Choose TWO of the line breaks in the following poem and explain how they work well in the poem, or why you like them, or how they make us understand the poem differently.
Absence
I have scarcely left you
When you go in me, crystalline,
Or trembling,
Or uneasy, wounded by me
Or overwhelmed with love, as
when your eyes
Close upon the gift of life
That without cease I give you.
My love,
We have found each other
Thirsty and we have
Drunk up all the water and the
Blood,
We found each other
Hungry
And we bit each other
As fire bites,
Leaving wounds in us.
But wait for me,
Keep for me your sweetness.
I will give you too
A rose.
When you go in me, crystalline,
Or trembling,
Or uneasy, wounded by me
Or overwhelmed with love, as
when your eyes
Close upon the gift of life
That without cease I give you.
My love,
We have found each other
Thirsty and we have
Drunk up all the water and the
Blood,
We found each other
Hungry
And we bit each other
As fire bites,
Leaving wounds in us.
But wait for me,
Keep for me your sweetness.
I will give you too
A rose.
Pablo Neruda
"We found each other
ReplyDeleteHungry"
"Close upon the gift of life
That without cease I give you."
I chose both of these line breaks because before the break, the first line has an almost metaphorical meaning it, and the second line puts the literal statement in it. Both of these line breaks exemplify underlying meanings in contemporary poems.
meaning in it,*
DeleteFor me personally, I enjoyed the second portion of the poem the best since it followed a slightly coherent pattern but still was unpredictable. For example, the line break before "Blood" truly makes a statement for the poem. It is unexpected yet poses a question to the reader of: what and whose blood? Also, when I was reading this part, I would never think that a love poem would seem so strange including such an unromantic word. Another example of a great line break is before "as fire bites". The personification of the line adds to its quality but this statement also makes the audience think. While reading, I thought it said, "as fire [ants] bite". Only after rereading the poem did I realize that I was wrong. In addition to the great use of simple imagery, the line breaks in this part of the poem follow the pattern in which the break usually comes directly after "each other". "Blood" and "as fire bites" are two very short lines, however, they surprise the reader and portray the true emotions/tone of this poem.
ReplyDeleteThe first line break I really like is-
ReplyDelete"We have found each other
Thirsty and we have"
I love the way that this reads because the first part "we have found each other" seems almost cliche its so predictable but then she continues with the adjective "thirsty" which I never would have expected to come after that, keeping me interested in the poem.
Another great line is-
"Drunk up all the water and the
Blood,"
I enjoy this line for a similar reason to the first, its unpredictable. The use of the word "blood" in what I would take to be a romantic poem throws me off in the best of ways. Blood makes me think of gore, and violence, but in this context- its turned into something totally different and unexpected. Also, the way its placed on its own separate line makes it stand out to me even more.
I think that this poem is beautiful. One of the line breaks that I especially like is:
ReplyDelete"Or uneasy, wounded by me
Or overwhelmed with love."
The beginning of this line sets up the poem as dark and sad, like someone was either physically or emotionally wounded by the other person in the poem. But, when "or overwhelmed with love" is added, it comes as a surprise, and shows the reader that the relationship was better than we originally intended. I am also fond of the line that reads:
" I will give you too
A rose"
This section is interesting, because in the line above, the writer speaks of his lover saving their sweetness for him. The reader is tricked into believing that the author will declare that he will save his sweetness, but instead he says that he will give his significant other a rose.
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ReplyDeleteThe first line break I really like is-
ReplyDelete"We have found each other
Thirsty and we have"
It makes you pause for a minute and really wonder okay, they have found each other. Great! What's next? Then it slowly goes into the word thirsty. You would never assume that the word thirsty would be there, and because of that.. it makes you want to keep reading.. wondering what exactly are they thirsty for?
The second line break that I like is-
"When you go in me, crystalline,
Or trembling,
Or uneasy, wounded by me
Or overwhelmed with love, as.."
I enjoy this because it also pauses. It is almost similar to the poem we read today in class, and how we were supposed to break up the line where we think it was best. The writer did the same thing that this writer did. It gives it emphasis and makes us wonder.
