LITERARY ANALYSIS OF “ADARNA”

A Midterm Output for Philippine Literature (in English)

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I. Literary Selection: “Adarna”

II. Adaptation By: Vlad Gonzales
III. Direction: Jose Estrella
IV. Genre
V. Settings
VI. Characters
VII. Plot
VIII. Point of View
IX. Conflict
X. Theme
XI. Reflection

IV. Genre

The “Ibong Adarna”, which was the play adapted from is a kind of fantasy
epic. It is because it involves magic, mythological creatures. The theatrical
adaptation of “Adarna” can be deduced as a melodrama that has some
elements of comedy into it, maybe, an attempt from the production team to
make the story of the play not too serious, as it was on the literary version. It
contains the elements found in melodramas, like the hero, who is most of the
time, fearless (like Don Juan), heroine, or the romantic interest of the hero;
usually the one that the hero saves (portrayed by Donya Leonora, Donya
Juana, and Donya Maria Blanca), villain, who, usually likes the heroine too
(in this case, Don Pedro, and King Salermo, although he is the heroine’s
father in the book two of the story) and villain's sidekick (that typically gets
in the way of or annoys the villain). The play appeals to the emotions of the
audience to make it more “dramatic”. It also features musical numbers
throughout the play (after all, the Adarna bird is supposed to sing  ).

V. Settings

In the part one of the theatrical adaptation of the epic “Ibong Adarna”, the
events are set in a fictional kingdom called Berbania. It is where some of the
main characters of the story came from. The tree of Pierdas Platas in Mount
Tabor is where the Adarna nests. It also includes Armenia, where the magical
well is located, where Don Juan, the protagonist found and rescued Donya
Juana and her sister, Donya Leonora.

In the part two of the story, the events are now set in the kingdom of Reyno
de Los Cristales (literally meaning ‘Kingdom of Crystals’), which is ruled by
King Salermo. It is where Don Juan found Donya Maria Blanca and fell in
love with her. After a series of challenges made by King Salermo to Don
Juan, the protagonist and Donya Maria Blanca returned to Berbania to
introduce his newfound love to his parents.

VI. Characters
A. Major characters

Don Juan – the protagonist in the story. The youngest of the three sons of
King Fernando and Reyna Valeriana. He is the favorite son of the king
among his brother; this makes Don Pedro envious of him.

King Fernando – the king of Berbania. He is the father of Don Juan who
found the mythical bird Adarna.

Queen Valeriana – the queen of Berbania. She is the mother of Don Juan.

Don Pedro – the eldest of the three sons of King Fernando and Reyna
Valeriana. He always envies his brother Don Juan for being the favorite son
of his father, King Fernando.

Don Diego – the second born son of King Fernando and Reyna Valeriana. He
has no decision of his own, and always follows what his older brother prince
told him to do.

Donya Leonora – one of two “princesses” found by Don Juan at the bottom
of the well. Also one of love interest of Don Juan in the story.

Donya Juana – one of two “princesses” found by Don Juan at the bottom of
the well. She is the elder sister of Donya Leonora, one of love interests of
Don Juan in the story.

Donya Maria Blanca – the princess of the kingdom of Reyno de Los

Cristales. Daughter of King Salermo, this princess is one of love interests of
Don Juan in the story.

King Salermo – the king and ruler of the kingdom of Reyno de Los Cristales.
Father of Donya Maria Blanca, he set the challenges for Don Juan as a way
of proving the young prince worthy of his daughter’s love.

B. Minor characters.

Medico (the medic) – the person assigned to cure King Fernando’s

mysterious illness. He is the one who told the king that hearing the lullaby
sung by the mythical bird called Adarna is the only way to cure their father’s
illness, as it is said that those sick people who hear the bird sing its lullaby
recovers from any illness.

Old Hermit (Ermitanyo) – The one who advised Don Juan on how to
successfully capture the mythical bird Adarna.

The Giant – the one the holds Donya Juana in captivity. Slayed by Don Juan
to rescue Donya Juana.

Serpiente – a magical serpent with seven heads. The one who holds Donya
Leonora in captivity. Slayed by Don Juan with the aid of Donya Leonora in
order to rescue the latter.

VII. Plot
Once upon a time, there was a kingdom named, Berbania. It was ruled by
King Fernando and Queen Valeriana who had three sons – Don Pedro (first
born), Don Diego (second) and Don Juan (the youngest). One night, King
Fernando had a bad dream. He saw that his youngest son and his favorite,
Don Juan was thrown away in a deep well. The King started to get sick for
unknown reasons. The medics tried to bring the King to his normal being, but
to no avail. His medic (Medico) told him that the only way for him to get
back to normal being is to hear a lullaby sung by a mythical bird called
Adarna found in Mount Tabor. So King Fernando tasked his firstborn son to
hunt for the said bird. Don Pedro went first and he reached the tree of Pierdas
Platas, but he did not know that this is the tree where the Adarna nests during
the night, and when the bird sung its lullaby, the prince fell asleep. When the
bird finished singing its lullaby, it pooped on Don Pedro and therefore
turning him into stone. The second prince, Don Diego went to hunt next.
Unfortunately, he had the same unfortunate fate like his older brother. The
kingdom was counting on Don Juan, so he went next.

