Lesson 2: Activity

POETRY
1.2. View Oppression is a familiar word in the Filipino vocabulary. There have been many uses for this term,
whether it describes the oppression of the less privileged by the elite, or the oppression in gender by a
patriarchal society. In a way, Filipinos have always had to face oppression in some form or another,
beginning with our own history of colonization. Eventually, these colonizers would become conquerors and
would pop up themselves at our expense.

2.3. Oppression, and the struggle against it, are common themes in Philippine literature. Oppression, as a
topic would rise again and again in Philippine literature.

3.4. What is the dramatic situation and the Persona? Oppression has been seen in many instances in our
history, and it is natural that our literature reflects our engagement with this reality.

1.5. In particular, our poets have used the subject of oppression as a beginning, creating dramatic situations
that lead us to a great understanding of the issues at hand and how these affect our lives.
1.6. Poems present these dramatic situations via speaker in the poem, or a persona. The persona in the poem is
usually not the poet but is rather a character or a mask which the poet uses as his/her “voice” in the poem.

2.7. The persona can be a character in the poem who is involved in the dramatic situation, or the persona can be
an observer who is watching the situation unfold. Cirilo Bautista’s poem present us with a situation that is
allegorical, or not literal but rather representative of other ideas or personalities.

3.8. He also uses personification as a figure of speech, giving some non-human objects human qualities. It
showcases both his skill as a writer and the relevance that has led him to be hailed as a National Artist

4.9. Trackback The Marcos Dictatorship The Marcos era was seen to be one of the most oppressive periods in
Philippine history, and yet, a quick glance at the internet reveals a number of claims that this era was supposedly
the best time in Philippine history.

5.10. Pit stop Bautista’s poem is rich with figures of imagery, speech, and allegory, all aimed at creating a solid
impression on the reader.
Read the poem: THIRD WORLD GEOGRAPHY by Cirilo F. Bautista
(Manila)

a) Cut out news clippings of oppression happening in other parts of the

world, paste this on a sheet of bond paper and write your reaction about
it.

b) Write about the realities of struggles that happen in a country faced

with an oppressive ruler.

c) Relate the details and images in the poem and how it can be related to
actual historical events in the story.

d) Explain the dramatic situation presented in the poem.

e) Explain how allegory was demonstrated in the poem by identifying

the literal and symbolic meaning of the poem.
THIRD WORLD
GEOGRAPHY
Cirilo F. Bautista
Manila
A country without miracles
Sits heavy on the map,
Thinking of banana trees rotting
In the sunlight.
The man who watches over it
Has commandeered all hopes,
Placed them in a sack,
And tied its loose end.
He goes around carrying it
On his back.
When asked what is inside,
He say, “Just a handful of feathers,
Just a handful of feathers.”
That’s how light the burden
Of government is in peace time –
Any tyrant can turn it into a metaphor.
You kneel on the parched earth
And pray for rice. Only the wind
Hears your useless words.
The country without miracles
Tries to get up from the page,
But the bold ink and sharp colors
Hold it down.