hello scholars, for the month of February i have decided to write another blog about Pablo Neruda (remember from January). the poem that i chose is called A Dog has Died. this poem sounds, to me, like a sad poem. the reason is because it is talking about the death of his dog ans how he is going to join him one day and he remembers his dog. to really know what he is talking about or what he was trying to say, we are going to break it all down.
"My dog has died. I buried him in the garden next to a rusted old machine. Some day I'll join him right there,but now he's gone with his shaggy coat, his bad manners and his cold nose, and I, the materialist, who never believed in any promised heaven in the sky for any human being, I believe in a heaven I'll never enter. Yes, I believe in a heaven for all dogdom where my dog waits for my arrival waving his fan-like tail in friendship." for this part, Pablo is talking about his dog dying and he is burying him in a garden next to a machine. (i wouldn't bury my dog next to a machine) he also talks about him one day joining him but for now he leaves with his cold nose, his fur, and his bad manners. and he, who doesn't believe in heaven believes that there is a heaven for dogs where his dog is waiting for him. so far, Pablo is talking about him burying his dog and that his dog leaves and takes all of his cahracteristics and is waiting for him in doggy heaven.
"Ai, I'll not speak of sadness here on earth, of having lost a companion who was never servile. His friendship for me, like that of a porcupine with holding its authority, was the friendship of a star, aloof, with no more intimacy than was called for, with no exaggerations:he never climbed all over my clothes filling me full of his hair or his mange, he never rubbed up against my knee like other dogs obsessed with sex." on this part of the poem he is talking about how he is not going to talk about his pain here because it is not selfish. his freindship means a lot to him and he never got his hairs on his clothes or was horny like other dogs. for this part, he is talking about the good things that he liked about his dog.
"No, my dog used to gaze at me, paying me the attention I need, the attention required to make a vain person like me understand that, being a dog, he was wasting time, but, with those eyes so much purer than mine, he'd keep on gazing at me with a look that reserved for me alone all his sweet and shaggy life, always near me, never troubling me, and asking nothing." for this part of the poem, Pablo is just talking about what his dog use to do and how good he felt when his dog looked at him and the things that he did. i really don't know what this part of the poem is trying to say, so if you guys do know then comment on it.
"Ai, how many times have I envied his tail as we walked together on the shores of the sea in the lonely winter of Isla Negra where the wintering birds filled the sky and my hairy dog was jumping about full of the voltage of the sea's movement: my wandering dog, sniffing away with his golden tail held high, face to face with the ocean's spray. Joyful, joyful, joyful, as only dogs know how to be happy with only the autonomy of their shameless spirit. There are no good-byes for my dog who has died, and we don't now and never did lie to each other. So now he's gone and I buried him, and that's all there is to it." for this last part of the poem he talks about his dog like if he was actually there with him (at least that is what it looks like to me).
if you have any comments on what the poem means to you then don't forget to write them in the comments.
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/a-dog-has-died/
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6 comments:
Good job in your blog. I am satisfied on reading your blog. Well i like that in each and every one of your blogs you put down the poem. Well Pablo is a reall gifted poet. I also read a poem similar to his poem i dont remember the name of the author. However, is a spanish poem called La Muralla.
The reason they are similar is because they both put alot of emotion in their poem. They both talk about a conflict they face. That is really positive about them. They Well it is a very good poem and yo are a very good scholar.
I saw the name of the poem and just thought: how sad. But as I read Neruda's poem (which was incredibly long! but so good), I teared up.
I kinda had a different interpretation of the poem. It sounds mournful, regretful that the narrator has now lost a dear friend. He looks back, describes that physical traits of is companion, and says that despite his beliefs of never ending in a nirvana-like haven, he wishes that his friend finds one.
But yeah, I won't go on for the rest of the poem. I still think that it is a wonderful choice and I think someone's starting to like Neruda!
Anywhose, maybe you should do some mean old foreign poetry, or a classic.
Vanessa,
Good Job!!
In my opinion you did an outstanding job. I also believe that the poet is very talented and his words are very powerfull.
Well i hope your next blog is as good and interesting as this one!
GOOD LUCK.
hi vanessa
I think that you did a good job explaining your blog especially the part of you breaking it all down for everyone to understand. I think that this poem is really sad talking about his dog that died. I would kind of feel the same way if my dog dies.
Well anyways good job with your blog.
Good job, I remember reading this poem, but I don't remember where and when. Nonetheless, I think that this poem is sad and think that Mr Neruda did a great job demonstrating his sorrow and great love. Overall, you did great job explaining the poem and for choosing a great poem as well.
Now I remember where I read this poem. it was during the summer of 07. I was taking LACC Spanish and I think Masyeli was there.
Dear Vanessa,
For this blog it what a good idea that you broke down the poem to understand it a little better and in more detail. From reading the title you could tell that the poem is sad. This poem gets me thinking about the small things that people can write about and why would Neruda make the choice of writing about a dead dog. It is pretty interesting what do you think?
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