Week 9

 Iconic Poems in the English Language

Poetry employs forms and traditions to indicate multiple meanings or create emotions. Assonance, alliteration, onomatopoeia, and rhythm create musical or incantatory effects. Poems frequently have several meanings due to ambiguity, symbolism, irony, and other poetic diction. Metaphor, simile, and metonymy create a resonance between completely unrelated pictures by layering meanings and generating new connections. Rhyme and rhythm may resonate between verses.

Pablo Neruda's 'Sonnet XI' is a fourteen-line sonnet divided into four stanzas. The first and second are quatrains, which have four lines each, while the third and fourth are tercets, which have three lines each. There is no distinct rhyme scheme or metrical rhythm since Neruda wrote in Spanish and this poem has been translated into English.

Despite the translation process, there are various literary approaches in 'Sonnet XI' that a keen reader might examine. Anaphora, exaggeration, and imagery are only a few examples. The latter is perhaps the most significant. The aspects of a poem that captivate a reader's senses are referred to as imagery.

The term "image" has traditionally been associated with visual sights, things that a reader might imagine seeing, but imagery encompasses much more than that. It is something that can be felt with the five senses. There are countless photographs that need to be highlighted. However, one of the better descriptions is of the woman's body and the "sunbeam flashing" from it. Another outstanding example can be found in the final line of the first verse and the phrase "liquid measure of your steps."

Hyperbole is a deliberately exaggerated description, comparison, or outburst intended to advance the writer's main points or have a certain impression on the reader. A nice example may be seen in line four of the second stanza, when the speaker states he wants to consume this woman's body like a "whole almond."

Neruda often employs anaphora, which is the repeating of a word or phrase at the start of numerous lines, generally in sequence. This approach is often used to emphasise something. Its execution may result in the creation of a list of words, things, or actions. Almost every phrase in this poem begins with the word "I." It occurs at the start of seven lines.

In the opening verse of "Sonnet XI," the speaker gently describes someone he loves and wants. In their absence, he "craves" their "mouth," "voice," and "hair". "Crave" begins a series comparing desire to hunger. Words and allusions will continue this picture pattern. He uses "starving" and "prowl" to portray himself as an animal in the following sentences. He hunts this lady. "Silent," "starving," and "streets" are sibilants in the second line. However, this approach may not have been used in the original Spanish version.In the third line, “does,” “dawn,” “disrupt,” and “day” alliterate. He's describing how hard it is to be apart from this lady. He's famished for her. Neruda's famous final sentence ends this verse. “I look for the liquid measure of your steps.” This sentence has several meanings. Neruda wants her sensual, quiet movement. It flows through his life like light yet forceful water. Hunters may follow tracks.

In the second verse, the speaker compares passion to hunger and himself to a predator chasing prey. He craves her "sleek chuckle" and hands. He calls her hands "savage harvest colour." This corporeal representation shows the reader an intimate emotional intensity. In the following words, he calls her nails "pale stones". They're delicate and water-shaped. He wants to "devour" her "skin like a whole nut," which is exaggeration. This sentence emphasises his feelings. He simply compares his ideas to real eating.

In the third verse, "eat" occurs twice more with tremendous imagery. Her body is a "sunbeam flashing" to him. This suggests something ethereal, heavenly, warm, and worshippable. The second phrase implies this lady is proud. "Sovereign" and "arrogant" show this. Queenly. When this lady shuts her eyes, she creates a "fleeting" shadow.

In ‘Sonnet XI's last three lines, the speaker underlines his animalistic character. He stalks. He is "sniffing the twilight" for "your hot heart" like a puma. Neruda figuratively places the poem in Chile's "barrens of Quitratu" in the final line. The final phrase is a simile that recalls all the hunting and hunger themes throughout the book.