Poetry – Pablo Neruda

1. Poetry – Pablo Neruda • 1. The speaker in this poem may represent, not only Neruda, but may also be a persona for all poets who may want to convey a message. • At the beginning the speaker is unsure of himself; by the end he is excited and has gained confidence. • In st. 1 he describes himself: “I was without a face”; “I did not know what to say”; “my eyes were blind” – meaning that he doesn’t have a sense of who he is. • In st. he begins to change: “I made my own way”. He still has uncertainty but has the confidence to take a risk; he still sees himself as ”someone who knows nothing” • an epiphany occurs with “and suddenly I saw” • In st. 3 he feels he is infinite like the universe; he is intoxicated by the vastness of space that he has to fill with words; by writing he participates in a discovery of the mysteries of life and himself. He has discovered the pure part of his identify, although he cannot yet fully describe it because it is as deep as an abyss. “I infinitesimal being”, “drunk with the great starry void”, “myself a pure part of the abyss”

2. After the line “and suddenly I saw” images of the universe, the heavens, and space are repeated: “the heavens unfastened”; “open planets”; “the winding night, the universe”; “great, starry void”; “the abyss”; “wheeled with the stars”; “my heart broke loose on the wind”. • paradox – “pure nonsense, pure wisdom”- within the apparent nonsense of his first rough lines of poetry, there are seeds of wisdom or truth.