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Definition of Idiom
An idiom is a phrase that conveys a figurative meaning that is difficult or impossible to understand based solely on a literal interpretation of the words in the phrase. For... read full definition
An idiom is a phrase that conveys a figurative meaning that is difficult or impossible to understand based solely on a literal interpretation of the... read full definition
An idiom is a phrase that conveys a figurative meaning that is difficult or impossible to understand based solely on... read full definition
Chapter 2: Crisóstomo Ibarra
Explanation and Analysis—I May Be a Poet:
At the dinner party in Chapter 2, Ibarra attempts to introduce himself to the group. He strikes up a conversation with a young poet, a "strange young man" whom Rizal does not give a name, only "A...". The poet uses Spanish idioms in their brief conversation:
"Why? Because one does not invoke inspiration in order to humiliate oneself and lie. One fellow has been brought up on charges for having included a certain figure of speech in his verse. I may be a poet, but I am not crazy."
"And may I ask what figure of speech it was?"
"He said that the son of a lion is also a lion. He was almost exiled."
Ibarra likes the young man's poetry, which "helped sustain my enthusiasm for my homeland." (Perhaps this young unnamed poet is a stand-in for Rizal, whose writings contain much enthusiasm for that same homeland.) But the poet is no longer writing because writers are being censored by the church. They can be censored even for using politically sensitive idioms like "the son of a lion is also a lion," likely referring to how the friars use nepotism to retain power in families.
The poet says "I may be a poet, but I am not crazy." This refers to another Spanish idiom about life's foibles, "We all have a bit of the madman and poet within us"—in other words, sometimes people speak intelligently, and sometimes people speak stupidly. But the poet implies that the situation of censorship is so dire that he fully understands what he must do, and he is not "crazy" at all to stop writing poetry. In a compelling reversal, after the powers that be in the Philippines attempt to repress his poetry, the young man is yet more committed to his craft, as he describes in a poetic idiom.
Related Themes:
