Thesis Presentation

Prepared By: Viodor’s Group

Contents
• Title
• Introduction
• Framework
• Methodology
• Results and Discussion
• References
• Curricula Vitae
Title

CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF
ADONIS DURADO’S POEM
“DILI TANANG MATAGAK MAHAGBONG”
Introduction
• Adonis Durado is one of the most prominent
Cebuano poets of the modern times. The
Cebuano poet has published four books of
Cebuano poetry and has been a recipient of
numerous awards.
• Unfortunately, the youth and the young adults
of today are not familiar with Cebuano poetry,
let alone Adonis Durado’s poetry, the same
way they are well-versed in English poetry.
Introduction
• The researchers aim to promote Cebuano
poetry through the critical analysis of Adonis
Durado’s poem “Dili Tanang Matagak
Mahagbong”.
Framework
• This study is anchored on New Criticism
Theory by Ransom (1941) .
• It focuses its attention on the individual work
alone as an independent unit of meaning
(The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d.).
• New Criticism incorporates Formalism as it
examines the relationships between a text's
ideas and its form, between what a text says and
how the text says it (Delahoyde, n.d.).
Framework
• New Criticism emphasizes explication or
"close reading" of the text itself (The Editors of
Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d.).
• Working with patterns of sound, imagery,
narrative structure, point of view, and other
techniques discernible on close reading of the
text, New Critics seek to determine the function
and appropriateness of these to the self-
contained work (Delahoyde, n.d.).
Framework
• The researchers have chosen New Criticism as
the literary theory to be used in this study
because it is one of the frontline theories a
student can use in analyzing poems.
Methodology
• This study will use the qualitative method of
research. This approach reinforces
understanding and interpretation of meaning of
the poem “Dili Tanang Matagak Mahagbong”
(Not All That Drops Falls) by Adonis Durado.
• This study will take its data from the book Dili
Tanang Matagak Mahagbong: Balak (Not All
That Drops Falls: Poetry) by Adonis Durado
published in 2008.
Methodology
• This study will use Adonis Durado’s “Dili
Tanang Matagak Mahagbong” as the primary
source of data. Although this critical analysis
will focus on the original Cebuano text of the
poem, its English translation will also be
referenced for the benefit of the non-
Cebuano readers.
Methodology
• This study will analyze Adonis Durado’s
poem “Dili Tanang Matagak Mahagbong” and
its English translation “Not All That Drops
Falls” by Merlie M. Alunan using the literary
theory New Criticism. The researchers will
seek to identify the theme(s) explored in the
poem. The researchers will also publish an
online article based on the study’s findings.
Results and Discussion
• This study posits that the poem “Dili Tanang
Matagak Mahagbong” (Not All That Drops
Falls) talks about the inherent uncertainty of
life. The poem discusses that not all the time
the law of cause and effect always hold true
to every event – and that sometimes, things
can lead to nothing or in Cebuano idiom
“mahulog sa wala”.
Results and Discussion
• The poem is structured to mimic the musings
of the common man as he/she ponders on
the laws of Nature. It effectively achieves this
intent through its prose poem form. A prose
poem is a composition in prose that, while not
broken into verse lines, demonstrates traits
that are common to poetry such the use of
imageries (Prose Poem, n.d.). It essentially
lacks meter and rhyme, but retains rhythm in
its form.
Results and Discussion
Lines 1-3 Lines 1-3
Pananglit mangalibang ang For instance, flying behind
galupad nga panon sa the clouds a flock of birds
langgam might drop their feces, what
luyo sa libon nga panganod, do you think happens to
unsa kahay mahitabo all that crap? …
ngadto sa
ilang mga iti? …
Results and Discussion
• In lines 1 to 3, the speaker of the poem
opens with an inquiry as to where do waste
materials from flying birds go when they drop.
• True indeed, one often sees birds flying in the
sky, but it is rare to hear of someone
complaining about being pooped on their heads.
These first three lines establish the intent of the
poem – an inquiry to the nature and dynamics of
the law of cause and effect.
