Florante at Laura
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"[Florante at Laura]" by Francisco Baltazar (also known as Balagtas) is one of the masterpieces of Philippine literature. Florante at Laura is an abbreviation of the actual title which is: Pinagdaanang Buhay Nina Florante at Laura sa Kahariang Albanya: Kinuha sa Madlang Cuadro historico o pinturang nagsasabi sa mga nangyari nang unang panahon sa imperyo ng Gresya, at tinula ng isang matuwain sa bersong Tagalog. (The Life Story of Florante and Laura in the Kingdom of Albania: culled from historical accounts and paintings which describe what happened in ancient Greece, and written by one who enjoys Tagalog verse.)
It is called an "Awit", which to the layman means "a song". The Florante and Laura has 339 stanzas. In truth, the Awit is a poetic form which, in Florante at Laura, had the following characteristics:
- 1. 4 lines/stanza;
- 2. 12 syllables/line;
- 3. a rhyme scheme of AAAA (in the Tagalog manner of rhyming described by Jose Rizal in Tagalische Verskunst);
- 4. a slight pause on the sixth syllable;
- 5. each stanza is usually a complete grammatically-correct sentence;
- 6. each stanza is full of figures of speech (according to Fernando Monleon, Balagtas used 28 types in 395 instances throughout the poem);
- 7. the author is usually anonymous;
- 8. among others.
Plot
Most of the song is this story of Florante; the actual events after his story comprise only a few chapters of the epic.The story begins with Florante, the main protagonist who lived in the land of Albanya, tied to a tree. He laments a certain loss of his. Two lions approach to kill him, but he is saved by a Muslim from Persia, Aladin. Thankful, Florante tells the story of how he got there, starting from his childhood.
When he was in the age of 11, his parents sent him to Atenas, Gresya(Athens, Greece). There, he met Adolfo, son of Count Sileno. At that time, Adolfo was known as the greatest student of all but, after 6 years of studying, Florante managed to overtake Adolfo and therefore known as the brightest student. Since then, Adolfo became mad at Florante.
One time, at their school play, Florante and Adolfo was supposed to have a fake fight but, Adolfo took this seriously and was about to strike Florante but, Menandro was able to save Florante just in time. A day after that, Adolfo was forced to go back home to Albanya. After a year, Florante received a letter coming from his father, Duke Briseo, that his mother, Princess Floresca, died.
After 2 months, another letter was sent to Florante, saying that he would need to go back home. Menandro didn't want to leave Florante, so he came with him. By coincidence, when Florante came back to his homeland, the king of Krotona, went to Albanya to ask for aid because of the incoming war with the Persians.
Inside the palace, Florante met Laura, the daughter of King Linseo, King of Albanya.
Coming to the aid of Krotona, Florante fought with General Osmalic for 5 hours, where the opponent dies. He stayed in Krotona for 5 months before going back to Albanya, to see Laura. He was then surprised when he saw another flag , the flag of the Persians, waving in the air. He pursued the palace, claimed Albanya from Aladin, the prince of Persia, saved Duke Briseo, Adolfo, Laura, and King Linceo.
When FLorante was in Etolya, a letter was sent to him, asking if he could go back to his homeland. He did go and received a surprise attack of 30,000 soldiers. He was thrown in the palace prison for 18 days, coming from the orders of Adolfo. It was there he happened to know about his father's and the king's beheading, all because of Adolfo. He was then thrown into the forest, tying him into a akasya tree.
Florante details his relationship with his lover, Laura. Adolfo was jealous of Florante and arranged for Florante to be killed. Aladin tells Florante that he, too, is in similar circumstances--his own father, Sultan Ali-Adab, also deposed Aladin from power, separating him from his beloved Flerida, so he can marry her.
In a remarkable coincidence, when Flerida was finding her beloved Aladin in the forest, she happens to save Laura from Adolfo, who was attempting to rape her by shooting an arrow at Adolfo's back, just as Aladin saved Florante. Florante and Laura return to their home country, Albania, and become the king and queen. Aladin and Flerida are baptized, and they return to Persia to become the next rulers there after Aladin's despotic father dies.
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