This poem really grasped my attention. On the first read of the poem, I had difficultly connecting to the relationship between the beautiful imagery and the title. Although on the second read of the poem, I could feel the love and need for each other between these two people. The two parts are my favorite, because of their vivid imagery. I was caught by surprise while reading the first one, because of the line breaking.
ReplyDelete"We have found each other
Thirsty and we have
Drunk up all the water and the
Blood,
We found each other"
After "drunk up all the water and the," I was certain sweat or tears would follow. When reading the word blood, I was forced to take a moment and process what I just read. I like the un-predictability of this portion.
The second one also caught me by surprise, but more importantly it clearly painted a picture and depicted the feeling of desperation.
"And we bit each other
As fire bites,
Leaving wounds in us."
"And we bit each other," say what? This line really captured my attention, because it leaves the reader hanging on what’s next. "As fire bites, (There is suspense here as you ask yourself, "fire bites") ”Leaving wounds in us" These people are so deeply in love that when they finally get together, their love is so strong, its as if fire bits them and leaves them with wounds. I love this is imagery, because I can feel it and see it.
"But wait for me,
ReplyDeleteKeep for me your sweetness.
I will give you too
A rose".
I like the last two lines the most out of this stanza. When the poems reads, "I will give you too," it sounds like the word to or two. It does not sound like "too" because of the way that we read. The line break at this point makes you think that something else is going to be said. It could be "I will give you two" million dollars. It does not say that though, I like the way the lines were broken up there.
"My love,
We have found each other
Thirsty and we have
Drunk up all the water and the
Blood,
We found each other
Hungry
And we bit each other
As fire bites,
Leaving wounds in us".
In this paragraph, I enjoyed the like break between "Drunk up all the water and the blood." Similar to the last paragraph, the way the line is broken up, makes me read it completely differently. When the poem says, "drunk up all the water and the," the reader expects there to be another accepted drink of some kind. But out of the blue, Pablo Neruda says blood. The two line break that I chose to talk about are both very interesting because of the way the breaks make the reader read the poem.
I think the key concept that makes this poem interesting is the odd language. In the first stanza, the poem is sweet and beautiful, then in the second it deals with blood, fire, and biting, and the poem ends sweet again. One of my favorite line breaks in this poem that demonstrates the dramatic language are the lines, "And we bit each other- as fire bites." The first line, "And we bit each other," grabs my attention and makes me want to decipher the meaning, while the second line gives me an image, "as fire bites." I feel that the second line serves to clarify the first line through imagery, yet leaves the reader thinking about what all the "biting" stood for, because i am sure two lovers did not literally bite each other. Another set of lines that grab my attention are "I will give you too- a rose." These lines command my attention simply because of the excellent ending to a poem that so recently talked about gruesome details. The ending is sweet and concise, and manages to magically change the entire mood of the poem. In addition, I also enjoy the fact that the poem first talks about how two lovers would go to great lengths for each other (stating when hungry they would take bites out of each other) and then the poem ends so simple as the author giving his lover a rose.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I like this poem because it expresses cliché ideas in a unique way. It pairs cliché phrases with odd, abstracted ideas and images. My favorite line break is:
ReplyDeleteWe found each other
Hungry
because the phrase "we found each other" is so commonly used, and upon first reading it, one can assume that she's just another poet writing about love. When she adds the word hungry alone, the attention of the reader goes directly to the word hungry, and it induces a feeling of brokenness and darkness. It alters the phrase from being joyful and light to gloomy and heavy.
The next line break that catches my attention is:
I will give you too
A rose
because when the poet writes "I will give you too", it creates an anticipation for what she will give. If she had put "A rose" in the same line, it would have destroyed the interest and anticipation that the line creates.
The first line break I like is-
ReplyDelete"We have found each other
Thirsty and we have"
I like this line break because it keeps you in suspense, I found myself asking well where did they find each other thinking she was going to say where they met each other but instead she says how they are thirsty for each other and that was a shocker.
