Literary Analysis of Amado V.

Hernandezs
Isang Dipang Langit
(An Arms Length Piece of the Sky)

By Manuel M. Avenido, Jr.

MA in Literature
Cebu Normal University
December 04, 2010

Philippines is gifted of numerous remarkable writers (fictionists, poets,

essayists, dramatists, etc.) whose masterpieces still echo through ages. From
Balagtas to Rizal to Nick Joaquin and even to the writers in this postmodern time,
our country is at par in richness of literature to that of other countries.
For three centuries of colonization by Spain, our country has produced myriad
literary writings with every drop of bloods and every life offered by our forefathers.
History would say that most writings during the Spanish era here in our country
were mostly about Filipino outcries for oppression and tyranny. Hence, it paved way
to the birth of Rizals eternal novels: the Noli Me Tangere and the El Filibusterismo deemed to be the chief grounds to a huge and bloody revolution in Philippine
history.
On the other hand, during the Japanese invasion in the country in the World
War II, it is said that history repeated itself. Filipinos were battling against the
oppression and occupation of the Japanese here in our country. Influenced by the
fortitude of our heroes who fought against the Spaniards and inspired by the genius
of our artists, many Filipino writers had emerged from silence and voiced out their
grievances and uproars through beautiful poems, poignant essays, and satirical
fictions and plays.
Among the renowned writers that time was Amado V. Hernandez, a work
leader and freedom fighter and Philippine National Artist for Literature.

A True-Blooded Son of Arts: Knowing Hernandez

Amado V. Hernandez was born in Tondo, Manila on September 13, 1903. Most of his
masterpieces centered on his social and political beliefs which was said to be
brought by his experience as an intelligence officer for the underground guerilla
resistance during the Japanese invasion in the country in the 1940s. He won the
Philippine Commonwealth Award for a nationalist historical epic, Pilipinas, in 1939
and his collec-tion of mainly traditional poems, Kayumanggi, won in 1940.

His acquaintance with the guerillas from the HUKBALAHAP (Hukbong Bayan Laban
sa mga Hapon) is
said to influence his ideals on communism. He played an active role in promoting
freedom and equality for the Filipinos in the 1940s and 50s. Due to his vigilant
effort in uplifting the rights of the Filipinos, he was imprisoned at the New Bilibid
from 1951 to 1956 where he wrote Luha ng Buwaya and Mga Ibong Mandaragit.
Hernandez wrote several poems, short stories, plays, and essays. To name a few of
his works: poems - Sariling Hardin (My Own Garden), Isang Dipang Langit (An
Arms Length Piece of the Sky), Bartolina (Solitary Confinement), Kung Tuyo Na
ang Luha Mo Aking Bayan (When Your Tears Dry Up, My Country); short stories
Walang Lunas (No More Remedy) and Langaw sa Isang Basong Gatas (Fly in a Glass
of Milk); plays Hagdan sa Bahaghari (Stairway to the Rainbow) and Ang mga
Kagalang-galang (The Vene-rables); and essays Si Atang at ang Dulaan (Atang
and the Theater) and Si Jose Corazon de Jesus at ang Ating Panulaan (Jose
Corazon de Jesus and Our Poetry).

Viewing the Formalistic Style

Formalism as an Objective theory focuses on the content and the elements

present in a literary text. Amado V. Hernandez, as a remarkable poet, followed the
formalistic style on his poem Isang Dipang Langit (Muntinlupa Prison; April 22,
1952):

Ako'y ipiniit ng linsil na puno

I am held by an evil leader

hangad palibhasang diwa ko'y piitin,

seeking to cage my thoughts

katawang marupok, aniya'y pagsuko,

a body weak, he says, is surrender,

damdami'y supil na't mithiin ay supil.

hindered.

emotions suppressed, advocacy

Ikinulong ako sa kutang malupit:

bato, bakal, punlo, balasik ng bantay;
lubos na tiwalag sa buong daigdig
at inaring kahit buhay man ay patay.

Sa munting dungawan, tanging abot-malas

consolation

I am kept in a cruel place:

rock, steel, bullets, ferocious guards;
isolated from the world
alive, treated as dead.

