philippine literature at the time of us colonialism 3 american regime... · infamous “treaty of...

21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World Philippine Literature at the time of US Colonialism

1

Course Module

Philippine Literature at the time of U.S. Colonialism

This lesson focuses on selected works and authors during at the time of American Period.

Learning Outcomes:

At the end of the lesson, you are expected to:

1. Discuss the Philippine Literature during the American Period.

2. Learn various works in poetry and prose at the time of US Colonization.

3. Understand how the Americans were able to influence Philippine

Literature during the period.

4. Study the various works of Filipino writers at the time of US colonization,

in English, Spanish and Filipino.

Philippines at the time of American Colonization

The American colonization over the Philippines began in 1898 and ended in 1946, lasting almost fifty years. It had been divided into phases.

The First Phase

The first phase of the American Period in the Philippines was from1898 to 1935. It began with the Spanish-American war which started in Cuba.

On May 1, 1898, the Americans led by U.S. Navy Admiral George Dewey, along with Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo, attacked the Spanish Navy in Manila Bay. Faced with defeat, the Philippines was relinquished to the United States by Spain after a payment of US $20 million in accordance with the infamous “Treaty of Paris”.

Emilio Aguinaldo declared Philippine Independence on June 12, 1898, a declaration opposed by the US who had plans of taking over the colony. In February 1899, Aguinaldo led a new revolt against the U.S. rule. This sparked the Philippine-American War.

The poorly equipped Filipinos were overpowered by the Americans in open combat, but they were the fiercest of opponents in guerilla warfare. The revolutionary capital of Malolos was captured on March 31, 1899, but Aguinaldo and his government were able to escape and re-establish in San Isidro, Nueva Ecija. Things had turned south, however, when Gen. Antonio Luna, who was the most capable military commander of Aguinaldo, was murdered in June. In 1901, the revolution ended with the capture of Aguinaldo by Gen. Frederick Furston at Palanan, Isabela. Thus the Philippines became a US colony.

The Second Phase

The Second Phase of the American Period was from 1936 to 1946. It was characterized by the establishment of the Commonwealth of the Philippines and the Japanese occupation during the World War II.

At this time, the US Congress provided a 10 year period of transition to independence. Manuel L. Quezon was elected President of the Commonwealth.

The Japanese attacked the Philippines on December 8, 1941, and occupied Manila on January 2, 1942. The US and the rest of the Allied forces invaded the Philippines on October 1944, and the Japanese surrendered on September 2, 1945.

The American Influence on Philippine Literature

The American Period had an influence to the literature of the Philippines.

Two significant developments in education and culture helped shape the literature

of the country at that time. One was the introduction of free public instruction for

all children of school age and two, the use of English as a medium of instruction

in all levels of education in public schools.

Free public education made knowledge and information accessible to a

greater number of Filipinos, giving them the opportunity to improve their social

status and join the educated masses who became a part of the country’s middle

class.

The use of English as medium of instruction opened the Filipino mind to

Anglo-American models of thought, culture and life ways. It was these two

factors that shaped the Philippine Literature during the time of US Colonialism.

As the country was under the American influence, a lot of Philippine

literature were written in English, and were inevitably imitative of American

models of writing.

Nevertheless, the fact that everyone had the opportunity to access

education had helped a lot in nurturing many gifted poets, novelists, and various

writers in both Filipino, Spanish, and English languages.


3

Course Module

The Three Groups of Writers during the American Period

There were three groups of writers at the time of US colonialism. They

were divided according to mediums they used in literature: Spanish, the English,

and the Filipino. These writers all have their own styles in writing and come up

with various works that gave life to the Philippine Literature during the American

Period.

The writers in Spanish, in their desire to honor Jose Rizal and other

heroes, were accustomed to write works that have themes of nationalism. This

group includes Cecilio Apostol, Fernando Ma. Guerrero, Jesus Balmori, and

Claro M. Recto.

