Neruda uses sensory imagery and a gradual shift from flower metaphors to describe his love in this sonnet. He initially compares his love to roses, topaz, and carnations, but later says he loves her as one loves obscure, secret things between shadow and soul. By the end, Neruda expresses that their love is so intimate it is as if their hands and eyes are shared, with no distinction between them. Overall, the poem emphasizes the simplicity and depth of Neruda's love rather than outward beauty.

1. Pablo
Neruda
I don’t love you as if you were a rose
Translated by Mark Eisner

2. One Hundred Love Sonnets: XVII (Mañana)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
I do not love you as if you were salt-rose, or topaz,
or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off.
I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,
in secret, between the shadow and the soul.
I love you as the plant that never blooms
but carries in itself the light of hidden flowers;
thanks to your love a certain solid fragrance,
risen from the earth, lives darkly in my body.
I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where.
I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride;
so I love you because I know no other way
than this: where I does not exist, nor you,
so close that your hand on my chest is my hand,
so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep.

3. Analysis
• After spending the first eight lines trying to describe his love to be unique
and personal, Neruda uses the remaining six lines to raise the white flag: he
can't explain his love, he just plain loves his beloved. His love is simple and
humble. The speaker ends with the image of him and his lover, intertwined,
as if they were one body and one soul. He may not be able to define his
love, but his attempts sure are evocative.
• Neruda is saying that the one he loves is not beautiful; but that he loves her
so deeply for the person that she is that the outside does not matter to him.
• Neruda finishes the poem by saying that he and his love are so intimately
intertwined that it is as if they share the same body, and when his eyes
close it is as if hers do too. This poem describes a mature, pure, and
intensely deep love that connects two people in the most beautiful way.

4. The Sonnet
● Shakespearean Sonnets
o Themes of passage of time, love, beauty and mortality
o Three quatrains, One Couplet (14 lines total)
o Iambic Pentameter
● Neruda’s One Hundred Love Sonnets
o Focused on theme of love
o Two quatrains, One six-line stanza

5. Neruda’s Style
● One Hundred Love Sonnets
o Neruda does not idealize beauty and love
o Neruda’s work began to move away from the highly
political stance it had taken during the 1930s

6. Context
● 1952 - Return from exile to Chile
● 1955-1957 - Published One Hundred Love Sonnets
● 1955 - Secret affair with Matilde Urrutia
● Most accomplished work after
returning from exile
● Celebrates his love for Urritia

7. Dominant Effect
Neruda uses repetition, sensory details, and a
gradual shift from flower imagery to a lack of
imagery to emphasize the simplistic nature of
love. Neruda uses metaphors to describe love in
relation to beauty and darkness.

8. Line 1-2
I don’t love you as if you were a
rose of salt, topaz,
or arrow of carnations that
propagate fire:
Flower
Imagery!

9. Line 3-4
I love you as one loves certain
obscure things,
secretly, between the shadow and
the soul.
Dark
Imagery!

10. Line 5-6
I love you as the plant that
doesn’t bloom but carries
the light of those flowers, hidden,
within itself,
Flower
Imagery!

11. Line 7-8
and thanks to your love the tight
aroma that arose
from the earth lives dimly in my
body.
Sensory
Imagery!

12. Line 9-10
I love you without knowing how, or
when, or from where.
I love you straightforwardly, without
complexities or pride;
Anaphora!
(Repetition)

13. Line 11-12
so I love you because I know no
other way
than this: where I does not exist,
nor you,
Repetition!

14. Line 13-14
so close that your hand on my
chest is my hand,
so close that your eyes close as I
fall asleep.
Anaphora
and
Sensory
Imagery!

15. Summary of Techniques and
Effects
● Repetition (more specifically- anaphora)
● Sensory Imagery
● Shift from flower imagery to no imagery
● Neruda portrays this in his words by using Imagery and Metaphors
to describe love in relation to beauty and darkness.
● Highlights the simplistic nature of love
● Emphasizes that love is an internal/personal feeling
● Shifts away from the traditional love poem- shows how his love is
unique
● The theme is basically telling people what true love is and how to
keep everything together.

16. Works Cited
“Biography of Pablo Neruda.” Chile Culture. Chile Culture Society, n.d. Web. 18. Nov. 2014
Eirmann, Katherena. "100 Love Poems, Poets and Poetry at Aspirennies.com." 100 Love Poems, Poets and Poetry at
Aspirennies.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2014.
"Great Love Poems by Pablo Neruda ." AngelFire. AngelFire, n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2014.
"Sonnet XVII: I Do Not Love You as If You Were Brine-rose, Topaz." Famous Poems, Famous Poets. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Nov.
2014.