The youngest prince has climbed through Mount Tabor. On the way, he met
an old hermit (or Ermitanyo) which he helped, and in return, gave him tips
about the magical tree of Piedras Platas and catching the Adarna bird. Don
Juan successfully caught the bird and helped his two brothers to be human
again. Because of envy towards their young brother, Don Pedro and Don
Diego conspired to beat Don Juan to death and the two then returned home
with the Adarna. However, the king’s illness went worse because the bird,
which saw the two princes what they did to Don Juan, never sang a single
song. Fortunately, Don Juan has been healed by the old hermit he helped in
the mountain and came back to Berbania. King Fernando has known the truth
when the bird started singing after seeing Don Juan and the king went well
and stronger than ever. He wanted to punish his two sons but Don Juan asked
his father to just forgive them for the sake of their family. The King granted
his request and asked the three princes to guard the Adarna bird during the
night. But instead of taking turns in guarding the bird, Don Pedro and Don
Diego tasked Don Juan to guard the bird alone, making him tired and
eventually fell asleep. The two princes connived again to free the bird in an
attempt to put Don Juan into bad light by letting the bird escape. Don Juan
went away from the kingdom so the king won’t punish his brother. King
Fernando asked the two princes to look for Don Juan. They found him in
Armenia. They decided to live there. One day they found an interesting well.
Only Don Juan went down inside successfully. He found two lovely
princesses, Donya Juana and Donya Leonora which is held captive by a giant
and a magical serpent. Because of his skills in fighting, the mighty prince has
killed the giant and the serpent and saved the two princesses. Don Pedro
again, envied his young brother. When Donya Leonora asked Don Juan to
retrieve the princess’ ring she forgot inside the well, Don Juan obliged and
went back into the well. But Don Pedro cut the rope tied to Don Juan, leaving
him no chance to get back up above. The two brothers returned to Berbania
with the two princesses. Donya Juana eventually fell in love with Don Diego
and they got married. On the other hand, Don Pedro did everything to woo
Donya Leonora but to no avail because the princess loves Don Juan so much.
Meanwhile, an enchanted fox helped Don Juan and was healed. The Adarna
bird appeared suddenly and told him about the princess of Reyno de Los
Cristales, the woman destined for the young prince. He rode an eagle and
flew to the magical kingdom. He immediately searched for the princess and
found Donya Maria Blanca, bathing in a pool. The young prince immediately
fell in love with the princess, but her father, King Salermo insists that the
young prince must first prove himself worthy of her daughter’s love. In spite
of the “impossible” challenges the cruel king has given him, he faced them
all and succeeded with the help of Donya Maria Blanca who eventually fell in
love with the young prince. Because of this, the king got mad, and the two
lovers tried to flee Reyno de Los Cristales. Donya Maria Blanca was cursed
by his father to be forgotten by the prince Don Juan. The two planned to
return to Berbania separately, with Don Juan going first so that he can
arrange a welcoming party for Donya Maria Blanca which the princess
agreed. Don Juan has returned to Berbania where he was welcomed by his
mother, Queen Valeriana and Princess Leonora. He has forgotten about
Maria Blanca because of Princess Leonora. Don Juan and Princess Leonora
were scheduled to wed. At the day of the wedding, Donya Maria Blanca
visited wearing the “emperatris”. She tried to bring back all the memories and
remind Don Juan about their love. Finally, Don Juan remembered Donya
Maria Blanca, their struggles at the hands of King Salermo’s challenges to
Don Juan, and their love for each other. Don Juan decided to marry Donya
Maria Blanca, while Don Pedro who waited a long time for Donya Leonora
to give his love for the princess a chance failed in winning Donya Leonora’s
heart and the princess, together with Donya Juana left the kingdom of
Berbania. Don Juan returned to Reyno de Los Cristales with Donya Maria
Blanca to spend the rest of their lives as the new king and queen of Reyno de
Los Cristales.

VIII. Point of View.

I could say that the story of the “Adara” is mostly in 3rd person point of
view, with some exceptions of the narrations done by the narrator in some
parts of the story. The plot is unfolding as the play goes on, as what I’ve seen
in the play.

IX. Conflict
a. Major Conflicts
1. The hunting for Adarna – this task was first assigned to Don Pedro, then
Don Diego, but they failed in capturing the mythical bird. Only Don Juan
successfully captured Adarna. Because of this, his two brothers conspired in
get ridding of their young brother out of their envy. However, the old hermit
whom Don Juan helped earlier treated his injuries and the prince went back to
Berbania. Because the bird witnessed what the two “evil” brothers did to Don
Juan, it later told in the palace what really took place in the mountains and
King Fernando wants to punish his two sons, but Don Juan requests his father
not to, as for the sake of their own family which his father obliged.

