Content/Focus/Unity (20)

Structure/Organization/Development (30)
Evaluation and Support (35)
Grammar/Mechanics (10)
Punctuality (5)
21ST CENTURY LITERATURE
FROM TH PHILIPPINES AND THE WORLD

An Analysis of HEARTBEATS Using Formalism Approach

Firstly, the poem is entitled “heartbeats” because of the feeling the persona had
while she was still in love with the ‘you’, while she still feels alive having a person to
draw her attention to. The poem is about a person reminiscing what she felt in a
bittersweet memory from the past, showing how she was completely in love but then
somehow got rejected. A free verse, no rhyme scheme, full of enjambments and
descriptive words are elements to show the free-spirit of the writer on how she wanted
to express and share what she felt looking back. The poem is a combination of a
narrative and descriptive type, narrating the story of how it all went this way, while also
describing how she felt during those times.

Starting at 7:17 AM, the first verse tells the readers what the persona is currently
feeling: being aware that she will remember how the past all felt when she sees a
familiar object or location, and that the many dotted lines in red are for tracing those
memories back to where it all started. The writer’s use of small letter ‘I’ might have been
a meaningful way of saying that she does not feel significant that time, that because of
the memories all coming back, and with it is the time that her heart got broken, the
writer feels small and had low self-esteem after what had happened. She is edgy at the
present moment making her heart pump and draw upon her chest, which might be
caused by feelings of nervousness or anxiety on what she should feel when she gets
reminded of the past. In the second verse, it finally flashed back, based on the lines
indicating that the persona remembers those times when she sees the ‘you’ in that
same particular spot. Her heartbeat might have gone fast when the persona saw the
‘you’ again after a certain amount of time, with cheeks turning into crimson. And when
she recognized that feeling of memory, the persona actually looked back and
reminisced in the past happenings before that present time, asking herself if when was
the last time she felt giddy like that. The author used an ellipsis at the beginning of a
phrase to indicate a pause or time to think between its line and the line before it. These
two stanzas exhibited visual imagery with the use of describing the color of the person’s
cheeks, etc.

The third verse is the start of the reminiscing process of the persona, when she
went back to the time when their class had a get-together after class. It seems like the
persona had a gut feeling that there is a bad news awaiting for her, which is why she felt
all anxious pushing her to the edge of her own seat, and nervously waiting for the bell to
ring. As soon as the bell rang, the persona anxiously stood up and avoided everyone
possible to be able to get a chance of dodging a bullet of truth. She is escaping the
possible heartbreaks or disappointments that might come after she stood up, also
making her uneasy to freely walk around anywhere. It is also noticeable that the author
used the capital ‘I’ to denote a feeling of self-worth or significance that time. No
punctuation was used in the whole third verse because the writer wants us readers to
continually read the words due to the same thought it gives.

For the fourth verse, the persona narrated what she felt inside when the ‘you’
was about to confront her with something. She was clueless by mind but at the same
time, the heart had a gut feeling and was like expecting it to happen. She was so
nervous if her gut feeling was right, her heart pounds away so hard as if to ward off the
news arriving as she told. The space after that and the next line indicates a strong
thought or feeling to the reader because it would have felt bad to know that someone
you loved was in love with another. It also tells the readers that the persona felt broken
to know that the ‘you’ was in love with another, just as like the line is broken or apart
from the whole verse. Still, no punctuation were used in this verse to tell off the
continuous story-line and connection of thoughts of the author. This verse is the end of
the reminiscing part or moment of the persona.

The last verse switches back to the present time of the persona in the poem. She
recalled what happened the day before, when she passed by the ‘you’ sitting in a
settee. The author emphasized the word ‘alone’, isolating it from the lines it should have
been with. This indicates that the one the ‘you’ is in love with, is no longer with him in
the present time. Here seems to have a feeling of hope that maybe the persona and
the ‘you’ might have a chance together now, if only the feelings are still the same. As
the persona passed by the ‘you’, she thought she would all feel the same giddiness and
frantic warnings she felt before when she is about to encounter with the ‘you’. She
thought she would blush the same like when she was still madly in love with the ‘you’.
The persona always thought that all the telltale signs of how she was so madly and
deeply in love to the ‘you’ will be felt but no, there was none anymore. In this part, she
realized that she has finally moved on and there are no more feelings left for the ‘you’.
Right in the moment when she passed by the ‘you’, there she was sure that she doesn’t
love ‘you’ anymore, and she saw how long it has been since she loved ‘you’. The past is
all behind now and they are both off to new things in different paths.

The time in the poem indicates that as it passes, the persona in the poem was
able to move on. In a short period of time feelings can easily change from falling in love
to falling out of love. The continuous flow of time signifies the continuity of the story of
the persona. For us, we think the persona will not continue to love the “you” in the
poem. As it states in the poem the persona has moved on and I think after experiencing
such events, one will be afraid to experience it again.

by:Lexus John N. Libang, Bea Alexandra D. Bautista