From the little window, my sole

ay sandipang langit na puno ng luha,

of tears,

is an arm's length piece of the sky, full

maramot na birang ng pusong may sugat,

wounded heart,

a paltry handkerchief to dress a

watawat ng aking pagkapariwara.

flag of my misfortune.

Sintalim ng kidlat ang mata ng tanod,

eyes,

Sharp as lightning are the guards'

sa pintong may susi't walang makalapit;

can go near;

at the gates, with keys, no one

sigaw ng bilanggo sa katabing moog,

the scream from a nearby cell

anaki'y atungal ng hayop sa yungib.

resembles a cave animal's howl.

Ang maghapo'y tila isang tanikala

na kala-kaladkad ng paang madugo

Days pass like a chain

dragged along by bloody feet,

ang buong magdamag ay kulambong luksa

sorrow

the nights are a blanket of

ng kabaong waring lungga ng bilanggo.

jail.

in the coffin-like realm of the

Kung minsa'y magdaan ang payak na yabag, Sometimes, quiet footsteps pass,
kawil ng kadena ang kumakalanding;

with a line of rattling, clinking chains;

sa maputlang araw saglit ibibilad,

exposed,

to the pale sun momentarily

sanlibong aninong iniluwa ng dilim.

a thousand shadows escape.

Kung minsan, ang gabi'y biglang magulantang

awakened

Sometimes, the night is

sa hudyat - may takas! - at asod ng punlo;

gunfire!

by an alarm - an escapee! -

kung minsa'y tumangis ang lumang batingaw,

sometimes the old bell cries,

sa bitayang moog, may naghihingalo.

dying.

at the execution den, someone lies

At ito ang tanging daigdig ko ngayon bilangguang mandi'y libingan ng buhay;

the living;

And this is my only world nowthe prison house, a graveyard of

sampu, dalawampu, at lahat ng taon

ten, twenty, and all of my years

ng buong buhay ko'y dito mapipigtal.

my whole life will be here.

Nguni't yaring diwa'y walang takot-hirap

fear nor agony

But a resolute mind knows not

at batis pa rin itong aking puso:

and hope still springs in my heart:

piita'y bahagi ng pakikilamas,

imprisonment is part of the struggle,

mapiit ay tanda ng di pagsuko.

jail, the fate of the embattled.

Ang tao't Bathala ay di natutulog

Man and God do not sleep

at di habang araw ang api ay api,

oppressed,

the unfortunate won't stay

tanang paniniil ay may pagtutuos,

tyranny has a price to pay,

habang may Bastilya'y may bayang gaganti.

will resist.

while a Bastille exists, people

At bukas, diyan din, aking matatanaw

see

And tomorrow, in this very place, I will

sa sandipang langit na wala nang luha,

with no more tears,

an arm's length piece of the sky

sisikat ang gintong araw ng tagumpay...

shine...

the golden sun of victory will

layang sasalubong ako sa paglaya!

free, freedom I'll embrace!

Almost all of Hernandezs literary works, including this poem, used the
Filipino language (Tagalog) which became his niche. Isang Dipang Langit is a
beautiful eleven-stanza poem composed of 4 lines (quatrains) that tells us about the
pains, sufferings, and hope of a prisoner.
The poem follows 12 meters or beats all throughout the lines from start to
finish. Moreover, it has rhymes at every end of the lines which do not necessarily
made use of words having same letters on the last syllable but rather, employed
words likely similar in sound.

