Pablo Neruda's Sonnet XVII: A Literary Critique

Sonnet XVII

I do not love you as if you were salt-rose, or topaz,

or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off.

I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,

in secret, between the shadow and the soul.

I love you as the plant that never blooms

but carries in itself the light of hidden flowers;

thanks to your love a certain solid fragrance,

risen from the earth, lives darkly in my body.

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where.

I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride;

so I love you because I know no other way

than this: where I does not exist, nor you,

so close that your hand on my chest is my hand,

so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep

Pablo Neruda

Pablo Neruda expresses what may be the essence of love. He does so by sketching images that describe love's nature through a potent string of words. Vivid imagery, a defining depiction of love, and a careful selection of words achieved with poetic precision--these are a few notable characteristics of Pablo Neruda's Sonnet XVII.

The vivid imagery skillfully sketched by the author is evident throughout the work. He employs concrete images to communicate the idea he wishes to get across to the reader. Such lines include, "the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off" and "dark things between the shadow and the soul." In the mentioned lines from the poem, the persona suggests that he harbors feelings of infatuation for his lover not as something warm and pleasing as the pale reddish hue of an ember, but as a dark covert secret. The message of the persona contained within the same lines might not have been illustrated as effectively had it not been for the vivid imagery. The persona then compares his love to "[a] plant that never blooms/but carries in itself the light of hidden flowers” and expresses his gratitude to the lover as “a certain solid fragrance/risen from the earth lives darkly in his body.” The poem draws to an end with an image of the persona sharing a singular existence or being with that whom he loves: “…so close that your hand on my chest is my hand/so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep.” Once more, the imagery here in the poem’s concluding lines—that of a person, or two persons sharing a common being—does assist the reader in understanding how two people seem to be more than part of each other as they are rendered one and the same by the love between them.

              Another notable feature of the poem is the defining depiction of love communicated effectively by the author. Pablo Neruda plays with the image of shadow or darkness, suggesting an idea on love: that the ‘shadows’ of that whom one loves are overlooked, and light is shed on the poem’s latent yet genuine beauty. This is evident in such lines as: “I love you as certain dark things as certain dark things are to be loved/in secret, between the shadow and the soul.” In love, one always sees the best in his lover in spite of an often misleading façade. The persona expresses this by saying, “I love you as the plant that never blooms/but caries in itself the light of hidden flowers.” Love therefore equally brings out the best in someone as “a certain solid fragrance/risen from the earth lives darkly in [the] body.” Furthermore, love is often unquestioned if one feels it indeed is deeply true as according to the persona; “I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where/I love you straightforwardly…” What actually makes love special though is its way of making lovers seem to be of a singular existence as expressed by the lines previously discussed in the preceding paragraph.

                What strikes the reader overall is the careful selection of words achieved perhaps only with a poet’s precision. As a poem, subtlety is evident as a multitude of ideas are only implied through a skilled use of imagery. Subtlety is perhaps one thing that qualifies a poem as good, and this is incontrovertibly achieved through a potent string of words the writer employs at every point in the poem.

                In concluding then, the poem shall strike its reader with vivid and effectively graphic imagery, a meaningful and perhaps relevant depiction of love, and poetically precise diction that heightens both content and form. Love’s essence is conveyed, and the reader is left satisfied and reflective.