Indian Poetry

The roots of Indian poetry go deep into the much-documented history of the Bharata clan and in
Mahabharata and King Rama I’s ascent to power in Ramayana. Taken as canon in world literature, these
two Sanskrit epics are classics onto their own. While Ramayana provided what can be considered as the
adikavya or first Indian poem because of its status, Mahabharata remains to be the longest epic poem
with 18 major books and 100 more minor books. In the Mahabharata is the story of Arjuna’s exploits in
the epic story of Bhagavad Gita.

Sanskrit is the language of epics, histories and law. However, some poems or kavya’s of fleeting
expression became culturally significant, to which Kalidasa became a looming image of authority. What is
more known of ancient Indian poetry is its Sanskrit literature. However, the Indian subcontinent also had
various different languages which also provided India its literary influences later on, including poetry
from Tamil and Prakrit.

Gradually, as the power of Sanskrit waned, local vernacular languages as well as other major languages
in the Indian subcontinent emerged along with new forms. The Middle Period of Indian poetry around
5th century BCE were remarkably about the bhakti or devotionals. In this period, poets named as bhakta
or sants make an effort to edify their own gods in devotions and songs. They were written primarily in
Tamil, not in Sanskrit, which is still reserved for epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata. The same epics
still retained its regal stature.

Guide Questions for Analysis

1. Describe the milieu of the poem (historical and geographical contexts).
2. What characteristics of the poem are inherently unique to its cultural roots?
3. Given their colonial pasts, how were these voices able to take shape as independent from its
imperial overlords?

India
Rabindranath Tagore: Songs from Gitanjali
Mohan Singh: Evening
Pakistan
Muhammad Iqbal: Rubaiyat, Jehad
Abdul Ghari Hazari: At the Death of a Friend’s Son
Nepal
Balakrishna Sam: The Song

ASEAN Literature

Perhaps the only thing that ASEAN countries have in common is geographical location. Such is the
melting pot of ASEAN cultures that not one culture helps define the other. Unlike in Indian poetry where
characteristics within the subcontinent affect each other, although in varying degrees, the cultural
differences marked by maritime and colonial contexts provide these differences. For the present
discussion of ASEAN Literature, we turn to three representative countries: Thailand, Indonesia, and the
Philippines.

Thai Poetry

There are five major verse forms in Thai poetry: rai, khlong, kap, chan and klon. Most of the early and
middle Thai poetry came under the influence of its royal courts. Thai monarchs were very particular
patrons of the arts. In fact, these five verse forms came into being during the time of the Ayutthaya. The
reign of King Narai in 1656-88 was even considered the Golden Age of Thai literature. Other poetic
genres also evolved, like the nirat, where the poet compares his/ her lover’s features to the beauty of
nature.

As Ayutthaya fell to the Burmese in 1767, the Thai had since re-established its capital to Bangkok. There
King Rama I, Phra Phutthayotfa (1782-1809) commissioned scholars and poets to recreate lost works like
the Ramakian, the Thai version of the Indian epic Ramayana. Sunthorn Phu, arguably the “greatest” Thai
poet, wrote the Phra aphaimani and some other nirat poems. Khun Phum, a leading Thai female poet,
became famous for her wit and satire.

Modern Thai poetry came after the 1932 revolution with more liberated poets like Khru Tep, Assani
Phonlachan, and Chit Pumisak; all of whom sought to decentralize Thai poetry from its monarchical,
lyricist centers. Until today, many Thai poets are leaning towards social and political poetry as well as
experimentations with other verse forms.

Thailand
HRH Prince Phanuphan: The White Lotus
Havasi Sunthonphitphit: Till Heart’s End

Indonesian Poetry

Early Indonesian poetry shares its origins in Malay poetry, where various forms like the shair and
sesmomba have implanted themselves into Malay and Indonesian oral traditional. Out of all earlier
Malay verse forms, the pantun, or pantoum in Francophone/ Anglophone, perhaps made the most
influence even through modern Malay and Indonesian poetry.

Modern Indonesian poetry took off from a confluence of Malay poetry influenced by the Dutch language
and literary styles. One of the more notable modern Indonesian writers is Rustam Effendi who sought
that Bahasa Indonesia be an independent literary voice. Seemingly, the struggle of Bahasa Indonesia to
be on its own literary voice coincides with its Independence from the Dutch in August 17, 1945 where it
brought into being the infamous Angkatan ’45 (Generation of 45) writers led by Chairil Anwar, arguably
Indonesia’ greatest literary import. Echoes of Anwar’s passionate lyricism as well as social and innovative
verses resound within Indonesia’s poetry today.

Indonesia
J.E. Tatengken: Traveler First Class
Chairil Anwar: The Mosque

Philippine Poetry
The heritage and legacy enshrined in Philippine poetry is unlike any other in the ASEAN region. While it
drew common features from Indo-Malay prosody and versification, Philippine poetry also shaped its
unique verses. This includes the tanaga, a 7-line poem on the beauty of nature and the balagtasan, a
kind of debate in verse that highlights wit than reason or form. The epic of Lam-Ang, an Ilokano heroic
epic, is also considered as one of Philippine literature’s pre-colonial narratives, notwithstanding the tome
of bugtong (riddles) and local myths and legends.

Spanish colonization also provided more means of expression that eventually turned the tide of
nationalistic sentiments. The awit and the korido, mimicked Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey in that it
celebrated exploits of heroes even if fictional. Francisco Baltazar’s Florante at Laura is the most notable
example of this genre, thinly veiling anti-imperiaist sentiments with an epic narrative. The pasyon, a
dramatic singing of scriptures during the Lenten season, was carried over from the catechetical mission
of the Spanish.

The American occupation eventually paved way for the modernization of Philippine poetry. One of the
most notable Filipino poets post-World War 2 is Jose Garcia Villa, whom is celebrated for his
innovativeness and comparability to works of his contemporaries like William Blake. Feminine writers like
Edith Tiempo and Ophelia Alcantara-Dimalanta were also noticed. In Filipino, Amado V. Hernandez
and Virgillo Almario continues to write in the vernacular with other poets in the major Filipino languages
including Cebuano, Kapampangan, etc.

Up until this day, Philippine poetry, and of literature in general, draws from the stream of three
traditions: Philippine Literature in Filipino, in English, and in Spanish. Current movements are
strengthening the hold of Philippine poetry in its regional languages, as well as carrying over messages of
social and political sentiments as means of expressing dissent and/or support to marginalized classes.

Philippines
Jose Rizal: My Last Farewell
Nick Joaquin: Six P.M.

East Asian Poetry

The discussion of