Interpretation: Interpretatio n: To To the th e Filipino Youth Unfold, oh timid ower!
Lift up your radiant brow, This day, Youth Youth of my native strand! Your Your abounding abounding talents show show esplendently and grand, Fair hope of my otherland!
"oar high, oh genius great, #nd with noble thoughts $ll their mind% The honor&s glorious glorious seat, seat, ay their virgin mind y and $nd ore rapidly than the wind'
The $rst line, (unfold, oh timid timid ower,( implies implies that the youth youth is silent, silent, maybe daunted, and )onse*uently )onse*uently has not yet gone into full bloom for whatever reason there is that may have silen)ed them' In the beginning stan+a, i+al en)ourages the youth, by telling them to hold their heads high for they possess talents and sills and abilities that would mae their )ountry proud'
The se)ond verse verse )an be rearranged rearranged in )ontemporary )ontemporary -nglish to say: say: (.h genius great, soar high% and $ll their mind with noble thoughts' ay their virgin mind y and $nd the honor&s glorious seat more rapidly than the wind'( /ere, i+al )alls to genious to $ll young minds with noble thoughts and hopes that as they release their thining from the )hains that bind, they may be able to soar swiftly high where the 0oy of honor is' is'
1es)end with the pleasing light .f the arts and s)ien)es to the plain, .h Youth, and brea forthright The lins of the heavy )hain That your poeti) poeti) genius en)hain' en)hain'
2ontrary to the se)ond verse, whi)h taled about as)ending and soaring to the heights, this third stan+a now tals about des)ent, and a downward motion of the great genius to $ll the earthly stroes of art and s)ien)e with their magni$)ent ideas' #gain, i+al )alls them to brea the )hains that bind their intelle)t' (3oeti) genius( here does not ne)essarily pertain to the talent of writing poetry' Instead, the term (poeti)( is simply an ad0e)tive to des)ribe genius, meaning that it is deep and mystifying and heavy with meaning'
"ee that in the ardent +one, The "paniard, where shadows stand, 1oth o4er a shining )rown, 5ith wise and mer)iful hand To the son of this Indian land'
i+al )hallenges the youth, that in their pursuit of nowledge and wisdom they may humble the hand of "pain, whose proud )hin did not loo indly upon the people whom they labelled as (Indios( and whom they treated with )ontempt' /e dreams that in their 0ourney to intelle)tual greatness they may humble even the proudest nations that loo down on them and rightfully deserve (a )rown that shines, even where shadows stand'(
You, who heavenward rise .n wings of your ri)h fantasy, "ee in the .lympian sies The tenderest poesy, ore sweet than divine honey%
You of heavenly harmony, .n a )alm unperturbed night, 3hilomel&s mat)h in melody, That in varied symphony 1issipate man&s sorrow&s blight%
In these two stan+as, i+al )alls the youth to see the beauty of poetry and musi), whi)h he himself values greatly as essentials in every manner of life' /e )laims that poetry is (more sweet than divine honey,( and that musi) )an (dissipate man&s sorrow&s blight'(
You at th& impulse of your mind The hard ro) animate #nd your mind with great pow&r )onsigned Transformed into immortal state The pure mem&ry of genius great%
"peaing to the youth, i+al says that by the very impulse of their mind, they are )apable of bringing to life or animating even someting as lifeless and unmoving as a hard ro)' /e )ontinues to say that the youth is able, to immortali+e their thoughts and their words through the help of great genius 6as he has done himself' This stan+a )an be arranged in a more )ontemporary -nglish stru)ture as follows: (You )an animate the hard ro) at the impulse of your mind% and transform, with the great power of your mind, the pure memory of great genius into immortality'(
#nd you, who with magi) brush .n )anvas plain )apture The varied )harm of 3hoebus, Loved by the divine #pelles, #nd the mantle of 7ature%
i+al here addresses the youth, )omparing their abilities to a magi) brush that )an )apture even the most ma0esti) views and the most glorious )harms on a blan )anvas'
un ! For genius& sa)red ame #waits the artist&s )rowning "preading far and wide the fame Throughout the sphere pro)laiming 5ith trumpet the mortal&s name
.h, 0oyful, 0oyful day, The #lmighty blessed be 5ho, with loving eagerness "ends you lu) and happiness'
The last stan+a is a )harge, urging the youth to run, for a glorious )rown awaits them' The (sphere( here pertains to the world, showing that i+al believed the Filipino youth is as brilliant as those in any other nation, and is able to )ontend with even the strongest powers if they only set their mind to maing most of what they already have'
The Intimate #llian)e 8etween eligion and 9ood -du)ation
i+al shared his thought about the importan)e of edu)ation to enlighten the nation whi)h was useful to gain so)ietal freedom for every nation' It may also provide us the ne)essary nowledge, sills and attitude to epand the hori+on of our thoughts' /owever, this would not be enough to be properly edu)ated' i+al thought that there was really an intimate allian)e between religion and good edu)ation' # man who was properly edu)ated needed to apply what he learned on spiritual view rather than simply on material a)hievements' The result of good edu)ation always ful$lled a growing uprightness and valuable virtue within the boun)e of spiritual and moral dimensions' There showed also be growing digni$ed ful$llment and appli)ation to the tea)hings of religion ,0ust lie a vine whi)h )ontinually grow that would someday the fruit will be)ome sweet and deli)ious'
