Rizals Juventud Essay Example for Free

Rizals Juventud Essay This may seem like a blatant patronization of Rizal, but I like to say: I love this particular work of his. One can bask in the colorful language that he uses in this one. Also, this particular work presents a lot of allegories from which one can try to decipher and understand. And from these ideas we can see what Rizal is trying to say in the poem and in extention what is on his mind. In the first stanza, the writer writes of the Philippine youth as a flower about to bloom yet still a bud. The writer exhorts the flower to look up and shine. As one who has waited for long, the writer has determined that the flower is ready to bloom on this day as stated in the poem. Also the writer refers to the youth as the fair hope of this land. While old people are more experienced, they may have manifested most of their potential and thus about to become a relic of the past. The writer exhorts the youth to fully realize their potential, Manifesting the grace and gallantry of your [youth] line. It is interesting that in the next stanza, the writer asks the Spirit of grandeur to fill them [the youth] with noble meditation. I was half expecting Rizal to write knowledge instead of meditation. Upon some thought, I saw the wisdom in these words. While we continue to shove knowledge into our brains, if we lack discernment what to do with this knowledge, it would be useless and may even be our undoing. The writer exhorts the reader to higher aspirations tempered with cautious meditation lest what we learn may be our own undoing. This in my opinion is very timely. I am about to leave the university. As I go out into the world I shall utilize my knowledge to earn a living and live life itself. However, a meditative attitude should always be present to assess our actions and what is the wisest thing to do as of the moment. The next three stanzas reminds me of Platos cave and the chains that bind. In the cave, man is chained and made to watch the wall and the shadows on the wall. This is what constitutes his world. However, someone comes along and tries to make man see the beauty of the life outside. However, man accustomed to his world is confused with what he sees. This makes him want to return to the cave. In the poem, youth is chained to the wall. His intelligence and genius is shackled away to prevent it from flying. The writer exhorts the reader to smash these chains and see the light. Additionaly, Rizal sees mother Spain as one who tries to make the youth see the light. Instead of returning to the darkness However,unlike Platos cave, the writer sees one who has been fully freed from their chains in their mind. What perplexes me is that the writer writes of one who rises on his fantasy in search of poetry. I am tempted to interpret this as a general search for knowledge since we can say that whatever can be known can be expressed in the poetry of something (e. g biology as poetry of nature, mathematics as poetry of numbers). However, I am not entirely sure of this. But in the spirit of Rizals other writings I can say that this may be true. In the end, the writer exhorts the youthful and skillful musician, sculptor, and the painter to make haste and strive for glory. Because as said in the final stanza, the gains of these people will reflect on the nation itself and in the end will be a blessing to us all. However, in the present situation, I doubt that Rizal would be proud of the youth. Though growing in strength, a majority are still living in their own worlds, oblivious to the world outside. They need to know more about the world and see things for what they actually are. This of course is a challenge for education.