This week’s reading surprised me in a very positive way. I am not a fan of poetry in general, as personally, I find it harder to understand and connect with the writer. Moreover, everything I had heard and read about the politician and writer Pablo Neruda hadn’t been very positive or especially “poetic”, but thanks to these readings I was able to know him in a different way ad to discovered his identity as a poet.
“Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair” is a profound analysis of love and its intricacies. Neruda makes use of methaphors, allusion, hyperboles, powerful imagery and overall emotional language to transmit the reader his deepest thoughts about what it feels to be in love and the complications that this brings. The writer also focuses on his cravings for love and being loved, his desires, emotional connection with his beloved. In his poems, Neruda argues about the difference between having passionate feelings for someone and the reality of a love relationship and its implicit struggles.
A main topic in these poems that was what caught my attention the most was the wide variety of feelings that love can cause in an individual, from happiness, passion, warmth, and intimacy to fear, despair, and pain. Moroever, another central topic is the idea of love as a powerful force which can transform an individuals mindset, feelings, ideas, and actions. For instance, there is a poem where he explains this idea by implying that being in love can change your perspectives about the world you live in, in that case making it more hopefull and “seductive”. Another recurring theme in some of his poems is the suffering behind using someone you love. I liked this because in a way I was able to connect with his feelings, finding them broad in some way, since losing someone you love can happen in many different ways and can have a variety of emotional consequences.
Overall, every time I read poetry I found everything I read too exagerated and unrealistic, which made me had a least deep connection with its ideas. However, I was able to empathize with Neruda’s feelings and understand his reflections in a special way. As I mentioned before, several poems explain a broad perspective on the positive and negative feelings that love can bring, allowing me to compare his throughts with personal feelings and reflections I had made on these topics.
How did these poems make you feel about love? Overall, did you reach a postive or negative conclusion about the emotions intrinsic to love? Why?
Julia, I think I understand what you mean in terms of reading these poems. Neruda displays multiple feelings around his idea of love: the book is short, but the intensity is concentrated. It is true that some of Neruda’s ideas are inappropriate. But what strikes me is that even so several have mentioned that the poet’s affects have resonance in them. The conversation with Prof. Orr-Álvarez touches on that topic a bit.
Hi, I agree with your view of his poems as prompting empathy from the reader, as I certainly felt this way looking over his poems. On the contrary, I found the exaggerations the most unique components of the poems! They speak to the desperation and isolation inherent in any creative endeavour, and it is perhaps owing to this I had a more positive reaction to Neruda’s poems.