Diaz, Benedict B.

Stylistics

BSED English 4 - 2 Occasional Paper 2

Villaean’s Sonnet

Considered as one of the greatest poets in the country is Jose Garcia Villa who

became a National Artist for Literature in 1973. Also, he “introduced reversed

consonance rhyme scheme” in a poem. Hence, Villa was known for creating poems

in an innovative yet poetic way (National Commission on Culture and the Arts, 2015).

So, one of these poems are First, A Poem Must Be Magical which is a 14 liner poem.

Hence, by looking up that Villa is known for creating poems in a different way, the

included text might be a proof of this writer’s activity. Thus, through

semantico-syntactic deviations, grammatical repetitions and unparallelisms, lexical

repetitions, and phonological patterns, Jose Garcia Villa succeeded in creating his

own format of a sonnet as a descriptive type of literature by deviating from the usual

way in writing a literary text.

Primarily, semantico-syntactic deviation deals with how the meaning relations

and the syntax in the text incorporate to create a logically inconsistent or paradoxical

in some aspect. Hence, the usage of certain figures of speech are present like

metaphor and paradox to foreground some lines in the text. One example of this is

seen in the second line: Then musical as a seagull, which clearly manifests

relaxation since usually seagull can only be found at the beach where they squawk.

Also, beach is associated with relaxation because usually a beach is a place where

people are having a vacation. Second can be seen on the third line: It must be a
Diaz, Benedict B. Stylistics

BSED English 4 - 2 Occasional Paper 2

brightness moving, on where brightness moving can signify the movement of the

sun’s light to earth because that is the only moving brightness in nature. Third is

seen on the next line: …bird’s flowering., whereas it is known that naturally birds do

not flower themselves. But, flowering can mean change as to how a normal flower

change from a tiny flower to a beautiful flower. Hence, this means that the one being

pertained here is the birds’ changing process or simply the bird’s learning in the

process, for example, of flying. Next is the line: …slender as a bell,, on where

slender is defined as an adjective pertaining to a thin, narrow, or not wide object and

bell is classified as an instrument used to call attention. Thus, this clearly suggests

that being a slender as a bell is the calling of the attention in a brief moment.

Likewise, usually if a bell were huge, many would hear it but if it were thin or small,

probably, few can only hear it. This only means that the one being described in the

poem is a thing few can only understand. Then on the next line: …hold fire as well,

was mentioned but typically no one can hold a fire. Hence, hold means (1) to keep

and (2) to prevent. So, the metaphor shown is either a manifestation of the one being

described in the poem as something keeping or preventing the fire. Also, the

line: …wisdom of bows, was stated on where wisdom pertains to knowledge while

bows deals with, somehow, ceasing. Thus, this constitutes to the meaning as

something dealing with knowledge of ceasing. Furthermore, the next line: …must

kneel like a rose, suggests that even if you have a power to prick someone else, one

has the chance to kneel. This is because a rose is known for being a flower with

thorns as well as something lying on the ground. Moreover, it is stated on the 10th
Diaz, Benedict B. Stylistics

BSED English 4 - 2 Occasional Paper 2

line: The luminance of dove and deer, making it an abnormal paradigm since these

creatures do not usually light themselves. Hence, luminance means of producing

light while the dove usually symbolizes liberty and deer usually symbolizes strength

since during the early times if one is able to capture a deer, he is one of the strongest.

Thus, dove and deer was highlighted as a creature producing goodness of life and

hope in that line. Consequently, on the next lines: …be able to hide what it seeks,

like a bride, whereas this shows a paradox because why would one only hide

something they want to see? But this clearly suggests a thing they treasure the most

because one is finding for something yet he/she will just hide it. For example, Money

on where one will be going to seek for it but when it is already found, he/she will just

keep it inside his/her pocket or wallet, or even in a bank account. And lastly, in the

line: …poem’s cover, this suggests an abnormal paradigm because naturally a poem

does not have a cover but, it has title. Hence, the one being described here is the title

because what does one usually see in a cover, particularly on a book, is the title.

Therefore, all of these pertain to the one being mentioned on the first line in the text -

a poem.

Secondly, Grammatical repetition and parallelism deals with how the syntax

being deviated from the text. Basically, it is observed in the poem that every two lines,

there is a sentence presented because of the use of the period (.) in the poem. One

will be able to see the parallelism in these. Also, every starting phrases of each of the
Diaz, Benedict B. Stylistics

BSED English 4 - 2 Occasional Paper 2

sentences in the middle of the whole stanza projects the same structural pattern, that

is “It must be…” or it must plus the base form of the verb as in the lines:

It must be a brightness moving

And hold secret a bird’s flowering

It must be slender as a bell,

And it must hold fire as well.

It must have the wisdom of bows

And it must kneel like a rose.

It must be able to hear

The luminance of dove and deer.

It must be able to hide

What it seeks, like a bride.

Likewise, it is also seen that there are such grammatical repetitions even at some of

the second lines of each of the sentences that presents the conjunction And and And

it must plus the base form of the verb as in the lines:

Diaz, Benedict B. Stylistics

BSED English 4 - 2 Occasional Paper 2

It must be a brightness moving

And hold secret a bird’s flowering

It must be slender as a bell,

And it must hold fire as well.

It must have the wisdom of bows

And it must kneel like a rose.

It must be able to hear

The luminance of dove and deer.

It must be able to hide

What it seeks, like a bride.

