Pablo Neruda

Pablo Neruda was born on July 12, 1904 in Parral but was raised chiefly in Temuco (Pring-Mill xvi). Christened Neftali Ricardo Reyes Basualto, he adopted the name "Pablo Neruda" out of fear his father would blame his poetry for his poor grades in math (Pring-Mill xvi). Pring-Mill argues Neruda's poetry was influenced profoundly by his childhood in southern Chile, as demonstrated by the range of natural objects that supplied Neruda's imagery (xvi). In addition, the geographical background of his life took on a thematic importance in his later poetry as he began to use it as the substructure for his view and interpretation of the world (Pring-Mill xvi).

Neruda's first poem was published when he was fourteen years old. While at the Liceo de Hombres of Temuco, Neruda worked for the student periodical Claridad, which marked his earliest contact with left-wing circles (Pring-Mill xviii). In 1921 he went to Santiago to train as a French teacher but he never completed the course. He edited the Claridad and won first prize in the Concurso de los Juegos Florales with a poem called "La cancion de la fiesta" (Oses 1). Pring-Mill notes that although the poem has no great literary merit it is significant because it already displays Neruda's poetic dexterity (Pring-Mill xviii).

Neruda's first published collection, Crepusculario (1923) was followed by the book that made him famous, Viente poemas de amor y una cancion desperada (1924), and a

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Thus, Matilde's significance is that in viewing her, Neruda is able to view the essence of the life of earthly things. This technique, as discussed by Pring-Mill earlier, is resonant in all of Neruda's poetry and is developed more maturely in his later works. In August 1940, Neruda was posted to Mexico City and a visit to a ruined Inca city inspired Alturas de Macchu Picchu (1945). In March 1945, he was elected to the Senate and was awarded the Premio Nacional de Literatura (Oses 2). Pring-Mill argues this double recognition boosted his morale and confirmed his feeling all his literary talents should be for the service of his political cause (Pring-Mill xxxvii). Thus, he formalized his membership in the Communist Party in 1945 and activities in support of his beliefs led to a warrant for his arrest (Pring-Mill xxxix-xl). Neruda escaped into Argentina in 1949 and travelled to France and later Mexico, where he published the first edition of Canto general (1950). A clandestine edition was published soon afterwards in Chile (Oses 2). From then on, Neruda traveled to and lived in many countries. During this time, he was also involved in a love-affair with Matilde Urrutia for whom he would ultimately leave Delia (Pring-Mill l
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Approximate Word count = 1671
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)

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