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Marty Gage
Sister Lawrence
Eng 251-07
January 31, 2013
Formalistic or New Criticism Analysis of “Wedding Dance”
The beating of the gangsas in Amador Daguio’s “Wedding Dance” creates rich literary
tone and meaning. Laurence Perrine who wrote, The Importance of Tone in the Interpretation of
Literature said, “Tone is an important part of meaning. It may even be the most important part
of meaning” (Perrine 389). According to Webster’s Third International Dictionary, tone as part
of a literary work creates, “feeling, one’s awareness measured in terms of pleasantness and
unpleasantness and the overall quality of an experience” (Webster’s). From a Formalist or New
Criticism theorist point of view looks at how the gangsas create tone and add meaning to the text
of the story. The author uses the beating of the gangsas which are copper gongs or drums (Gale
442) to help the reader understand the desires and sufferings of the human heart.
Daguio uses the beatings of the gangsas to encourage Awiyao’s character throughout the
story. “The sound of the gangsas beat through the walls of the dark house like muffled roars of
falling waters” (Daguio par. 3). The author wants the reader to feel the pull of Awiyao back to
the wedding celebration to his new wife. He uses the rhythmic beat of the gangsas to explain the
expectations the village has for Awiyao without having to put the expectations into words or
phrases. The gangsas are then used to encourage Lumnay and the reader to celebrate the new
marriage of Awiyao and Madulimay when he says, “"I would feel better if you could come, and
dance---for the last time. The gangsas are playing" (Daguio par. 32).
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The reader hears the celebrating of the new marriage by the villagers through the steady
and ever present beating of the gangsas throughout the story (Daguio par. 70). This beating of the
drums symbolizes Awiyaos’ knowledge that the men in the village mock his inability to conceive
a child with Lumnay. He hears their laughter behind his back. He knows that for the good of the
village he needs to create children to build the village population, his household, and standing in
the village. The gangsas celebratory beat tell Asiyao that the village is pleased he is taking a new
wife. Awiyao accepts this new marriage and new life he is embarking upon. The gangsas’
steady beat calls to Awiyao like a welcoming parent calls to a long lost child.
The tone of Lumnay's character in “Wedding Dance” is one of intense sadness and
sorrow. Her desperate pleas and situation are magnified to the reader by the sound of the
gangsas. Lumnay knows that the village encourages Awiyao to end their marriage because of
the cultural expectations of the village to build the population and have posterity. Daguio at the
beginning of the story uses the gangsas to show that the villagers mock Lumnay. “The woman
who had moved with a start when the sliding door opened had been hearing the gangsas for she
did not know how long” (Daguio par. 3). Lumnay has felt the village ridicule at their inability to
have a child. The gangsas symbolize this silent mockery. Daguio then uses the thumping of the
gangsas to encourage Lumnay to join in the celebration of Awiyao’s marriage to Madulimay.
Lumnay hears the throbbing of the gangsas from the wedding celebration and knows that she is
the only villager who is not at the celebration.
At the end of the story, the tone of the gangsas change. Daguio then uses the stroking of
the gangsas to encourage Lumnay to stand up for herself and to leave the village celebration
helping the reader understand the sorrow buried deep within her heart (Daguio par. 73, 76). “Her
heartbeat began to sound to her like many gangsas” (Daguio par.73). Like the beating of the
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gangsas her heart will beat love for Awiyao with each beat, a silent gangsas that no one but
Lumnay will hear. Daguio uses the change from the beating of the gangsas to Lumnay’s
heartbeat to symbolize that though the gangsas at the celebration will stop beating, her love for
Awiyao will beat forever.
Amador Daguio’s “Wedding Dance” uses the gangsas drum to create meaning and tone
throughout the story. Through the gangsas the reader not only understands what the text says but
feels the words beating off the page from the beginning to the end of the story. The beatings of
the gangsas symbolize sacrifice and sufferings of the human heart, leaving the reader unable to
deny the tone and feeling they create.
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Works Cited
Daguio, Amador. “A Wedding Dance.” I-Learn. Web. 15 Jan. 2013.
Gale, Albert., and Cole, Fay-Cooper. “THE TINGUIAN: SOCIAL, RELIGIOUS, AND
ECONOMIC LIFE OF A PHILIPPINE TRIBE.” Publications of the Field Museum
of Natural History. Anthropological Series, Vol. 14, No. 2. (1922): 231-233, 235489, 491-493. Published by: Field Museum of Natural History. Web. 29 Jan. 2013.
Perrine, Laurence. “The Importance of Tone in the Interpretation of Literature.” College
English, Vol. 24, No. 5 (Feb., 1963): 389-395. Published by: National Council of
Teachers of English. Web. 29 Jan. 2013.
“Tone.” Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged Ed. Merriam-Webster,
Incorporated. 1993. Proquest.com. Web. 30 Jan. 2013