HYPERBOLE GROUP:WALKING FREE BY GEMINO H. ABAD

Del Rio, PatEugenio, Arah

Laxamana, YachelRobes, Camille

Rodriguez, Ysabel

Hyperbole is the use of exaggeration as a

rhetorical device or figure of speech. It may be used to evoke strong feelings or to create a strong impression, but is not meant to be taken literally. Hyperbole are exaggerations to create emphasis or effect.

Source: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperbole

Hyperbole

“The bag weighed a ton.” “I called you a million times!” “It was so cold, I saw polar bears wearing

jackets” “She is so dumb, she thinks Taco Bell is a

Mexican phone company” That joke is so old, the last time I heard it I

was riding on a dinosaur.

EXAMPLES

What Am I?I’m bigger than the entire earthMore powerful than the seaThough a million, billion have triedNot one could ever stop me.I control each person with my handand hold up fleets of ships.I can make them bend to my willwith one word from my lips.I’m the greatest power in the worldin this entire nation.No one should ever try to stopa child’s imagination.

HYPERBOLE POEM

Gemino H. Abad

Feb. 15, 1939 –Manila Also known as “Jimmy” Poet and literary critic Born in Cebu to the acclaimed Cebuano poet and

Professor Antonio Abad. Studied Bachelor Of Arts Degree in English from UP in

1964 Ph.D. in English Literature from University of Chicago in

1970

http://en.wikipilipinas.org/index.php?title=Gemino_H._Abad

Gemino H. Abad

Gemino Abad's Published Books: Poetry Fugitive Emphasis, 1973 Poems and Parables, 1988 In Ordinary Time: Poems, Parables, Poetics, 2004 Poems and Critical Essays In Another Light, 1976 The Space Between, 1985 Father and Daughter, 1996 Poetry and Fiction (in the same book) A Makeshift Sun, 2001 "Care of Light: New Poems and Found", 2010

Literary works

Fiction and Essays (in the same book)

Orion’s Belt and Other Writings, 1996

Literary Criticism

A Formal Approach to Lyric Poetry, 1978 Getting Real: An Introduction to the Practice of Poetry,

2004

Creative Non-fiction

State of Play (essays), 1990 http://www.poemhunter.com/gemino-abad/biography/

Literary works

Walking Free

Gemino H. Abad

- 24 lines - 6 stanzas - 6 quatrains - free verse - 1st person/persona/speaker

What is in the poem?

1st Detractor - a person who disparages or

regards someone or something as being of little worth.

2nd

Motion – the action or process of moving or of changing place or position; movement.3rd

Clasp- A firm grasp or grip4th

Underfoot -under the foot or feet; on the ground; underneath or below.

VOCABULARY

5th Sacred-devoted or dedicated to some religious purpose.6th

Shudder (noun) – An almost pleasurable sensation of fright

(verb) – Shake/ Tremble convulsively, as from fear or excitement

VOCABULARY

I no longer write of loneliness,It has enough food in the world - personification;Nor about love either,There are enough detractors.

He stopped writing about loneliness cause there is just a lot of sadness in the world

Also stopped writing about love because there are a lot of detractors

Meaning of detractor: a person who disparages or regards someone or something as being of little worth

Walking Free, from Father and Daughter, 1996

Why not, I said to myself,Just walk about, without aim?It may be, not having a subject,The joy of motion creates itself - personification.

To walk without target or aiming something. You don’t have to be in a hurry to find your purpose in life. You just have to go with the flow because as you go along the way, you will find real happiness and contentment.

2nd stanza

My feet joyfully remember their past - personification,Tickle of grass, bruise of stones, Clasp of mud – all the earth’s pullAnd possessiveness.

As he go on to the journey of life, he will always remember the things that happened to him. The good memories and even the bad memories.

It made him a better person because after everything that happened to him, he never refuses to look back.

3rd stanza

Now I feel quite bare, exposed,My thoughts underfoot in lushest green,And no words to think me,Nor myself distract.

The speaker tells us that he’s whole being is stripped off away from him and he can no longer think of anything.

4th stanza

I hear the birds call to one another - personification;Their inhuman cries gladden  my soul,They mark a boundary of the sacredThat in a distant time pierced my feet.

He can remembered the person he used to be. Their human cries, gladden my soul; mirrors worries that caused him pain. Upon hearing it, he just took the negative things as a lesson that he learned from his life.

5th stanza

A light breeze touches my face,I feel the longing beneath human speech,Like ashes upon my tongue - hyperbole,And my feet shudder where they fall.

The line “A light breeze touches my face,“ speaks about relief or feeling of freedom to write anything that he desires

“I feel the longing beneath human speech” – He’s eager to express his feelings through words and describe it“Like ashes upon my tongue, And my feet shudder where they fall”

The stanza shows his excitement through ought

6th stanza

Be spontaneous, write what you feel and

freely express it The poem is about living “freely”: free from

the past and slowly moving on; continue life with a clear mind. Do what you want to do; go out, have fun, make mistakes and carry on.

The speaker wants to give the reader a positive outlook in life. Though challenges may arise, s/he’ll face the problems without thinking twice.

Collective understanding