The Writers in Spanish

1. Cecilio Apostol (1877-1938)

(Source: poemhunter.com)

Cecilio Apostol was considered a colossus in Spanish-Filipino poetry. He

was recognized in the Hispanic world as the “greatest Filipino epic poet writing in

Spanish”. Claro M. Recto, also a poet in Spanish, spoke of him as “the greatest

writer of both prose and poetry.” He was also a corresponding member of the

Royal Academy of the Spanish Literature.

His works were critically acclaimed that they appeared in the World

Anthology of Spanish Poetry and in the famous Enciclopedia España. Some of

them were even translated in German.

In 1895, his poem El Terror de Los Mares Indicos (The Terror of the

Indian Seas) opened the world of Spanish poetry for him. One of his famous

Spanish poems was the short poem Al Heroe Nacional. Apostol had written

numerous poems in English and Spanish, most of which have nationalistic themes

and are dedicated to Dr. Jose Rizal.

Al Heroe Nacional by Cecilio Apostol (translated in English)

Weep not in the mystery of the tomb.

Over the Spaniards’ momentary triumph,

For a bullet in your cranium destroye

Your idea, in turn, an empire destroyed.

2. Fernando Ma. Guerrero (1873-1929)

(Source: geni.com)


5

Course Module

Fernando Maria Guerrero was a law graduate at University of Sto, Tomas,

but he pursued a career in journalism and became an editor of La Independencia

and El Renacimiento. He was also the founder of La Vanguardia and La Opinion.

Guerrero grew up in a Spanish-speaking family, hence it became natural

for him to use Spanish as his medium in writing poetry. He published his first

poetry compilation entitled Crisalidas in 1914. His second compilation, Aves y

Flores (Birds and Flowers) was published posthumously in 1970.

Just like Apostol, Guerrero’s poems dealt mostly with patriotism.

Coincidentally enough, he died on June 12, 1929, which was the Philippine

Independence Day.

Mi Patria by Fernando Ma. Guerrero (excerpt)

Filipinas es un nido

formado de hermosas flores,

Es un idilio de amores

sobre un mar embravecido.

Es la impávida matron

que, heredera de titanes,

tiene por solio volcanes

y centellas por corona.

You may view the digital copy of the Crisalidas online, through this link:

http://quod.lib.umich.edu/p/philamer/ACM1386.0001.001?view=toc

3. Jesus Balmori (1887-1948)

(Source: retrato.com.ph)

Jesus Balmori was already gifted in the literary arts even in his teens. He

published his first poetry book titled Rimas Malayas (Malayan Rhymes) at the

age of 17. He had also joined and won in various literary contests.

During his days at the UST, he continued to excel in literature. At that

time, Balmori often engaged in poetical jousts known as balagtasan, with fellow

poet Manuel Bernabe.

Balmori wrote for La Vanguardia. He had a daily column of satirical

verses titled Vida Manileñas under the penname “Batikuling”. He compiled his

columns later in the book titled El Libro de Mis Vidas Manileñas (The Book of

the Lives of Manileñas).

He received the Premio Zobel award for his contributions to Philippine

Literature, and became a Poet Laureate in Spanish.

El Castellano en Filipina by Jesus Balmori

Querido amigo: se trame lo que se trame y se legisle y ore y se cante y se ame

en toda Filipinas, mientras alumbre el sol se seguirá escribiendo y hablando en español

No hay peligro que muera el castellano idioma sobre el tallo en que un día floreciera fecundo el pueblo lo conserva como un precioso aroma y con él se perfuma ante Dios y ante el mundo

Triunfará sobre el cálculo y la ruin amenaza

y se hará en nuestros labios ritmo de gloria eterno


7

Course Module

lo defienden los hombres más aptos de la raza y lo guardan las leyes más justas del gobierno

No existe valor patrio a su valer análogo

ni late en nuestra historia otro motivo igual en español Mabini redactó su Decálogo y en español cantando dio su vida Rizal

