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Mr Milan Mondal, Assistant Professor, Dept. of English, Narajole Raj College
ENGLISH (CC); SEM-V: PAPER- C11T ( The Way Spain Was)
Line by line discussion of The Way Spain Was by Pablo Neruda
➢ Background of the poem The Way Spain Was: —Before 1930 there was monarchy in Spain. There was an economic crisis in Spain. The people of Spain eradicated monarchy and brought Republic Government. But there was no change of economic crisis. Then Spain was again divided into two groups. On the one part there were the supporters of the Republic Government and on the other part there were military and church in the leadership of Francisco Franco. The team of Francisco Franco was in favour of capitalism. On the contrary, the Republic Government was in favour of socialism. The team of Franco was supported by Nazis. Then ultimately, the civil war broke out in 1936. It lasted till 1939. Pablo Neruda was in Spain at that time. He was in support of the Republic Government and fought against the military party because he was a staunch communist. In the present poem The Way Spain Was Neruda described the condition of Spain after the civil war.
➢ The poem is taken from the collection Third Residence (1947).
The poem is divided into three stanzas. In the first stanza Neruda described the condition of Spain during the civil war. here he also described his love for Spain. The second stanza puts light into the condition of man during the civil war. Finally, in the third stanza the poet speaker ends the poem with an optimistic tone.
“Tout and dry Spain was.
a day’s drum of dull sound, a plain, an eagle’s eyrie, a silence below the lashing weather.”
The poem opens with a picturesque description of Spain during the civil war (1936-1939).
Spain was tight or stressed due to the civil war. Spain is compared to a drum. The civil war has
Compiled, designed & circulated by:
Mr Milan Mondal, Assistant Professor, Dept. of English, Narajole Raj College
ENGLISH (CC); SEM-V: PAPER- C11T ( The Way Spain Was)
flattened Spain. The two parties of civil war are compared to drum beaters. The civil war affected the whole Spain from the plain to the mountain. There was a topsy-turvy condition during the civil war. Nothing was free from the civil war. The poet speaker used two things from two different parts of the atmosphere—the plain and eagle’s nest. As the plain was affected by the war, likewise eagle’s nest i.e. the pace above land was also affected (eagle generally builds nest in high mount). So, both the plainland and highland were severely affected by the civil war. The tumultuous condition has been heightened by the use of alliteration in the second line. There is a serene quietness everywhere due to the civil war.
“How unto crying, unto the very soul
I love your barren soil and your rough bread Your stricken people!”
The poet speaker here expressed his deep love for Spain. The natural landscape was barren.
Yet the poet speaker loved it very much. Here, there is a autobiographical touch in this line.
Neruda, was in Spain and fought for socialism. Though Neruda was from Chile he loved Spain very much because he was there for a long time. There is an extended metaphor in the phrase
‘rough bread’. The present condition of Spain has become very severe due to the civil war. The problem goes into the very deep of the country. The people of Spain has been devastated by the civil war. So they are stricken. Here, there is a socialist touch in this line because as a supporter of communism Neruda pined for socialism.
“How in the depths of me
Grows the lost flower of your villages, timeless, impossible to budge,”
The poet speaker in these lines also reflected his love for Spain though he had left Spain long ago. The poet speaker wanted to convey that the freshness of Spain was no longer there after the civil war. Earlier the freshness was infinite. But the war has damaged it.
“your tracts of minerals
Compiled, designed & circulated by:
Mr Milan Mondal, Assistant Professor, Dept. of English, Narajole Raj College
ENGLISH (CC); SEM-V: PAPER- C11T ( The Way Spain Was)
Bulging like oldsters under the moon, Devoured by an imbecile god.”
Spain was rich for its minerals but the civil war affected everything in the earth of Spain. here, the poet speaker described the land of Spain at night after the civil war. He described the landscape at night because it is no longer beautiful due to the civil war. The poet speaker thinks that the people of Spain have been punished by a stupid god. Interestingly enough, ‘god’ here has been spelled with small ’g’. This is done such because this ‘god’ may refer to the two parties of Spain who are in war—The Republic Party and the military party. The poet speaker thinks that Spain has been devoured by this two parties.
“All your extensions, your bestial solitude, Joined with your sovereign intelligence,”
The poet speaker in these lines depicted the condition of the people of the Spain during the civil war. They are confined. Spain also has been confined. It is like animal confinement. Spain and its people have been isolated from the rest of the world. But the only ray of hope is that they are still conscious.
“haunted by the abstracted stones of silence,”
There is a silence due to the civil war because the people of Spain has been silenced. They are unable to say a word because the warmongers have created a certain kind of trauma in the minds of the people of Spain.
“your harsh wine and your good wine, your violent and delicate vineyards.”
The references of ‘harsh wine’ and ‘good wine’ depict the two sides of Spain—evil and good.
Wine in particular, is important because Spain is famous for producing and selling wine. So, wine is an identity of Spain to the rest of the world. In the next line the words ‘violent’ and
‘delicate’ have been juxtaposed. It is done only to present the characteristics of ‘vineyards’ as
Compiled, designed & circulated by:
Mr Milan Mondal, Assistant Professor, Dept. of English, Narajole Raj College
ENGLISH (CC); SEM-V: PAPER- C11T ( The Way Spain Was)
vineyards are related to wine. This is just a continuation of the earlier reference of ‘harsh wine’
and ‘good wine’.
“Stones of the sun, pure among territories,”
Here. The poet speaker gives the message that Spain is unique from the rest of the world. It can be an instance for the rest of the world. It is like a solar stone that emits light. The word ‘stone’
is important. As a stone is unchangeable the real feature of Spain is unchangeable. The civil war cannot affect that. Here, the tone of the poet speaker is optimistic enough.
“Spain veined with bloods and metals, blue and victorious”
The reference of blood is very important. It the real feature of Spain. According to the poet speaker the youths of Spain are vigorous.
“proletariat of petals and bullets, Alone, alive, somnolent, resounding.”
As a staunch supporter of communism and Marxism Neruda uses the term proletariat. By proletariat he refers to the people of Spain. He has the conviction that conscious proletariats can bring change in society. They can make a revolution. The people of Spain are vigorous, and courageous to make a change. Neruda is of the opinion that the turmoil situation df the civil war can be wiped away by the common people. Through these lines Neruda is trying to recapitulate the glorious history of Spain.
Compiled, designed & circulated by:
Mr Milan Mondal, Assistant Professor, Dept. of English, Narajole Raj College
ENGLISH (CC); SEM-V: PAPER- C11T ( The Way Spain Was)
Reference (s): —
1. Batra, Shakti, Three contemporary poets (A critical study) 2. https://youtu.be/kHwjfc575WU
3. https://youtu.be/lPy5Gb6qVHM 4. https://youtu.be/pesEJhAbg9Q 5. https://youtu.be/Y5UUWfo5qjs
6. https://www.ukessays.com/essays/english-literature/spain-neruda- analysis-5263.php
7. https://poemanalysis.com/pablo-neruda/the-way-spain-was/
8. https://testmyprep.com/subject/english-literature/the-way-spain- was-by-neruda-analysis
