religious teachings or
devotions. The mystery and morality plays of Europe may be their literary forbears of literature
directly

There is the Panunuluyan (seeking entrance) performed on Christmas eve with townspeople
taking the parts of Jesus and Mary seeking abode in Bethlehem. The partakers go from house
to house and are, as in the Bible, consistently refused until fnally they wind up at around
midnight in the stable which in this case is the Church where midnight mass is then started with
a live Belen. Its value and interest as literature in the verse-dialogues that are recited at each
stop with the climax in Church.

Another is the Salubong (Meeting or Encounter) performed on Easter dawn. The Resurrected
Christ and the Mother of Sorrows in carrosas (carriages), carried or pulled by townspeople, start
from divergent points of the town and meet joyously at the Church patio where an angel "comes
down" from above by means of a pulley-like contraption and removes Mary's black veil to signify
the end of mourning. While doing so a verse is recited for which the "angel" has been carefully
chosen and trained. The church bells then peal triumphantly to mark the end of Lent and the
beginning of Easter, whereupon all the children of the town jump up and down if they want to
grow up.

Next is the Alay (offering) performed every day of May before a side altar to the Firgin Mary. The
offering of flowers follows a fixed pattern and is accompanied by verse songs which the girls
know by heart.

The Pangaluluwa (freely translated-playing ghost) is performed on the eve of All Saints Day
whereby young boys and girls, supposed to be souls in purgatory released on this one day of
the year, go around from house to house seeking alms. If refused, they steal the homeowner's
chicken, which is then cooked into arroz caldo later in the sight for a repast among friends, the
victim of the theft included. Verses also accompany the seeking of alms. The American Trick or
Treat has similarities to this practice. The Hosanna is played out in makeshift stages in the
church patio on Palm Sunday,

which commemorates Jesus's triumphant entry into Jerusalem.

RELIGIOUS DRAMAS-CENACULO, TIBAG

The best-loved long drama is the Cenaculo - Christ's Passion. Here and there in the country, the
Cenaculo is still staged during the entire Holy Week

The Cenaculo is actually the pasyon dramatized. It is divided into several parts - one part for
each night of Holy Week. Each performance lasts from three to four hours. In Malibay, Pasay for
example, the entire Cenaculo cycle starts with the Creation and ends with the Resurrection.

Hardly anybody knows, however, of the Tibag (Dig) and that it is actually a relatively long play.

The Tibag is a reenactment of Helena of Constantinople's search for the true Cross At a certain
part of a town three mounds are set up. Each one is dug up and yields three crosses. The
identity of the true cross is established by a miracle. Verses are recited during the digging. The
performance is climaxed by a procession through the town, popularly known as the Santacruzan
(Holy Cross).

In modern times, the Tibag has been reduced to this triumphant end, the Santacruzan, in which
"the true cross" is carried in procession. With the Flores de Mayo (Flowers of May and climax of
the Alay) these two festive processions culminate the May months in many a Filipino town.

METRICAL TALES AWIT and CORRIDO

NOTES
The Awit and Corrido, were the best-known and most entertaining forms of secular perature
during this period. They were the Philippine versions of the European metrical ale or medieval
romance. Stories from the French Charlemagne cycle and the Spanish "El Cid" reached the
Philippines.

Both imitative and original, Filipinos writers notably Francisco Balagtas and Jose de la Cruz and
several other writers came up with the awit and corrido, which defined, are long
chivalric-heroic-legendary-religious poems verse tales dealing with the loves and adventures of
European nobility especially those of France and Spain. Settings, names of places and
personage are European.

If the stories from the original source are simply retold in the vernacular, or as we would now
say, borrowed, as for examples, Ibong Adarna or Siete Infantes de Lara, with alittle
transformation here and there, the narrative is generally called a corrido. This "borrowing"
however did not constitute plagiarism for from the start, the source

of the story is acknowledged and the act of "borrowing" is admitted as such. If everything else is
retained, but the story itself is wholly the product of the writer's imagination, as in Florante at
Laura, then the narrative is called an awit.

Structurally the corrido is usually rendered in octosyllabic quatrains while the awit is rendered in
dodesyllabic quatrains.

Corridos and awits are said to have been written in several Philippine dialects although the
Tagalogs seem to have written the greatest number. By now the reader must know that the awit
and corrido are not epics.

Although basically imitative in subject matter and structure, the originality and facility with which
the Filipino authors retell such long tales in verse, creating something "Filipino" in the process is
not to be minimized. We seem to excel in transforming whatever is foreign into something
uniquely ours. One cannot resist the temptation to cite the jeepney which is and is not an
American jeep, but which is definitely Filipino.

