José Rizal, Noli me tangere [Noli Me Tangere (Touch Me Not)]

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  • The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 10.4.3: Philippine Writing and Culture.

José Rizal was 25 when he published his first novel and best-known work,

Noli me tangere

, in Berlin in 1887. A foundational work of modern Filipino literature,

Noli

has been described as “the first Filipino novel” and, with its successor

El Filibusterismo

(1891), “the most important literary works produced by a Filipino writer, animating Filipino consciousness to this day” (Mojares 140, 141).

Already active in Filipino political circles in Europe, where he had completed his study of ophthalmology, Rizal chose the novel as the literary form best suited to address the dual readership to whom he wished to expose the political, social and religious abuses of contemporary life in his native land. This comprised the small, educated Filipino elite at home, and a liberal audience in

2363 words

Citation: Ross, Ian Campbell. "Noli me tangere". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 19 September 2015 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=35659, accessed 19 March 2024.]

35659 Noli me tangere 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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