NAME: Xavier Haven Kent Esparaguera

SECTION:_______

TRIAL AND EXECUTION: WHAT’S IN A POEM

INSTRUCTIONS: Read Rizal’s Poem Mi Ultimo Adios and write an analysis of the message He wanted to
convey through the literary piece. Consider the existing social circumstances when it was written and
determine its historical significance. Your analysis will be evaluated using the rubrics provided.

TYPE YOUR ANSWER HERE:

→ Introduction

Dr. José Rizal, the Philippines' national hero, wrote a poem called "My Last Farewell," or "Mi
ltimo Adiós" in Spanish. Rather, it was his last will and testament, which Dr. José Rizal penned in prison
on the eve of his execution on December 30, 1896. Dr. José Rizal's mother, sisters, and nephew paid him
a visit, and Rizal told one of his sisters, Trinidad, that there was something in the cocinilla. When the
group was ready to leave, the guard gave the stove to Narcisa. A note within the stove contained a
14stanza poem with 5 lines per stanza, with no title or date. An instruction that tells another note is
hidden inside Dr. José Rizal’s shoe was written on it too, however, the other note was too unreadable
when found. His family reproduced copies of it, and Mariano Ponce printed it in Hongkong on 1897 with
the title of “Mi Ultimo Pensamiento” and was published by Fr. Mariano Dacanay in the first issue of La
Independencia on the 25th of September 1898 with the title “Ultimo Adios.”

Discussion – Biographical Criticism

Dr. José Rizal's last piece of writing, My Last Farewell, was his last work. The author's farewell to
the world can be seen in the poem. Reading the poem reveals the author's admiration for his homeland.
Reading the poem reveals the author's feelings toward his friends, country, and the world as he
commemorates his disappearance. No matter how many times one interprets the poem, it was a
magnificently written piece of farewell.

However, those change when knowing the author. When scrutinizing about the great Dr. José
Rizal, your perspective of the value of the poem changes, and your knowledge about the author
magnifies the value of the poem even more.

As we all know, Dr. José Rizal is the national hero of the Philippines under the callous rule of the
Spaniards, one of those who fought for the country's freedom, for the sake of the country. Dr. José Rizal
fought not with spears or swords, but with his pen. He is a key member of the Filipino Propaganda
Movement which upheld political reforms for the Philippines under Spain. Instead of bloodshed, Rizal
used censures to fight with the injustice of the Spaniards. Dr. José Rizal studied medicine and became an
ophthalmologist because of his blind mother. Upon returning to the Philippines, Rizal also helped
building a school, a hospital, a water supply system and in agriculture as well. This proves and shows
Rizal’s love for the people.

Rizal bids farewell and offers his soul, though sad and repressed, in the poem's first stanza. This
is due to the fact that, while Rizal's life was important, it was also filled with adversity. Due to their
circumstances, Rizal was a hard worker. Prior to this, he wrote two novels which heavily criticized the
Spaniard’s rule in an attempt to awaken and ignite the hearts of the Filipinos for a revolution against
inequity in their own land and was chased by the government. Rizal issued a manifesto disavowing the
current revolution in its present state, at his time, and declaring that the education of Filipinos and their
achievement of a national identity were prerequisites to freedom. In the third stanza, he depicts that if
to attain independence is for him to die, then he shall die. He was imprisoned many times, and in those
many times were many chances to escape. However, he is fine as he can fight and support as long as he
can hold a pen and a paper. His last resort was to be a martyr in order for the Filipinos to awake to the
reality that they shall not hold back anymore as the Spaniards are willing to shed blood in order to get
their way. The fourth stanza was flashbacks from his youth, his younger days. He saw injustice at an
early age due to the martyrdom of GomBurZa. In the sixth stanza, Dr. José Rizal asks not for monuments
but only for flowers just, so he’s not forgotten, the grass mentioned symbolizes the growth of the
Philippines. The seventh stanza shows Rizal’s insights into the future. The moon shone over his tomb
represents a clear sky, a country without oppressors. And the bird singing a song of peace over his tomb
site means harmony after his death and peace in his death. In the ninth stanza, Rizal wanted everyone to
pray for each other, for those who have suffered and fallen, for those who are helpless and tortured, for
the mothers and the captives, and for independence. In the eleventh stanza, Rizal does not care
anymore if he is forgotten, as long as the message, the lessons, the knowledge, his thoughts, his words
and his philosophy were spread. This is because Rizal knew and has trust that education will lead the
Philippines to success. What use is independence if the Filipinos cannot maintain the order in the
country? In the thirteenth stanza, Rizal bids farewell as he leaves his parents and his loved ones. Rizal is
going to heaven, a place where being faithful is not wrong and only God is right, the One Who have right
to judge the others. The last stanza Conclusion

