Literary Analysis of Amado V. Hernandezs Isang Dipang Langit (An Arms Length Piece of the Sky)

By Manuel M. Avenido, Jr.MA in LiteratureCebu Normal UniversityDecember 04, 2010

Philippines is gifted of numerous remarkable writers (fictionists, poets, essayists, dramatists, etc.) whose masterpieces still echo through ages. From Balagtas to Rizal to Nick Joaquin and even to the writers in this postmodern time, our country is at par in richness of literature to that of other countries. For three centuries of colonization by Spain, our country has produced myriad literary writings with every drop of bloods and every life offered by our forefathers. History would say that most writings during the Spanish era here in our country were mostly about Filipino outcries for oppression and tyranny. Hence, it paved way to the birth of Rizals eternal novels: the Noli Me Tangere and the El Filibusterismo - deemed to be the chief grounds to a huge and bloody revolution in Philippine history.On the other hand, during the Japanese invasion in the country in the World War II, it is said that history repeated itself. Filipinos were battling against the oppression and occupation of the Japanese here in our country. Influenced by the fortitude of our heroes who fought against the Spaniards and inspired by the genius of our artists, many Filipino writers had emerged from silence and voiced out their grievances and uproars through beautiful poems, poignant essays, and satirical fictions and plays. Among the renowned writers that time was Amado V. Hernandez, a work leader and freedom fighter and Philippine National Artist for Literature.

A True-Blooded Son of Arts: Knowing Hernandez

Amado V. Hernandez was born in Tondo, Manila on September 13, 1903. Most of his masterpieces centered on his social and political beliefs which was said to be brought by his experience as an intelligence officer for the underground guerilla resistance during the Japanese invasion in the country in the 1940s. He won the Philippine Commonwealth Award for a nationalist historical epic, Pilipinas, in 1939 and his collec-tion of mainly traditional poems, Kayumanggi, won in 1940. His acquaintance with the guerillas from the HUKBALAHAP (Hukbong Bayan Laban sa mga Hapon) issaid to influence his ideals on communism. He played an active role in promoting freedom and equality for the Filipinos in the 1940s and 50s. Due to his vigilant effort in uplifting the rights of the Filipinos, he was imprisoned at the New Bilibid from 1951 to 1956 where he wrote Luha ng Buwaya and Mga Ibong Mandaragit. Hernandez wrote several poems, short stories, plays, and essays. To name a few of his works: poems - Sariling Hardin (My Own Garden), Isang Dipang Langit (An Arms Length Piece of the Sky), Bartolina (Solitary Confinement), Kung Tuyo Na ang Luha Mo Aking Bayan (When Your Tears Dry Up, My Country); short stories Walang Lunas (No More Remedy) and Langaw sa Isang Basong Gatas (Fly in a Glass of Milk); plays Hagdan sa Bahaghari (Stairway to the Rainbow) and Ang mga Kagalang-galang (The Vene-rables); and essays Si Atang at ang Dulaan (Atang and the Theater) and Si Jose Corazon de Jesus at ang Ating Panulaan (Jose Corazon de Jesus and Our Poetry).

Viewing the Formalistic Style

Formalism as an Objective theory focuses on the content and the elements present in a literary text. Amado V. Hernandez, as a remarkable poet, followed the formalistic style on his poem Isang Dipang Langit (Muntinlupa Prison; April 22, 1952):

Ako'y ipiniit ng linsil na puno I am held by an evil leaderhangad palibhasang diwa ko'y piitin, seeking to cage my thoughtskatawang marupok, aniya'y pagsuko, a body weak, he says, is surrender,damdami'y supil na't mithiin ay supil.emotions suppressed, advocacy hindered.

Ikinulong ako sa kutang malupit: I am kept in a cruel place:bato, bakal, punlo, balasik ng bantay; rock, steel, bullets, ferocious guards; lubos na tiwalag sa buong daigdig isolated from the worldat inaring kahit buhay man ay patay.alive, treated as dead.

