Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Cesar Vallejo's Poem-Spain, Take This Cup From Me
In my opinion, Vallejo's two poem Spain, Take This Cup From Me is a very interesting poem. In the first stanza, Vallejo calls Latin America "children of the world," indicating that Latin America is still a young nation. Vallejo continues to states that "if Spain falls--I mean, it's just a thought--if she falls..." I thought it was very ironic that he says that the possibility that Spain falls is just a thought. It's almost as if he states the possibility that Spain falls and then he says, oops! I mean that won't happen but the possibility is just something that popped up in my mind. But then he confirms that possibility by again saying "if Spain falls." The phrase "if Spain falls" is like bookends around the oops! statement of "I mean, it's just a thought." That line with bookends is repeated in the third stanza and the last stanza. When I started reading that the first stanza, I thought that Vallejo was trying to reassure his audience by saying that "--I mean, it's just a thought--." Then, as I kept on reading, I thought that Vallejo seemed to be almost mocking the reader. It seemed to me that Vallejo is like a little kid keeping a secret and giving you a hint to a story, but wants you to keep guessing. In the rest of the poem, I am not really sure whether Vallejo is stating that Latin America cannot survive without Spain or whether Vallejo is trying to rev up Latin America to start a revolt against Spain. For example, "mother Spain is...appears as mother and teacher..." In this quote, Spain is teaching its students, Latin America, how to govern itself and Spain is also a mother at the same time, to nurture Latin America with the tools it needs. But, at the same time, Valeljo tells Latin America to "Lower your voice, for she is/with her rigor which is great, not knowing/what to do, and she has in her hand..." In this quote, it seems as if Vallejo is stating because Spain is clueless, Latin America can revolt against Spain. It could also be that Vallejo just wrote those words because he felt like it, but I highly doubt it.
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4 comments:
Ruth, understanding this poem means understanding the context in which it was written. In many ways this is a rallying cry in support of the Spanish Republic, which was being overthrown by the military. When he refers to Spain falling, he is talking about the potential fall of a democratic Spain. What to me is most interesting is the the "it´s just a thought" part of you writing. This is something that I myself am not sure about, but we can be sure that it isn´t by accident. I actually think that the translation in our book is a little lacking. I think that a better translation would read, "if Spain falls - I mean, it´s a manner of speaking...". This is a bit closer to the the Spanish and it it makes me think that he is reflecting on language, on "manners of speaking"
RUTHEYYYYY. love the post. I agree with the idea that Vallejo presents the idea of Spain falling as just an after thought or nonchalant idea, down playing its severity. I also thought the way Spain is referred to as a mother and the people as her children was great imagery. The fact that her people are presented as being completely dependent on her shows power.
Very cool poem.
As I was reading this poem, I also sensed the same tone that you mentioned in your post, Ruth. When I read the line "its just a thought", I also felt liken Vallejo was mocking the reader, but when I looked at the Spanish translation, I noticed that what Vallejo's original poem said that it was a "saying". To me, I feel like this kinda changes the meaning of the poem. By saying "its just a thought", I feel like the poet is trying to incorporate his opinions into the poem and influence the readers, but by saying its a saying, it means that everyone is talking about it. I agree with you Mr. Cummings that the poet did not add this by accident, but maybe he added it in order to show a "red flag" to the people. If I read this poem during the time period in which it was written I would think it is an eye opener poem, which kinda focuses my attention to the current situation
Make sure you understand the context of this poem when analyzing it. This poem is directly related to the civil war which was occurring in Spain at the time it was written. It is an extremely far stretch to say he is calling Latin America to revolt against Spain. At this point in history, when the poem was written, most the Latin American countries which had been previously Spanish colonies had gained their independence.What would they be revolting against? Maybe you could say 'wage war' against Spain, but that is equally improbable. This countries were to preoccupied trying to find some sort of order in their new and extremely unstable governmental systems. The poem, in my humble opinion, is a cry for people around the world to see the Spanish Civil War as Vallejo saw it. Not simply a clash of political ideologies but a struggle between civilization and barbarianism. Vallejo was torn by the injustice and pain the Spanish Civil War was causing. For Vallejo, he was not witnessing a struggle for land or control, but one between good and evil. He is calling for the support of good, for a democratic Spain.
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