The second line break I like is-
Drunk up all the water and the
Blood,
I really like this line break also, I think it is a really nice way of following up the first line break I mentioned. I like the way she broke it right after saying that they drank water and then she follows it up with something so unpredictable such as blood which is so different from water and was not expected at all.
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ReplyDelete"We have found each other
ReplyDeleteHungry"
I like this line break because when you read it you do not expect for it him to break before the last word, it emphasizes the word hungry, and then he continues to explain how; it also has the reader perceive it differently because if it were wrote "we have found each other hungry," it would be far less interesting.
The next line break that appeal to me was:
"As we bit each other
As fire bites,
Leaving wounds in us."
This line break is also interesting because it has a little bit of alliteration in the beginning of the sentence. It also is unexpected because the line breaks lead the readers through the poem and the line breaks gives the reader anticipation. It also gives a visual image in comparison to the other. Another place where he gives the reader anticipation is when he say,
"Drunk up all the water and the
Blood"
Again he leaves the reader with curiosity and it also emphasizes the word "blood", which is kind of quire.
"We have found each other
ReplyDeleteThirsty and we have"
I like this line break because as I read this poem I expected the line to continue with how or when the lovers met as if it were a love story, but instead it adds a twist to the poem giving it a darker tone. I also like these lines because they give a metaphorical message.
"Drunk up all the water and the
Blood,"
Once again I like this line break because it gives the poem a another dark image adding to the twist that was previously set. It also leaves the reader with a cliff of what might come next, which is blood and might not be expected by the reader.
"Or uneasy, wounded by me,
ReplyDeleteOr overwhelmed..."
This line break, to me, is mainly to separate "Or uneasy, wounded by me" from the rest of the poem. I think that it makes the poem-surfer slow down and focus on what they just read, really emphasizing and deepening the phrase, as well as making 'wounded' stand out a bit more.
"Drunk up all the water and the
Blood,"
Just like the first line break, I believe this one is added especially for emphasis. The break causes a pause when read, and 'blood' seems to come out of nowhere, throwing the reader off guard. (And for those people to whom this applies, this break prevents the reader from using twilight to try to comprehend).
I like the line break between "the" and "blood". Since blood is on a line all by its self that puts more emphasis on it. Also it takes that part of the poem from being light and airy about love, and changes it to give it a more savage feel, almost like a battle. This is what I think the writer wants and it shows the hurtful nature of love. He adds another twist in the next two lines when he puts a break between "other" and "hungry". This puts emphasis on hungry, who stands alone. The break turns love into something that is needed to live. And so with breaks the writer changes the outlook on love.
ReplyDelete"Drunk up all the water and the
ReplyDeleteBlood"
Is a particular break I found supportive to the poem because blood for instance is not what you think to drink, but instead emphasizes the idea of the heart and love. Also it mentions that "they" drank up all the water AND blood proving the point that they were so thirsty and desperate that they were left to drink the blood. The break directs attention to the word making us think what He is really trying to say.
Also I found this break purposeful
"I will give you too
A rose."
because the break not only adds a great impact to the words "a rose" but also "too" explaining that he too will return the favor that his lover has given him. It allows emphasis not only on the word, but the vision of the red, beautiful rose, as for the other work he broke apart from the sentence were harsh and more severe such as fire, blood, and weeping eyes. In the poem all of a sudden the break emphasizes a gentle rose after mentioning powerful and painful words. Also since the break was at the very end of the sentence I feel the poet especially meant to direct the readers eye to the importance of the word "rose."
I like "drunk up all the water and the (line break) blood" the most because it seems like there will be something normal and unsuspicious or mild then blood. Blood makes it seem gruesome and weird, which I like. I also like the line break right after that, that says We found each other (line break) hungry because it leaves you almost like the word after the line break, hungry. It changes the meaning from being we found each other hungry as in food, to we found each other hungry, it leaves the question hungry for love? Without answering it.
ReplyDeleteThe two sets of line breaks that I found most interesting where the following.