Sa munting dungawan, tanging abot-malas From the little window, my sole consolationay sandipang langit na puno ng luha, is an arm's length piece of the sky, full of tears, maramot na birang ng pusong may sugat, a paltry handkerchief to dress a wounded heart,watawat ng aking pagkapariwara.flag of my misfortune.Sintalim ng kidlat ang mata ng tanod, Sharp as lightning are the guards' eyes, sa pintong may susi't walang makalapit; at the gates, with keys, no one can go near; sigaw ng bilanggo sa katabing moog, the scream from a nearby cellanaki'y atungal ng hayop sa yungib.resembles a cave animal's howl.

Ang maghapo'y tila isang tanikala Days pass like a chain na kala-kaladkad ng paang madugo dragged along by bloody feet,ang buong magdamag ay kulambong luksa the nights are a blanket of sorrow ng kabaong waring lungga ng bilanggo.in the coffin-like realm of the jail.

Kung minsa'y magdaan ang payak na yabag, Sometimes, quiet footsteps pass, kawil ng kadena ang kumakalanding; with a line of rattling, clinking chains; sa maputlang araw saglit ibibilad, to the pale sun momentarily exposed,sanlibong aninong iniluwa ng dilim.a thousand shadows escape.

Kung minsan, ang gabi'y biglang magulantang Sometimes, the night is awakened sa hudyat - may takas! - at asod ng punlo; by an alarm - an escapee! - gunfire!kung minsa'y tumangis ang lumang batingaw, sometimes the old bell cries, sa bitayang moog, may naghihingalo.at the execution den, someone lies dying.

At ito ang tanging daigdig ko ngayon - And this is my only world now-bilangguang mandi'y libingan ng buhay; the prison house, a graveyard of the living; sampu, dalawampu, at lahat ng taon ten, twenty, and all of my years ng buong buhay ko'y dito mapipigtal.my whole life will be here.

Nguni't yaring diwa'y walang takot-hirap But a resolute mind knows not fear nor agony at batis pa rin itong aking puso: and hope still springs in my heart: piita'y bahagi ng pakikilamas, imprisonment is part of the struggle, mapiit ay tanda ng di pagsuko.jail, the fate of the embattled.

Ang tao't Bathala ay di natutulog Man and God do not sleepat di habang araw ang api ay api, the unfortunate won't stay oppressed, tanang paniniil ay may pagtutuos, tyranny has a price to pay,habang may Bastilya'y may bayang gaganti.while a Bastille exists, people will resist.

At bukas, diyan din, aking matatanaw And tomorrow, in this very place, I will see sa sandipang langit na wala nang luha, an arm's length piece of the sky with no more tears, sisikat ang gintong araw ng tagumpay... the golden sun of victory will shine... layang sasalubong ako sa paglaya!free, freedom I'll embrace!

