QUEZON CITY, Philippines (Eagle News) — The world’s most popular search engine features today a prominent figure in Philippine literature.
Google honors the 230th birth anniversary of Francisco Balagtas, one of the Philippines’ greatest literary laureates through an illustration of his most popular piece- the epic poem, “Florante at Laura,” displayed on its homepage.
Balagtas wrote Florante at Laura in a poetic format using figures of speech and specific rhythm and rhyme scheme.
This masterpiece was inspired by his own life journey, as he wrote the epic poem during his imprisonment. One of his inspirations was María Asunción Rivera, whom he met in Pandacan and fell in love with, before he was imprisoned. She eventually served the muse for his future works. She is referred to as ‘Selya’ and ‘MAR’ in Florante at Laura.
According to his biography, one of the young lady’s suitors and Balagtas’ rival, a certain Mariano Capule, caused the imprisonment of the Filipino poet by using his wealth to pin him down using false charges.
While the predominant literature at the time was in Spanish, Balagtas wrote his poems in the Tagalog language, and published “Florante at Laura” upon his release from prison in 1838.
Balagtas was born on April 2, 1788, in Balagtas, Bulacan. He passed away on February 20, 1862, at the age of 74.
Google Doodle regularly acknowledges notable figures or significant events from all parts of the world.
(Jodi Bustos, Eagle News Service)