Puedo decir, henchido de orgullo soberano

que bajo el exotismo de nuestra vida extraña en Filipinas se habla y escribe en castellano

como se escribe y se habla en España

Luciendo hasta cegar su clámide suntuaria marchará el español bajo arcos triunfales

mientras cincele Briones su prosa lapidaria y cante Bernabé sus versos inmortales

Es el verbo que se hace pálida luz de luna

cuando hombres y mujeres van del amor en pos el verbo con que Recto deslumbra la tribuna

y Monseñor Guerrero habla en nombre de Dios

Es la seda primorosa con que la sampaguita el seno de la virgen del terruño engalana

y es el santo rosario que ofrece la abuelita cuando se hace la noche filipina y cristiana

¿Cómo vas a extinguirte, dulce idioma español? ¿Cómo vas a dejarnos, romancero de amores? ¡Si has de morir será cuando se muera el sol

cuando no queden pájaros ni mujeres ni flores!

Cuando la voz de Cronos con acento apagado resuene señalando una nación en ruinas: ¡Aquí existió un país florido y encantado que en honor de Felipe se llamó Filipinas

4. Claro M. Recto (1890-1960)

(Source: retrato.com.ph)

Claro M. Recto was best known for being one of the authors of the 1935 Philippine Constitution, but he was also one of the brilliant writers who contributed greatly to the Philippine literature.

He obtained his Bachelor of Arts from Ateneo de Manila and studies law in UST. During his days as a student, he joined and won literary awards. He also became a writer for La Vanguardia, with the pseudonym “Aristeo Hilario”. He wrote a daily column titled Primares Cuartillas (First Sheets).

Recto published a compilation of his poetical writings, titles Bajo los Cocoteros (Under the Coconut Trees). Aside from poetry, he was also a playwright, having written two plays: the Solo Entre las Sombras (Alone Among the Shadows) and La Ruta de Damasco (The Damascus Route).

The Writers in Filipino

If the writers in Spanish were known for their patriotism through their literary works, those who have written in Filipino used the vernacular to express their lamentations on the conditions of the country. They also advocated the love for one’s native tongue.

The poets in Filipino were classified into three:

Poets of the Heart (Makata ng Puso): Lope K. Santos, Iñigo Ed. Regalado, Carlos Gatmaitan, Pedro Deogracias del Rosario, Ildefonso Santos, Amado V. Hernandez, Nemecio Carabana, and Mar Antonio.


9

Course Module

Poets of Life (Makata ng Buhay): Lope K. Santos, Jose Corazon de Jesus, Florentino Collantes, Patricio Mariano, Carlos Gatmaitan, and Amado V. Hernandez.

Poets of the Stage (Makata ng Tanghalan): Aurelio Tolentino, Patricio Mariano, Severino Reyes, and Tomas Remigio.

1. Lope K. Santos (1879-1963)

(Source: https://kahimyang.com)

Lope K. Santos was born in Pasig. He was a Tagalog language writer, and a former senator. He was greatly acknowledged for his literary contributions, from his poems to his works written in prose. He was notable for his 1906 socialist novel, Banaag at Sikat.

Banaag at Sikat (From Dawn to Full Light) was renowned for its

depiction of certain issues such as socialism, capitalism, and the works of the united association of laborers. It was considered as the first socialist-oriented book in the Philippines, and the “Bible of working class Filipinos”. The story revolves around the lives of Delfin and Felipe, two friends who came from entirely different social class.

One famous quote from Lope K. Santos’s masterpiece was: “Ang

pagkaramdam ay isinisigaw din ng nakakaramdam at di ng mga nanonood lamang.”

According to the 20th century historian Teodoro Agoncillo, who came

up with a list of important books about Tagalog in 1949, Banaag at Sikat

started the system of writing of Tagalog novel. The novel inspired numerous people, some of which formed the 1932 Socialist Party of the Philippines and the 1946 group Hukbalahap.

