“Be Beautiful, Noble, like the

Antique Ant”
-Jose Garcia Villa
 Vocabulary Words
• NOBLE - Having or showing fine personal qualities or high moral principles and ideals.
• ANTIQUE - A collectible object such as a piece of furniture or work of art that has a high
value because of its considerable age.
• GRACIOUS - Marked by kindness and courtesy.
• DIGNITY - The state or quality of being worthy of honor or respect.
• MODERATION - The avoidance of excess or extremes, especially in one's behavior or political
opinions.
• FIERCENESS - Violently hostile or aggressive in temperament.
• PASSION - strong and barely controllable emotion.
• ANNUALS - Occurring once every year.
• DESCENDANTS - A person, plant, or animal that is descended from a particular ancestor.
• TRACELESSNESS - Having or leaving no trace.
 Jose Garcia Villa
• He was born on August 5, 1908 and died on
February 7, 1997.
• He was a Filipino poet, literary critic, short
story writer, and painter.
• He attended at the University of the
Philippines, but was suspended in 1929
after publishing a series of erotic poems.
• He was awarded the National Artist of the
Philippines title for literature in 1973, as
well as the Guggenheim Fellowship in
creative writing by Conrad Aiken.
Background of the Poem

• The poem is about ants who are

envisioned as role models that us
humans should observe and
learn from.
First and Second Stanza
• The poem is suggesting that we,
humans, should be beautiful and
noble like the antique ant. Ants
who are fighting for their survival
everyday without any protection
at all.
• Even though the ants are too
small, they are very much part of
our society. We humans must not
think highly of ourselves, for these
little creatures in our universe
have a lot of things to offer that
we may not know about.
Third and Fourth Stanza

• For us humans to be beautiful

and noble like the antique ant,
we must speak with moderation,
but we must also think intensely
with burning passion. We must
show a move without making
any noise at all about our plans
to achieve perfection in life.
overall message of the poem:
For us humans to be beautiful and
noble like the antique ant, we must
be strong enough to withstand and
face all the challenges, struggles/
trials in life.