Results and Discussion
Lines 3-6 Lines 3-6
… Motaguktok kaha kini og … Will we hear it plop if it
tibuok kung ugaling happens to fall
matungod sa atong atup? O on the roofs of our houses?
mokalit og kahanaw, Or would it just disappear
sama sa like the meteor, turning into
bulalakaw, mangapulpog sa dust before it reaches our
dili pa makaabot sa waiting hands? …
gasawo
tang mga kamot? …
Results and Discussion
• In lines 3 to 6, the speaker of the poem puts
forth two possible scenarios that could
answer his/her inquiry in the first three lines.
• In lines 3 to 6, the speaker wonders whether
those waste materials will fall on the roof or
disintegrate and disappear before reaching
the ground like meteors. The stark contrast
between these two images produces a
haunting effect. The former image depicts
Results and Discussion
a rather common occurrence while the latter
is much cosmic in scope. This contrast is a
subtle cue to the readers that from this point
in the poem, the readers should start looking
at things in a larger sense.
Results and Discussion
Lines 6-9 Lines 6-9
… Di man tingali ang tanang … Not all that drops falls,
matagak ba right? And not all
mahagbong; dili tanang that falls have somewhere
mahulog adunay to go -- not everything
padulngan -- nga that
ang mga butang nga escapes our grasp (or falls
nakabuhi sa atong mga from outer space) ends
kamot (o natagak up
gikan sa wanang) adunay somewhere. …
tugpahan. …
Results and Discussion
• In lines 6 to 9, the speaker of the poem
metaphorically states the theme of the poem –
that not all that drops falls – which is also the
poem’s title. In a literal sense, this translates to
the fact that not all cause produces an effect and
that some efforts and endeavors can result to
nothing.
Results and Discussion
Lines 9-15 Lines 9-14
… Aw, swerti lang tingali … Well, the man in the parachute is
nang tawng gaparasyut kay mitugpa fortunate
sa atup. Swerti lang for landing on the rooftop. The kite cut
ang nabugto nga tabanog kay from its string is
nasangit sa poste sa iskina; lucky for snagging on the electric post
ang nangapunggak nga mga bunga at the corner; the
sa mangga nga nasapupu mangoes fallen from their twigs that
sa gisawo mong palda; o ang taligksik you caught with
ba ron sa uwan nga your skirt; the rain which fell into an
nasawod sa basiyong lata -- ug kining empty tincan --
tanan, gumikan pa all these, because of that law of
niining balaod sa pisika. … physics. …
Results and Discussion
• In lines 9 to 15 (lines 9 to 14 in the English
translation), the speaker presents the readers
with a succession of imageries depicting
situations where a causative event produced the
expected effect because of the laws of natural
science.
• In lines 9 to 15 (lines 9 to 14), speaker uses the
words “swerti” twice in the original text and
“fortunate” and “lucky” in the English translation,
connoting the speaker’s belief in the concept of
Results and Discussion
luck. Even in the midst of the absoluteness of
the laws of natural science, one can’t always rely
on them to ensure the possibility of an outcome.
In real life, people in parachutes don’t always
land on safe places. Kites cut from their strings
don’t always get snagged on electric posts, and
instead, sometimes they get lost with the wind.
One can’t always catch fallen mangoes, and
while one can catch some raindrops in a
container, majority of them falls on the ground.
Results and Discussion
Lines 15-20
… Apan, diin man kuno
minglagapak
ang imong katawa dihang lanog
mong gipalukso sa karaang
atabay? Diin tugpa ang mga
ngalan, pulong nga nakaipsot
sa imong baba, apan way dunggan
nga nakasakmit? Hain
dad-a sa hangin -- kung wa man
gani lamya sa bakunawa --
ang nakabuhing balon sa mga
bata? …
Lines 14-20
… Now, where
do you think did your laughter go
when you made it
echo inside an old well? Where did
all the names, the
words go, once they escaped your
lips and no ears to
grab them? Where did the wind -- if
the bakunawa had
not swallowed them -- take all the
balloons that slipped
away from the children's grip? …
Results and Discussion
• In lines 15 to 20 (lines 14 to 20 in the English
translation), the speaker of the poem makes the
readers ponder on life situations wherein the law
of cause and effect doesn’t seem to hold.