2. Jose Corazon de Jesus (1896-1932)

(Source: www.himig.com.ph)

Jose Corazon de Jesus was one of the greatest Philippine poets, and is acknowledged as the King of Balagtasan. He was most notable for his poem Bayan Ko, which was set to music by Constancio de Guzman and became a popular song during the Marcos dictatorship in the 1980s.

Just like most of the brilliant poets in his time, de Jesus discovered his

inclination to literature at an early age. He wrote his first poem, Pangungulila, at 17 years old. In 1920, he worked for Taliba, where he began a famous column named Buhay Maynila.

Jose Corazon de Jesus was popular in Balagtasan, especially for his

lyrical jousts with the Filipino poet Florentino Collantes. He was such a gifted and inspired poet that his Buhay Maynila column alone published about 4,000 poems. He also wrote works such as Ang Lagot na Bagting which numbered about 800 poems, and some 300 short poems and prose.

Bayan Ko by Jose Corazon de Jesus

Ang bayan kong Pilipinas

Lupain ng ginto’t bulaklak

Pag-ibig na sa kanyang palad

Nag-alay ng ganda’t dilag.


11

Course Module

At sa kanyang yumi at ganda

Dayuhan ay nahalina

Bayan ko, binihag ka

Nasadlak sa dusa.

Ibon mang may layang lumipad

kulungin mo at umiiyak

Bayan pa kayang sakdal dilag

Ang di magnasang makaalpas!

Pilipinas kong minumutya

Pugad ng luha ko’t dalita

Aking adhika,

Makita kang sakdal laya.

3. Severino Reyes (1861-1942)

(Source: myheritage.com)

Severino Reyes was known as the Father of Tagalog plays. He was a

remarkable playwright, writer, and dramatist. He was highly acclaimed as one of the giants of Philippine Literature in the 20th century.

He was famous for writing Mga Kuwento ni Lola Basyang (Tales of

Grandmother Basyang), a series of fairy tale stories told by Lola Basyang, an old woman who kept a loadful of stories in her ancient baul. The stories first appeared in Liwayway Magazine and became one of the most memorable prose feature of the magazine today.

Another well-known written work by Severino was the zarzuela

Walang Sugat (No Wounds), a story about the Katipuneros during the later years of Spanish occupation.

He was also recognized as the Father of the Tagalog Zarzuela. Reyes

founded and directed the Gran Compania de Zarzuela Tagala, which became famous during its time. It presented its first piece, titled Ang Kalupi, on April 1902 at the Teatro Zorilla.

The Writers in English

The American Period of Philippine Literature would be nothing

without the Filipino writers who used English as their medium. These writers imitated the themes and methods of the Americans.


13

Course Module

Filipino writers in English learned vocabulary, as well as the mechanics of grammar, and imitating established Western writers. The period of US colonialism was a time of trial and error, but by 1925 it was apparent that the quality of writing in English has greatly improved.

1. Paz Marquez-Benitez (1894-1983)

(Source: kahimyang.com)

Paz Marquez Benitez is considered the first modern English language short story writer from the Philippines. Her work, Dead Stars, is the first Filipino modern English-language short story.

Born into a very prominent and affluent family in Lucena City,

Quezon, she was among the first generation of Filipinos trained in the American education system. She the graduated from the University of the Philippines in 1912 and became a professor specializing in classes on writing short stories. She was also the founder of Women’s Home Journal, which was the first women’s magazine in the country. She also wrote A Night in the Hills, which was a captivating short story that follows the life of Gerado Luna, a salesman in a jewelery store in the Intramuros area of Manila.

She became an influential figure to many Filipino writers in the

English language. The Paz Marquez-Benitez Lectures were held annually in her honor. It was a relevant event that focused on the contributions of Filipino women writers to Philippine Literature in the English language.

