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811 Julio Nakpil Street Malate, Manila City

Metro Manila, Philippines

LIT 13: Survey of Philippine Literature in English

Literature Analysis of Philippine Poetries

Submitted by:
Lovero, Gabrielle Karen G.
III – BSEd – English
November 10, 2020

Submitted to:
Prof. Irma Yacapin

3rd, 1st Sem A.Y: 2020-2021

 JESUS REIGNS CHRISTIAN COLLEGE FOUNDATION, INC.
811 Julio Nakpil Street Malate, Manila City
Metro Manila, Philippines

I. Introduction

Poetry is a type of literature that conveys a thought, describes a scene or tells a story in
a concentrated, lyrical arrangement of words. Poems can be structured, with rhyming
lines and meter, the rhythm and emphasis of a line based on syllabic beats. Poems can
also be freeform, which follows no formal structure.

In poetry and literature, imagery is the use of figurative language to evoke a sensory
experience in the reader. When a poet uses descriptive language well, they play to the
reader’s senses, providing them with sights, tastes, smells, sounds, internal and external
feelings, and even internal emotion.

This paper will contain analyses of selected poems. It includes figurative languages
found in each line and stanza. The first selection is entitled “I was not Young Long, I Met
the Soul Early” by Jose Garcia Villa. It is about an encounter with the Lord and the
experience that felt warm and loving. This is followed by “Thoughts” by Lang Leav. This
is short and romantic poem about being deep in thought about a special person. The
last poem is a reverse poem, “Fairytales” by Verena Leung, Adabelle Poon, Nicole Tse,
Queenie Wong. It tackles the world of reality and fantasy. It is interesting as it gives out
symbolism from popular characters like Peter Pan and Alice.
 JESUS REIGNS CHRISTIAN COLLEGE FOUNDATION, INC.
811 Julio Nakpil Street Malate, Manila City
Metro Manila, Philippines

II. Philippine Literature:

I was not Young Long, I Met the Soul Early

By: Jose Garcia Villa

I was not young long: I met the soul early;

Who took me to God at once; and seeing
God the Incomparable sight, I knelt my body

Humbly: whereupon God saw the star upon

My brow: stooped to kiss it: O then the
Blinding radiance there! Explosion of all

My earthiness: sparks flying till I was all.

Embers: long, long did God hold me; till
He rose and bade me to rise saying: Now

Go back. Now go back where you came.

Go back: Understanding is yours now.
Only Beware: beware! since you and God and have lovered.
 JESUS REIGNS CHRISTIAN COLLEGE FOUNDATION, INC.
811 Julio Nakpil Street Malate, Manila City
Metro Manila, Philippines

Analysis:
 Figurative Language
 Personification
 ”I met the soul early, Who took me to God at once ” - it talks about an angel who
brought the writer to heaven and he meets God.
 Imagery
 ”..seeing God the Incomparable sight, I knelt my body” - The writer is blessed with
the presence of the the Lord and he bend down his knees as he saw him.
 “Blinding radiance there! Explosion of all” - He describe the feeling of seeing God,
it was bright and blinding like fire.
 Metaphor
 “Embers: long, long did God hold me” - He describes his contact with God as warm
as glowing coal with fire. The Lord embraced him with love and warmth.
 Repetition
 “Go back. Now go back where you came
Go back: Understanding is yours now.”
 “Only Beware: beware! since you and God and have lovered.”
 Rhyme
 ”My earthiness: sparks flying till I was all.
Embers: long, long did God hold me; till”
 “I was not young long: I met the soul early;
Who took me to God at once; and seeing
God the Incomparable sight, I knelt my body”
 POV
 The writer, Jose Garcia Villa, speaks in the 1st person point of view.
 Mood
 The mood of the poem is joy. He is overwhelmed with emotions because of an out-of-
body experience. Despite of his short life, dying at an early age, he is happy to be face
to face with the Lord. He described his encounter with God as bright and radiant. He
knelt down as God kissed his brow. He said that he was embraced warmly by Him while
he was told to go back to his body.
 Symbolism
 ”sparks flying” - He is overjoyed with the encounter, he feels lively like stars
sparkling in the night sky.
 “I was not young long, I met the soul early” - It symbolizes the life of the writer. He
live a short life and met his end at an early time.
 “ God saw the star upon, My brow” - It symbolizes that God saw good deeds in him
and appreciated him by showing affection.
 Form - This poem is in blank verse. It has unrhymed lines and follows the iambic
pentameter.
 JESUS REIGNS CHRISTIAN COLLEGE FOUNDATION, INC.
811 Julio Nakpil Street Malate, Manila City
Metro Manila, Philippines