Thus, grammatical repetitions and parallelisms were observed. However, there are

still such grammatical deviations in the text. This is primarily seen at some of the

word orders. First is the usual order of Noun Phrase = Adjective Phrase + Noun. For

example, Brightness Moving in the third line whereas “Brightness” is a noun in nature

because of the morpheme “ness” which suggests its nominal form and the word

“Moving” is adjective in nature since it is a gerund. Hence, Conversion happened.

But if it were to look, the order is different from the usual because it presents,
Diaz, Benedict B. Stylistics

BSED English 4 - 2 Occasional Paper 2

naturally, Noun + Adjective. Another is the word order of Noun Phrase = Determiner

+ Adjective Phrase + Noun on where the example of it is seen in the fourth line: Hold

secret a bird’s flowering. Usually the determiner comes first before the other lexicon

in a Noun Phrase but here, noun has come first before the determiner so the pattern

now is NP = N + (NP) which is basically not normal in usual English phrasal pattern.

Hence, these deviations are a proof of foregrounding that one may be able to look

right away. Furthermore, the unparallelisms in its grammatical structure is seen in

other form such as in voice because from the first down to the twelfth line, it is most

particularly in third person. But it became first person when the persona mentioned

the word I on the thirteenth line.

Then, in the poem, there also occurred such lexical repetitions in which, the

usage of must is the dominating modal in the text as in:

First, a poem must be magical,

Then musical as a seagull.

It must be a brightness moving

And hold secret a bird’s flowering

It must be slender as a bell,

And it must hold fire as well.

Diaz, Benedict B. Stylistics

BSED English 4 - 2 Occasional Paper 2

It must have the wisdom of bows

And it must kneel like a rose.

It must be able to hear

The luminance of dove and deer.

It must be able to hide

What it seeks, like a bride.

And over all I would like to hover

God, smiling from the poem’s cover.

whereas this indicates that something is required by rule or law or someone should

do something. Hence, the writer wants to emphasize the required elements needed

in a poem. Also, lexical groupings were able to be manifested. First cluster is

composed of words which are seagull, bird, rose, dove, and deer on where it can

mean an indication of life. The second cluster are composed of words which are

brightness, luminance, and fire on where this possibly manifests light on where,

usually, it indicates positivity. Third cluster is consisted of words such as moving,

flowering, wisdom, and seeks that can indicate a sense of change. While the last

cluster is consisted of words which are hold, seek, and hear which primarily indicates

human senses. Thus, all of these constitutes that the one being described in the text
Diaz, Benedict B. Stylistics

BSED English 4 - 2 Occasional Paper 2

- which is a poem - is a manifestation of life, positivity, change, by the use of sense to

understand a poem.

Finally, phonological patterns or phonetic patterns is clearly observed in the

poem on where the text has a rhyme scheme of AA-BB-CC-DD-EE-FF-GG since line

on each of every sentences in the poem have the same sound as in:

First, a poem must be magical,

Then musical as a seagull.

It must be a brightness moving

And hold secret a bird’s flowering

It must be slender as a bell,

And it must hold fire as well.

It must have the wisdom of bows

And it must kneel like a rose.

It must be able to hear

The luminance of dove and deer.

It must be able to hide

What it seeks, like a bride.

Diaz, Benedict B. Stylistics

BSED English 4 - 2 Occasional Paper 2

And over all I would like to hover

God, smiling from the poem’s cover.

Also, it is seen that the first and last line have phonetic parallelism since both of them

contains eight syllables and the first is separated by a comma as seen in the lines:

/First, /a /poem /must /be /magical,/ = 8

/God, /smiling /from /the /poem’s /cover./ = 8

Hence, there is a phonological parallelism as presented in the lines that can manifest

the repeating of something since even the syllable per line was repeated. And lastly,

the text is observed as a 14 liner poem which can be classified as a sonnet. Thus, it

is known that there are only two types of sonnet: Shakespearean and Petrarchan

Sonnet. Shakesperean sonnet are sonnets having the rhyme scheme of (A) (B) (A)

(B) (C) (D) (C) (D) (E) (F) (E) (F) (G) (G) while a Petrarchaean sonnets have a rhyme

scheme of (A) (B) (B) (A) (A) (B) (B) (A) on its octave and either (C) (D) (C) (C) (D) (C)

or (C) (D) (E) (C) (D) (E) on the sistet (English Literature, 2018). However, the text

has a rhyme scheme of AA-BB-CC-DD-EE-FF-GG which is different from the two

Diaz, Benedict B. Stylistics

BSED English 4 - 2 Occasional Paper 2

types of sonnet known since then. Hence, this shows that the writer created a new

rhyme scheme for a sonnet - Villaean's sonnet if we were able to call it.

Thus, in this paper, one will be able to see that text deviates from the usual form

of a literary text such as a sonnet written by Jose Garcia Villa’s poem, First, A Poem

Must Be Magical. Specifically, one will see that the writer manifested illogical and

paradoxical statements, dealing with its semantic and syntactic format. Also, one will

see that such words were highlighted through the cases of repetitions and

parallelisms in grammar as well as the unusual patterns in word order. Likewise,

some lexical items were repeated as in the form of modal and through lexical

groupings, it is understood that a poem - the one being described in the poem - is a

manifestation of life, positivity, and change interpreted by the use of one’s senses.

Furthermore, one will be able to see that the writer creates his own phonological

patterns, different from the usual pattern. Indeed, the poem’s presentation of

semantico-syntactic deviations, grammatical repetitions and unparallelisms, lexical

repetitions, and phonological patterns as a descriptor—a success in creating a new

format of literature, particularly of sonnet.

Diaz, Benedict B. Stylistics

BSED English 4 - 2 Occasional Paper 2

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