Analysis of “Sabina”

By Severino Montano

Summary:
Sabina is a play written by Severino Montano. It is a story of a young Filipina who fell in love with an
American named Mr. George Price. When the family came to know about their relationship, they
disliked it but Sabina continued her relationship with Mr. George. Her mother was so upset that she had
a heart attack and died. The relationship of Sabina and Mr. George led to pregnancy. What Sabina
thought would be a happy reunion with Mr. George’s return to Kawakan ended with her committing
suicide upon learning that her lover was a married man.
Theme: Forbidden Love
Analysis:
a. Theoretical point of view
Famous philosophers and writers like Plato, Aristotle, Horace, Longinus, and Edgar Allan Poe
serve as the shoulders to which this analysis is anchored.
According to Plato, men as artists are inspired by God; hence, they can they can only write about
the truth. The story “Sabina” tells the truth about life. To be in love is a truth. It is a universal truth. Man
as a human being is endowed with feelings and one of these is love.
Aristotle on the other hand, believes that literature also deals with the serious and useful. In
addition, he adds that drama should be finished within a span of 24 hours only. In the story “Sabina,”
The story could begin in morning, say 7:00am and ends at 6:00am the following day to complete the
entire 24 hours. The story could start with the meeting of Mr. George Price and ends with the prayer for
the soul of Sabina who committed suicide.
For Horace, literature should be something that delights and instructs. The story provides
excitement as the love affair of Sabina and Mr. Price blossoms. Falling is love is an exciting feeling;
however, the story also provides lessons to guide us in our life. For example, when the mother knows
about the love affair of Sabina and the American, she tells her not to continue with the relationship
because she does not know very well the person. Elderly people have gained wisdom from life’s
experiences. Had she listened to her mother’s advice, she would not end up with a tragic death.
Another philosopher, Longinus points out that a literary piece should show intense emotion and
powerful figures of speech. This emotion is felt during the meeting of Mr. Price and Sabina. When she is
told that he is married.
Finally, Edgar Allan Poe says that there should be artistic quality in the story to include time,
space , and dialogue. Since “Sabina” is a play, then dialogues are present. The unity of time is made
known in the setting of the story.
You can Include other theories on literature which we discussed.
 b. Historical background
The story took place during the Post American period in the Philippines.The Commonwealth period
(1935-1946) saw significant increases of American presence in the Philippines. This included over 20,000
U.S. military personnel assigned to the Philippine Department] of the United States Army Forces in the
Far East by the time of the Japanese invasion of the Philippines) in 1941,many of whom were captured
and imprisoned by Japanese forces and imprisoned. This U.S. military presence increased substantially
during the U.S. Army actions to liberate the Philippines.

c. Biographical Background
Severino Montano can be considered as one of the Titans of Philippine theater. He was playwright,
actor, and a theater organizer. He was born in Laoag, Ilocos Norte in 2015 and died on December 12
1980. He studied at the University of the Philippines, and was under the tutelage of a British mentor,
Marie Leslie Prising and exposed him to Western literature, the theater and Shakespeare. He underwent
47 playwriting workshops of George Pierce Baker at Yale University. He wrote one novel, 150 poems and
50 plays in his 65-year lifetime.
The name George Price must have been derived from his mentor George Pierce Baker.

