To The Flowers of Heidelberg: by Jose P. Rizal

To the Flowers of
Heidelberg
By Jose P. Rizal
1. INTRODUCTION
A. Title
B. Hook and info about the author and poem, any interesting background
details.
2. BODY
A. Structure
B. Meaning
C. Imagery
D. Language
E. Emotion
3. Conclusion
A. Summarize the most important findings.
To the Flowers of Heidelberg
Go to my country, go, O foreign flowers,

sown by the traveler along the road,
and under that blue heaven
that watches over my loved ones,
recount the devotion
the pilgrim nurses to his native sod!
Go and say say that when dawn

opened your chalices for the first time
beside the icy Neckar,
you saw him silent beside you,
thinking of her constant vernal clime.
Say that when dawn

which steal your aroma
was whispering playful love songs to your young
sweet petals, he, too, murmured
canticles of love in his native tongue;
That in the morning when the sun first traces

the topmost peak of Keonigssthul in gold
and with a mild warmth raises
to life again the valley, the glade, the forest
he hails that sun, still in its dawning,
that in his country in full zenith blazes.
And tell of that day

when he collected you along the way
among the ruins of a feudal castle,
on the banks of the Neckar, or in a forest nook.
Recount the words he said

as, with great care,
between the pages of a worn-out book
he pressed the flexible petals that he took.
Carry, carry, O flowers,

my love to my loved ones,
peace to my country and its fecund loam,
faith to its men and virtue to its women,
health to the gracious beings
that dwell within the sacred paternal home.
When you reach that shore,

deposit the kiss I gave you
on the wings of the wind above
that with the wind it may rove
and I may kiss all that I worship, honor and love!
But O you will arrive there, flowers,

and you will keep perhaps your vivid hues;
but far from your native heroic earth
to which you owe your life and worth,
your fragrances you will lose!
For fragrance is a spirit that never can forsake
And never forgets the sky that saw its birth.
About the Poet:
• Dr.Jose Protacio Rizal was born in the town of
Calamba, Laguna on 19th June 1861. The second
son and the seventh among the eleven children of
Francisco Mercado and Teodora Alonso.
• He excelled at anything that he put to his
mind to—medicine, poetry, sketching,
architecture, sociology, and more.
• National hero of the Philippines for his key
role inspiring and leading the Philippine
Revolution against colonial Spain.
About the Poem:
• Dr.Jose Rizal lived and worked in Germany for years and
actually studied in Heidelberg, the beautiful old town of the
confluence of the Rivers Neckar and Rhine. He loved its
natural beauty and especially the flowers along the banks
of the Neckar.
•
About the Poem:
• He was homesick for his native Philippines and in the poem
asks the beautiful flowers to act as messengers to take his
thoughts of home back there.
• He asks the flowers to tell everyone back home that whilst he
likes Germany his true loyalties are to the Philippines.
S-STRUCTURE
How many stanzas?

• The poetry "To the Flowers of Heidelberg" of
Jose Rizal have 9 stanzas.
STRUCTURE
How poem develop across each
one?
• The poem "To the Flowers of Heidelberg" is written in 9 stanzas
and it is a free verse poem. In this poem, Jose Rizal effectively
employs natural imagery to express his longing for the Philippines.
STRUCTURE
Narrative Perspective?
• The poem "To the Flowers of Heidelberg"is 1st person
narrative.
• The poem are simply reflection of an author's feeling based
on his experiences and present situation.
STRUCTURE
What is the rhyme and rhythm in the
poem?
• It is a free verse
• It shows no significant pattern or rhythm.

M-MEANING
• Jose Rizal wrote “To the Flowers of Heidelberg” on April
24th 1886 while he was in Germany and studying
opthalmology. He was fascinated by the flowers in the
spring in Heidelberg and wrote this poem feeling a deep
longing for his family and his country.
MEANING
• His verses had a single symbol– The flowers of Heidelberg.
But it symbolizes two realities. First, the flowers’ beauty
symbolizes Rizal’s love for his country, and second, the
flowers’ reduced quality refers to Rizal’s useless presence in
another country.
I-IMAGERY
• The figure of speech that mostly used in the poem is