ReplyDelete"We found each other
Hungry
And we bit each other
As fire bites,"
For me, I started reading the poem in a romantic tone and that's how I expected the poem to develop. But when the poet threw in these line breaks it altered the story almost like a twist in a story plot. After you read the line "And we bit each other" it makes you re-read the poem all over again seeing the story in a new light or darkness.
The first line break I found to be interesting was:
ReplyDelete"We have found each other
Thirsty, and we have
Drunk up all the water and the
Blood..."
When I read this part, I pictured the speaker talking to his/her love, as if gasping, and struggling to speak. The author emphasizes the nouns that stand out like "water" and blood". The second line break that stood out to me was:
"But wait for me,
Keep for me your sweetness.
I will give you too
A rose."
In this excerpt, the author allows to interpret whether the speaker refers to the sweetness or the rose being given.
I see two particularly intriguing line breaks in this poem. The first one comes here:
ReplyDeleteOr overwhelmed with love, as
when your eyes
Close upon the gift of life
That without cease I give you.
I like the use of enjambment here. With the line break after "as", it leaves the reader at the mercy of the poet. I read on cautiously as I waited to read what he had to say, and I liked the term "close upon the gift of life", but it was slightly too abstract.
My love,
We have found each other
Thirsty and we have
Drunk up all the water and the
Blood,
We found each other
Hungry
And we bit each other
As fire bites,
Leaving wounds in us.
I like how "blood" has its own line here. It emphasizes the carnal nature of this love poem. Although the poet seems to truly love the woman he writes about, he definitely enjoys the carnal side of their relationship.
I think this author uses line breaks effectively to add separate meaning to the poem. The two most interesting line breaks that I chose were:
ReplyDelete"We found each other
Hungry"
Here, the author allows us to stop and think about an image of two lovers finding each other. When the word hungry is introduced it changes the image displayed in our minds. The break gives us time to create an image different than the image we create with all the details.
The very next lines are also very interesting.
"And we bit each other
As fire bites"
Just as in the previous two lines, the break gives our minds time to paint separate images in our minds. The first line creates a weird image of two humans attempting to eat each other. The second line shows us a picture of flames reaching for the sky. Together, the images produce a third image of two people grabbing at each other.
The first line break that really caught my eye was:
ReplyDelete"We have found each other
Hungry"
This line break interested me because of the surprise that comes with it. When I read the first line, I read it as if two lovers have realized their love for each other, however, the line break brings the rest of the sentence, only with the word "hungry". This abnormal line break makes the reader actually think about what they are reading, like I said, the first line makes me think of two lovers, but the second line changes your perspective from two lovers to two sufferers, who both have such an intense hunger, that they feel a need to "bite each other".
The second line that intrigued me was:
"Drunk up all the water and the
Blood"
The mentioning of blood helps pay due to the bodily sense of the poem. I also enjoy the enjambment because it leaves a darker connotation; when i read that part, I read the first line as a simple, clean sentence, but when I read the next line "Blood", I read the word with a horror film type of voice. However this does bring interest to the reader because they see that this poem isn't just a generic love poem, but rather a poem that features two obsessive lovers who say that they would eat each other!
I really like the line break between "other" and "thirsty" and the line break between "too" and "rose." Both of these are very abrupt: in the middle of a phrase. This enjambment creates a bigger emphasis on "thirsty" and "rose". Putting the line breaks in these specific places makes the reader intrigued as to what will follow and gives the reader some room to imagine or think about possible words or phrases that will follow. For example, after "I will give you too," we wonder what he will give her and immediately start coming up with ideas before we read the next line: "A rose." Also, the rose has a bigger emphasis placed on it since it is a separate line and suggests that the rose has some depth or metaphorical meaning to it as well.
ReplyDelete"We have found each other
ReplyDeleteThirsty and have"
I chose this one first because it shows the affection that this couple has for each other before displaying the problem. The first line seems happy and joyful. It shows that being together is the most important aspect before they worry about problems. It shows the authors intentions of the poem clearly. Lastly, thirst is a problem that not many people would expect to hear after such a lovely sounding line.
