Lesson 11: Indonesia: A Land of Hope

• Not until the development of a national language, Bahasa Indonesia, at the turn of the century, did Indonesia begin to develop a literary tradition that strongly reflected Western and modern influences
• With the collapse of colonialism, Indonesian literature took a dynamic turn as the chaos of Japanese occupation stimulated sardonic prose by Idrus, wild poetry by the passionate Chairil Anwar, and beautiful reminiscence of Pramoedya Ananta Toer
• Poets


  • Ajip Rosidi
  • Subagio Sastrowardojo
  • W.S. Rendra
• Folk and proletarian dramas

  1. Ketropak stages traditional epics of courtly and revolutionary content, alternating narrative action with jokes on contemporary issues

  2. Hidruk, catering to the working class, includes portrayals of expression and revolution, tales of horrors, epics of folk heroes, and stories of domestic problems
• Dramatic performances


  • Bargandji (Celebration of the Birth of Muhammad)
• Fiction in Indonesia began toward the end of the 19th century with contributions from popular tales and narratives in Malay, Chinese romances, and melodramatic romances in Dutch
• Today, a more serious strain of social criticism and nationalist sentiment dominate the literary scene in Indonesia
• Indonesia developed its own language immediately after winning independence, with a successful language policy channelled towards the development of Bahasa Indonesia
• Chairil Anwar died at the early age of twenty-seven but left a significant impact on Indonesian literature
• Indonesia was dominated by the Portuguese in the early 1500s, followed by Dutch rule in 1682, and Japanese occupation during World War II
• The political strife Indonesia suffered from 1500 until 1949


  Is probably the basis of To Gadis
• A poem written in free verse has no regular rhyme, length, or stanza form. The only breaks are those dictated by thought units
• Rhythm achieved through alliteration or repetition of consonant sounds


  • For every bud that burst alive
  • Has filled my heart with flowers of love
• British and American Spellings


  • favour
  • enquired
  • favor
  • inquired
• Regional differences in spelling of some words exist although they are pronounced the same way
• English is a growing and dynamic language with spellings that change over time
• Emphasizing what is considered significant

  1. Speak clearly

  2. Speak at a comfortable pitch

  3. Speak at a moderate rate

  4. Speak with varied stress
• Indonesia's traditional literature echoes those of the literary heritage of Malayada
• The feature of Indonesia's folk literature that has created an impact outside the country is the famous wayang kulit, the Indonesian shadow play
• Wayang kulit is a drama usually presented to mark a marriage or a coming of age, using leather puppets and presented by a puppet master called dalang
• Children are given the best seats in front when viewing wayang kulit plays
• Stories of wayang kulit are based on Hindu legends with new characters added by Indonesians themselves, featuring long and fantastic episodes
• Literature in Indonesia best expresses the people's aspirations, especially reflecting the nation's awakening and pursuit of freedom in poetry, novels, and dramas
• The tales are long and have fantastic episodes
• In many countries of the world, literature is the medium that best expresses the people's aspirations
• In Indonesia, the nation's awakening and pursuit of freedom are eloquently reflected in their poetry, novels, and dramas
• Outstanding political novelists before World War II in Indonesia were Mara Rushi and Mas Marco Kartodikromo
• Sanus Pane was both a poet and a playwright of note in Indonesia
• The brightest star of Indonesian literature of struggle before World War II was Sutan Takdir Alisjabana
• Sutan Takdir Alisjabana was a poet, critic, and essayist who exposed his ideas in his novel, Lajar Terkembang
• Takdir and Sanusi were main protagonists in a literary controversy in Indonesia
• The period between 1940-1950 is considered the high point in the development of Indonesian fiction and the refinement of Bahasa Indonesia as a Literary vehicle
• After the war, the so-called Angkatan '45 (Generation '45) produced the "committed literature" of Indonesia
• Among the luminous names of the period were Chairil Anwar and Mochtar Lubis
• Infinitive is an expression made up of the preposition to and the simple form of the verb
• An infinitive phrase consists of an infinitive and its related words
• Silent infinitives omit the preposition to and are used with certain verbs like bid, dare, hear, help, let, make, and need
• The infinitive may be used as a noun, an adjective, or an adverb