Almost all of Hernandezs literary works, including this poem, used the Filipino language (Tagalog) which became his niche. Isang Dipang Langit is a beautiful eleven-stanza poem composed of 4 lines (quatrains) that tells us about the pains, sufferings, and hope of a prisoner.The poem follows 12 meters or beats all throughout the lines from start to finish. Moreover, it has rhymes at every end of the lines which do not necessarily made use of words having same letters on the last syllable but rather, employed words likely similar in sound. Since the poem was written by Hernandez when he was imprisoned in Muntinlupa, the poetic vision talks about the personas (evidently Hernandez himself) physical, psychological, and emotional struggles inside his cell. The speakers internal pain and fear of torture and death rolled in one is clearly manifested by this line: ang buong magdamag ay kulambong luksa ng kabaong waring lungga ng bilanggo (the nights are a blanket of sorrow in the coffin-like realm of the jail). The poem is embedded also with various imageries as evident in the lines: Ang maghapo'y tila isang tanikala na kala-kaladkad ng paang madugo (Days pass like a chain dragged along by bloody feet) and maramot na birang ng pusong may sugat, watawat ng aking pagkapariwara (a paltry handkerchief to dress a wounded heart, flag of my misfortune).Notably, Hernandez, among other modern writers, wrote this poem in the traditional way making him more as a structuralist. Hernandezs diction or choice of words in this poem was artistically made choosing the raw and the best words to come up a pictorial vein. The poems tone streams from melancholic to fearsome and to oblivion. But the last stanza would tell us that despite of the anguish and fears, hope is still at hand!The Poem Based on RealityLike Hernandezs novel Luha ng Buwaya which he wrote when he was imprisoned in Muntinlupa, the poem Isang Dipang Langit also was written inside the jail as discussed in the preceding paragraphs. The poem seemed to be the writers imaginative diary that narrated all that happened around him. Mimetic theory as defined considers literary works as an imitation, a copy, or a representation of whatever it copies in nature or to the world. The mere fact that Hernandez wrote this poem while he was inside the jail gives us the idea that he is probably possessed by a madness and not in control of himself when he writes (Adams, 1971). On the readers or critics point of view, we locate the meanings of the images portrayed in the poem in the nature it imitates and copies. We have this collective consciousness as human beings and this is the reason why we think similarly with other people regardless of location, race, affiliations, and other factors.Mimetic criticism can be approached by archetypes. The archetypes present in Hernandezs poems are as follow: rock, steel, and bullets (can be read on second stanza) which apparently prevalent in conventional jails and are symbolizing fierce and violations; the golden sun (at the last stanza) means hope and aspiration; and sky which means freedom, a wide space to fly like a bird, and a solitary.

Attacking the EmotionsExpressive theory considers the literary work as an expression of the authors innermost being. Here in this poem, we can venture onto the depths and to the bowels of the heart of the persona. As the poem progresses, we seem also to journey into different levels of emotions with the persona.The lines Sa munting dungawan, tanging abot-malas ay sandipang langitna puno ng luha (From the little window, my sole consolation is an arm's length piece of the sky, full of tears) and sisikat ang gintong araw ng tagumpay layang sasalubong ako sa paglaya! (the golden sun of victory will shine... free, freedom I'll embrace!) entail emotional effects to the readers. The first line tells us of the personas sadness and sorrows as he was confined in a dark, bitter cell having only what it seemed to be arms length distance to the sky outside. Here, we, as readers, show emphatic response to the persona for we also feel the same isolation and confinement in life. The second line, on the other hand, gives us the hope and optimism in life as the persona imposes to himself that there can still be a brighter tomorrow.The theory also helps us explain the writers social, political, and religious beliefs. With this poem, we understand more Hernandezs milieu and moments that he experienced a traumatic and oppressing period in his life. Then, we tend to agree with his beliefs for we also have experienced same scenarios in life either literally or figuratively.

Responding to the EmotionsIf expressive theory is a tool used by writers to express the emotions present in their writings, Affective theory, alternatively, is the means for the writers to convey these emotions to their reader.Reading Hernandezs poem Isang Dipang Langit gives us so many mixed, mostly are even unknown to us, emotions. We tend to locate ourselves in setting of the poem a dark, secluded, and isolated jail where the only voices we can hear are the cries and the agonies of the prisoners.Most likely than not, the poem has moved the hearts of the Filipinos from the times of Japanese occupation and even today. The poem, ultimately, was a masterpiece to unveil the sufferings and torment not just of the imprisoned Amado Hernandez but to the rest of the Filipino citizens during his time in the hands of tyrants. It successfully delineated the sad reality during that time through the usage of jail as a symbol for oppression. Nevertheless, Hernandez never failed to give hope to all of the Filipino citizens on the last stanza of his poem:

And tomorrow, in this very place, I will see an arm's length piece of the sky with no more tears, the golden sun of victory will shine... free, freedom I'll embrace!