Response to the Poem Sonnet Xii by Pablo Neruda

The poem, Sonnet XII by Pablo Neruda and translated by Stephen Mitchell, is a four stanza poem about the universe and love. Each stanza is composed of four verses describing the love between man and the universe. In the first stanza, Neruda describes the charm of the world and life. He mentions various features of the universe to describe its beauty and love for man. He recounts things like women, apples, hot moon, and the thick scent of seaweeds, mud and light to describe its beauty. He says there is a glimpse of brilliance in all columns of live. He wonders how a man feels in the night with all these excellent fortunes. In the second verse, Neruda describes love between two people. He uses metaphor to compare love to a journey with water and stars. In addition, he describes love as a journey with smothered air and rapid storms. He goes ahead to describe love as lightning-bolts clashing where two people get defeated by love and give in.

The third and fourth stanzas show the romantic and intimate part of loving. The author describes how, by use a kiss, he moves across his woman's infinity, borders and other obstacles to get intimately involved with her. Further, he describes the delight of the sexual intercourse, how it runs through her blood veins. Additionally, the genital fire and delight described in the poem is used to illustrate the pleasures of life. Finally, he talks of the end of the sexual fun and life using a simile to show how it wears out. The delight is said to fall like a dark carnation, and he compares it to a flash in the night.

Neruda uses metaphor in this poem to compare the life he loves to plants and other world phenomena. He compares it to a fleshly apple and hot moon. This metaphor is used to emphasize the attractiveness of life and the rest of the world. The message derived here is the obsession and love the writer has for his life and the universe. Neruda further uses metaphor to describe the sweet smell of the universe, and its features. He uses the scent of seaweed and mud to describe the sweet scents of the world that man experiences every day. The other aspect of metaphor is used in Neruda's description of love. He compares loving to a journey with water, smothered air, storms and stars. He also goes ahead to refer to love as lightning bolts clashing. This is used to emphasize steps of loving and challenges involved. It also shows how two people can love just as man and the world love each other. Moreover, Neruda uses the element of imagery to describe the universe and its features. His use of various objects like fleshly apple creates a clear picture of what the poet is talking about. His description of the rivers and villages creates an outstanding image of the universe.

I love this poem because of the fascinating themes that it portrays. The poem discusses messages about life, the universe and love that it carries. The author was extremely in love with life and the universe. He loved