Florante at Laura Critical Analysis

FLORANTE AT LAURA CRITICAL ANALYSIS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR

 Francisco Balagtas y de la Cruz, later Francisco Baltazar or nickname Kikong Balagtas or
Kiko, was born on April 2, 1788 in the barrio Panginay in the town of Bigaa, Bulacan
 Balagtas is considered the equivalent of William Shakespeare and the "Prince of Tagalog
Poets"
 He used allegorical theme combined with metaphorical allusions and representations in
his writing
 A tradition held for debating in extemporaneous verse is named after him
 He is the youngest child of Juan Baltazar and Juana de la Cruz, a blacksmith
 As a young boy, Balagtas loved to watch the land and hear the sound of the leaves
 He studied prayers and catechism during elementary years in a parochial school in Bigaa
 He graduated with degrees in Crown Law, Spanish, Latin, Physics, Christian Doctrine,
Humanities, and Philosophy in Colegio de San Jose
 Dr. Mariano Pilapil taught him to write and José de la Cruz mentored his poetry
 3 of Balagtas' works are: Florante at Laura (also known as Pinagdaanang Buhay ni
Florante at Laura sa Kaharian ng Albanya), La India elegante y el negrito amante,
 Orosman at Zafira
 He was among trendsetters of early 19th century Philippines as he wrote in Tagalog
 In 1835, moved to Pandacan and started a relationship with Maria Rivera who would
serve as an inspiration for his future epic Florante at Laura which is released from prison
in 1838
 In 1840, he moved to Udyong, Bataan and served as a Major Lieutenant. There, he met
Juana Tiambeng of Orion, Bataan whom he would wed in 1842
 They had eleven - five boys and six girls - although seven died
 Francisco Baltazar died on February 20, 1862
Reference: https://www.bulakenyo.ph/francisco-balagtas-the-ultimate-filipino-poet/
CHARACTERS
Major characters:
Florante
Son of Duke Briseo and Princess Floresca; the main character of the SONG; Laura's love
Laura
Daughter of King Liceo; Florante's love
Aladin
A Muslim prince and soldier; son of Sultan Ali-Adab; the man who saved Florante;
Flerida's love
Flerida
The woman who saved Laura; Aladin’s love
Count Adolfo
A traitor; son of Count Sileno; very envious of Florante's achievement
Menandro
Florante's classmate and faithful best friend; Florante’s right hand in the battle
Reference: https://www.kapitbisig.com/philippines/florante-at-laura-by-francisco-baltazar-
booknotes-summary-in-english-the-characters-the-summary-of-florante-at-laura_953.html
SUMMARY
On a faraway vast land, there’s a mystical forest outside the Kingdom of Albanya. Florante, son
of Duke Briseo and Princess Floresca, was knotted tightly on a giant old tree in the middle of the
dark forest. Sadness and emptiness crept around the helpless Prince. The scary woods and
uncanny sounds of wild animals and creatures just didn’t help.
Just before two huge lions were about to ravish the poor Prince, a kindhearted Persian Morong,
Aladin, helped Florante. Aladin was on exile from his own kingdom because of his father’s
cruelty. His father, Ali-Adab, took his lovely fiancé away from him. On his way to the woods, he
heard Florante’s scream trying to seek help from the lions nearly killing him.
The two became good friends and they started to talk about their past and what brought them
there in the woods. Florante told Aladin his true identity – a prince of Albanya. He also told his
new friend about his another near-death experience involving a giant crow which was killed by
his cousin, Menalipo, his school days at Atenas where he met Adolfo whom from the beginning
was his rival. Adolfo tried to kill Florante during their school play, the latter was rescued by
Menandro, nephew of their kind professor – Antenor. Because of that terrible incident, Adolfo
decided to go back home in Albanya.
One day in Atenas, a sad news came to Florante about the death of his mother. After two
months, the Prince went back home in Albanya.
In Albanya, Duke Briseo and King Linseo, father of Laura, gathered a meeting about their
defense against the troops of Persian General Osmalik. Osmalik ruined the Kingdom of Kotrona.
According to the King, he dreamt of a clever powerful Prince who looked like Florante, their
only weapon to beat Osmalik.
Florante instantly fell in love with Laura seeing her beauty. In his three days stay at their palace,
he never had the chance to talk to the Princess. He only had few moments with her when he
was prepared to battle. The princess only sent her tears and hopes.
Reference: https://discover.hubpages.com/literature/Florante-at-Laura-Summary-English-and-
Tagalog-Versions
CRITICAL ANALYSIS APPROACH
Formalist approach
- Florante at Laura is the shorter version of its original title
- It is written in a peculiar literary form
- The language of the literary piece is in Tagalog
- It was translated into various local and foreign languages
- Has 399 stanzas where each has 4 lines with 12 syllables *example of stanza*
- Has a rhyme scheme of AAAA
- Contains profound and strong lexicon
- Its figure of speech requires deep understanding and comprehension
- Uses rhetorical and idiomatic expression and symbols
- Simile, metaphor, metonymy, synecdoche, hyperbole, apostrophe, personification,
onomatopoeia, alliteration, and irony are used *examples of stanzas*
Reference: https://florante-at-laura-reaction.blogspot.com/2012/09/florante-at-laura-
reflection-and.html
Historical approach
- It depicts the scenario in the Philippines when Spaniards invaded the country
- Florante at Laura was said to be the outcome of Balagtas’ heartbreak
- It was written during his imprisonment
- The settings of the literary piece convey strong emotions such as fear, pity, weakness,
and uncertainty
- The theme found in the piece describes the general truth
- One of its central themes is that religious differences should not be used to discriminate
against another
Reference: http://franciscobalagtaseng105.blogspot.com/p/quotations.html
https://salirickandres.altervista.org/florante-laura/
SYMBOLISM
- Florante at Laura is set in a distant land, but the protagonists suffer similar fates as
Filipinos of the Spanish colonial era
- Laura represents the country Philippines, a beautiful girl who has caused the two men to
fall in love to her like Philippines, it is a beautiful country which causes other Japanese
and Spaniards to invade
- Duke Adolfo represents the Spaniards who brutally rule Filipinos by any means
- Florante represents the Filipinos that despite of the tyranny experienced from the
Spaniards he never ceases to get justice
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FLORANTE AT LAURA CRITICAL ANALYSIS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

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