Jose Rizal’s Poem

One way to gauge a person’s life is to look at his works and writings. Poetry reveals an
individual’s thoughts, hopes, dreams, aspirations, and even heartaches. The genius in
Jose Rizal, our national hero, had resulted in several poems during his childhood,
schooling, life struggles, and right before his martyrdom. Let us take a peek at our
national hero’s poetry.
“My First Inspiration”
“Mi Primera Inspiracion” was the first poem Jose Rizal had written during his stint in
Ateneo. This poem was written in honor of his mother’ s birthday as suggested by terms
“perfume of the flowers”, “the songs of the birds”, “feast your day of bloom” and “festive
day”.
Jose Rizal’s poetic verses show his eternal love and appreciation for his mother. This
was somewhat his way of paying tribute to all the efforts for him of her dear mother.
“Felicitation”
The poem was written by the hero in 1875 during his schooling in the Ateneo de
Municipal. The 14-year old Rizal wrote this poem to congratulate his brother-in-law,
Antonio Lopez, husband of his sister Narcisa.
“The Embarkation, A Hymn to Ferdinand Magellan’s Fleet”
Rizal wrote this poem while he was a boarding student at Ateneo Municipal. It was
believed to have been his first poem that had the honor of being read in public program
held at that school. It talked about the departure of Ferdinand Magellan, the firt man to
colonize the Philippines.
And He Is Spanish: Elcano, The First to Circumnavigate The World
This poem is about Juan Sebatian Elcano, a Spanish Basque, Ferdinand Magellan’s
second in command, who upon Magellan’s death on the shore of Mactan in the
Philippines, took over and completed the first circumnavigation of the world.
“The Battle: Urbiztondo, Terror of Jolo”
The poem is a reflection of Rizal’s liking for history. It was written to hail Urbiztondo for
the successful battle against Muslims. In the poem, the hero narrated how the great
warrior defeated the Moros under Sultan Mahumat of Jolo.
“The Tragedy of St. Eustace”
This poem recounts the tragic story of St. Eustace. The original manuscript of this poem
no longer exists however as it may have been destroyed during the World War II
bombings. Nonetheless, the poem had been published in installments in a magazine,
“Cultura Social” of the Ateneo.
In Memory of My Town
Rizal loved his hometown Calamba, Laguna. He fondly remembered his memories of
the said town. In 1876, Rizal as a 15-year old student in the Ateneo de Municipal wrote
the poem. It was written to express his love and appreciation for the place where he
grew up.
Education Gives Luster To The Motherland
This poem is about giving importance to education as the way of progress and welfare
of the nation.
Rizal believed that education gives knowledge, knowledge gives wisdom, and the great
wisdom benefits everyone. Considering that education is a vehicle for a country’s
prosperity and success, he encourage the Filipinos through the poem to acquire
education for them to be able to fulfill their dreams and to improve their motherland.
Triumphant Entry of the Catholic Monarchs into Granada
It relates the triumphant entry o Ferdinand and Isabella, Spain’s “Most Catholic Kings”
into the city of Granada in 1492. This entry is one of the the most powerful symbolic
moment in Spanish history.
The Heroism of Columbus
This poem praises Columbus, the discoverer of America.
Columbus and John II
This poem relates how King John II of Portugal missed fame and riches by his failure to
finance the projected expedition of Columbus to the new world..
Great Solace in Great Misfortune
This is a legend in verse of the tragic life of Columbus, the person credited for
discovering America.
A Farewell Dialogue of the Students
It was a poignant poem of farewell to his classmate, written just before he graduated
from Ateneo de Municipal
Child Jesus
It is a brief religious ode which express his devotion as a child to Catholicism.
To the Virgin Mary
It was wrote in praise of the Virgin Mary, the Mote of Jesus Christ.
To The Philippine Youth
This was a winning poem in 1879. Rizal submitted it as his entry to the literary contest
held by the Liceo Artistico- Literario of manila- a society of literary men and artist.
Written by Rizal at the age of eighteen, this artwork which was said to be of flawless
form aimed to implore the Filipinos to raise from indolence. It is deemed a classical
piece of Philippine literature for reason that Spanish literary authorities recognized it as
an impressive poem written in Spanish by a Filipino and it was the foremost literary
piece to display the nationalistic belief that Filipinos wee the “fair hope of the
Fatherland.
Abd-El-Azis and Mohammed
This epic poem was written in 1879 and declaimed by a certain Manuel Fernandez on
the night of December 8, 1879 in honor of the Ateneo’s Patroness. It recalls the struggle
between the Spaniards and Moors in Spain.
The Philippines
It is a poem that reminds us Filipinos to love our motherland.
