Questions and Answers for Pablo Neruda
Pablo Neruda
"We Are Many" has been called a "geography of self" poem. What do you think the term means?
The poet has dug deep within his self. His introspection has unraveled some unexpected facts about himself. He has discovered that he is not simply a single being! In fact, there are many persons...
Pablo Neruda
What does the last line, "The moon lives in the lining of your skin" in "Ode to a beautiful nude" mean?
Neruda is writing in Spanish, of course. An alternate translation of the line is "Under your skin the moon is alive." Neruda's poem is about a woman, yes, but also about the problem of vision and...
Pablo Neruda
What is the central idea of "Ode to Clothes" by Pablo Neruda?
The late Chilean journalist, author, and poet Pablo Neruda left behind a rather unusual body of work that included a long list of “odes” to myriad and seemingly mundane items and activities such as...
Pablo Neruda
Explain the metaphors used by Pablo Neruda in "If You Forget Me."
A metaphor is a comparison of two unalike things in which one is said to be the other without the use of a word such as "like" or "as." The speaker of this poem describes the moon as "crystal," and...
Pablo Neruda
What imagery is used in the poem "If You Forget Me" by Pablo Neruda?
Imagery consists of descriptive language that is meant to appeal to our senses. It can convey physical experience that feels very familiar, but it can also allow us to experience—via language—new...
Pablo Neruda
Explain Pablo Neruda's poem "Ode to Tomatoes."
Among the late Chilean poet Pablo Neruda's poems is one titled "Ode to Socks." In it, Neruda praises, as the title suggests, socks. In his poem "Ode to Tomatoes," he praises, obviously, tomatoes....
Pablo Neruda
In Pablo Neruda's Sonnet VI ('"Lost in the forest...'"), how is the theme of loss and memory developed using the...
[eNotes editors can only answer one question per posting. If you have additional questions, please post them separately.] Perceptions in poetry are very subjective as poetry speaks to many people...
Pablo Neruda
What is the tone used in the poem, "If You Forget Me" by Pablo Neruda?
There is a distinct difference between the definition of mood and tone in a piece of literature. Neruda's poetry is mesmerizing in the way he conveys his ardor and love for his lover; the mood,...
Pablo Neruda
Please explain Pablo Neruda's "Lost in the Forest," stanza by stanza. ...
[Poetry is based on personal responses: these are my own perceptions of Neruda's poem.] In Neruda's poem "Lost in the forest," my understanding of the poem in its entirety comes from the resolution...
Pablo Neruda
What is the tone used in the poem: "Every day you play" by Pablo Neruda? Can you give me at least two examples where...
Neruda's poem is one of love and romance, incredulity playing in the author's tone as he praises his love for seeing beyond his faults: "How you must have suffered getting accustomed to:me,my...
Pablo Neruda
What are some metaphors Pablo Neruda uses in "Every Day You Play"?
[enotes editors are only permitted to answer one question per posting. Additional questions need to be posted separately.] There are a number of metaphors in Pablo Neruda's love poem, entitled,...
Pablo Neruda
What are imagery, tone and metaphors used by Pablo Neruda in "Saddest Poem?"
[eNotes editors can only answer one question per posting. Additional questions should be posted separately.] The tone of the poem "Saddest Poem," which is how the author feels about his subject, is...
Pablo Neruda
What is "The Saddest Poem" by Pablo Neruda about?
"The Saddest Poem" by Pablo Neruda is about lost love. The speaker laments over the loss of a lover, not who has died, but who has moved on from him. His strong connection of the poem to the stars...
Pablo Neruda
Could you please give me a summary of "Ars Poetica" by Pablo Neruda?
The title, "Ars Poetica," which means "the art of poetry," gives us a clue about the subject of this poem. The poem describes the poetic process. According to Neruda's speaker, poetry arises out of...
Pablo Neruda
In the poems "The Heights of Macchu Picchu" and "Middle Passage," what is similar and different about how Neruda and...
Neruda and Hayden's poems are alike in that in both the speakers wish to speak for the oppressed. In Neruda's words, the poet comes: to speak for and through your dead mouths. Attach your bodies...
Pablo Neruda
Please provide examples of the kinds of figures of speech used in the poem, "Every day you play" by Pablo Neruda.
[eNotes editors are only permitted to answer one question per posting. Additional questions must be posted separately.] In Pablo Neruda's poem, "Every Day You Play," metaphorical language is used...
Pablo Neruda
Discuss the imagery in "Everyday You Play" by Pablo Neruda.
Imagery employed by a poet brings to the reader a sensory experience. Pablo Neruda’s “Every Day You Play” depends on his word images to explain the relationship that he describes. Neruda was known...
Pablo Neruda
What are the rhetorical devices in the poem "La Standard Oil Co." by Pablo Neruda?
Rhetoric is the art of persuasion, so rhetorical devices are devices that persuade an audience. Neruda is trying to persuade his audience that letting the Standard Oil Company into a South American...