Thoughts by Lang Leav

Dawn turns to day,

as stars are dispersed;
wherever I lay,
I think of you first.

The sun has arisen,

the sky, a sad blue.
I quietly listen
the wind sings of you.

The thoughts we each keep,

that are closest to heart,
we think as we sleep
and you're always my last.
 JESUS REIGNS CHRISTIAN COLLEGE FOUNDATION, INC.
811 Julio Nakpil Street Malate, Manila City
Metro Manila, Philippines

Analysis:

 Figurative Language
 Personification
 ”stars are dispersed” - It describes the scattered stars that shine across the wide
sky, adding bits of brightness on our dark evening.
 “the sky, a sad blue” - It describes the hue of the the sky as very blue. Blue
represents the emotion of sadness. It can imply the longing for someone.
 “the winds sing of you” - It gives life to the wind as it scatter in the sky, flowing like
a melody in the air. The whistle and breeze of the air seem to call their name.
 Imagery
 “wherever I lay, I think of you first” - It is about the writer who never forgets to
think of their special someone because he/she is a priority and very special.
 “The thoughts we each keep, that are closest to heart” - It talks about treasuring
special moments that you want to remember forever.
 “we think as we sleep” - It implies that during bedtime, our minds still work around
and it is the reason we dream.
 POV
 The writer, Leav, composed the poem in first-person POV.
 Mood
 The poem is a loving piece that talks about memories of a special someone. It
expresses deep affection and attachment where he/she is always remembered and
occupies your thoughts day and night.
 Symbolism
 “dawn turns to day” - It is the transition from night to day which implies a new
beginning of another day.
 “The thoughts we each keep, that are closest to heart” - It talks about individual things
that are in our minds. Special memories or thoughts that holds a room in the heart to
cherish it.
 Form - This poem is in free verse. It does not follow a regular rhyme scheme. The poem is
modern and applies artistic expression about the human emotions.
 JESUS REIGNS CHRISTIAN COLLEGE FOUNDATION, INC.
811 Julio Nakpil Street Malate, Manila City
Metro Manila, Philippines

Fairytales by Verena Leung, Adabelle Poon, Nicole Tse, Queenie Wong

There is no happy ending in real life

And I will never believe that
There is true love on earth
I would rather believe
Cinderella loves the prince just for his money
It is not true that
The world spins around love instead of money
In fact
Peter pan is a liar
I will shout to the world and object to the following line
‘Humans have a chance to fly’
Fantasy
Is only a hiding place from
Reality
I am sure that
Fairy tales are deceiving and disappointing
There is no way that
Dreams can come true
I shall never forget
Alice left me in the wonderland
Once upon a time
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811 Julio Nakpil Street Malate, Manila City
Metro Manila, Philippines

