Monday, January 24, 2005

Any Woman Speaks

Angela Manalang Gloria was born in Pampanga, and is known for being a lyrical poet, incorporating rhyme and rhythm in her poems. In Any Woman Speaks, the persona describes seeing something particularly magnificent in a passing stranger, reminiscent of the story, the 100% Perfect Girl on an April Morning.

Maria Therese Boniface Roxas

ANY WOMAN SPEAKS
A.M. Gloria

Half of the world's true glamour
Is held--you know by whom?
Not by the gilt Four Hundred
Parading in perfume,

Nor by the silvered meteors
That light the celluloid sky--
But by these eyes that called you,
Blind fool who passed me by!

Source: http://pinoylit.webmanila.com/filipinowriters/amgloria.htm

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

We can see from this poem that the persona expresses his/her admiration to a stranger by making him/her shine above everyone and everything else. The persona transforms the passing stranger from a complete unknown to someone he regards as the most imporant person in the world. However we see the persona's disappointment when the stranger just passes him by without realizing that he/she is revered by that person as the most valuable person in the world.

-Juan Paolo S. Bermundo

Anonymous said...

as i see it, the persona's pride is very high. eventhough she praises the passerby, she calls the person a fool for not noticing her. she believes that she's still "above" that person.

-luigi singson R16

Anonymous said...

I shall release the feminist in me. We can see that the persona wants the passer-by to notice her (her, because of the title). She compared herself with other great things such as meteors and the cellulloid sky and the perfume parade, and considered herself as "above" those things because "half of the world's true glamour is held by her eyes." It shows that she craves for attention. And since the title is ANY WOMAN SPEAKS, the speaker could be any woman. The poem somewhat generalizes the feminine crowd by characterizing them as vain or self-absorbed.
-michelle papina
friend of james sta. isabel