Al M.R.P. Pablo Ramon, 1881
Jose Rizal truly loved his alma mater Ateneo as well as his professors. He wrote a
poem for one of them, Al M.R.P. Pablo Ramon, a lovely tribute to the Rector who had
been kind and helpful to the National Hero during his birthday.
Goodbye to Leonor
Leonor was only 13 when she first met Rizal. Due to the strong disapproval of Leonor’s
parents of their love affair, they kept in touch by sending letters and photographs to
each other.
They Ask Me for Verses
Rizal had been a member of Circulo-Hispano-Filipino, a society of Spaniards and
Filipinos in Madrid. In the New Year’s Eve reception of the Madrid Filipinos held in 1882,
he declaimed this poem due to the request of the society and published this poem in la
Solidaridad in March 1889.
To Miss C.O. y R.
This poem is to express his admiration to Counsuelo Ortiga y Perez, the beautiful
daughter of Don Pablo Ortiga y Rey.
The Flower of Heidelberg
This poem is an admiration of blue spring flowers that made him think of their flowers in
Calamba.
The Song of Maria Clara
This poem is part of Noli Me Tangere, when Maria Clara, one of the main character
insistent request of her friends, rendered a beautiful song with the accompaniment of
the harp.
Hymn to Labor
This poem in response to the request of his friend from Lipa, Batangas. Dedicated to
the Industrious folks of Lipa, the poem consisted of lyrical conversation of men, wives,
maiden and children.
To My Muse
It is an emotional poem during those sad days when he was worried of family disasters
Kundiman
It is poem that show intense love for the motherland. In the verses we can see the
optimistic mind that the Philippines would be freed from inequality and oppression.
Water and Fire
It express his great dream for the Philippines; its freedom and advancement. It was an
excerpt from the novel El Filibusterismo.
To Josephine
It was dedicated to the Irish woman who he called dulce extranjera (sweet foreigner).
Hymn To Talisay
This poem was written for the pupils to sing. Also taught them how to fight for their
rights. The poem speaks about the place Talisay and Rizal’s serene life in exile.
My Retreat
In the poem Rizal gave a narrative account of his peaceful life while exiled in Dapitan
where he lived a well-rounded life as a farmer, teacher, and a merchant.
Song of the Wanderer/Traveler
The poem was written for being delighted in receiving the news that he was offering a
service as a military doctor in Cuba.
My Last Farewell
This untitled poem is considered as the most celebrated poem by the national hero.
Rizal’s friend, Mariano Ponce, was the one who titled the poem “Mi Ultimo
Pensamiento” (My Last Thought). Later, the poem was referred to as “My Last Farewell”
(Mi Ultimo Adios).
A brilliant creation, was assumed to be written the night before Rizal’s execution on
December 30, 1896. As the dear visitors were leaving, Jose handed over to his sister
Trinidad an alcohol cooking stove, a gift from the Pardo de Taveras, whispering to her
in a language which the guard could not comprehend., “There is something in it”. The
family reproduced and distributed copies of it and sent to the hero’s friends in the
country and abroad.
Widely regarded as the most patriotic poem in the world, it has been translated into at
least 38 languages. The poem reflects the hero’s adoration and patriotism for hie
country. The poem requests Filipinos to pay for others who also have died and suffered
for the country. It begged the Filipino people to never lose hope and faith in the Lord
God. Forceful words were used to inspire them not to be the discouraged by
oppressions of the Spaniards.
At the last part of the poem, Jose Rizal mentioned of his “sweet stranger” as his friend
and joy. This implied his farewell to his beloved “dulce estranjera”, Josephine. Lately, a
song based on the poem “Mi Ultimo Adios” was composed by contemporary artist Joey
Ayala.
A Fragment
This short poem of Rizal has no title. It bespeaks of his thanksgiving to God for soothing
him during his troubles and dark moments. In the poem, he also expressed his gratitude
to God for allowing him to be born to a respectable and honorable family and to belong
to a rich country. The difficulties and struggled of Rizal which he suffered and his
sadness were evident in the verses of this poem.
To My Fellow Children: The Controversial Poem
The famous poem was a nationalistic artwork promoting the use of Tagalog (Filipino)
language by the Filipino people. The poem Sa Aking Mga Kabata was traditionally
believed to be the national hero’s first written Tagalog poem at the age of eight and was
said to have been published posthumously many years after Rizal’s death.
However, recent investigations cast serious doubts concerning the assumed authorship
of the poem. Many scholars today believe that the very young Rizal could have not
written the nationalistic poem. For one thing, it is doubted that an eight-year old child,
who normally just begins to read, could write a five-stanza poem with profound terms.
Furthermore, Jose Rizal had preserved correspondence with Paciano, his brother,
expressing that he had difficulties in using the Tagalog language particularly in
translation. More significantly, Jose admitted that he had only encountered word
“kalayaan” when he was already 21 years old. The term (‘kalayaan’) was used not just
once in the poem.