Pablo Neruda
In Pablo Neruda's Sonnet VI ("Lost in the forest..."), what do sound devices add to the poem? I'm especially confused...
In Pablo Neruda's early poetry, he used stanzas, rhyme and syntax, however, as he got older, for instance publishing a book in 1933, his poetic technique changed drastically. In [Residence on...
Pablo Neruda
What are the hidden meanings behind each of the 15 sections of Pablo Neruda's Canto General?
The Canto General’s fifteen sections, or cantos, document a chronological record of the exploits of kings, conquerors, dictators, and revolutionaries, as well as of the voices of workers and common...
Pablo Neruda
Are the last five lines of the poem "I'm explaining a few things" by Neruda more effective in English or Spanish?
Here is the original: Venid a ver la sangre por las calles,venid a verla sangre por las calles,venid a ver la sangrepor las calles! Here is Galway Kinnell's translation of these lines into...
Pablo Neruda
What does the fifth stanza in "Ode to a Beautiful Nude" mean?
This is a poem in praise of the female form and as the speaker in this poem gazes upon the nude who the poem is dedicated to, the tone of wonder, awe and amazement is clear as he contemplates what...
Pablo Neruda
Provide some meaning to the line "I hunt for the liquid measure of your steps" in "Love Sonnet XI" by Pablo Neruda.
This particular line from Neruda's "Love Sonnet XI" is an expression of the deep desire that the speaker has for the object of his affection. In an already intense, passionate poem, the line stands...
Pablo Neruda
What is the thesis of "Shakespeare, Prince of Light" by Pablo Neruda?
Contained within his volume, Passions and Impressions, Pablo Neruda's essay, "Shakespeare, Prince of Light," is an ode to perhaps the most revered author in history. This is its thesis: William...
Pablo Neruda
Why is this an appropriate metaphor for him to use? Shakespeare, Prince of Light - Pablo Neruda In the second last...
In agreement with all the above, perhaps we should take a look at the title as well. A number of characters in Shakespeare's plays could be called "princes of darkness." Some examples are Hamlet,...
Pablo Neruda
Kinnell's "Blackberry Eating" and Neruda's "Sweetness, Always." How do these poems construct a connection between...
In Pablo Neruda's "Sweetness, Always," and Galway Kinnell's "Blackberry Eating," the poems use images of food and eating, compared to poetry. Kinnell describes ravaging blackberry stalks and taking...
Pablo Neruda
Provide some meaning to the line "I hunt for the liquid measure of your steps" in "Love Sonnet XI" by Pablo Neruda.
The line in question, "I hunt for the liquid measure of your steps," is the final line of the first stanza. In the previous line, the speaker indicates that he hunts for his love's steps "all day."...
Pablo Neruda
What metaphors are there in "Ode to a beautiful nude"?
"Ode to a Beautiful Nude" is rife with literary elements that include, among many others, metaphors and similes. Similes are direct comparisons between two unrelated things that do share at least...
Pablo Neruda
Can you suggest any theme of the poem "The Saddest Poem" by Pablo Neruda? Something like "love is irreplaceble."
I think this poem is more about the impermanence of Earthly things than it is about love being irreplaceable. The main theme is that while the concept of love seems infinite, love between people is...
Pablo Neruda
What can you say about the meter in "Ode to a Beautiful Nude"?
It is important to remember that all of Neruda's poems were written in Spanish, and therefore what we see are translations of those poems into English. Obviously, meter is impacted by translation,...
Pablo Neruda
What is the tone of the poem "If You Forget Me"?
In terms of tone, "If You Forget Me" is distinctly phasic. It can be split into three parts. Initially, it speaks of love in classical romantic metaphors: fire, moon, autumn, isles, and sailing...
Pablo Neruda
Can you please give me a biography of Pablo Neruda?
Pablo Neruda was born in 1904, baptized as Neftali Ricardo Reyes Basoalto. Interestingly, he changed his name when he first began writing poetry to avoid embarrassing his father, who disapproved of...
Pablo Neruda
What is an analysis of the Matilde Urrutia sonnets?
Matilde Urrutia was the third wife of Pablo Neruda and the subject of a series of his work, mostly sonnets. The first work of Neruda's to reference Urrutia was Los Versos del Capitan. He would...
Pablo Neruda
What are the images used by Neruda in Hunter in the Forest? hunter after roots
The imagery that is used by Pablo Neruda in his poem "Hunter in the Forest" is rich and very descriptive, as it illustrates a man that is caught in the depths of a very thick forest, which...
Pablo Neruda
What are the sources of good writing according to "Tonight I Can Write" by Pablo Neruda?
This poem points towards the source of good poetry being a deep dissatisfaction that abides within the soul, which expresses itself in some of the most exquisite lines in all love poetry. The...
Pablo Neruda
What are the themes in Hunter in The Forest by Pablo Neruda?
"The Hunter in the Forest" is a poem which belongs to Isla Negra, a collection of verses and poems of autobiographical nature written by the master poet Neftalí Ricardo Reyes Basoalto, also known...