2. The challenges by King Salermo to Don Juan – the series of challenges

imposed by King Salermo to Don Juan is almost impossible to accomplish,
without the help of Donya Maria Blanca.

3. The supposed wedding of Don Juan and Donya Leonora – after returning
from Reyno de Los Cristales, Don Juan is set to marry Donya Leonora, who
waited for years for the young prince to come back to Berbania. But at the
wedding ceremony, Donya Maria Blanca shows up and reminded Don Juan
(through a “magic 3D powepoint presentation”) of their hardships with
Donya Maria Blanca, and their love. Don Juan is suddenly confronted with a
problem, who is he going to marry among the two princesses. Don Juan
ended up marrying Donya Maria Blanca and the newly-wed couple returned
to Reyno de Los Cristales and ruled the kingdom which the princess inherited
the throne from King Salermo.

b. Minor Conflicts

1. Rescuing the two princesses from the well – Don Juan found Donya Juana
first, being held captive by a giant. He slayed the giant and freed Donya
Juana, but she told the young prince that her sister, Donya Leonora was being
held by a magical serpent. So the young prince went back down the well to
fight the serpent holding Donya Leonora and rescues the princess after
slaying the serpent.
X. Theme

a. Sibling Rivalry
King Fernando has three sons, of which, Don Juan was his favorite. Because
of this, Don Pedro and Don Diego got envious of their young brother, and
always find ways to discredit so that their young brother would be blame if
anything wrong happens (like the Adarna “escaping” out of its cage). When
Don Juan succeeded in capturing the Adarna, his two brothers connived to
get rid of Don Juan while trying to get the credit for capturing the bird.
However, the old man whom Don Juan helped while on his way to the Mount
Tabor helped him and treated his injuries, enabling him to return to Berbania.

b. Triumph of Good over Evil

I could say that the serpent holding Donya Leonora in the “world at bottom
of the well” represent evil in the book 1 of the story. As we all know,
serpents are usually associated with evil in literature (like the story of the
serpent who tricked Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden which is found in
The Bible). In the story of “Adarna”, the serpent had magical powers than
enables it to grow the head that was previously chopped down. To save the
princess, Don Juan killed the serpent with the help of a magical blade given
to him by Donya Leonora.

In the book 2 of the “Adarna”, King Salermo gave Don Juan seven tests in
order to prove that the young prince is worthy of Donya Maria Blanca, the
king’s daughter. However, the tests given to him were humanely impossible,
like moving mountains in a day. But Don Juan eventually succeeded in
accomplishing the tests given to him, with the help of Donya Maria Blanca
and her magic, but King Salermo still refuses to let this daughter marry the
young prince. Don Juan and Donya Maria Blanca eloped, but King Salermo
cursed Don Juan for him to forget the princess, and the times they spent
together at Reyno de Los Cristales. However, Don Juan was able to
remember Donya Maria Blanca when the princess attended the supposed
wedding of Don Juan and Donya Leonora, by bringing his memories of their
love for each other and the times of hardships they spent together. In the end,
Don Juan bid his parents goodbye and went with Donya Maria Blanca back
to Reyno de Los Cristales to rule the kingdom the princess inherited from his
father.

c. Love and Faithfulness

Don Juan has this trait that makes him fall in love easily with beautiful
women. After seeing Donya Juana in distress, he immediately rescued her
from the giant, which made the two fell in love really fast. However, when
told by Donya Juana that her sister, Donya Leonora was still in “the world at
the bottom of the well”, Don Juan went back down and found Donya
Leonora. Don Juan also fell in love with this princess for she is indeed
beautiful. Eventually, Don Juan settled with Donya Leonora, and Donya
Juana went to Don Diego’s arms. When Don Juan arrived at Reyno de Los
Cristales, he saw Donya Maria Blanca bathing in a swimming pool and felt
love at first sight of the beautiful princess. He faced the tests given to him by
King Salermo to prove that the prince is worthy of the princess’s love. Donya
Maria Blanca eventually fell in love with the young prince and even eloped
King Salermo and Reyno de Los Cristales to return to Berbania. However,
the curse of King Salermo on the couple took effect when he returned to
Berbania. The young prince is set to marry Donya Leonora who he left
behind years ago, but Donya Maria Blanca tried to restore Don Juan’s
memories with her and succeeded. Don Juan eventually chose to be with
Donya Maria Blanca, after realizing the he and Donya Maria Blanca spent the
good times and the bad while they were in Reyno de Los Cristales.
XI. Reflection
The play “Adarna” by Vlad Gonzales tells a story a bit different from its
literary counterpart. However, the morals of the story remain the same. It tells
us that in the end, the good guys triumph over evil, to decide by following
what’s in your heart, and to be faithful. The scene at the wedding ceremony
where Don Juan is set to marry Donya Leonora, when Donya Maria Blanca
arrived is the part of the story that struck me the most. This scene made me
realize that a person must follow what’s in his/her heart, and not what the
people around him tells him what to do.