Mi Ultimo Adios

Question 1

English translation of Mi Ultimo Adios

Answer 1

My Last Farewell

Question 2

When did Rizal write Mi Ultimo Adios?

Answer 2

On the eve of December 30, 1896

Question 3

Where did Rizal write Mi Ultimo Adios?

Answer 3

Fort Santiago

Question 4

What title did Mariano Ponce give Rizal’s last poem in 1897?

Answer 4

Mi Ultimo Pensamiento

Question 5

Where was Mariano Ponce from?

Answer 5

Hongkong

Question 6

When did Mariano Ponce give the title Mi Ultimo Pensamiento?

Answer 6

1897

Question 7

Who gave the title “Mi Ultimo Pensamiento?”

Answer 7

Mariano Ponce

Question 8

Who gave the title “Mi Ultimo Adios”

Answer 8

Fr. Mariano Dacanay

Question 9

When did Fr. Mariano Dacanay give the title “Mi Ultimo Adios”?

Answer 9

1898

Question 10

What language did Rizal write his last poem in?

Answer 10

Spanish

Question 11

Who translated Mi Ultimo Adios to Tagalog?

Answer 11

Andres Bonifacio

Question 12

“Farewell, dear Fatherland, clime of the sun caress’d
Pearl of the Orient seas, our Eden lost!,”

What does this two first line of the poem suggest?

Answer 12

Shows Rizal’s love for the country, illustrating its beauty

Question 13

“Gladly now I go to give thee this faded life’s best” What does this suggest?

Answer 13

Patriotism

Question 14

“And were it brighter, fresher, or more blest” What does this suggest?

Answer 14

His love for the country despite its current state

Question 15

Ultimately, what does the 1st stanza of the poem suggest?

Answer 15

Themes of sacrifice and patriotism, highlighting Rizal’s love for our country

Question 16

What does the 2nd stanza highlight

Answer 16

• Reflects on the sacrifices of people on the battlefield
• It doesn’t matter where they died, for him it was the same — these people sacrificed their life for the country

Question 17

What does the 3rd stanza suggest

Answer 17

• Powerful expression of life
• Devotion to give everything to his country
• darkness and new beginnings

Question 18

“I die just when I see the dawn break,” means?

Answer 18

Powerful expression of love

Question 19

What does the 4th stanza suggest

Answer 19

• desire for the country to shine as the pearl of the Orient Seas
• Profound love for the country and its potential for greatness

Question 20

What does the 5th stanza suggest

Answer 20

• Burning desire and willingness to sacrifice everything for his country
• Unhappy by his sudden departure in this world, but content to rest in the arms of his beloved country
• He sees death as a pathway for his aspirations
• Power of love and devotion

Question 21

What does the 6th stanza suggest

Answer 21

• He wishes for his people to remember him even as he has passed away
• He also wishes when someone sees a flower growing in his grave, to go kiss it; symbolizing the connection between living and the dead
• deep longing for being remembered

Question 22

“Pearl of the Orient Sea, our Eden lost,
With gladness I give you my Life, sad and repressed;
And were it more brilliant, more fresh and at its best,
I would still give it to you for your welfare at most.”

What does the 1st stanza suggest?

Answer 22

These are the words of one about to die for his country. He expresses no regret but only gladness, knowing that in giving his life, he is giving his country the greatest gift any citizen could offer.

Question 23

“On the fields of battle, in the fury of fight,
Others give you their lives without pain or hesitancy,
The place does not matter: cypress laurel, lily white,
Scaffold, open field, conflict or martyrdom’s site,
It is the same if asked by home and Country.”

What does the 2nd stanza suggest?

Answer 23

Here Rizal says that it does not matter where one dies, but why one dies and to what purpose. Whether it’s “scaffold, open field, conflict or martyrdom’s site,” all death hold the same honor if given for home and Country.

Question 24

“I die as I see tints on the sky b’gin to show
And at last announce the day, after a gloomy night;
If you need a hue to dye your matutinal glow,
Pour my blood and at the right moment spread it so,
And gild it with a reflection of your nascent light!”

What does the 3rd stanza suggest?

Answer 24

Rizal’s execution was set at sunrise, thus the meaning of the first and second lines. He employs the visual senses in his poetic use of color, and then in the third and fourth lines, adds the bright red tint of his blood to the scene, and gilds it with golden sunlight. The use of these devices ignites passion in the reader, as it is felt – a hundred times more so – in the writer, even without explicit use of words signifying feeling.

Question 25

"My dreams, when scarcely a lad adolescent, My dreams when already a youth, full of vigor to attain, Were to see you, gem of the sea of the Orient, Your dark eyes dry, smooth brow held to a high plane Without frown, without wrinkles and of shame without stain" What does the 4th stanza suggest?

Answer 25

Since his childhood, even as other children dreamed of childish things, Rizal dreamed of seeing his country free, esteemed, and with head held high.

Question 26

"My life's fancy, my ardent, passionate desire, Hail! Cries out the soul to you, that will soon part from thee; Hail! How sweet 'tis to fall that fullness you may acquire; To die to give you life, 'neath your skies to expire, And in your mystic land to sleep through eternity!" What does the 5th stanza suggest?

Answer 26

Here, he showers her with praise. He is his life’s fancy, his ardent and passionate desire. He shouts “Hail!” as many would to their God. He says in the third line that it is sweet to fall so that his country may acquire fullness, and then continues on in the succeeding lines, “to die to give you life.” But his joy does not end in the act of dying, but continues beyond the grave, where he shall sleep in his country’s mystic land through eternity. As one dies for God, Rizal dies for country. And as one looks forward to heaven, Rizal’s heaven – in these lines, at least – lies in being buried in the land of his ancestors.

