Republic of the Philippines

ILOILO STATE COLLEGE OF FISHERIES

SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES
Tiwi, Barotac Nuevo, Iloilo
ENGLISH 202 - STYLISTICS
STYLISTICS ANALYSIS
BALLAD OF A MOTHERS HEART
By: Jose La Villa Tierra
The night was dark,For the moon was young,
And the Stars were asleep and rare,
The clouds were thick,Yet youth went out,
To see his Maiden fair.
Dear one,He pleaded as he knelt
before her feet in tears,
My love is true,Why have you kept
me waiting all this years?
The maiden looked at him unmoved,
It seemed,and whispered low.
Persistent Youth,you have to prove
By deeds,your love is true.
Theres not a thing I would not do
For you, Beloved said he,
Then go, said she to your mother dear,
And bring her heart to me.
Without another word,Youth left
And went to his mother dear, And oped her
breast and took her heart.
But he did not shed a tear!
Then back to his Maiden fair,He ran
Unmindful of the rain;
But his feet slipped, And down he fell,
And loud he groaned in pain.
Still in his hand he held the prize,
That would win his Maidens hands;
But he thought of his mother dear,
So kind, so sweet, so fond.
And then,he heard a voice,not from
his lips,but all apart;
Get up! it said,Were you hurt, Child?
It was his mothers heart.

This poem entirely depicts the great essence of Love. The poem utilizes third
person narration and tells a brief tale of a love struck young man willing to betray
his mother for a fair maiden. Biographically, La Tierra who was born in
Atimonan,Quezon states in his philosophy that No man is truly educated until he has
learned his two Rs which are right and wrong.La Tierra wrote the ballad stating that
he adapted the poem from a popular folktale.
Mothers know best. This is true among all of us and the great and unconditional

love of a mother to her children was simply beyond compare. The poem simply tags our
vivid culture about how passionate and how great the love of parents are. The picture
that the poem would like to present to us is the strong relationship between the
mother and her child. This is true and was proven by theories like that of Freud, that
most sons are attached to their mothers and most daughters get attached to their
fathers. These Oedipus and Electra complex relationships among fathers and mothers
gave us the basis to quantify and measure how every son and daughter develop deep
relationship towards their parents.
The ballad, in our own point of view uses varied literary styles and techniques. It
uses short, precise prose with no apparent rhyming pattern and shifting meter. Though
there is no regular rhyming pattern but there is a distinct rhyme in every stanza.
Across all stanzas, the use of figurative language was emphasized to depict clear
images and vivid situations, like for example,
the stars were asleep and rare. the poet uses personification.
the night was dark, for the moon was young. here, the poet uses metaphor.
he oped her break and took her heart. uses hyperbole.
Still in his hand he held the prize. uses alliteration.
These figurative languages open every readers sensory images to give clear
pictures of the poets message that he would like to convey to the readers. The tone
of the poem is to deliver a culturally - based experiences of the Filipinos. It
expresses the idea of how genuine and unconditional the love of a mother to her child
despite of what he had done, hurting her mother in order to win his maidens heart.
Symbolism, imagery and emotional impact were very evident in the run of the poem.In
this particular stanzas, imagery is visible.
Dear one,He pleaded as he knelt
before her feet in tears,
My love is true,Why have you kept
me waiting all this years?
The maiden looked at him unmoved,
It seemed,and whispered low.
Persistent Youth,you have to prove
By deeds,your love is true.
Theres not a thing I would not do
For you, Beloved said he,
Then go, said she to your mother dear,
And bring her heart to me.
Clear and vivid picture of two lovers conversing to each other, how the persistent
youth pleaded in tears and how the maiden has challenged him to show his love towards
her through his actions or deeds. Through this, the maiden can ensure how true his
love is. There,the challenge symbolizes how persistent a lover can be. The challenge
basically tests the young mans determination and persistence to pursue his love
towards the maiden.

The structure of the poem on other hand is presented in a form of stanzas composed
of 4 lines or quartet. Since the poet uses irregular rhyming pattern, the meaning of
the lines conveyed were unpredictable and in the poem itself there is an element of
abruptness. The transition of the scenes as picture out in every stanzas is dramatic
in the sense that the lines and the message it convey is told in a not straightforward
manner.
Hence, a ballad is a lyric narrative poem that tells a story most often about love
and displays distinct characters and strikes the emotions of the readers.Therefore,
the poet made use of the ballad as a form of writing a narrative poem to depict the
clear theme, message and imagery he wanted to express to his readers.
As a whole, the poem tells us the unconditional love of a mother to her child. The
essence of a woman is highlighted in the poem. Just being a woman is Gods gift that
all of us must appreciate, the origin of a child is a mother and is a woman. She shows
a man what sharing, caring and loving is all about and that is the essence of a woman.
And a mother is a woman.
Reporters:
ROMNICK T. SANCADA

MA. ANA FATIMA S. TORREVERDE

MARLENE L. PINEDA

NESTOR PAUL M. PINGIL

Submitted to: PROF. MELINDA B. GUMBAO

Instructor