An Excerpt from "Ode To Typography"
By Pablo Neruda
Amor,
My love,
amo
I love
las letras
the letters
de tu pelo
of your hair,
la
the
U
U
de tu mirada
of your gaze,
las
the
S
S
de tu talle.
of your figure.
En las hojas
In the leaves
de la joven primavera
of youthful spring
relumbra alfabeto
the diamond alphabet
diamantino
sparkles,
las esmeraldas
emeralds
escriben tu nombre
write your name
con iniciales frescas de rocío.
with the fresh initials of dew.
Mi amor,
My love,
tu cabellera
your head of hair
profunda
deep
como selva o diccionario
as the jungle or the dictionary
me cubre
covers me
con su totalidad
with its totality
de idioma
of red
rojo.
language.
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Neruda, Pablo. "Ode to Typography." Fifty Odes. Trans. George Schade. Austin: Host Publications, Inc., 1996. pp 252-277.
In an excerpt from one of my favorite poems by Pablo Neruda, the author mixes random letters of the alphabet with vivid, detailed descriptions of his love. This piece certainly pertains to love, as Neruda is considered one of the "love poets" and whose topics generally revolve around love.
Mechanically, it is not practical to look at aspects of poetry such as alliteration, consonance, assonance, or onomatopoeia, as Pablo Neruda is a Chilean poet and his work has been translated into English from its original tongue. Many of its devices that would be heard in the oral presentation of a poem are lost in translation.
As it is, however, Neruda's rich descriptions and thoroughly pleasing mental imagery, invoked with ample adjectives, far make up for the losses in auditory mechanical devices. The author describes the form of a woman, using the alphabet. Her hair, twisting and turning is like letters, present is the "the/U/of [her] gaze," (lines 5-7), and the curves of the female form like the letter "S," (line 9). Neruda uses personification to describe spring as "youthful" in line 12. "My love" is repeated several times throughout the piece, as Neruda uses his writing to praise his beloved. There is an example of simile in "Ode To Typography," as the author compares the thick head of his love's hair to "the jungle or the dictionary," (line 22).
In my personal description of Neruda's poem, when he writes, "the diamond alphabet/sparkles,/emeralds/write your name," lines 13-16) the phrase almost seems to convey that words can paint beautiful and priceless pictures, just as setting "typography" with gemstones would be. I believe that this is the whole point behind Neruda's seemingly confused adjectives and 'random' mental imagery. It matters not that his work does not have a conventional semblance of scheme, rhythm, or rhyme; it matters that vivid and clear mental pictures can be derived in exactly the way the poet intended.