Question 27

"If over my tomb some day, you would see blow, A simple humble flow'r amidst thick grasses, Bring it up to your lips and kiss my soul so, And under the cold tomb, I may feel on my brow, Warmth of your breath, a whiff of your tenderness." What does the 6th stanza suggest?

Answer 27

In this stanza, Rizal likens his soul to that of “a simple humble flower amidst thick grasses.” The use of this comparison says a lot about how Rizal sees himself – timid, simple, humble, surrounded by the unrelenting forces of society. He imagines that after his death, he will live on in the bosom of his motherland, and never cease to enjoy her love, which he begs her to express with a kiss.

Question 28

"Let the moon with soft, gentle light me descry, Let the dawn send forth its fleeting, brilliant light, In murmurs grave allow the wind to sigh, And should a bird descend on my cross and alight, Let the bird intone a song of peace o'er my site." What does the 7th stanza suggest?

Answer 28

Rizal’s love for nature is again depicted in these next four lines. It is interesting that he enumerates the moon, the dawn, the wind, and a bird to pay homage to his grave, yet does not mention close friends or specific people. Perhaps it is a simple image of his reunion with nature that he wants to bring to mind; perhaps it is also an expression of the loneliness and isolation that he has felt and continues to feel in his fight for freedom.

Question 29

"Let the burning sun the raindrops vaporize And with my clamor behind return pure to the sky; Let a friend shed tears over my early demise; And on quiet afternoons when one prays for me on high, Pray too, oh, my Motherland, that in God may rest I." What does the 8th stanza suggest?

Answer 29

The mention here, of a friend, is the closest he gets to company. And the mention of God in the fourth line is the closest he gets to praying for a spiritual heaven. That Rizal beseeches his country to pray that his soul may rest in God is in line with the Roman Catholic belief that all men are sinners and that salvation is to be earned and cannot be determined before the grave.

Question 30

"Pray thee for all the hapless who have died, For all those who unequalled torments have undergone; For our poor mothers who in bitterness have cried; For orphans, widows and captives to tortures were shied, And pray too that you may see your own redemption." What does the 10th stanza suggest?

Answer 30

In these four lines he gives his motherland a list of the things he wishes her to pray for. He remembers all of the martyrs who have suffered the same fate as he will, who have died for their country; the mothers, wives, and children they have left behind who suffer no less for being abandoned. He also, in a hopeful closing note, asks her to pray for herself.

Question 31

"And when the dark night wraps the cemet'ry And only the dead to vigil there are left alone, Don't disturb their repose, don't disturb the mystery: If you hear the sounds of cittern or psaltery, It is I, dear Country, who, a song t'you intone" What does the 11th stanza suggest?

Answer 31

Clearly Rizal has not imagined that a monument would eventually be built over his grave and has pictured his final resting place as a humble cemetery where he shall, even after death, sing a song of devotion for his motherland

Question 32

"And when my grave by all is no more remembered, With neither cross nor stone to mark its place, Let it be plowed by man, with spade let it be scattered And my ashes ere to nothingness are restored, Let them turn to dust to cover your earthly space." What does the 12th stanza suggest?

Answer 32

In this next stanza, Rizal wishes to then be “plowed by man” when his grave is no longer remembered, and be scattered as he returns to be part of the dust that covers the land he had died for. What actually happens in real life, though, is an uncanny parallel. On December 30, 1896, on the day of his execution, Rizal’s remains were buried in an unmarked grave in the Paco Cemetery. Years later, however, his remains were exhumed and on December 30, 1912, they were brought to their final resting place in the base of the monument at Luneta.

Question 33

"Then it doesn't matter that you should forget me: Your atmosphere, your skies, your vales I'll sweep; Vibrant and clear note to your ears I shall be: Aroma, light, hues, murmur, song, moanings deep, Constantly repeating the essence of the faith I keep" What does the 13th stanza suggest?

Answer 33

The first line in this stanza begins following the assumption that our hero’s ashes have now been spread over the land. Rizal envisions that once he has returned to her in this manner, it will no longer matter if the country forgets him because he will be with her, everywhere, as dust in the atmosphere, blowing in the skies, in the wind, and still singing songs and murmuring words of devotion.

Question 34

"My idolized Country, for whom I most gravely pine, Dear Philippines, to my last goodbye, oh, hearken There I leave all: my parents, loves of mine, I'll go where there are no slaves, tyrants or hangmen Where faith does not kill and where God alone does reign." What does the 14th stanza suggets?

Answer 34

Here we come to a more submissive yet hopeful tone. Rizal bids farewell to his one great love – his country – and yet looks forward to being with God, where there are no slaves, tyrants or hangmen.

Question 35

"Farewell, parents, brothers, beloved by me, Friends of my childhood, in the home distressed; Give thanks that now I rest from the wearisome day; Farewell, sweet stranger, my friend, who brightened my way; Farewell, to all I love. To die is to rest." What does the 15th stanza suggest?

Answer 35

To close, Rizal now finally mentions specific people: parents, brothers, friends of his childhood. In other translations, the fourth line reads, “Adios sweet-tender foreigner—my friend, my happiness,” which historians have interpreted to allude to Josephine Bracken, the daughter of an Anglo-Saxon father and a Chinese mother, whom many believe – although it is frequently challenged – he secretly married an hour before his death.