Analysis:
 Figurative Language
 Personification
 “It is not true that, The world spins around love instead of money” - It views the
real world as greedy and only want money instead of love. It means the world
continues to excel and grow because of money.
 Imagery
 ”I am sure that Fairy tales are deceiving and disappointing” - It shows disinterest
towards fairy tales because they believe it is fake and disappointing because it is
fantasy.
 “I will never believe that, There is true love on earth” - It shows defeat and the
writers giving up on finding love around them. It can mean that all they are bad and
sad events.
 POV
 The writers of this reverse poem wrote in first POV.
 Mood
 The emotions behind this poem is disbelief in love. It talks about how love is not real in
the real world. It emphasizes that the stories we read in books about fairy tales are
misleading and telling us that love exists. It tells readers that stories like this are
deceiving because it only depicts fantasy more than reality.
 Symbolism
 ”Fantasy, Is only a hiding place, from Reality” - This line means that fictional
things is a hiding place, when we don’t want to read about real life events. People
tend to focus on fictional stories or events and prefer to enjoy it.
 “Alice left me in the wonderland” - It symbolizes that wonderland is a place where
you experience love and all the good enjoyable things anyone can dream of.
 “There is no way that Dreams can come true” - Because the poet doesn’t believe in
fairy tales and throw us off. It states in the line that dreams will not come true as
they are only fictional scenarios that appear when we sleep.
 Form - This poem is a reverse poem. It can be read from top to bottom and from the
bottom to the top. The messages of each poem can deliver opposite and different
meanings.
 JESUS REIGNS CHRISTIAN COLLEGE FOUNDATION, INC.
811 Julio Nakpil Street Malate, Manila City
Metro Manila, Philippines

Fairytales by Verena Leung, Adabelle Poon, Nicole Tse, Queenie Wong

Once upon a time

Alice left me in the wonderland
I shall never forget
Dreams can come true
There is no way that
Fairy tales are deceiving and disappointing
I am sure that
Reality
Is only a hiding place from
Fantasy
‘Humans have a chance to fly’
I will shout to the world and object to the following line
Peter pan is a liar
In fact
The world spins around love instead of money
It is not true that
Cinderella loves the prince just for his money
I would rather believe
There is true love on earth
And I will never believe that
There is no happy ending in real life
 JESUS REIGNS CHRISTIAN COLLEGE FOUNDATION, INC.
811 Julio Nakpil Street Malate, Manila City
Metro Manila, Philippines

Analysis (Reversed):
 Figurative Language
 Personification
 ”The world spins around love instead of money” - It is a line that talks about love
being the fuel that keeps the world revolving and flourishing. Love is a powerful
virtue that stick our family and friends together.
 Imagery
 ”I will shout to the world and object to the following line” - It shows the confidence
and power of the writer to defend her belief that Peter Pan did not lie.
 POV
 The writers of this poem wrote it in first POV.
 Mood
 The emotion in this poem is joy and dream. It discusses about the happiness that fairy
tale brought to the writer. Fairy tales are an instrument to inspire the writer to dream
the big goals in life. It shows that the writer believes that love and hope exists in
reality.
 Symbolism
 ”Alice left me in the wonderland” - It symbolizes the writer being brought to
wonderland, a place where the writer’s dreams and goals happened. It seems that
wonderland is the cloud nine or happy moment in their life.
 “Dreams can come true” - It is a very supportive message and reminder that the
goals and dreams you fantasized about will come true if you love yourself and
work harder to achieve them.
 “There is no way that Fairy tales are deceiving and disappointing” - This line tells us
that Fairy tales are not deceiving. They are fiction and tell us stories that are not
true but they often show morals or teachings that can inspire you to live your life.
 “Reality Is only a hiding place from Fantasy” - It shows that reality can sometimes
stop you from planning your goals. It is alright to dream about your ideal life as
long as you keep your feet on the ground and be humble.
 “‘Humans have a chance to fly” - It means that humans have a chance to do their
goals and achieve dreams if they believe in themselves, they are able to spread
their wings and live their dreams.
 JESUS REIGNS CHRISTIAN COLLEGE FOUNDATION, INC.
811 Julio Nakpil Street Malate, Manila City
Metro Manila, Philippines

Bibliography:
Poetry
https://www.masterclass.com/articles/poetry-101-learn-about-poetry-different-types-of-
poems-and-poetic-devices-with-examples#what-is-poetry
I was not Young Long, I Met the Soul Early by Jose Garcia Villa
http://arnelmorfi.blogspot.com/
Thoughts by Lang Leav
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/273382639855686583/
Fairy Tales by Verena Leung, Adabelle Poon, Nicole Tse, Queenie Wong
http://poets.spice.org.hk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=36:reverse-poem-
fairy-tales&catid=6:reverse-poem&Itemid=7