VERSE GAMES and RITUALS

NOTES

KARAGATAN AND DUPLO

The Karagatan and Duplo are really not plays in the sense that plays are now understood. They
are more like parlor games consisting of continuous repartee and wit performed in the house. It
is thus a play of words, a "verbal joust." Both take place during wakes. Both are in verse, often
impromptu and it is a wonder how partakers can keep, especially performed in the duplo going
for several hours!

The Karagatan (open sea) starts with the loss of a lady's ring at sea. One young man after
another ventures to dive in and look for it. The finder wins the lady.

The Duplo (double) perhaps so-called as a duplication or further development of the Karagatan
is much longer and more organized than the Karagatan.

Partakers are divided into two teams, the dupleros or belyakos (male players) and the dupleras
or belyakas (female players) presided over by a punong halamanan or "king duplero."

There are several steps to the duplo whereby the king announces that a tribulation has visited
the land, so to speak, and all concerned are to gather round and be counted off Instructions are
given to the players. The Duplo proper is the "charge" understood here as "accusation" for the
loss of some object in the kingdom-a rosebud, a necklace, a bracelet, a fan, a bird, etc. and
who, pray, has stolen it.

Charges and counter-charges are then hurled from one player to another. Everyone rises to his
or her defense. This constitutes the argumentation and debate which can last till morning. Truly
a verbal marathon, it finally winds up with the arrival of a guest duplero who in so many words
says that all is settled.

PUTONG

Not represented in this book, the putong is a ceremony or ritual still performed in some towns to
coincide with certain important occasion such as a fiesta. The putong is done to honor a person
for beauty or achievement. Performed on a stage, the honoree is seated in the place of honor.
Thereupon a well-known makata (poet) quite lengthily and lavishly heaps praises on the
honoree, in verse, either prepared or extemporaneous. A crown is placed on the honoree as a
fitting climax.

DRAMA

NOTES

MORO-MORO

The Moro-moro or comedia is another adaptation of a European drama form the comedia de
capa y espada. Performed on stage it is a direct descendant of the Spanish plays depicting
Spain's struggles against the Moors, Brought to the Philippines through Mexico, this kind of play
became very popular because similar conditions existed in the Philippines.
The Moro-moro deals with the battle between the Christians and the Muslims. A love angle is
included in the plot with the lovers invariably coming from the opposite camps of Christian and
Muslim. Invariably too it ends with the conversion of the principal characters and their people, to
Christianity. This no doubt was part and parcel of the Christianization of the Islands.

Like the awit and corrido, setting and costumes are European. Members of the nobility are
likewise the protogonists. Not surprisingly, the writers of the awit and corrido were also the
writers of the Moro-moro.

CARILLO AND ZARZUELA

Two other kinds of plays are found in this Period. The carillo or shadow play is like a puppet
show with stories similar to the metrical romance.

The Zarzuela is a one-to-3-act musical play. Because the zarzuela reached its peak in the first
decades of American Occupation, the first part of a well-loved zarzuela is placed in the
American Period.

Folksongs in the Spanish Period

Despite the pervasive influence of Spanish culture during their rule in the Philippines,
folksongs stand out as a unique and relatively untouched branch of literature.
Thematically, they seem to remain an extension of their ancient roots, with subject
matters eerily similar to those from the pre-colonial era. It's almost impossible to
distinguish whether a certain folksong truly belongs to the Spanish period or its distant
past. This raises an interesting question: are chronological classifications of these
songs, when they exist, more of a convenience than a reflection of true historical origin?

While Spanish influence might have subtly infiltrated the melodies of these songs, this
aspect falls under the domain of musicology and requires further exploration. What's
clear is that, lyrically at least, Philippine folksongs maintained a remarkable resilience,
clinging to the spirit and stories of their ancient heritage despite the cultural shifts
brought about by colonization.

The Nationalist Tradition in Philippine Literature (1860s-1910s):

Absolutely! Here's the combined section in paragraph form:

The late 19th century saw the rise of the powerful Nationalist Tradition in Philippine
literature, marked by a confluence of influences. While Tagalog remained the primary
language, Spanish continued to hold a significant presence, reflecting Europe's lingering
influence. Romanticism, the budding Realism movement, and the burgeoning national
spirit all played a role in shaping the content and style of this period.

