Tonight I Can Write By Pablo Neruda Summary

Pablo Neruda was a poet and politician from Chile. He is recognized as among the best poets to have appeared in the 20th century. His reputation extends well beyond the Spanish-speaking community, but he is also popular and esteemed in the United States and Europe. Before passing away from heart failure 2 years later, in 1973, Neruda received the Nobel Prize for Literature.

The poem "Tonight I Can Write" was written by Pablo Neruda, a Chilean poet & Nobel winner. The poem was released in 1924 as a part of the anthology "Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair" by Neruda. The poem is an examination of the feelings of love and loss. The speaker opens by saying that he can compose the saddest sentences tonight, conveying his intense sentiments of loss and sorrow. The scene is presented as a starry night with distant blue stars trembling. The speaker's reflection is set against a rotating night breeze, which heightens the mood of sadness.

The poem continues by describing the memory of lost love, including the happy and joyful times they enjoyed and the agony that now surrounds those memories. The speaker acknowledges having a profound affection for someone and that there were times when she felt the same way about them?the speaker's emotional state and expression level increase as the poem continues. The speaker was saddened when their love, however, finally came to an end.

Neruda portrays the beauty and sensitivity of the time together between the speaker and their ex-lover throughout the whole poem. Among the speaker's most treasured memories are their time holding hands, walking together, and exchanging kisses. The poem's imagery and words vividly bring these times to life, which arouses feelings of desire and regret.

Neruda expertly captures the strange character of the speaker's feelings. Despite the speaker's declaration that they no longer love their ex-partner, there is some doubt there. The speaker's sadness is clearly audible due to the lingering bond and remaining affection. The speaker thinks about time passing and the certainty that their ex-lover will be with someone else as the poem proceeds. When the speaker is alone on a starry night without his girlfriend, it doesn't matter that he can't keep her. His spirit is unable to accept her passing since he can hear someone singing in the distance. Even though he isn't in love with her, he once was, and his voice seeks out the wind so that she would hear him. The night or the trees haven't changed, but he and his beloved have.

Just like she did before falling in love with the speaker, the lover will one day belong to someone else. He claims he doesn't love her but afterward wonders whether he still does. The speaker's agony is heightened by the knowledge that their beloved's eyes, lips, and everything will belong to another, bringing even another sorrowful dimension to the poem. In any event, falling in love takes less time than forgetting. Neruda explores the yearning to let the past go and move forward in his writing. The speaker considers setting letters and pictures on fire to represent a desire to forget about past romantic relationships. The speaker realizes that love has left an irrevocable imprint on their spirit, making it difficult to let go fully.

He struggles to cope with the loss on these evenings, identical to when he was with his lover. After this night, he promises, he won't have to put up with her anymore, and he won't continue to compose poetry about her.

Conclusion

The poem "Tonight I can write" demonstrates Neruda's command of language and his capacity to provoke strong emotions. The poem captures the ubiquity of sadness and the influence of memories on the present. Neruda asks readers to dive into the deepest levels of their own emotions and consider the lasting impacts of lost love via his thoughtful and contemplative lyrics.