You may read Dead Stars by Paz Marquez-Benitez online: http://www.sushidog.com/bpss/stories/stars.htm

2. Zoilo Galang (1895- 1959)

(Source: viewsfromthepampang.blogspot.com)

Zoilo Galang was known as the author of the first Philippine novel written

in the English language, titled A Child of Sorrow.

He first started writing in a paper in Kapampangan, called E Mangabiran.

He also wrote novels in the Kapampangan language, titled Casaquitan at Ligaya,

Ing Capalaran – Ing Galal Ning Bie, and Capatac a Lua.

In 1921, he published A Child of Sorrow, an emotional novel that follows

the life of Lucio Soliman, his journey in the Merry Town which was a governed

by the corrupt Pancho Ismael, and his tragic love story with Rosa.

While the story seemed typical of Filipino love stories, A Child of Sorrow

also presented issues which reflected the Philippine society: the issue of fixed

marriages and corruption in the government.

Aside from his novel, Galang also published a compilation of myths and

folklore into a book titled Tales from the Philippines. He also endeavored to

publish the Encyclopaedia of the Philippines, a 20-volume encyclopaedia, which

was almost never finished because the manuscript was burned into ashes during

the World War II.

3. Jose Garcia Villa (1908-1997)


15

Course Module

(Source: www.philippine-trivia.com)

Jose Garcia Villa was a pure artist by heart: a poet, critic, short story

writer, and painter.

He was known for his rather provocative ideas on literature, as well as his

expression of strong emotions in his poems. This was apparent in series of erotic

poems aptly titled Man Songs in 1929. The poem was too bold for the staid UP

administrators at that time that they suspended Villa from the university and even

fined him P70 for “obscenity”. At that same year, he won P1, 000 from the

Philippines Free Press for his short story Mir-i-Nisa. He migrated to the United

States and enrolled at the University of Mexico.

In New York he became popular as the “comma poet”, after he introduced

a unique style of poetry, wherein commas a placed following each word intended

to “anchor” the reader and focus attention on each word in an almost meditative

way. It can be seen in his poem collection titled Anchored Angel: Selected

Writings. He also introduced the “reversed consonance” – a style where the last

sounded consonants of the last syllable are reversed for the corresponding rhyme.

He was a proponent of experimentation and invention in poetry.

He was best remembered for his works such as Footnote to Youth (1933),

Have Come, Am Here (1942), and Appasionata: Poems in Praise of Love (1979).

Poem from Anchored Angel: Selected Writings by Jose Garcia Villa 151

The, caprice, of, canteloupes, is, to, be, Sweet, or, not, sweet,— To, create, suspense. A return, To, Greek, drama. Their, dramaturgy, is, not, in, the, sweet, Soil, but, in, the, eye, Of, birds, the, pure, eye, that, decides, To, bestow, or, To, withold. Shall, I, be, sweet, or, Not, sweet?—looking, Up, at, your, face. Till, sudden: I, will, be, sweet!

References:

Agoncillo, Teodoro A. (1990). History of the Philippines. Garo Tech Books Inc.: Quezon City

Malabuyoc, Edwin (2008). Philippine History. Jimsy Publishing House: Malabon City

Villafuerte, Patrocino et. al. (2009). Panitikan ng Pilipinas: Historikal at Antolohikal na Pagtalakay. Mutya Publishing House Inc.

Summary of the American Period. Retrieved from: http://tagaloglang.com/summary-of-the-american-colonial-period/

National Commission for Culture and the Arts. (2016). Philippine Literature during the American Period. Retrieved from: http://ncca.gov.ph/subcommissions/subcommission-on-the-arts-sca/literary-arts/philippine-literature-during-the-american-period/

Bantog, Myla Jasmine U. Spanish letters in Philippine Literature. Retrieved from: http://varsitarian.net/literary/spanish_letters_in_philippine_literature

Kahimyang. Retrieved from: https://kahimyang.com/

Panitikan.com. Retrieved from: www.panitikan.com.ph/

philippine literature at the time of us colonialism 3 american regime... · infamous “treaty of...

Documents