The literary landscape shifted towards essays, particularly journalistic forms like
reportages, opinion pieces, and articles. Poetry and fiction also flourished, finding their
voice in newspapers like "La Solidaridad" which became crucial platforms for nationalist
discourse. Patriotism and "protest literature" became the defining themes, with works
passionately addressing injustices and advocating for freedom, cultural identity, Filipino
dignity, and independence. Figures like Jose Rizal, Marcelo del Pilar, Andres Bonifacio,
and Emilio Jacinto led the charge, often using pen names to highlight the inherent risks
of their endeavors.

Content and tone were predominantly political, polemical, and satirical, fueled by the
struggle against colonial rule. This period marked the crystallization of a distinct Filipino
national identity and the fight for independence. Manifestos, pamphlets, and
newspapers like "El Nuevo Dia" served as tools to disseminate the message, while
even seemingly "non-political" works carried hints of nationalist sentiment. While heavily
weighed on the "protest" aspect due to the historical context, this era's literature laid the
groundwork for future movements by establishing a strong national voice. It serves as a
reminder of the power of literature to spark social change and forge a unique national
identity.

SIGNIFICANCE OF NATIONALIST LITERATURE OF THIS PERIOD

1. It is only with this literature that we have "literature written not only for Filipines. but by
Filipinos, who think and express themselves precisely as Filipinos. Only when this happened
could we have Filipino literature in the full sense of the word." This development was both cause
and effect of the emerging concept of "nation."

2. This literature is the first explicit literature of a nationalist nature and server as background for
subsequent nationalistic literature.

3. The period has produced nationalist-literary gems like the writings of Rizal, Marcelo del Pilar,
and Apolinario Mabini.

4. The period marked the "birth" of journalism and the journalistic essay.

5. Newspapers appeared, a phenomenon that has never abated since.

THE SPANISH COLONIAL LITERATURE

A legacy of Spanish colonial rule is written literature. It may be conveniently classified into
religious prose and poetry and secu- lar prose and poetry. Religious lyrics include
complimentary verses, or verses that praise the book in which they appear. The first printed
literary work in Tagalog was the anonymous complimentary poem "May Bagyo Ma't May Rilim"
(Though It Is Stormy and Dark). It was published in the Memorial de la vida cristiana en lengua
tagala (Guidelines for the Christian Life in the Tagalog Languages (1605). It uses the
seven-syllable line, the monorime and the talinghaga.

Below is an excerpt from the poem:

May Bagyo Ma't May Rilim

May bagyo ma't may rilim Ang ola'y titigisin, Ako'y magpipilit din: Aking paglalakbayin, Tuluyin
kong hanapin Diyos na ama naming

Kung lumpo ma't kung pilay, Anong di ikahahakbang; Na ito ang aakay, Magtuturo ng daan;
Tungkod ay inilaang Sukat pagkatibayan.

Another type of religious poetry is the dalit. It has no fixed meter or time scheme, but usually
written in octosyllabic quatrains and are identifiable only by their solemn tone and spiritual
subject matter.

Below is an excerpt from Marcelo H. del Pilar's "Dalit," written in 1888.

Kung sa langit nabubuhay Ang sa lupang namamatay Ano't kinatatakutan Ang oras ng
kamatayan?

Ginto't pilak sa pukpukan Ng platero'y umiinom, Ang puring lalong makinang Sa pukpok ay
pumupusyaw.

Religious narrative prose consists of the various kinds of prose narratives written to prescribe
proper behavior.

Modesto de Castro's Pagsusulatan ng Dalawang Binibini na si Urbana at Feliza

(Correspondence Between the Two Maid- ens Urbana and Feliza), 1864. In these letters,
Urbana advises her sister on hispanized manners, choosing a husband, respecting au- thorities,
behaving at parties. Here is an excerpt translated into En- glish by Maria Kalaw Katigbak. This
is taken from Five Perspec- tives from our Ancient Morality, pg. 52.

ON GOOD MANNERS

"In the presence of your parents or that of any elderly per- son," says the moralist, Padre de
Castro, "do not keep your ciga- rette in your mouth, nor talk loudly, nor in any way show a lack
of
respect. Do not put your finger inside your nose, nor blow your nose before people. He who
feels like doing so should take out a handkerchief and should do it very softly and, if possible,
away from his companions. It is also the bad habit of some persons to scratch with their hand
some parts of their body while with people. This is an act which gives shame. Before going to
school, the young students should ask the blessings of his mother and father, and when he is
already out in the street, he should walk straight on, without getting mixed up in the
conversations or quarrels of others. He should be formal. He should not criticize his neighbor or
his classmate, nor lack for that indispensable respect towards the old. And when a person of
authority comes to the school, a priest, a person of age, or importance, he should stand up from
his seat and greet the visitor with "Good Morning," or "Good Afternoon", as the case may be.

