"Walking Around" by Neruda

The poem "Walking Around" was written by Pablo Neruda and its main objective is to depict the conflict of man against society. Neruda showcases how people have lost their individuality and self-actualization since all that human beings want is to have the things possessed that other people have. Typically, the poem is a despairing and sad one as Neruda communicates his views and his emotions of the hopelessness to the audience.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

Neruda commences the poem with, "It so happens I am sick of being a man" which integrates an agitated and tired mood. He then uses the images of tailor shops and movie theaters all of which depict illusion and appearances. The meaning behind these points is that Neruda has the feelings of loneliness in the businesses that oriented by appearances and is tired of all the things that are vanity.

Neruda then relates to the barbershop which is also all about appearance. He laments that he is tired of seeing all the stores, gardens and spectacles that are more about looks. The other thing that Neruda is tired of is all the things that are related to modern life that depict society's desire for almost everything. He also highlights that is tired of his own vanity and that he will declare the evil of the society to the point of his death.

Generally, the author expresses his views that he does not want to continue living the way he has been living. His desire is to express his observations without insecurity or fear as he does not want to live a useless life. He brings out a bad image of death and relates it to his jobs for the government as well as hell. He intends to make individuals ware that everything is vanity and he would go beyond the government and God to express his thoughts; however, he is insecure about sharing them.

"Free Union" by Andre Breton

Breton attempts to bring out the fact that life patterns are important people in anyone's life. He depicts how he loves his wife as he writes the whole poem in praise of his wife. The objective of this poem is to depict the main reason how essential his wife is. The speaker's feelings are made evident as depicted by the imagery used. For instance, "Her brows are like rims of shallow's nest." This statement as soft imagery to indicate the beauty of Breton's wife.

Even though the speaker loves his wife, there is also some imagery which depicts that he feels undecided about her. He indicates that she makes covers a considerable part of his whole world. It is not all about the feelings that he has for her but her presence and character is a significant aspect in her that makes the speaker attracted to her.

"Free Union" is an excellent demonstration of the ways in which the Surrealists make use of juxtaposition. The speaker juxtaposes all his wife's body parts to a range of weird things. For instance, her waist is compared to an hourglass, her wrists to matchsticks, her fingers to mown hay and her hair is related to burning splinters. This is used to show that his wife is beyond ordinary things.

Frog and Old Pond Haiku Poem by Basho

One of the most famous haiku poems by Matsuo Basho is the 'frog and old pond' (Basho 2012). The poem is very simple and divided into three lines. The old pons poem is probably the best-known haiku that was translated into English (Basho 2012).

The imagery in the poem is that of an ageless and ancient natural phenomenon which is a pond. The poet tries to depict that the pond has been isolated and has been still in an infinite and timeless period. Then, all of a sudden, the silence and stillness are broken down by the interference of a plash of a living and small animal- the frog. However as after it leaps the water continues being still and hence depicting that the stillness and silence are welcomed.

The frog's leap is used to symbolize an abrupt sudden change into spiritual enlightenment. The poem seems like something that the Basho was formulating in his head. Even though it may have been familiar to him and others, he decides to explain it in an expressive manner. The speaker chose a very ordinary sound 'splash' to explain the sound that the frog makes after it leaps into the water. Basho may have been appreciating nature by mentioning the pond and the frog and how amazing such natural phenomena occur. The author seems to advocate for new ways of doing things instead of doing ordinary traditional actions or expressions. Basho depicts that people can identify a common experience and convert it into soothing creative by innovating a new way of doing it. The main thing that would have been on his mind is the change of focus from the frogs' croak to the way they jump and the sound they may when they leap into the water- which is a departure from the norm.

References

Basho, Matsuo. 2012. "Matsuo Basho's Frog Haiku (30 Translations)". Bopsecrets.Org. http://www.bopsecrets.org/gateway/passages/basho-frog.htm.