When Jose Rizal was fifteen years old and a student of

Ateneo, he composed a poem entitled “Recuerdo a MiPueblo” (In Memory of My Town) which vividly
described
his childhood years in Calamba.Jose Rizalwrote
U n R e c u e r d o A M i P u e b l o
(A TributeTo My Town) when he was 15 years old in 1876. He wasthen a student in Ateneo de Manila.
Rizal, being awayfrom his family, reminisced his memories of childhood inhis hometown, Calamba,
Laguna and wrote this poem toexpress his love and appreciation for the place where hegrew up.
Analysis
U n R e c u e r d o A M i P u e b l o
or A Tribute to My Townconsists of seven stanzas, eight lines per stanzas andsix syllables per line. It is
seen that Rizal expresses hisgenuine emotions by giving citation to memories of hispast.On the first
stanza, it is reflected that Rizal is recallingthe sweet memories of his childhood, when he stayed inthe
green fields with cold wind breeze enjoying the freshsmell of nature. While on the third stanza,
Rizalexpresses his feeling of longing for the life near the lakewhile his mother cradles him with joy and
love. Hementioned that he misses the simple life way backhome. The fourth stanza signifies the candid
Rizal,playing barefooted on the woods and swimming on riverbanks. Moreover, he mentioned his
devotion as acatholic; that he misses praying in rural churches withhis pure intentions in his heart. The
fifth stanza is all
about Rizal’s amusement and appreciation of God’s
creations. He expressed so by using words that describethe aged forest and blue sky. The sixth stanza
isconsidered as the climax of this poem. Rizal givessignificance to the beauty of his hometown, a
placefounded by joyous memories the he longs for. He alsomentioned that all the pain of loneliness is
eased by thememories of his treasured hometown, that the hour hethinks of it is so precious. Lastly, the
seventh stanzasymbolizes his dream for his hometown to be aspeaceful and as happy as when he was
there.
Emotions of the poem
First and Second Stanza - Happy ReminiscingThird and Fourth Stanza - LongingFifth Stanza -
Admiration, Awe (emphasis on God andNature)Sixth Stanza - Amazement, Excitement (emphasis
onbeauty of Town)Seventh Stanza - Parting, Hope As seen in the title, and in the words Rizal used, we
cansafely assume that this was written during a time whenRizal wasn't in his hometown anymore. A time
when these memories were fresh enough for himto remember how much he loved his town so dearly,
butthese memories were also old enough for it to give him afeeling of nostalgia.You can feel how much he
loves his town when he stillwishes it all the best even though they're parting ways.
Implications of the poem
Key phrases in understanding the deeper meaningwithin the poem:4th Stanza - I prayed in your rustic
temple, a child, with a
child’s devotion.
5th Stanza - upon your bosom, sorrowswere ever unknown to me;6th Stanza - that drove away all
pain:return to this heart of mineEven though he was much more educated by the timehe was writing the
poem, a part of him still preferredbeing naive and innocent. (I.e. having a child's devotion.) And wherever
Rizal was, he wasn't as happy as whenhe was still in his town ('return to this heart of mine thatwhich
drove away all pain' and 'sorrows were everunknown to me'.)these are the phrases that emphasize more
how muchhe longs to go back to what once was, compared to theextremely detailed descriptions of what
he misses.
Message to the present
Cherish everything around you.
Use your feelings and emotions to youradvantage.
Goodbyes don't always mean what we think theymean.
Don't be in a hurry to grow up.
Never lose hope.
Humble yourself.
There are things out of your control.
Have an anchor.
To love something you just have to accept it.
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