Colonial Period Script

Sison: Colonial Period in Philippine Literature. Literature during colonial period has two different distinct
classification: Religious and Secular. They introduced Spanish as the medium of communication, our
periodicals gained a religious tone and literature was used as a medium to ignite the revolution.

Spain also brought to the country, though at a much later time, liberal ideas and an internationalism that
influenced our own Filipino intellectuals and writers for them to understand the meanings of "liberty and
freedom." In the 18th century, secular literature from Spain in the form of medieval ballads inspired the native
poetic-drama form called the komedya, later to be called moro-moro because these often dealt with the theme of
Christians triumphing over Moslems.

Prominent Literary Figures during Colonial Period. Gaspar Aquino De Belen, Gaspar Aquino de Belén
was a Filipino poet and translator of the 17th century, known for authoring a 1704 rendition of the Pasyon: a
famous poetic narrative of the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus, which has circulated in many versions.
Generally Filipino natives were not taught Spanish, but the bilingual individuals, notably poet-translator Aquino
de Belén, produced devotional poetry written in Latin script in the Tagalog language. He wrote the “Mahal na
Pasion ni Jesu Christo”, a poem that is based on Jesus Christ’s passion that published in 1704.

Pedro Paterno, Pedro Alejandro Paterno y de Vera Ignacio was a Filipino politician. He was also a poet
and novelist.' His intervention on behalf of the Spanish led to the signing of the Pact of Biak-na-Bato on
December 14, 1897, an account of which he published in 1910. He wrote the first Novel entitled “Ninay” which
is written on Spanish. He also wrote the first Filipino collection of poems in Spanish, Sampaguitas y otras
poesías varias or Jasmines and Other Various Poems, published in Madrid in 1880.

Monjeru: Francisco "Balagtas" Baltazar, he was a prominent Filipino poet, and is widely considered one of the
greatest Filipino literary laureates for his impact on Filipino literature. The famous epic Florante at Laura is
regarded as his defining work. He was popularly called “Balagtas”. He is the acknowledged as the Master of
traditional tagalong poetry. He wrote the one of the acclaimed masterpiece of Philippine Literature, Florante at
Laura. Florante at Laura is a love story. Balagtas drew from the literary tradition of courtly love in fashioning
Florante as the suffering lover, Laura as the beautiful beloved, and their love impeded by powerful forces.

Dr. Jose Rizal, José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda was a Filipino nationalist and polymath
during the tail end of the Spanish colonial period of the Philippines. An ophthalmologist by profession, Rizal
became a writer and a key member of the Filipino Propaganda Movement which advocated political reforms for
the colony under Spain. Prominent Works, Noli Me Tangere, described the inequities of the Spanish Catholic
Priests and the ruling of the Government and El Filibusterismo, a sequel to Noli Me Tangere, Shows a more
violent way to resolve the country’s issues.

Antonio Luna, He was a soldier, chemist, musician, war strategist, journalist, pharmacist, and hot-
headed general, a complex man who was, unfortunately, perceived as a threat by the Philippines' ruthless first
president Emilio Aguinaldo. As a result, Luna died not on the battlefields of the Philippine-American War but
assassinated on the streets of Cabanatuan. Prominent Work, Impresiones, a collection of articles depicting
Spain, the Spaniards, and their manners in a most critical, corrosive and sarcastic fashion.

Petero/Gacho/Lapada (Bahala na kayo kung sino sa tatlo): Antonio Abad, was a prominent poet, fictionist,
playwright and essayist from Cebu, Philippines. One of his major works is the “La Oveja De Nathan". He wrote
the novel La Oveja de Nathan (Nathan’s Sheep) The novel underscores America’s promise to grant the
Philippines its independence at the opportune time. Abad wrote this novel when historical events narrated in it
were flux.

Jesus Balmori, In his early years, Balmori was already gathering literary honors and prizes for poetry.
He reached the pinnacle of his success as a poet in November 1938 when his Mi Casa de Nipa, a collection of
his best poems, gave him the first prize in the national literary contests held under the auspices of the
Commonwealth Government, as a part of its third anniversary celebration. He wrote the Mi Casa De Nipa a
collection of his best poems. It gave him the first prize in the national literary contests held under the auspices of
the Commonwealth Government, as a part of its third anniversary celebration.

And I thank you.