Neruda

Pablo Neruda, a Chilean communist, political activist, and poet, wrote extensively on both private, emotional subjects (such as love and and daily life) and public injustices during his life, the latter born out of the politically-charged murder of a friend of his. In his poem “Walking Around,” Neruda paints a vivid picture of both his feelings toward society and life and his perception of the city in which he walks, using evocative imagery and carefully calculated stanzas to achieve his purpose.

The poem begins with Neruda stating that he is tired of being a man, which he later repeats for emphasis, comparing himself to a “felt swan navigating on a water of origin and ash” instead of the human that he is (lns 1-4). The evolution and commercialization of the world in which he lives, as is evidenced by his discussion on movies, elevators, and the abundance of merchandise, is noxious in his eyes. Everything around him contributes to his unhappiness. Even the swan, a symbol of beauty, has become increasingly synthetic due to commercialism. Perhaps it is his ties with communism that makes him feel this way, though the poem never indicates this to be true.

He has a moment of clarity about a third of the way through the poem, suggesting that doing something out of character might reinvigorate him, but understands that an act of craziness will not rectify his feelings. Instead, he admits that, despite himself, he does not want to continue on in such a manner as to be miserable. Instead, he pushes through the dank city that he describes so vividly: damp houses, hospitals filled with the dead and dying, streets and withered homes filled with noisome smells, and even homes draped with intestines to signify degradation and decay.

Neruda wrote “Walking Around” in free verse, bereft of noticeable structure. The poem, like its subject, is literally stopping and starting, slowing down and speeding up, just as if Neruda was walking and stopping to observe.

The city in which he lives is broken, devoid of splendor or opportunity, yet Neruda embraces it as his own despite the depression it brings because it is a motivator, pushing him to do better and to be better.

Neruda, Pablo. “Walking Around.” Trans. W.S. Merwin. The Norton Anthology of World Literature: Shorter Third Edition, Two- Volume Set. W.W. Norton. Ed. M Puchner. 2012. 1423-1424. Print

Puchner, Martin. “”Pablo Neruda”. The Norton Anthology of World Literature: Shorter Third Edition, Two- Volume Set. W.W. Norton. Ed. M Puchner. 2012. 1421-1422. Print