Since the poem was written by Hernandez when he was imprisoned in

Muntinlupa, the poetic vision talks about the personas (evidently Hernandez
himself) physical, psychological, and emotional struggles inside his cell. The
speakers internal pain and fear of torture and death rolled in one is clearly
manifested by this line: ang buong magdamag ay kulambong luksa ng kabaong
waring lungga ng bilanggo (the nights are a blanket of sorrow in the coffin-like
realm of the jail).
The poem is embedded also with various imageries as evident in the lines: Ang
maghapo'y tila isang tanikala na kala-kaladkad ng paang madugo (Days pass like a
chain dragged along by bloody feet) and maramot na birang ng pusong may sugat,
watawat ng aking pagkapariwara (a paltry handkerchief to dress a wounded heart,
flag of my misfortune).
Notably, Hernandez, among other modern writers, wrote this poem in the traditional
way making him more as a structuralist. Hernandezs diction or choice of words in
this poem was artistically made choosing the raw and the best words to come up a
pictorial vein. The poems tone streams from melancholic to fearsome and to
oblivion. But the last stanza would tell us that despite of the anguish and fears,
hope is still at hand!
The Poem Based on Reality
Like Hernandezs novel Luha ng Buwaya which he wrote when he was imprisoned in
Muntinlupa, the poem Isang Dipang Langit also was written inside the jail as
discussed in the preceding paragraphs. The poem seemed to be the writers
imaginative diary that narrated all that happened around him. Mimetic theory as
defined considers literary works as an imitation, a copy, or a representation of
whatever it copies in nature or to the world. The mere fact that Hernandez wrote
this poem while he was inside the jail gives us the idea that he is probably
possessed by a madness and not in control of himself when he writes (Adams,
1971).
On the readers or critics point of view, we locate the meanings of the images
portrayed in the poem in the nature it imitates and copies. We have this collective
consciousness as human beings and this is the reason why we think similarly with
other people regardless of location, race, affiliations, and other factors.
Mimetic criticism can be approached by archetypes. The archetypes present in
Hernandezs poems are as follow: rock, steel, and bullets (can be read on second
stanza) which apparently prevalent in conventional jails and are symbolizing fierce
and violations; the golden sun (at the last stanza) means hope and aspiration; and
sky which means freedom, a wide space to fly like a bird, and a solitary.

Attacking the Emotions

Expressive theory considers the literary work as an expression of the authors
innermost being. Here in this poem, we can venture onto the depths and to the

bowels of the heart of the persona. As the poem progresses, we seem also to
journey into different levels of emotions with the persona.
The lines Sa munting dungawan, tanging abot-malas ay sandipang langit
na puno ng luha (From the little window, my sole consolation is an arm's length
piece of the sky, full of tears) and sisikat ang gintong araw ng tagumpay layang
sasalubong ako sa paglaya! (the golden sun of victory will shine... free, freedom I'll
embrace!) entail emotional effects to the readers. The first line tells us of the
personas sadness and sorrows as he was confined in a dark, bitter cell having only
what it seemed to be arms length distance to the sky outside. Here, we, as readers,
show emphatic response to the persona for we also feel the same isolation and
confinement in life. The second line, on the other hand, gives us the hope and
optimism in life as the persona imposes to himself that there can still be a brighter
tomorrow.
The theory also helps us explain the writers social, political, and religious
beliefs. With this poem, we understand more Hernandezs milieu and moments
that he experienced a traumatic and oppressing period in his life. Then, we tend to
agree with his beliefs for we also have experienced same scenarios in life either
literally or figuratively.

Responding to the Emotions

If expressive theory is a tool used by writers to express the emotions present
in their writings, Affective theory, alternatively, is the means for the writers to
convey these emotions to their reader.
Reading Hernandezs poem Isang Dipang Langit gives us so many mixed,
mostly are even unknown to us, emotions. We tend to locate ourselves in setting of
the poem a dark, secluded, and isolated jail where the only voices we can hear are
the cries and the agonies of the prisoners.
Most likely than not, the poem has moved the hearts of the Filipinos from
the times of Japanese occupation and even today. The poem, ultimately, was a
masterpiece to unveil the sufferings and torment not just of the imprisoned Amado
Hernandez but to the rest of the Filipino citizens during his time in the hands of
tyrants.
It successfully delineated the sad reality during that time through the usage
of jail as a symbol for oppression. Nevertheless, Hernandez never failed to give
hope to all of the Filipino citizens on the last stanza of his poem:

And tomorrow, in this very place, I will see

an arm's length piece of the sky with no more tears,
the golden sun of victory will shine...

free, freedom I'll embrace!