Mimetic- Archetypal Critique on Adonis Durado’s Selected Poems

Abstract

This study provides mimetic and archetypal analysis on the selected Cebuano-Visayan poems of Adonis Durado, a multi-awarded Cebuano poet, utilizing Plato's Theory of Mimesis and Aristotle's Literary Theory and Criticism. Plato looks at how the images, symbols, and themes reveal imitations of reality, and Aristotle argues that human beings are natural imitators who are vital in making a healthy society. This study investigates the social issues and the prevalent themes extracted from the poems understudied. Furthermore, the study asserts that mimesis locates the meaning of literature in the nature that it copies, insisting that the universal essence of mimesis is a mere reflection of the poet's inner necessity, inner determinacy, and not a separate world of ideas. It is revealed that the selected poems of Adonis Durado mimetically mirror the people's economic struggles, which significantly affects the harmony within the familial and societal sphere. The symbols used in the poems describe the Philippine society's local color, often associated with poverty, violence, and the Filipinos' survival mechanism. The poverty that the oppressed often suffered develops the people's resiliency shown in the images of how people continue to live despite economic disadvantages, abuses, and violence. Poverty has two faces; it is either the cause or effect of people's circumstances, and these dominant social issues feature in the poems surrounding poverty and violence.