5ithout religion, human edu)ation may result to )haos and disorder in any )ivili+ed nation be)ause people may no longer value freedom, respe)t, dignity and other good virtues that maintain so)ietal order' It may result to a natural disaster 0ust as the angered sea, whi)h )hara)teri+ed the $er)e winds that may, wre)ed the vessel in the deep abysses' i+al new that religion had a profound e4e)t to edu)ation, the edu)ated must internali+ed the virtue of in)orruptible life based on the ethi)al and moral standard of the so)iety'
y First Inspiration Interpretation
The word (inspiration( has two levels of meaning: the )onventional one we use every day and the root meaning rarely used in modern language but always present as a )onnotation of the other: 6;< "timulation of the mind or emotions to a high level of feeling or a)tivity, and 6=< The a)t of breathing in% the inhalation of air into the lungs'
This poem speas to 6=< in the $rst stan+a: the breathing in of sweet aromas on what is de)lared to be a (festive day'( The se)ond stan+a moves to the sweet, musi)al sound of birds singing in the woods and vales on su)h a day' The third stan+a, of )ourse, begins to merge the two images in a subtle way: the birds (start( to sing 6or are startled into singing< by the sound of the wind blowing' The wind would supply them breath for singing, but it also seems to (inspire( their singing, as in 6;< above% that is, it stimulates them to a high level of a)tivity' In the fourth stan+a, the spring of water tunes its murmur liewise to the sound of the bree+es 6+ephyrs< as it ows along among the owers'
/en)e, in this $rst half of the poem we have musi) of birds and broo (inspired( by the wind% that is, the very air we breathe' #nd also we breathe the fragran)e of the owers 6among whi)h the broo ows<, for it is borne on the wind' The imagery of these $rst four stan+as is, thus, neatly tied together, giving us a sense of the festivity of a beautiful spring day in nature' The poem )ould be )omplete at this point% it would be a sweet little nature poem, a song'
8ut the poem moves in a di4erent dire)tion now' 5hy does this day seem so mu)h brighter, more beautiful than others> 5hy is morning brighter today> The net two stan+as answer this *uestion' The poem, it turns out, is addressed to the speaer&s mother, and it is her day of (blooming( 6birthday, probably<' The perfume of the owers, the songs of the birds, and the sound of the bubbling broo all )elebrate her day, they (feast( in her honor' They wish her all the best: (Live happily ever after'(
7ow the poem be)omes more fragile, more understated' For one&s (dear mother( is also one&s inspiration??there at one&s $rst breath in life, there to move one toward )reative a)ts or ideas' 8ut to say that in so many words would be trite and sentimental' "o in the last stan+a the speaer a)ts out the feeling' @oining the musi) of the broo 6and of the birds and the winds<, the speaer will play upon a lute' The mother is ased to turn from 7ature to /uman art, from the birds and the broo to the sound of the lute epressing emotion wordlessly' #nd what is the (inspiration(
that moves the lutist to play> 5hy, (the impulse of my love'( The speaer&s love for the mother' The mother&s love ree)ted in her )hild'
This is the $rst sound of musi), whi)h is inspired by the motherA)hild love% but, indeed, the whole poem??the musi) of its verses??has already been inspired also in the same way' Through -du)ation .ur other e)eives Light
This poem proved that he valued edu)ation so mu)h that may give the power of the )ountry to survive from any for)es6 barbari) a)tions, de)eits, hostility, vi)es and et)'< in the struggles of so)ietal freedom ' Through edu)ation, it )reates the virtue of power to human ra)e' This gives se)urity and pea)e to the motherland as the Filipinos would learn the s)ien)es and arts as the basis to )alm down the life of the so)iety' 5here edu)ation reigns pa)i$es the barbari) a)tion of the nations 'It may neutrali+ed or )eased to eist on )rimes and hostility in)luding vi)es and de)eits be)ause of the enlightenment of manind'
The eisten)e of prudent edu)ation provides the tran*uility to a more digni$ed a)tion 0ust the eisten)e on the natural ow of life ' -du)ation shall give a perfe)t virtue of man that may overthrow the power of evils and may step on heavenly path for its good a)tion' Liewise, edu)ation provides goodness to humanity it sheds light for those who )reated destru)tion even from the hands of $er)est )riminal' Furthermore, edu)ation may always survive even from the worst storm, hatred of men, and raging waves as a )onse*uen)e the motherland be)omes invin)ible to evil for)es shall be tired and fall asleep in their raging emotions'
This poem of i+al had never thought that was applied to him heroi) struggles in his later years of life' The struggle of human freedom was won be)ause edu)ation provided the ey role for thousands of men honored him' /is edu)ation provided him the noble virtue that someday his )ountry was free from the bondage of foreign oppressor' In )ontemporary time, edu)ation proves to be ey role to produ)e of noble man that shades light for his family and )ountry'