"And we bit each other
As fire bites,"
This line also brings emotions into the heads of the reader. Bites seems to be used as arguments or hurtful sayings toward one person in the couple from the other. It starts by implying one argument forced them into this decline. This would show that their relationship could be too weak to survive, but the second line shows it is the amount of bites as a fire. Fire is always biting. Showing that they have many conflicts with each other could mean that they do not generally get along with each other, or this could mean that over a long time there have been many fights but their love is always strong enough to prevail. However, all of these bites left scars. There will be some recovery needed for them to get back on track.
"We have found each other
ReplyDeleteThirsty and we have"
I like the line break here because it gives a happy tone in the first line. We see two people finally reaching each other. Once you go down the the second line though all the sudden there is a depressing switch. The tone jumps quickly and unexpectedly. I see the word thirsty, and I realize they found each other at a bad time. Instead of at a time of joy, they both are thirsty. Without this line break I would not have felt both emotions.
"Drunk up all the water and the
Blood"
Also, this line break makes me feel the same way. I feel filled and completely ok when the author says they drank water, but all the sudden on the next line the word blood comes in. Now the tone witches again. I feel completely normal to a feeling of horror. I though it was upbeat and light until the next line blood jumps in. In both lines breaks the author tricks me. I think one way from the first line, but by the next line by thinking process and mind changes drastically.
I found the Line Break in between all the water and the (LINE BREAK) Blood, to be my favorite. It all most seems like the two lovers were expecting water, but then they all of a sudden find/drink blood?? I enjoy that, because I am not sure that they weren't expecting it.
ReplyDeleteMy second favorite line break was the one in between "But wait for Me"
(Line Break) "Keep for me your sweetness". This really brings out/enhances the romantic aspect of the poem, and is really a beautiful line/area. The lover asking his pair to wait for him until he returns, it is almost like a fairy tale.
The line break in the very beginning right after, "I have scarcely left you" is a very good use of a line break to help cause some anticipation. After reading that line and repeating it over a couple of times I realized how it could leave you off to thinking of severaly possibilities of where this poem could go. Especially when you see that the name of the poem is Absence, it seems ilke, at first that it's a poem and story of heartbreak because of how he or she has left someone eles behind. Another line break I like is after the line, "Or overwhelmed with love, as" how it also leaves you wondering what it is referring to. It could lead to a person or an actual object or possibly just a simile. Either way I like how it drops off and makes you wonder what is coming after. I think line breaks are the best for when they leave you thinking about what could and will happen next.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy the line break after
ReplyDelete"Drunk up all the water and the
blood."
I like that because I did not see blood coming, it caught me off guard. This line break changes the mood of the poem to be a little bit more dark. Again, later on in the poem that line seems more beautiful because it has another line break to "wounds in us". These two breaks I believe help the poem and make it more intriguing.
"Drunk up all the water and the
ReplyDeleteblood"
I really like this line break because it really emphasizes blood which is such a contrast to water. Blood itself also often implies a darkness, gore, murder, or evil while water normally symbolizes healing, purity, and peace. "Blood" stands out like a shock, not what the reader was expecting.
"And we bit each other
as fire bites"
This one is also very fascinating, by separating the description the image is more vividly painted in my head. I think about it more, building an even clearer image in my head as I think about fire biting. It changes my perspective and puts more meaning into the first line.
"Close upon the gift of life
ReplyDeleteThat without cease I give you."
I like this line break because at first it sounds as if someone is telling you to just live life and appreciate the fact that it is a gift (you don't know who from). But then, the next line says who the gift of life is from. This next line adds in the fact that the gift of life now has even more meaning because this person gave it to you.
"Keep for me your sweetness.
I will give you too"
I like this line break because in line 1 it suggests that "I" want your sweetness. It doesn't say why or that I will repay you, "I" just want it. But, then in like 2, "I" say that I will repay you somehow. With what you may wonder? Maybe sweetness as well, but, you won't actually know what I am really giving back to you until you read the next line. This line acts as a "cliff hanger", you keep wondering what I will give back. And then the next line reads
"A rose."