Poetry

And it was at that age ... Poetry arrived

in search of me. I don't know, I don't know where
it came from, from winter or a river.
I don't know how or when,
no they were not voices, they were not
words, nor silence,
but from a street I was summoned,
from the branches of night,
abruptly from the others,
among violent fires
or returning alone,
there I was without a face
and it touched me.

I did not know what to say, my mouth

had no way
with names,
my eyes were blind,
and something started in my soul,
fever or forgotten wings,
and I made my own way,
deciphering
that fire,
and I wrote the first faint line,
faint, without substance, pure
nonsense,
pure wisdom
of someone who knows nothing,
and suddenly I saw
the heavens
unfastened
and open,
planets,
palpitating plantations,
shadow perforated,
riddled
with arrows, fire and flowers,
the winding night, the universe.

And I, infinitesimal being,

drunk with the great starry
void,
likeness, image of
mystery,
felt myself a pure part
of the abyss,
I wheeled with the stars,
my heart broke loose on the wind.

Pablo Neruda
Pablo Neruda was a Chilean poet-diplomat and politician, who was born on 12 July, 1904.
Neruda became known as a poet when he was 13 years old. He won the Nobel Prize for
Literature in 1971. His works are popular and influential worldwide. In his 1964 poem ‘Poetry’,
Neruda has clearly captured the essence of what it is to be inspired by something that it becomes
a crucial part of your life. “And it was at that age ... Poetry arrived
in search of me… and it
touched me”. Through these lines, we can describe the speaker as someone who has recently
discovered his love and passion for poetry. Basically, the entire poem is telling us about the
speaker’s love for poetry, how it ‘touched’ him and what happened when he started writing
poems. Before he was introduced to poetry, he was unable to express himself and communicate
his ideas. Poetry found him in a time of depression and loneliness and helped him identify
himself when he was ‘without a face’. workings. He loves the way he can express himself his
emotions and thoughts through poetry.
The poem starts calmly, in a matter-of-fact sort of way. Gradually, the pace increases, as does the
mystery. Neruda has used various literary devices throughout the poem.
“And it was at that age ... Poetry arrived
in search of me.”
“I was without a face
and it touched me.”
Neruda has made the use of personification in the first line of the poem. He addresses poetry as a
person. He has given poetry human attributes. He also already stated that poetry has found him.
Usually poets seeks inspiration, but in this case, poetry seeks him.

“planets,
palpitating plantations”
The poet has used alliteration in this case.

“pure
nonsense,
pure wisdom
of someone who knows nothing”

He has used a paradox in this case. He has put opposing ideas together to show the complex
feelings. The words contradict each other.

• Visual Imagery- “violent fires” “heavens unfastened”

• Tactile Imagery- “it touched me”
The poem has an abundance of imagery. Each of the images contributes to the feel of the poem.

“there I was without a face”

“my eyes were blind”
“my heart broke loose on the wind”
The poet has used hyperbole by exaggerating.

The overall message in the poem is that poetry allows people to broaden their perspective and
take in their surrounding and allows them to explore things they might have taken for granted.
The poet is also trying to convey the message that poetry in a way helps people discover their
true identity and can help them in times of distress and sadness. Through the first stanza, the poet
tries to convey that poetic instinct can come at any time. It may need time to kick in. Also, it is
the time and thought that brings out the poetry out of a person. Other than the literal meaning, I
think the poet is trying to tell the readers that what it feels like to be captivated by something and
how this can be life changing. I think the poet has been effective in communicating what he
wants to explain and the idea of the poem. He has correctly used the literary devices to explain
the theme.