d. Analysis
Since this is a play, the analysis is focused on the elements of a story which includes the setting,
characters, plot with five stages- exposition, rising action or conflict, climax, final action, and resolution.
The Setting/Time:
The setting contributes to the unified effect of the story. Kawakan is a village located in a small
farm near a sea coast to the far north in Luzon. In the early days, people use the sea as a way of
transport, and it is not surprising that Mr. Price and Sabina meet. People are also familiar with the sea
turtle which is mentioned several times in the story. The house is prosperous-looking but old. Old
signifies time. It also reflects the people living in that house. They are naïve, closely knitted and very
conscious if their image in the community.
A small village can be a good setting because everybody knows each other. News travels so fast
in a small village. That is how the family of Sabina come to know about her relationship with an
American. In addition, the author points out that “Sabina” is a post war story. This justifies why an
American has arrived in Kawakan.
The Characters.
The characters of the story are Sabina, a young farm girl; Antero, her older brother; Mamerto,
the grandfather; Rustica, their grandmother; Ariston, Cleta’s husband, Ursula, their young daughter, and
Mr. George Price, an American.
Sabina is the main character of the story. She is consistent in her character from beginning to
end. As a young woman, she is very passionate, strong-willed, aggressive, fickle-minded and impulsive.
Sabina reveals a character of a woman madly I love wit Mr. George. That intense emotion leads her to
surrender her virginity which results to pregnancy. This character of Sabina is to Plato as wasteful
behavior. She should have controlled her emotions, but the Id in her dominates not her ego and super
ego. (Freudian theory). The behavior of Sabina allows the story to spiral to its height. Thus, the theories
of the of Aristotle, Longinus, and Horace are reflected in the story. The three believe that a literary piece
can be interesting if it delights, excites and brings out intense emotions not only of the reader but also
the character. Sabrina is strong-willed. She defies tradition. Defying traditions, to the elders is an act of
rebellion and disrespect. To cite some examples, Sabina takes off her mourning clothes and changes to
summer outfit. She also combs her hair before a looking glass even if it is not allowed during the
mourning period. She lights the lamp not the candle. The lamp signifies a change from the traditional
candle to oil lamp. During those times, when the family mourns, the house should not be ablazed with
light. This practice reveals the truth of Filipino culture.
The character of Sabina is really dynamic. The authors allows her to shift her moods – from
sorrow to happiness, to anger, to depression in just one setting! There was sorrow for a while because
of her mother’s death and then happiness upon hearing the return of her lover. At the same time she is
angry because Antero locks the gate and later depression when she learns that her beloved is a married
man.
The Dialogue.
Longinus points out that a literary piece should contain powerful dialogue. To cite a few, the
following are single outed.
Old Woman: Leave the lamp alone, child. It’s wisdom to be careful. The wings of the moth get badly
burned, Sabina if it leaps into the flame.
Sabina: What are the moth’s wings compared to a woman’s happiness?
_________________________________________
Old Man: Outside love, nothing lives, Sabina! Surely, whatever the heart feels richly must be right!
And hearts, I’m saying to you haven’t changed very much then.
Sabina: I’m trying to build me a nest, trying to weave threads of laughter through it, but my
wings are tied with sorrow. It’s for that my poor heart will be crying forever.
__________________________________________
Sabina: You’ve cheated me! You’ve lied to me!
Mr. George: I didn’t want to lose you, that’s why!
Sabina: You’ll never know what it is to love!
Mr. George: I never knew love until I met you!
Sabina: I can only hear the misers of love laughing in the darkness!

In addition to the powerful dialogue, the author also uses figurative language.
Simile and metaphor:
Antero: I warn you, he’ll leave you like thunder.
Sabina: Mr. George, for me you’re the bright sun…
The Plot.
 The plot refers to the sequence of events in a story from the introduction of the characters, the
setting, and the conflict.
The conflict in the story.
Sabina’s conflict is within her. She fell in love with an American and the family were against the
relationship. Another conflict was between Sabina and her family. The parents were considered the
external conflict because they were against Sabina’s relationship with the American.
The rising action
It took place when Sabina decided to follow her heart even at the expense of the death of her
mother and her relationship with her family as a whole. She met Mr. Price and informed him of her
decision to be with him and told him she was pregnant.
The climax.
Sabina was very excited to hear that Mr. George was back. This excitement turned to sorrow. It
shattered Sabina to know that Mr. Price did not have any intention of marrying her because he was
married.
Sabina: You’ve cheated me! You’ve lied to me!
The falling action.
Sabina decided to end her life
Part 2. Linguistic Analysis of a poem
1 Phonology; phonetics. The sound of spoken language; the way words are pronounced.
It has something to do with meter, rhyme. Since this is a narrative, rhyme and meter cannot be
observed.
2. Graphology.The patterns of written language; the shape of language on the page. The words are
written on ordinary language. It follows the capital letter to start a sentence and ends with
appropriate end punctuation marks. Since it is a play, the author identifies the speakers in the
dialogue.
3. Lexicology. The words used ; the vocabulary of a language. The author makes use of words
typical of the period and local color. For example: the use of bamboo rafters, mother- of- pearl
shell panes, and teakwood chair.

