Florante at Laura

The poem Florante at Laura is considered an (awit), or long narrative poem it was
written by Francisco Baltazar, The poem was written while Baltazar or widely
known by his pen name Francisco Balagtas was serving his time in a Manila
prison, beginning around 1835 or 1836, and published in 1838 after his release. Its
original full title is Pinagdaanang Buhay ni Florante at ni Laura sa kahariang
Albania, The History of Florante and Laura in the Kingdom of Albania, based on
various historical scenes or portraits relating events in ancient times in the Greek
Empire and written by one who delights in Tagalog verse. The poem is, as one
critic put it, romantic and lyrical in inspiration, social in intent, and allegorical in
conception.
Florante at Laura is set in a distant land, but the protagonists suffer similar fates
as Filipinos of the Spanish colonial era, the protagonist is Florante, son of the
second in command of the Kingdom of Albania. The other title character is Laura,
the daughter of King Linceo, Florante begs the heaven to save the kingdom of
Albania. The man tells the heavens that he can take whatever trial or challenge
that may come his way as long as Laura will always remember him. Aside from all
that is happening to Albania, he takes refuge in the memories of the times he
shared with Laura. For me Baltazar wrote the Florante and Laura based on his
personal circumstances regarding his love for Maria which he fell inlove with and
became important to his life which became the inspiration of his works, but
although Baltazar loved Maria, he was not able to have her because another
suitor named Mariano Capule used his power and money to have Baltazar
imprisoned. And I think the other inspirations of Baltazar in making the Poem is
the romance of Flerida, a Muslim princess and Aladdin, the son of Sultan Ali-Adab
which is about the typical Filipino komedya or moro-moro which is about the
eternal duel of Moors and Christians of Persia. And lastly about the life of the
Filipino citizens in the hands of the Spanish Government, which is about
patriotism a depiction of the sufferings of the Filipino people under the
oppressive Spanish colonial regime.
The main idea of the Poem Florante and Laura is about the fight for love, justice,
patriotism or fight for the love of the country, and about religious differences and
it should not be used to discriminate against another. Most of the time while
reading the poem you can feel the sadness, the emptiness, fear, and loneliness
that it depicts. Florante at Laura is more than a love story, it is a masterpiece that
talks about injustice, bad governance and revolution. People tend to create a
wonderful piece of work when they have an inspiration just like Francisco Baltazar
and many other artists and now It holds the distinction of being the only poem
published in the country that has not gone out of print since its first publication,
and that has been translated into various local and foreign languages, and that
continues to be read to this day. So don’t let the pain let you down instead make
it an inspiration and make yourself proud.