Florante at Laura

Florante at Laura is an 1838 awit written by Tagalog poet Francisco Balagtas. The story was dedicated to his former sweetheart María Asunción Rivera, whom he nicknamed "M.A.R." and Selya in Kay Selya ("For Celia").

The story is loosely based on Balagtas' own biography. He wrote the epic during his imprisonment in Manila in c. 1835 – c. 1836.

Florante at Laura is written as an awit, meaning "song", but it also refers to a standard poetic format with the following characteristics:

The son of a princess and a royal adviser, Florante was loved and taken care of. When he was a baby, he was almost captured by a vulture that entered in their mountain cottage. He was saved by his cousin Menalipo, an archer from Epirus.

At 11 years old, Florante's parents, Duke Briseo and Princess Floresca, sent him to Athens, Greece, to study under Antenor, a renowned teacher. There, he meets Adolfo, the brightest student in their school. After six years of studying Astrology, Philosophy and Mathematics, Florante surpassed Adolfo's capabilities, talents, and intelligence, gaining popularity. While performing during a school play, Adolfo attempts to kill Florante due to jealousy. Florante's friend, Menandro, was quick enough to save Florante, thus causing Adolfo to head home to Albania.

Two months later, Florante receives ten carriages along with a second letter from his father telling him to return to Albania. Menandro, unwilling to be separated from Florante and gaining permission to travel by his uncle Antenor, accompanied him on his journey. Upon their arrival to Albania, an emissary of the kingdom of Crotone requested Albania's assistance in the upcoming war against the Persians; Florante accepts to be the general that would help Crotone. In Albania, Florante falls in love with Laura, the daughter of King Linceo, completely forgetting about the war.

Helping Crotone, Florante fights against the Persian general Osmalik for five hours, finally slaying him in the end. He stays in Crotone for five months before returning to Albania to see Laura, where he sees a Persian flag waving atop the kingdom. He saves Laura from being beheaded from the hands of Emir, later recapturing the palace and saving his father, the King, and Count Adolfo; Florante is declared "Defender of Albania" for his bravery, deepening Adolfo's envy and hatred.

Florante protects the kingdom from the Turkish forces under General Miramolin, an acclaimed conqueror. In Aetolia, Florante later receives a letter from King Linceo, requesting him to come back to Albania. Upon returning, he is ambushed by 30,000 soldiers under Adolfo's orders and is imprisoned for 18 days. In prison, he learns his father and the king were beheaded by Adolfo. Florante is exiled to the forest and is tied to a tree for two days.