• In lines 15 to 20 (lines 14 to 20 in the English
translation), the speaker has presented more
thought-provoking questions by presenting more
profound situations that supports the poem’s
theme. In real life, when sound is made to echo
inside a well, the sound waves will reverberate
Results and Discussion
until they fade into silence. Modern science
already has an explanation for this
phenomenon, but approaching these things in a
simpler, more childlike manner, one can ask,
“Where did the sound go?” And then, the
speaker talks about spoken words. In a utilitarian
sense, if things are as good as their utility, then
words are vain and useless when there are no
ears to hear them.
Results and Discussion
• On the other hand, the moon disappearing from
the night sky is one of the greatest wonders of
nature. It is now a common knowledge that there
are no mythical creatures such as the bakunawa
that swallows the moon during a lunar eclipse as
our ancient ancestors believed. Nonetheless,
lunar eclipses remain to this day as one of the
natural curious occurrences. Going back to the
balloon, the speaker is clearly establishing an
analogy between the moon and the balloon due
Results and Discussion
to their round shape. And to complete the
analogy, disappearing balloons into the sky is
also one of the greatest mysteries of childhood.
Again, modern science already has an
explanation as to where balloons that slipped off
children’s grip go. These balloons burst before
they can exit Earth’s atmosphere. Going back to
the theme of the poem, these balloons cease to
exist long before they can escape into the outer
space as most people expect them to be.
Results and Discussion
Furthermore, the stark contrast between the
balloon and moon images is, again, another
subtle reminder to the readers to keep looking at
things in a grander scale.
Results and Discussion
Lines 20-25
… Abir, kinsa'y nasayod,
nga ang nahiplos mong singsing
nga milayat kaniadto sa
lawod, kay hangtud karon,
gapadayon lang gihapon sa
iyang
pagka-unlod? Gani, buot kong
hunahunaon karon, nga ang
mga kalag niadtong managtratong
gahikog sa pangpang,
kay naungot ug galutaw lang
gihapon sa wanang.
Lines 20-25
… Tell me, who knows
about the ring which dropped
from your hands into the
sea, which until now may still be
sinking sinking into
the depths? I am of the opinion
that the souls of those
lovers who killed themselves by
jumping off a cliff are
still floating floating stuck in
space.
Results and Discussion
• In the last six lines, lines 20 to 25, the speaker
concludes the poem with another contrasting
pair of haunting images: a ring that fell into the
sea and the souls of lovers seemingly unable to
pass on to the afterlife after committing suicide.
• In lines 20 to 25, the speaker talks about how a
ring that fell into the depths of the sea could still
yet be sinking. Considering the scientific
concepts of buoyancy, density, and water
currents, this possibility cannot be totally ruled
Results and Discussion
out. Indeed, not all that is dropped into the sea
sinks into the bottom as most people often
expect them to be. On the other hand, the stuck
souls of who killed themselves can be an
allusion to Dante’s Divine Comedy. In the
Inferno, famous lovers who killed themselves out
of love were condemned to drift forever as they
are buffeted back and forth by violent winds in
the Second Circle of Hell. Or, it can be a
reference to the local belief that those who died
Results and Discussion
of suicide won’t be able to pass on to the
afterlife. Either way, these souls remain stuck
and are unable to pass on to where they’re
supposed to go, which is another nod to the
poem’s theme.
Results and Discussion
• The poem made no attempts in hiding its theme.
Although stated in a metaphorical way, the
theme of the poem is explicitly stated in the
poem’s title. Not all that drops really falls. While
some things can become lost in transit, some
things can fade to nothingness. And sometimes,
some external force can cause things to forever
drift and become stuck instead.
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Thank You!