I won’t lie. A lot of poetry I have read in the past didn’t particularly catch my attention. Perhaps I didn’t always pay close attention to the intricacies of literary devices used throughout. I always much preferred a ‘typical’ novel that was easy to read–to interpret. But, there is so much beauty in poetry that I didn’t give enough credit or recognition to. That is, up until now after reading Pablo Neruda’s Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair.” 

Neruda has such a way with the usage of devices like metaphors, personification, hyperboles, and especially imagery to display the ways in which he feels love–and just how outward that love pours out to the one he is infatuated with. His emotions are spread across each page that show how deep those feelings run. One thing that caught my eye, in particular, is how Neruda expressed how he views his love. For example, in Chapter 2 titled “The Light Wraps You”, Neruda says: 

“Twilight falling in your eyes, toy doll,

Earth-shell, in whom the earth sings”

This was a beautiful line to me. Lines like this and “Abstracted pale mourner, standing that way against the old propellors of twilight that revolves around you”, (12) also from Chapter 2, shows how Neruda centers this woman he is in love with as if she is the centre, not only of his mind but also his world. I thought it was such a pretty way of showing how in love somebody is with someone else. Yet, lines like “I loved her, and sometimes she loved me too” and “To think that I do not have her. To feel that I have lost her” (61-62) shows the feelings one might feel after the light of a love ran out, or the overall negative feelings that follow a lost love: despair, guilt, anger, sadness, regret. All around, Neruda was effective in showing his connection to his lover while also highlighting the struggles of being in love. It makes the reader feel compassionate toward him, or even empathetic, because perhaps one can relate to him in the way he describes relationships and the pain that may come with it. 

At first, I was more confused with exactly what he was trying to convey, but the longer I read on, it all made sense, and I began finding myself relating to Neruda’s feelings over time. Although it was published in 1924, his words are timeless and allow for contemplation and reflection upon ones own relationships. 

My question for you is: Did Neruda bring about any particular feelings about love for you? Maybe he even changed your perspective on it? Were you able to relate to what he wrote?