''Balagtasan'' is a Filipino form of

debate Debate is a process that involves formal discourse on a particular topic, often including a moderator and audience. In a debate, arguments are put forward for often opposing viewpoints. Debates have historically occurred in public meetings, a ...

done

in verse Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings in a ...

. Derived from the name of

Francisco Balagtas Francisco Balagtas y de la Cruz (April 2, 1788 – February 20, 1862), commonly known as Francisco Balagtas and also as Francisco Baltasar, was a Filipino Tagalog litterateur and poet during the Spanish colonial period of the Philippines. He is ...

, this art presents a type of literature in which thoughts or reasoning are expressed through speech. The first balagtasan took place in the Philippines on April 6, 1924, created by groups of writers to commemorate the birth of Francisco Balagtas. They made the first balagtasan with three sets of poets presenting a scripted defense. They based the form on earlier types of debates that also used poetic elements such as ''karagatan'', ''huwego de prenda'' and, ''duplo''. Balagtasan is participated by two or more protagonists who engaged in a

on a selected subject. Each protagonist are to express their views

and with

rhyming A rhyme is a repetition of similar sounds (usually, the exact same phonemes) in the final stressed syllables and any following syllables of two or more words. Most often, this kind of perfect rhyming is consciously used for a musical or aesthetic ...

. Refutations shall also be done in the same manner. A judge, known as the ''lakandiwa'' if male or ''lakambini'' if female, will decide the winner of the balagtasan. The judge shall also announce the winner in verse and with rhyming. The participants are also expected to impress before a watching audience. This is enlightened by the expression of poetic arguments but it can also provide

entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have developed over thousa ...

through humor, extraordinary wit, and quasi-theatrical and dramatic expression.

References

External links

Balagtasan (justa poética) / Jesús Balmori y Manuel Bernabé
Philippine poetry Debate types {{poetry-stub