"In the classroom, he should not speak unless asked by his teacher, and before answering, he
should get up. He should do the same when with his elders. When he is talking or is in
conversation, he should try to hold himself erect, and whatever he has to say, he should say
without exaggeration and with modesty. When talking with anyone, he should, before saying a
word, think of St. Augustine's wise counsel: "Ere the tongue speaks, file it twice."

"Do not point at a person with your finger nor give your back to him. When talking to many
persons, do not address yourself to one alone, disregarding the rest. But if among them there is
one older than the rest or one of importance, address yourself prefer- ably to him without,
however, being discourteous to the others."

The Spanish period also produced secular works. Many secular lyrics are romantic.

Leona Florentino acclaimed "Unang Feministang Makata ng Pilipinas" wrote love poems. The
poem, "Nalpay A Namnama" translated in English (Blighted Hopes) by Marjorie Evasco and
Richard Gonzales and in Tagalog (Bigong Pag-asa) by Isagani R. Cruz, is about unrequited or
unreturned love.

Ipinanganak si Leona Florentino sa Villa Fernandina (ngayon ay Vigan), Ilocos Sur noong ika-19
ng Abril 1849 at namatay sa maagang gulang na 35. Sa murang gulang na sampung taon ay
nagsimula na siyang magsulat ng mga tula sa Ilocano. Nabilang ang kanyang mga likha sa
isang eksibit sa Madrid sa Exposicion Gen- eral de Filipinas noong 1887. pagpapatunay pa rin
ng kanyang kahusayan ang pagkakalathala ng kanyang mga tula sa Biblioteque Internationale
de Ouvres de Femmes noong 1989.

Another form of secular poetry is the metric romance called awit and korido in Tagalog. The awit
is written in dodecasyllabic quatrains, or four lines, each line in twelve syllables; the korido, in
octosyllabic quatrain, or four lines, each line consisting of eight syl- lables. In content, though,
the two forms are similar.

Francisco Baltazar's FLORANTE AT LAURA is the most famous metrical romance in Philippine
literary history. It is written in dodecasyllabic awit form and was dedicated to one "Selya."
Francisco Balagtas (1788-1899), a moralist and a philoso- pher, a poet and a lover, was born on
April 2, 1788 in Bigaa, Bulacan. He fell desperately in love with many women, one of them with
M.A.R., Maria Asuncion Rivera, the Celia of his Florante at Laura. According to H, Cruz in his
article, Florante at Laura was written in prison.

The work FLORANTE AT LAURA is rich in sayings and prov- erb-like texts for varied themes in
society

One of the greatest favorites among Philippine corrido is Ibong Adarna, the episodes of which
include the quest for a magic bird, the descent into a well, and the rescue of two prin- cesses,
the winning of a swan maiden, the obstacle flight, and the forgotten fiancée.

Much was written during the period both in Spanish and Tagalog about other themes like love
for one's country and discontent

for Spanish rule. Jose Rizal wrote Mi ultimo adios (My Last Farewell) and a las flores de
Heidelberg (To the Flowers of Heidelberg) to express his love for his native soil. A trilogy of
patriotic poems written in Tagalog are expressions of the growing discontent among Filipinos for
Spanish rule: Herminigildo Flores' Hibik nang Filipinas sa Inang Espana (Filipinas's Lament to
Mother Spain),

Marcelo H. del Pilar's Sagot nang Espana sa Hibik nang Filipinas (The Last Cry of Filipinas).

Another patriotic poem expresses Andres Bonifacio's revolu- tionary spirit, Pag-ibig sa
Tinubuang Lupa (Love for the Native Land). It consists of 28 dodecasyllabic quatrains, or
four-line stan- zas of 12 syllables per line. The poem states that one's love for the country must
be transformed into action to defend and protect it even to the point of using force or violence.
The poem led to the Revolution of 1896. Below are a few stanzas of the poem with the English
translation by Gregorio Nieva (The revolutionists: Aguinaldo, Bonifacio, Jacinto).

RAFAEL PALMA (1874-1939), born in Tondo, Manila on October 24, 1874, he was essayist,
biographer, educator. He be- came a Senator, President of the University of the Philippines,
1923- 1933, and a delegate to the Constitutional Convention in 1934.

The essay that follows is one of his best. What are Palma's views on raising or rearing the
children or the youth in these fast changing times? Do these still apply to our youth today?