Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Sonnet XVII

Hello! This is Amal and here is one of my favourite sonnets.

Sonnet XVII by Pablo Neruda

I don't love you as if you were the salt-rose, topaz
or arrow of carnations that propagate fire:
I love you as certain dark things are loved,
secretly, between the shadow and the soul.

I love you as the plant that doesn't bloom and carries
hidden within itself the light of those flowers,
and thanks to your love, darkly in my body
lives the dense fragrance that rises from the earth.

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where,
I love you simply, without problems or pride:
I love you in this way because I don't know any other way of loving

but this, in which there is no I or you,
so intimate that your hand upon my chest is my hand,
so intimate that when I fall asleep it is your eyes that close.
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2 comments:

ENG3U Student said...

This poem is very dramatic in its own way. I especially like the part where it says "I love you as certain dark things are loved,
secretly, between the shadow and the soul." It really makes you think about what does exist in that space. Due to the fact that the author wasn't too specific, it lets your imagination do the work. The imagery is really well written and described.


The third stanza is also often true, because true love is usually does not have a certain point in time that you can point to and say: "That's the exact minute that I fell in love."

--Angelina =]

November 7, 2007 at 3:15 PM
ENG3U Student said...

Amal,

This sonnet is lovely. I interpret it as a scathing alternative to the "blazon du corps feminin", the courtly love convention which we have discussed in class.

My favourite line is "I love you simply, without problems or pride" and it is this line along with a few others that make me think that this sonnet is entirely opposing the blazon. Just think of the unrequited love present in so many petrarchan sonnets-- those are the "problems" I believe the speaker is referencing. The "pride" might be referencing the certain lofty, overly dramatic diction used in the aformentioned sonnets.

Very sweet,
Mr. G

November 8, 2007 at 11:40 PM

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