To what extent is Neruda the voice of Chile? Body of a woman is one such poem that Neruda uses to depict the feeling of uncertainty held by many Chileans

Authors Avatar

Samirah Musazi

To what extent is Neruda the voice of Chile?

For many readers of Neruda’s “twenty love poems and a song of despair” it can be argued that they are indeed an exploration and celebration of love, sex and loneliness. These defining characteristics that make us human are what Neruda so skilfully conveys in this collection of poems. However when viewed in a historical context and with Neruda’s country of origin in mind, it can also be argued that to some extent Neruda speaks on behalf of the people of Chile. Neruda lived in a turbulent Chile - coupled with political uncertainty and instability. Nonetheless in his depiction of what it is to be human: to lust, to love and to lose the reader is able to hear the thoughts of Neruda and in its echoes the remnants of the voices of the people of Chile.  

“Body of a woman” is one such poem that Neruda uses to depict the feeling of uncertainty held by many Chileans in the time period that was his life span. Such indication of this lies in the title of the poem as although it can be said that the poem is about a woman, on a deeper subtext the poem could also be centred on Chile itself. This assumption can be made as countries are often referred to by the personal pronoun she, as if they were women. If this premise is accepted to be true then the title adopts an alternative meaning, becoming Neruda’s way of exploring the physical and sociological characteristics of the country.  This can be seen in an examination of the title where it becomes obvious that Neruda seeks to create an image of uncertainty relating to the country Chile. Notice the lack of the possessive pronoun or definite article in: “Body of a woman”. It is as if the country has no one to which it belongs to, no real form of governance and thus diplomatically speaking no real significance. This can be seen more pertinently when the time period in which the poem was written is taken into consideration. During most of 1924, (the year in which the poem was published), Chile was described as being “politically paralyzed by a conflict between the President and the conservatively controlled congress.”  This form of governance which had come into power as a result of a military coup was later overthrown by another military coup.

Join now!

This idea is further reiterated when one takes into consideration Neruda’s use of the word body, a word which is repeated throughout the poem. “Body” in itself implies many different individual parts coming together in unison to form one full functional being. It can be said that in this poem in particular the body serves as an extended metaphor, coming to represent the people of Chile. However it is imperative to note the distinction Neruda draws between the people of Chile and the country of Chile itself. Neruda’s active choice to refer to the “body of a woman” rather than ...

This is a preview of the whole essay