Octavio Paz- As One Listens To The Rain

Octavio Paz- As One Listens To The Rain     

Poem http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/as-one-listens-to-the-rain/

 Picture Source     http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1990/paz-bio.html

Biography: Octavio Paz Lozano was born in Mexico City, Mexico on March 31st 1914. He was exposed early to literature through his grandfather’s extensive library. As a teenager in 1931 he published his first poems, being influenced by Spanish writers. Then he was an editor on the Mexican publication Taller and became a Mexican diplomat in 1945. He won the Miguel de Cervantes Prize in 1981, the Neustadt International Prize for Literature in 1982, and Nobel Prize in Literature in 1990. He died on April 19th 1998 at 84 years old.

Biography:  http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1990/paz-bio.html

Analysis

Speaker- The speaker of the poem is someone who is very observant of nature. The speaker has a high admiration for nature, and describes in great detail throughout the poem. The speaker is talking to someone that has a close relationship with the speaker, like a friend for example. He speaks in the first person as if he was talking to another person. The story of the poem is the speaker describing beautiful things in nature to another person. He uses imagery so the person can visualize the things that he saw in nature.

Imagery and Figurative Language-

“Listen to me as one listens to the rain,

not attentive, not distracted,

light footsteps, thin drizzle,...”
 This quote uses imagery to describe how the speaker wants to be listened to. He uses the sense of hearing to formulate a picture that we can envision. This impacts the poem by adding emphasis to the senses to describe a vision of nature.

“...your fingers of water dampen my forehead,...”
 This quote uses personification to compare the hands of a person to nature. This impacts the poems by showing the reader how close the speaker relates to nature and how he describes his relationship with it as that with a person.

“...listen to the rain running over the terrace,

the night is now more night in the grove,

lightning has nestled among the leaves,...”
 This quote uses imagery to describe a scene that has a major factor of of nature involved. The speaker uses sound to describe something that you could envision as well. This impacts the poem by showing that by having this strong of connection with his surroundings, he can easily describe it to others, so they can share the experience with him.

Tone- The tone of the poem is very peaceful. It is calming and serene in feeling. It relaxes the reader, while the speaker describes his view of nature.

Theme-The theme of this poem is that you have to notice the little things. The little details could be the most beautiful details. Another theme is that nature could easily be overlooked, but when you pay attention, nature will provide you with the most beautiful memories. One theme could be that you need to cherish the beautiful things you see. If you don’t, then you might forget about them and not be able to share that beauty with other people.

Repetition- Repetition is a commonly used literary device in this work. The speaker repeats multiple parts of the narrative. For example, when he says: “ Listen to me as one listens to the rain”. Or when he is referring  to how the rain hits the asphalt , or describing  lightening as he described in the story. The speaker also repeats the start of a sentence multiple times in a section. This use of repetition can convey the speaker trying to emphasize his point and his description. He is trying to capture the reader’s attention, and keeps it to tell his perspective of nature.