“My Last Farewell” or Mi Último Adiós in Spanish is a poem written by Dr. José Rizal, the national
hero of the Philippines. Rather, it was his will of testament, as Dr. José Rizal wrote it in prison the eve
before his execution on the 30th of December 1896. Dr. José Rizal was visited by his mother, sisters, and
his nephew, and Rizal told Trinidad, one of his sisters, that there was something in the cocinilla.

CRITERIA 5 4 3 2 1
INTRODUCTION: The introduction is inviting, states the main topic
and position and previews the structure of the paper. There is one
clear, well-focused thesis statement
SUPPORTING DETAILS: Relevant, telling, quality details give the
reader important information that goes beyond the obvious or
predictable.
ORGANIZATION: Ideas flow together smoothly and form coherent
arguments.
WRITING MECHANICS: No errors in grammar, spelling capitalization
and punctuation that distract the reader from the content.

My Last Farewell by

Jose Rizal Farewell,

clime of the sun

caress'd

Pearl of the Orient seas, our Eden lost!,

Gladly now I go to give thee this faded life's best,

And were it brighter, fresher, or more blest

Still would I give it thee, nor count the cost.

On the field of battle, 'mid the frenzy of fight,

Others have given their lives, without doubt or heed;

The place matters not-cypress or laurel or lily white, Scaffold

or open plain, combat or martyrdom's plight,

T is ever the same, to serve our home and country's need.

I die just when I see the dawn break,

Through the gloom of night, to herald the day;

And if color is lacking my blood thou shalt take,

Pour'd out at need for thy dear sake

To dye with its crimson the waking ray.

My dreams, when life first opened to me,

My dreams, when the hopes of youth beat high,

Were to see thy lov'd face, O gem of the Orient sea

From gloom and grief, from care and sorrow free;

No blush on thy brow, no tear in thine eye.

Dream of my life, my living and burning desire,

All hail ! cries the soul that is now to take flight;

die for thy sake, that thou mayst aspire;

And sleep in thy bosom eternity's long night.

If over my grave some day thou seest grow,

In the grassy sod, a humble flower,

Draw it to thy lips and kiss my soul so, While I may

feel on my brow in the cold tomb below

The touch of thy tenderness, thy breath's warm power.

Let the moon beam over me soft and serene,

Let the dawn shed over me its radiant flashes,

Let the wind with sad lament over me keen ;

And if on my cross a bird should be seen,

Let it trill there its hymn of peace to my ashes.

Let the sun draw the vapors up to the sky,

And heavenward in purity bear my tardy protest

Let some kind soul o 'er my untimely fate sigh,

And in the still evening a prayer be lifted on high

From thee, 0 my country, that in God I may rest.

Pray for all those that hapless have died,

For all who have suffered the unmeasur'd pain;

For our mothers that bitterly their woes have cried, For

widows and orphans, for captives by torture tried

And then for thyself that redemption thou mayst gain.

And when the dark night wraps the graveyard around

With only the dead in their vigil to see

And perchance thou mayst hear a sad hymn resound

'T is I, O my country, raising a song unto thee.

And even my grave is remembered no more

Unmark'd by never a cross nor a stone

Let the plow sweep through it, the spade turn it o'er

That my ashes may carpet earthly floor,

Before into nothingness at last they are blown.

Then will oblivion bring to me no care

As over thy vales and plains I sweep;

Throbbing and cleansed in thy space and air With

color and light, with song and lament I fare,

Ever repeating the faith that I keep.

My Fatherland ador'd, that sadness to my sorrow lends

Beloved Filipinas, hear now my last good-by!

I give thee all: parents and kindred and friends For I

go where no slave before the oppressor bends,

Where faith can never kill, and God reigns e'er on high!

Farewell to you all, from my soul torn away, Friends

of my childhood in the home dispossessed !

Give thanks that I rest from the wearisome day ! Farewell

to thee, too, sweet friend that lightened my way;

Beloved creatures all, farewell! In death there is rest !

Translated by Charles Derbyshire