The story has an abundance of nouns, verbs, adjectives to give a clear picture of the
events taking place in the story.

Note: please count the number of NOUNS, VERBS, ADJECTIVES, ADVERBS and pronouns used in
the selection.

4. Syntax. In the story “Sabina” there are contractions used. When words are contracted, they are
shortened. Shortening makes utterance fast. It evokes emotions.
… he’ll leave you
…you’re the bright sun
It’s wisdom to be careful….
…you haven’t changed
 Sabina: What are the moth’s wings compared to a woman’s happiness? (defiance)
Antero: I warn you, he’ll leave you like thunder. (anger or threat)

The story also included strong statement by using exclamation points. An exclamatory
sentence expresses strong emotions.
Sabina: You’ve cheated me! You’ve lied to me!
Mr. George: I didn’t want to lose you, that’s why!
Sabina: You’ll never know what it is to love!
Mr. George: I never knew love until I met you!
Sabina: I can only hear the misers of love laughing in the darkness!

Since it is a play, the sentences are not lengthy.

Old Woman: What made you rise up just now, Mamerto? Is it the crying of the
black turtle?
4 Semantics. The meaning of words and sentences. The story also includes poetic expressions
Sabina: I’m trying to build me a nest, trying to weave threads of laughter through it, but
my wings are tied with sorrow. It’s for that my poor heart will be crying forever.
The story also mentioned about Jose Rizal’s the “Moth and the Lamp.” It is a story that has a
moral lesson. That moral lesson is mentioned by the old woman.
Old Woman: Leave the lamp alone, child. It’s wisdom to be careful. The wings of the
moth get badly burned, Sabina if it leaps into the flame.
Sabina: What are the moth’s wings compared to a woman’s happiness?
In the story the moth kept on flying near the lamp and eventually gets burned. The moth refers
to Sabina who at a young age was enamored to an American. Despite the warnings from the family,
she continued her relationship with George and she ended pregnant and later committed suicide.
Pragmatics .The way words and sentences are used in everyday situations; the meaning of language
in context.
In the story, the lover of Sabina was always called Mr. George. It implies the difference in the
status because Sabina was a Filipino and George was a foreigner. Thus, this further indicates that
during that time, the Americans were highly looked up by Filipinos. Addressing him as Mr. George
Price indicated respect to somebody higher in status or superior culture.
Sentence analysis.
a. Immediate Constituent
My wings are tied with sorrow
My wings p are tied with sorrow
my wings
are tied PrPh with sorrow
 with sorrow

Transformational Grammar

S: My wings are tied with sorrow

NP VP

det N aux V PPh

be participle tie prep noun

1st/pres

My wings are tied with sorrow

SS: my + wings+ are+ tied+ with+ sorrow

SS: My wings are tied with sorrow.

The sentence analyzed shows the relationships of the words within the statement. It starts with

identifying the noun phrase from the verb phrase. The symbol P indicates predicate-subject

relationship. Next is the binary division in the noun phrase which is MY and WINGS where the arrow

indicated my as the modifier to a noun wings. The next binary division is between the verb and its

modifier. Here the verb is ARE TIED and the modifier is a prepositional phrase used as adverb WITH

SORROW. The next binary division is between the helping verb ARE and the main verb TIED. Finally we

divide the preposition WITH and the noun SORROW.

In conlusion, a literary piece can be analyzed using different lenses/perspective. It can also be analyzed

using the linguistic perspective.