Tagalog Poetry, 1570-1898: Tradition and Influences in its Development by Bienvenido L. Lumbera

This book provides the perspective that allows readers and critics to read Tagalog poetry with understanding. In his analysis of Tagalog poetry from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries, the author finds tradition being continually modified by a dialectic which eventually results in the reconciliation of tradition and outside influences. Since it was first written as a doctoral dissertation in 1967, this book has been a strong seminal influence. As the first historico-critical study of Philippine literature, it has pioneered in disovering methods and setting norms for the study of literature in Tagalog and other Philippine literature. It has opened the door to continuing research in Philippine literature, encouraging scholars to retrieve and libraries to preserve documents of native literature. The study has become both model and inspiration for a generation of scholars and works in literary history and criticism.