Rizal, the Writer

By Prof. Jet T. Castillo

Rizal wrote all sorts of literature

 Novels
 Essays in La Solidaridad
 Poems
 Comics
 History book
 Children’s stories
 Theatrical Plays
 Letters to his family and friends
Rizal wrote on various topics

 Politics
 History
 Folklore
 Nature
 Love
 Fiction
 Humanism
Rizal wrote using various languages

 Spanish – Rizal wrote mainly in Spanish

because his audience were the Spaniards whom
he was addressing his advocacies.
 Tagalog – he tried writing his 3rd novel in his
native tongue because this book was for the
natives
 English – he wrote his sisters and nephews in
English to train them in this language.
Rizal’s most famous literary works

 Note: this is just an enumeration and brief

descriptions of the literary works. We will
study the nitty-gritty of these in the next
several weeks, in another set of lessons.
 Rizal’s Novels

 Noli Me Tangere
 El Filibusterismo
 Theme: the time for a
revolution is ripe, but
Rizal doesn’t believe that
violence is the key to
solve Philippine societal
problems.
 Rizal’s Novels
 3rd Novel
 Unfinished , untitled.
 Only Chapter 1 is finished and titled.
 Makamisa is the title of Chapter 1.
 Originally written in Tagalog, but
Rizal had difficulty; so he continued
writing it in Spanish.
 (more details will be discussed in a
latter lesson)
 Rizal’s History Book

 Copied by hand the 1609

history book written by
Antonio de Morga, “Sucesos
de las Islas Felipinas”
(Events in the Philippine
Islands)
 Rizal’s version is called
“Anotaciones de Sucesos de
las Islas Felipinas”, or
“Anotaciones” for short
 Rizal’s History Book

 Rizal annotated it. He inserted

explanations in between
passages.
 He did this when he was in
London, England.
 He had it published in Paris,
France
 Articles in La Solidaridad

 Common Theme of Rizal’s

Articles:
 Response to attacks by Spanish
writers in other newspapers
on
Rizal’s friends and the Filipino
race.
 Similar to facebook ranting and
counter-ranting.
Famous Articles of Rizal in La Solidaridad

 Una Profancion
 Verdades Nuevas
 Crueldad
 Diferencias
 Inconsequencias
 Llanto y Risas
 Ingratitudes
Famous Articles of Rizal in La Solidaridad

 The Philippines a Century

Hence
 Indolence of the Filipinos
 A La Defensa
 La Verdad Para Todos
 Vicente Barrantes' Teatro
Tagalog
 Rizal’s Poetry

 Common themes:
 Nostalgia of home (when he was
studying in far-away lands)
 Songs while doing work in his farm in
Dapitan.
 Bursts of emotions on special
occasions.
 Rizal’s Top Ten Popular Poems

 Sa Aking Mga Kabata*

 Un Recuerdo A Mi Pueblo
 A La Juventud Filipina
 Mi Piden Versos
 A Las Flores De Heidelberg
 Rizal’s Top Ten Popular Poems

 Himno Al Trabajo
 Himno Al Talisay
 Mi Retiro
 El Canto Del Viajero
 Mi Ultimo Adios
 Rizal’s Comics

 When he was in Dapitan, Rizal wrote a short

humorous comics about “kulam”
 Written in Tagalog
 It is part of a monologue entitled “The Cure of the
Bewitched: Notes on the Study of Philippine
Medicine.”
 Written for Benito Francia, Inspector of Health
Rizal’s Comics

 The Cure of the Bewitched

Rizal’s Comics

 The Cure of the Bewitched

Rizal’s Comics

 The Cure of the Bewitched

Rizal’s Comics

 Rizal also drew the

Story of the Monkey
and the Tortoise in 34
frames while he was
in Paris in 1889.
 Rizal’s Comics

 Rizal also illustrated 5 fables of Hans

Christian Andersen when he was in Berlin,
Germany.
 The Ugly Duckling
 Thumbelina
 The Little Match Girl
 The Angel
 Little Fir Tree
 Rizal’s Children Stories

 He also translated Hans Christian Andersen’s

fables to Tagalog.
 He also translated “William Tell” to Tagalog
 For his nephews
 He accompanied the stories with sketches/
illustrations.
 With these feats, Rizal was considered “The
Father of Filipino Children’s Literature.”
 Rizal’s Letters

 He wrote to his family members and friends

often. Most of his letters were addressed to
Blumentritt.
 Topics: his travels, adventures, opinion on
foreign society, his everyday life, “bilins” like
“send me packs of cigarettes”, English tutorials,
his feelings, life in Dapitan, etc
 We learned a lot about Rizal by just reading his
letters.
 Rizal’s Letters

 Example of Rizal’s travel blogs:

 When he was in Hong Kong: “It’s a small city, but
it is very clean.”
 When he was in Macau: “It’s a very gloomy city,
almost dead.”
 When he was in the USA: “Laguna’s waterfalls
looks better than Niagara Falls.”
 Rizal’s Letters: Travel Blogs

 Example of Rizal’s travel blogs:

 When he was in Japan: “This place has almost zero
crime rate.”
 When he was in London: “It’s a very boring city on
weekends.”
 Rizal’s Letters: “Bilins”

 Example of Rizal’s bilins (he was in Dapitan, his

sisters were in Manila):
 He asked his sisters to send him cigarettes. (Yes,
Rizal was a smoker!)
 He asked one sister to send him dentistry tools.
 He asked his sisters to send him lots of stockings.
He put up a stockings store in Dapitan.
 Rizal’s Letters: Tutorials

 Rizal often asked his What is the plural of “nurse”?

nephews to send him letters Nurses
written in English.
 He would then correct their What is the
superlative of
grammar and spelling. “nurses”?

Nurseses?

No!
 Rizal’s Theatrical Plays

 Rizal wrote 3 high quality plays:

 El Consejo de los Dioses (The Council of the Gods)
 Junto Al Pasig (There at the Pasig)
 Saint Eustachius, Martyr
 Rizal’s Theatrical Plays

 Saint Eustachius, Martyr

 Written by Rizal when he was 14 years
old
 Class project in Ateneo
 About a saint who lived in 200 AD
who was martyred because of his faith.
 Rizal’s Theatrical Plays

 The Council of the Gods

 Won 1st prize in a UST stage play-
writing competition
 About Roman gods discussing
among themselves whom they will
bless.
 Rizal’s Theatrical Plays

 Junto al Pasig
 A musicale
 A Spanish professor wrote the music for it.
 Written by Rizal when he was 19 years old, when he
was a student in UST.
 About Virgin Mary and Satan.
 Performed by a theatre group in UST
 Rizal wrote it to honor the Nuestra Senora dela Paz
y Buenviaje de Antipolo (Our Lady of Peace and
Good Voyage).
 Conclusion
 Rizal was a prolific and dynamic writer.
 He wrote about several topics, using several types
of literary works, and in several languages.
 Some of his works were written for specific
people and occasions, some were automatic
bursts of opinions and feelings, while most were
careful and deliberate expositions of his
advocacies.
 Conclusion

 The impact of his writings is enormous – they

changed a society inside out.
 His works are eternal – they are being read over
and over for several generations now, and will
continue to be read in the future.