personification.
• Jose Rizal effectively employs natural imagery to
express his longing for the Philippines.
L-LANGUAGE
What example of literary devices can you
find? Assonance
Example:"Carry, carry, O flowers,
my love to my loved ones."
L-LANGUAGE
Consonance
Example: "faith to its men and virtue to its women,"
L-LANGUAGE
Emotive Language
Example:
When you reach that shore,
deposit the kiss I gave you
on the wings of the wind above
that with the wind it may rove
and I may kiss all that I worship, honor and love!
E-EMOTION
• His poem, To the Flowers of Heidelberg is
simply an expression of his sadness as he
remembered his family whom he loves so much.
E-EMOTION
• The speaker's tone in this poem can be best described as
Rizal , in his lonely moments wrote his nostalgic poem “A las
Flores de” Heidelberg” This poem denotes both his love of
Heidelberg and his intense love and homesickness for his
own country .
E-EMOTION
Rizal wrote his poem because of his mood of
homesickness. It shows patriotism, nationalism and
love of his own land inspite he is in the other land
serving other people.
INTERPRETATION
1st Stanza
• In the first stanza Rizal emotionally request to the foreign
flowers to speak and go with him to the Philippines.
2nd Stanza
• In the second stanza Rizal says that even on the early dawn
when people in the Philippines start to do their own activities,
he is constantly still thinking of his country and its
fellowmen.
3rd Stanza
• In the third stanza, Rizal beautifully asked the flowers to bear
witness to his undying concern for his motherland when at
dawn he sings to the flowers playful love songs in exchange of
their gift of sweet petals.
4th Stanza
• In the fourth stanza, in the morning Rizal reflects still
about his nature land through the sun he feels connected
to his mother land.
5th and 6th Stanza
• In the fifth and sixth stanza, Rizal poetically describes his
plan for the flowers to carry his message to his
motherland. He plucks them and preserves them in his
book.
7th Stanza
• In the seventh stanza, Rizal wishes his motherland to have
peace,to be a faithful land and virtue to women and
courage to man.
8th Stanza
• In the eighth stanza, Rizal tell of what he wants. That his
kisses on the flower may be carried by the wind to his
family or love ones.
9th Stanza
• In the last stanza reflected on its utter futility. For him once the
flower reaches his country, the flower's color, fragnance and
beauty will never be the same that reflected to his intentions for
the country will long be gone because he is far from his
motherland.
VOCABULARY WATCH
• Sod- the surface of the ground, with the grass growing on it.
• Vernal- of, relating to, or occurring in the spring
• Clime- a region considered with reference to its climate.
VOCABULARY WATCH
• Fecund- producing or capable of producing an abundance of
offspring or new growth; fertile.
• Nook- a corner or recess, especially one offering seclusion or
security.
• Koenigssthul (The King's Throne)- a 567 metre high hill in the
Odenwald Mountains and near Heidelberg, in the German state
of Baden-Württemberg.
• Chalice- a large cup or goblet, typically used for drinking wine.
Multiple Choice:
1. What was the representation of the flower in the
poem?
a. Rizal symbolizes the flower to his dear mother.
b. Rizal symbolizes the beauty of Germany to the flower
in the poem.
c. Rizal symbolizes the flower for his love to his country.
Multiple Choice:
2. Where did Jose Rizal write "To the Flowers of
Heidelberg"?
a. Germany
b. Philippines
c. America
d. Spain
Multiple Choice:
3. The part in the poem where the flower reduced its quality,
refers to what?
a. It symbolizes that his love for is fading when he is away
from his beloved country.
b. It symbolizes the downside of colonization that is
happening to his beloved country.
c. It symbolizes the useless presence in another country.
Multiple Choice:
4. What was Rizal studying when he wrote "To
the Flowers of Heidelberg"?
a. Osteology
b. Ophthalmology
c. Cardiology
Multiple Choice:
5. How many stanzas in the poem "To the Flowers of
Heidelberg"?
a. 6 stanzas
b. 8 stanzas
c. 10 stanzas
d. 9 stanzas
Question:
What is the reason why Jose Rizal

wrote the poem "To the Flowers of
Heidelberg"?
Summary
• Dr. Jose Rizal wrote “To the Flowers of Heidelberg” on
April 24, 1886.
• The poem is written in 9 stanzas and it is a free verse
poem and it is a 1st person narrative.
• The figure of speech that mostly used in the poem is
personification.
• Assonance, consonant, and emotive language is the
literary devices that I found in the poem.
Summary
• The speaker's tone in this poem can be best
described as Rizal, in his lonely moments wrote his
nostalgic poem “A las Flores de” Heidelberg”
• The poem shows patriotism, nationalism and love of

his own land inspite he is in the other land serving
other people.
THANK YOU!

To The Flowers of Heidelberg: by Jose P. Rizal

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

To The Flowers of Heidelberg: by Jose P. Rizal

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

To The Flowers of Heidelberg: by Jose P. Rizal

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

To the Flowers of

Go to my country, go, O foreign flowers,

Go and say say that when dawn

Say that when dawn

That in the morning when the sun first traces

And tell of that day

Recount the words he said

Carry, carry, O flowers,

When you reach that shore,

But O you will arrive there, flowers,

How many stanzas?

• It shows no significant pattern or rhythm.

• The figure of speech that mostly used in the poem is

What is the reason why Jose Rizal

• The poem shows patriotism, nationalism and love of

You might also like